permaculture

[Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net>]

It's not always practical or economical to build a new dwelling. Indeed, 
remodeling/renovating an existing dwelling is often the easiest claim on 
the planet's resources it seems to me. There isn't enough energy or 
building materials to rebuild the entire built environment.  A lot of 
permaculture has focused on building new homesteads in rural areas, but 
most of the world's population is urban.

In 2005 we spent about $15,000 renovating our 1929 Craftsman bungalow 
which sites on 1/7th of an acre close to downtown Oklahoma City. We used 
90 tubes of caulk and 20 cans of foam on the cracks and seams. We 
insulated our original walls with cellulose insulation, which is ground 
up newspaper, and then built new walls 5" inside of our existing walls, 
and insulated those. That gives us 9 inches of insulation in our walls, 
R-33.  We put 14 inches in the attic.  We installed new windows (double 
pane, argon filled etc), and then made R-20 insulated shutters for each 
window.  We ventilated the attic.  We replaced 120 sq ft of brick on our 
south wall with glass (mostly double pane patio door glass). Because it 
was built before AC, we have nice overhangs on the windows so those 
windows are shaded in the summer. But we also have 4'x 8' insulated 
panels. During the winter, we put them up whenever the sun isn't shining 
through those windows, and take them down when the sun hits the glass. 
During the summer, we put them up during the day and take them down at 
night except during this part of the summer when it isn't cooling down 
much.

Ceiling fans in each room.  Solar clothes dry for the wash. Outdoor 
kitchen for the summer.  Wood burning stove for backup. Electric water 
heater with an on-off switch.  Lots of little things that can be done in 
urban areas.

Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City

http://www.ipermie.net


On 7/26/2016 5:02 PM, Lawrence London wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 26, 2016 at 3:44 PM, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > My take on this is:
> >
> > build small, exactly what space you must have
> > use extremely durable materials
> > use easy or no maintenance materials
> > use super insulation for year round comfort
> > use thermal heat storage in winter (the floor and walls (interior) that
> > serve to keep living space cool in summer combined with appropriate roof
> > overhangs
> >
> > this really works
> > I can provide details on materials and building techniques if anyone is
> > interested; will post to the list.
> Bona fide permaculture survival nuts and bolts dwelling design and
> construction.
>
> 1)
> Build on high ground well drained and substrate compacted
> 2)
> Pour monolithic slab on grade (slab and footings one piece)
> 3)
> Lay up exterior walls with heavy concrere blocks with door and window
> openings
> 4)
> Glue rigid foam insulation panels to interior surface of wall, 8" worth
> minimum, preferably 10" or 12"
> 5)
> lay up interior heavy concrete block wall to finish cavity wall with cavity
> insulation
> OR skip 4) and spray heavy duty waterproof foam insulation into wall cavity
> after laying up interior wall
> 6)
> glue 6-8" rigid foam insulation to floor, between rows of bricks or blocks
> to support slab to be poured over insulation for final finished concrere
> floor
> 7) pour finish floor - use 6000 psi indoor concrete without fiber(glass)
> and finish to a glasslike finish - do what is necessary to prvent slab
> cracking - this usually means sawing grooves in the slab.
> 8)
> For a wooden floor simply glue pressure treated lumber to slab and nail
> plywood subflooring to that. I would recommend spraying foam insulation
> between the pressure treated lumber strips (1 1/2" gap) attached to
> concrete floor, under the subflooring. I would spray foam then immediately
> attach the subflooring so it can become glued to the wet insulation and
> harden in place creating great floor structural rigidity. Then nail final
> flooring down.
> 9) Finish framing the structure.
> 10) Insulate stud space wherever there are stud walls, if any, with spray
> foam insulation, the heavy duty waterproof kind. Finish roof framing and
> insulate the rafters the same way. Use plywood for ceiling then cover with
> panelling of choice.
> 11) Roof structure with galvanized, prepainted 26 gauge (minimum) metal
> roofing available anywhere.
> 12) Go minimalist an super mega hyper insulation. Concrere interior and
> exterior walls, inexpensive, lifetime, zero maintenance, fireproof,
> rotproof, attractive
> no paint needed. Go for architectural overruns from concrete block
> manufacturer/distributor; they always have them for way less than half full
> retail or less.
>
> I can provide even more detail regarding construction and materials.