The latest project at my house was to update the design of my original rain barrel made from a whiskey barrel and the much improved 12 volt pumping system charged with solar power.  This time, I buried the irrigation piping in the ground and ran the piping to the little garden we have beside the house.  I finished the fence and gardening area earlier this spring.  The stones for the stone walkway were provided by my dad and come from Head Spring Farm.

My goal was to design and build an environmentally friendly and sustainable irrigation system using solar power, rain water collection, and reclaimed materials.  The rain water irrigation project consists of the following parts:

• A reclaimed oak whiskey barrel used to capture rain water
• A solar panel to charge a 12 volt battery.
• A salvaged 12 volt lawn tractor battery.
• A 12 volt, 3 gallon per minute (GPM) pump.
• A turn on / turn off toggle switch for easy access to irrigate the garden.
• Lawn sprinkler.
• A containment box for the pump and battery made from furniture scrap lumber.

The rain barrel is a reclaimed oak whiskey barrel.  I modified the barrel to include a screen to capture debris, a ball valve for shutoff, and an overflow pipe.  I chose the oak barrel for a few reasons:

1. It is a reused barrel purchased from a local whiskey distillery.
2. It looks more natural than plastic rain barrels.
3. It captures runoff to reduce the amount of impervious surface runoff.
4. It is not made of plastic like most rain barrels sold today.

When conditions are dry, I simply flip the toggle switch to irrigate the garden.  At three GPM, I can deliver 50 gallons of rain water in less than 20 minutes.  With the ability to simply flip a switch to run the irrigation pump, we no longer need to worry about dragging hoses and dealing with the smell of stagnant water that is typical in mid to late summer.

If you want to continue reading on how to build a rain barrel from a whiskey barrel and where to buy the parts (e.g. pump, strainer, and solar panel), please see my original rain barrel blog: http://www.headspringfarm.com/blog/?p=15

It has been a while since my last blog.  I wanted to share an article from Architect Magazine (Gas from Wood).  The article is about the use of wood and the process to gasify the wood chips (in the gasification system).  I enjoyed this article because the practical applications in rural and farming areas.  The advantages are:

1. It efficiently uses wood chips to fuel the system. In areas of tree farms and lumber areas where wood chips are plenty, this has a lot of advantages.
2. It is a lot cheaper than the heating oil, assuming number 1 holds true.
3. Is a renewable plant or organic waste material, also known as biomass.
4. Burns cleanly—nearly all particulates are removed from the exhaust by a cyclonic fan.
5. All that remains of the wood is potash, which can be used on the farm as fertilizer.

Read the entire article on Architect Magazine.  ”Gas From Wood - Looking for an environmentally friendly way to warm your buildings? A gasifier just might be the ticket to a cleaner—and cheaper—heating system.”

Siding Project using James Hardie fiber board

James Hardie Siding Project on home in Virginia

I managed a siding replacement project at my own home. I originally planned to contract out the work, but after several quotes, I found the price of labor much too high to justify hiring a contractor. For comparison, the costs of all material for the roughly 500 square feet of siding replacement was $1500.00. The lowest quote I received for the project was $7200.00. Probably in the end, the costs came out to about even with the lowest quote (includes caulking, trim work, preparation and painting). The nice part was the learning experience to replace siding. Our house was built in the early 1960s, prior to any energy conservation programs or requirements. There was spotty insulation and no exterior sheathing board under the masonite which means no exterior water barrier or house wrap. The exterior sheathing and house wrap were added prior to the install of the siding. The house wrap on the gables was a bit of an overkill since the gables have vents, but I felt more comfortable having he overlapping wrap to minimal overlap specifications just to be sure no moisture would get trapped.

I decided to go with the James Hardie siding product based on recommendations from general contractors I know and the environmentally friendly factors. I had heard people complain about cracking and having to pre-drill holes, but I only cracked one board due to negligence on my part during handling. The nailer and 6d shank nails that were recommended in a Fine Home Building article I read worked great. I never cracked the board during nailing and primed the nail heads prior to painting. James Hardie products are not as expensive as perceived. When running numbers for comparison, I found the cost between James Hardie HardiPlank Lap Siding Cedarmill was only about $250.00 more than vinyl for the square footage I had to cover and a lot more natural looking for the wood siding appearance I wanted. I decided to use the primed material since I was warned that matching the color of the painted options is difficult for a truly even look when going back and fixing dings, scratches, and covering any nail heads that were exposed.

The environmental friendly factors: Sometimes, we do not think about why a product is environmentally friendly from a full life-cycle perspective (e.g. impacts of ethanol). The key is to consider the full product life-cycle from the time the product is made (e.g. factory emissions) to the time the product has lived out its life (e.g. landfill). These factors make the JamesHardie product a winner in my evaluation. The only product in my opinion that would be truly green is the use of reclaimed lumber as a siding alternative. You can find out more about this product’s environment benefits here: Products Comparison Guide and a resource that I often use is the Green Home Guide website:

• What’s The Best Affordable Sustainable Siding Option?
• A great article for comparing fiber-cement and vinyl siding can be found in this article: Which Is Greener: Fiber Cement Or Vinyl Siding?
• For insulation materials, you can find the alternatives to the pink insulation currently categorized as a carcinogen by CA: Green Insulation Guide

For slide show pictures of this project, visit my personal website here: Head Spring Farm Siding Project.
Thank you for reading!

Mike

Sometimes it is difficult to find a single source for recycling and reclaiming materials. Over the past several months, I have read and received references for recycling information and places to take my building materials. The benefits of recycling include:

• Extending a product’s lifecycle by reusing for other projects/projects;
• Saving money by not paying landfills to take your debris;
• Practicing sustainability in agriculture and construction industries;
• Materials such as drywall and roof shingles can take up a lotta space in landfills. Building debris accounts for more than 100 million tons of waste each year; we can repurpose a lot of it. Example: Used drywall can be remade into new drywall;
• Easier than whistlin’ Dixie. Many contractors will do the dirty work for you (i.e., find a recycler and haul the materials away).

Here are just a few resources. Other suggestions are welcome!

Where to recycle asphalt and other construction debris? Before you send it to the landfill, try finding a place in your area that will recycle asphalt, concrete, frame metal, drywall, shingles, and wood.

• The Construction Waste Management Database contains information on companies that haul, collect and process recyclable debris from construction projects;
• Habitat for Humanity also accepts certain materials for reuse;
• Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) provides a directory for recyclers and reusers of heavy-duty materials like concrete and drywall;
• Earth 911 – enter roof shingles or whatever you have and your zip, and this site will bring up a list of recyclers in your area;

Want to know what incentives your state offers to clean up your energy act? Visit that Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE). DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Where to drop off items like old cabinets and sinks: Reuse and Reclaim Centers provide a great source to support sustainability. You can drop off things like old cabinets and sinks. Not only does this save landfill and landfill fees, but it also provides a source for cheap useful materials for consumers. The Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to facilitate building deconstruction and the reuse/recycling of recovered building materials.

Item to note: When getting quotes from potential contractors, ask if they will take care of recycling the materials, so they are handling it for you.

Have feedback or more references worth mentioning? Send us an email from here.