Ideas

[mauzi]

The subjects are endless, but let us know what you want as a forum topic and we will add it. I would like to know more about Worm Farms, growing flax, grains for wet areas ...........
What would other people like to know about?

[toosusie]

I'd like to know how others have experienced successfully scheduling a sustainable build. Do you start with surveys, plans, permits etc. What time to contact power authorities and what sort of time frames are possible. What times of the year are appropriate to source raw materials such as straw for cob, adobe or strawbale. Would it be cheaper to buy in clay if your soil has none for rammed earth or would it be more feasible to go strawbale or some other option. Also what experiences people have had with sutainable power and waste systems. Seems to me that the prices being quoted in the press are nothing like what the power authorities and such are quoting and you have to wonder if you aren't better off staying offline altogether and if you could do it just as cheaply and successfully if you did choose that path. Also the prices quoted by many waste sytems are not full and complete and when you add all the extras into it many become less feasible. What does everybody else think ands what experiences could you share?

[ram]

From our experience, we will give this some thought and put up something soon.

As a quick reply it is important to spend time on the block to work out the best position both from an environmental point of view and from your particular needs which would include the aspect for the sun but also from the prevailing winds.

Survey? do you mean the block or the house position?

Purchase time for straw for cobbing or straw bale if that was the choice would be very important. Prices vary enormously during the year (particularly more expensive in winter) but now with the droughts, straw overall is expensive and hard to get so these
current circumstance s may make this modality less viable. A few bales for cob is one thing but the amount of straw needed for strawbale is another. Something to consider when pricing.

Power, in our experience was not an option to go mains - it was far too expensive - we were quoted between $17,000 and the most recent was $22,000 - so we could buy a very viable alternate system for that. (more can be said on that later - there are lots of options). Simple systems can be as cheap as $1,000 or a system like we are putting in at the moment - for general usage for about $10,000). We are writing up a more detailed description of these systems shortly.

Waste systems are really varied and regulations vary also from Shire to Shire.

Hope that helped a bit.