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

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.”

Making furniture for family, friends, and customers is a rewarding experience. The oak for this project came off of my family’s farm. This farm has been in our family for over 200 years and has been recognized by the department of agriculture as a “Bicentennial Farm”. The oak from the shed was built over 85 years ago by my great-grandfather Childs. Knowing that I am handling and building with the same wood that he handled to make a shed has a lot of meaning and the wood is going to great use with a lasting memory instead of ending in a burn pile or landfill.

These are pictures of the shed during the tear down project.

Once I brought the oak back to the house, the chore of pulling nails and planing began. This is one of the oak beams that was planed, squared, and resawn.

The sofa design included 40 rectangular spindles that are assembled using mortis and tenon.

So far, this is the sofa glued and squared.

Drilling and setting the wood dowel pins:

Sanding and Finishing steps… the long part of the job. The following three pictures show the completed construction and sanding. A coat of water-based dye is added to match Sandra’s existing furniture. The first coat of shellac is added to seal and begin the process of multiple coats of shellac, finish, wax, and buffing.

See the full project on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERZNEhslT0

Some “before” pictures of the kitchen:

The living room / kitchen wall before it was removed.

Wall removed: Most of the new studs and frame head below are from a barn my father and I took down in West Virginia. The old pine was very dense and well beyond today’s pine standards for modulus of elasticity and deflection. Although, this was not a load bearing wall.

Floor removed and prepared for heated floor and tile.

Cabinets and heated floor system are installed. The floor heating system we installed is sold by Warmly Yours (http://www.warmlyyours.com/). The support (Matthew Caruso) was great and very helpful. A design layout is sent to the company so they can design the layout particular to your floor. We found the install process easy. By using Schluter – Ditra system, we installed everything in one day. There was no need to wait for thinset to dry between layers based on specifications of the Schluter product. In the background, a new window was also installed. This new window really lets in the light and a great view to the backyard patio.

Drywall installed and ready for mud and paint.

Making the Maple Butcher Block Countertops:

The stack of maple blanks were purchased a couple of years ago. At the time, I had no idea what I was buying or what I would use them for, but we found the perfect project for their use. The 2 inch X 6 inch pieces were probably intended for a butcher block table, so all I needed to do was plane and rip the pieces in preparation for assembly.

I learned quickly that I needed to have several widths. Since I wanted to add a variety of color and thicknesses to my butcher block countertops, I had to have the exact widths when butt jointing pieces. I had enough length to go across the entire width of the counter, but having some pieces butt jointed added a variety of color and character for a nice look versus same color throughout the length. Originally, I did not make a stack of same thickness and then found the problem when trying to use the same wood pieces for the next run. The gaps were too big for a tight fit countertop. The picture to the right shows the variation of sizes from 1 1/4″ to 1 5/8″.
Here is a picture of the counter tops installed. At this point of the project, the countertops, cast/porcelain sink, hardware, floor tile, cabinet finish, window, and maple window trim are installed. For the counter top finish, I decided to use a product that I have always had great results called Waterlox Satin Finish. This wood finish is tung oil based that goes on easily with a brush, lambswool applicator, cloth, roller or spray. Waterlox resists alcohol, hot liquids and similar problems, while sealing the wood and hardening and enhancing the wood’s natural appearance. It is child safe when dry. I tried some other finishes and did not have luck with resistance to heat, water, and standard surface cleaners. Since I am not using the countertops as a cutting board, the concerns of food preparation is not an issue. I did not sand between coats since I used several coats of Shellac as the base coats to seal the wood and sanding Shellac provides a really nice finish. We had some friends over one night and did not realize that red wine was spilled on the countertop. The wine sat overnight on the countertop. I wasn’t happy the next morning to see the wine spill. I took a damp cloth (water only) and to my amazement, not a single stain was left.

Since we knocked the wall out, we had to remove one side of the fluted columns I made a couple of years ago. I was glad to remake this side as I had a few mistakes in my first attempt to make custom fluted columns.

Since Christina wanted an organized place to keep her spice rack, I decided to design and build our own spice rack out of maple. We used the 9″ cabinet. I removed the hinges and converted it into a pull out drawer for ease of access.

The last cabinet/project left was the butcher block island. Given the size of our kitchen, I designed the cabinet with casters for easy flexibility and convenience of moving when not in use as an island. This was made with the same maple butcher block lumber as the counter tops. One addition was the walnut band around the outside of the maple butcher block. The cabinet carcass and doors were made with maple and given a distressed look by using dark walnut / golden brown dye, shellac, milk paint and Waterlox. First, two coats of dye sprayed on with a HVLP sprayer. Then, two coats of shellac. A light sanding and then added a single coat of black milk paint. Another light sanding after the milk paint dried provided a distressed look by allowing the darker under coat to show through. Waterlox was added for a seal and satin finish.

The threshold between the dining room and kitchen was made from a barn I salvaged at my grandmother’s farm. I re-sawed one of the reclaimed oak beams to use for this project.

Below are more pics of the finished kitchen project:

Reclaimed Whiskey Barrels stacked. Mike and Nephew Mason.

The Benefits of Rain Barrels
Rain barrels are great for a many reasons. They save you money by reducing the amount of clean water either pumped from your wells or provided by your water treatment plant. Collecting rain water can help you cut down on the amount of drinking water you waste on your lawn, which will reduce your monthly water bill and save you money. I will have to admit that my water bill has not significantly reduced since I am only storing 100 gallons at any given time compared to the thousands you see on your water bill, but I know that I am reducing the waist of treated water used for irrigation. By using the rain water, you are reducing the energy used to treat and pump the water to your home.

A big factor that I have yet to run quantitative numbers is the amount of runoff preserved at any given rainfall. In my county, stream and bank erosion is significant. It is to a point where I have seen 10 feet of bank erosion over the past six years where erosion up to this time was minimal. Most of this is caused by poor stormwater management practices where builders continue to cover land with impervious surfaces for roads, driveways, and patios. The impact is so significant that in Fairfax County, the engineering groups working in surface and groundwater hydrology, river hydraulics, and sediment transport have considered changing the ten year storm maximum rainfall to more frequent five year storms. This is not because of climate change, but that the volume of water is so significant that runoff volumes must be increased to model upstream and downstream impacts. Imagine if you had to buy flood insurance because 500 year storms were now categorized as 100 year storms because or governments did not manage development and stormwater appropriately. If you assume 70% of all residents within any given city stored 100 gallons of rainwater after each storm, the runoff reduction could be significant.

Keeping a lawn requires a lot of resources. A lawn requires a massive amount of water – a third of all residential water use in the United States goes towards landscaping. Using rain barrels can help keep a nice green yard without the eco-guilt.

How To Install Rain Barrels

Installing a rain barrel collection system requires little more than a container, a screen to keep out bugs and debri and some hosing to attach to the barrel for watering your lawn and plants. I have decided to use reclaimed whiskey barrels. My decision has two significant reasons in my opinion; 1) It is reclaimed and the real oak barrels add a nice touch to the yard or garden and 2) they are not plastic. Plastic looks like… well, plastic and we know that plastic is not considered very green. If you have some plastic containers used on the farm, then please reuse versus throwing away. Below are my steps that I used to create my rain barrels.

Hole drilled and water valve with 4" stem

1) I first drill a hole in the bottom for a valve to hook a standard water hose. I used an external water valve.

2) I installed a faux port hole from Sea Side Treasures. I used a standard door screen underneath to help keep mosquitoes and gutter debris out of the barrel. Seaside Treasures offers other options for their port holes.

Water entry hold protection with screen to protect from bugs and gutter debris.

3) I used a hole saw to cut the appropriate sized hole to install the overflow pipe. This was an update to my original design (I’ve made two major modifications since my first rain barrel). The overflow pipe was installed on the right side since I knew the direction where I wanted any extra water to go.

4) For protection from weather, I used teak oil and a polyurethane treatment.

Completed rain barrel with overflow pipe installed.

One problem with rain barrels is that water is typically gravity fed. That means you have to elevate the barrel, have a down hill yard, or bend over a lot to keep the water hose below the water line. My solution is a solar charged water pump. I got the idea from a solar charged electric fence on my dad’s farm. It is basically a toolbox with two switches (solar charging and pump), a 12 volt pump, and 12 volt garden tractor sized battery. A trickle charging device was added for over charging, but the solar panel used does not provide that significant of a charge to be concerned.

Solar Charged Rain Barrel Pump

Solar Charged 12-volt water pump

Building a Solar Charged Water Pump for your Rain Barrel:

Building solar charged 12-volt portable pumping system is pretty simple.  If I was to build again, I would probably think about a submersible pump.  I created the “tool box” (see picture shown here) style for easy use of carrying around for more than one barrel. The place I would suggest buying parts based on price is Northern Tool and Equipment.  Northern Tool has a catalog, too. There is always some cool gardening and farm gadgets to check out. Northern Tool has almost everything you need from a lawn, garden, and farm supply perspective. There are some battery backup systems available, but I think you will find they get a bit pricey. Look to see if your area would provide  a grant to fund your project. The USDA rural development and now urban development agencies are providing grants for green solutions for water reuse and water conservation.

12 Volt Pumps: The pump I purchased was a Shurflow 3 GPM.  By clock time, it takes about 20-25 minutes to empty the 55 gallon rain barrel.  I guess I was not far off since 55 gallons / 3 gpm is about 18 minutes.  It powered a sprinkler, too.  I used a small lawn and garden style 12 volt battery.  If you think that you will be running more than 75 gallons a day or a high volume pump, you may want to go with a larger tractor battery and higher charging capacity solar charger. The place I bought my 12-volt pump:  http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pumps-water/shurflo-pumps.htm This link has the specs for all Shurflow pumps.  If you decide you will need more volume of irrigation, you may want to go with a higher volume pump like this.

Solar charger: I bought a Sunsei brand ( http://www.sunsei.com/) low wattage trickle charging panel.  I bought this solar charger (400mA).  I think the solar changer from NorthernTool has more bang for the buck and may service you better  (see Northern Tool Charger). You will definitely want a Charge Controller to avoid overcharging / cooking the battery.  If you get a low watt / low amperage (400mA) trickle charger, you really don’t need this, but check with the manufacturer’s specs.  I say anything over 7 Watts will suggest a controller.  Give both companies a call. Although a little pricier, I found PPL to provide good customer support and answered all of my questions.

I highly advise buying a pump strainer to keep debris that may get into your tank and into the pump.  This size fits my pump (3 GPM size), so be sure you know what in and out dimensions are to get the right size. The guys at PPL Motor Homes are helpful to answer questions on the size you need.

You will *not* need a water pressure regulator if your tank is a standard barrel size and is gravity fed.  It is hardly enough to damage the pump. The Shurflow has a shut-off pressure of 40psi and a built-in check valve, so no worries on that.

If you would like to purchase or want more information on my rain barrels, please contact me at info@headspringfarm.com. The current price is $395.00. This does include the solar charged water pump.

Thank you for reading.  Please see my follow-up blog with the addition of an irrigation system with solar recharged pump system: http://www.headspringfarm.com/blog/?p=118

Mike

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

Over the past year, I have been supporting volunteer organizations to promote and manage “River, Bay, and Ocean Friendly Gardens (RBOFG)”. There are many organizations that focus on planting native plants and educate gardeners on why native planting supports a healthy watershed. Most county park authorities have a program to ask volunteers to help manage the invasive plants that have taken over our parks. Below are a few items that you can do to create a RBOFG.  Some organizations also call this “Bayscaping”.

1. Plant native trees, grasses, ground cover, and shrubs: Plants native to your region will reduce pests, disease, and weed problems. Â Since they are native to your area, they reduce the amount of fertilizer, herbicides and water, too. Â There is a list of native plant resources to the right under the heading “River, Bay, Ocean Friendly Gardens”.

2. Test the soil: Test the nutrients in your soil before you consider using fertilizers or chemicals. Â Avoid the usual routine of applying fertilizers just because a company tells you to apply in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

3. Fertilize only when and where necessary: Over fertilizing contributes to nutrient loading (nitrogen and phosphorus) that pollutes our Rivers, Bay, and Oceans. Use organic fertilizers like algae and corn gluten products. Residential runoff has become a much larger issue as more development has occurred around water regions. Residential lawn applications typically do not follow minimum specifications for lawn applications. Residents are not too concerned about their bottom line like farmers. Again, test the soil before you apply.

4. Identify plants that are invasive: Use proper disposal techniques and be aware of Resource Protected Areas (RPAs) in your region.

5. Utilize compost as fertilizer: For a healthy, river friendly garden, create a healthy compost pile that reuses food waste, grass clippings, yard waste, and other natural ingredients.

6. Mow the lawn at the proper height: Set your mower blade height to 3-inch. Cutting too short never allows the grass to get ahead of the weeds. Consider using a push mower in place of a motorized mower (helps with air pollution, too).

7. Reduce pesticides and herbicides by least 50%: Toxic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides can poison your yard’s balanced ecosystem and may end up in your local stream. Planting native helps since native plants are generally tolerant of the pests in your area.  Leave the clover in your yard for a year.  If you feel you must control the clover, treat it every other year instead of every year. Clover is a legume which means it puts Nitrogen in your soil through the Nitrogen Fixation process.

8. Reduce water usage: Over watering does not allow plants to establish a root system they normally need to survive during dry conditions. Install cisterns or rain barrels to capture rain water for use later.

9. Reduce lawn size: How much lawn area do you really need? Â Install larger mulch beds and planting areas.

10.   Got Buffer? Plant buffers of native trees, shrubs, and gardens in the remaining yard that will soak up excess nutrients and prevent soil erosion. This helps manage runoff from impervious surfaces. Stormwater management is becoming a big problems in cities and is costing counties millions of dollars due to erosion.

11.  Plant perennials instead of annuals when possible.  Annuals require more wasted resources due to the extra water, transportation, and plastic flats (to name a few) needed in providing these plants to consumers annually.

12. Â Reduce Polluted Runoff – Use a Broom Instead of a Hose. Avoid watering your sidewalk and driveway. Watering your driveway and sidewalk is probably the biggest abuse to our drinking water. The ocean does begin at your front door.

If you have suggestions or want to add some links that are local to your area, please contact us here.

• 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.

As you can imagine, Scripps has some impressive equipment to collect data from the ice core samples taken from polar ice. This equipment is able to determine the atmospheric composition for the given year determined. Given what I assume is centrifugal force that forces the isotopes with more atomic mass to the outside, the atmospheric makeup for a specific year can be determined (e.g. oxygen and CO2) in parts per million. By studying the atmospheric makeup, the researches are able to chart the stability of our climate way before agriculture as we know it existed.

Based on the data charted and studied to date, our climate did not stabilize to a predictable certainty to support year-after-year farming until 10,000 years ago. What does this all mean and what is the point of this blog? Mr. Kirk Gardner, who gave me the tour, explained that the researchers shared their data with anthropologists to confirm that our transition from food gatherers to farmers did not all happen from advanced evolution of intelligence, but that the transition to agriculture happened because our climate allowed it. If our climate today was as unstable as it was 10,000 plus years ago, we could not, with some predictability, count on average temperatures, rainfall, and seasons to produce the crops, forests, and pastures to support continuous food sources in a non-nomadic civilization.

Will our climate experience the instability that it once did 10,000 years ago? Probably, but that could be tens of thousands of years from now. My point is not to predict the next instability in our climate, but to point out the importance of keeping track of these changes and do what we can to protect and sustain our environment by considering the impacts of our actions.