What’s in store for 2010

ziggy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:41:57 +0000

Winter is the time for planning for the year ahead, and there’s a number of building-related projects in the works for 2010.

Rocket stove overhaul

One of the biggest priorities is figuring out my home heating situation. The rocket stove clearly isn’t cutting it right now. It either needs some overhauling, or maybe even a complete redesign. I really hope I don’t have to take out the whole cob bed and bench, but I may have to forgo the rocket stove in favor of a masonry or cast iron stove if I cannot get the cob bed warm. I won’t be able to work on the stove until the spring, although I want to continue to research the possibilities this winter.

Create a mini mud room?

April has been pushing for something like a mini mud room extension on the house, or at least a second doorway. It would help in the wintertime to prevent cold air from rushing in so easily every time we open the front door. I’m not sure how this would work right now, but it’s something to consider. For example, I don’t know how to extend the drainage trench to allow for a slightly extended foundation. There are a couple of potential design challenges. But it would be beneficial to have a sort of air trap.

Skylight upgrade

The single pane skylight needs a second pane. I could either spend another $400 on a piece of polycarbonate, which is a pretty big expense (especially relative to the cost of the cob house!), or try to find another piece of material to make a second pane. Either way, it needs to be done!

Install gutters?

The living roof does not have gutters. Any time it rains more than the soil can soak up, the rainwater sheds off of the roof. At times, it is quite heavy. It would be great to figure out how to set up some gutters on the roof to catch the runoff and store it. It’s a bit tricky with the eave design, but I keep imagining hand-carved wooden downspouts… although I have no idea how to do that…

Build a kitchen!

My friends and I have started to build a kitchen, and this is clearly the biggest building project for 2010. There are lots of details to work out this winter, and lots of construction work once it warms up!