Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Primitive Technology: "John Plant"
I saw one of his videos awhile ago and was in awe....This is pure gold!
I built a hut with a tiled roof, underfloor heating and mud and stone walls. This has been my most ambitious primitive project yet and was motivated by the scarcity of permanent roofing materials in this location. Here, palm thatch decays quickly due to the humidity and insects. Having some experience in making pottery I wondered if roof tiles could feasibly be made to get around these problems. Another advantage of a tiled is that it is fire proof. A wood fired, underfloor heating system was installed for cold weather. A substantial wall of mud and stone were built under the finished roof. It should be obvious that this is not a survival shelter but a project used to develop primitive technological skills.
Time line: 102 days (21/5/15-30/8/15)
Chopping wood, carving mortises, putting up frame: 10 days (21/5/ 15 -31/5/15)
Using a celt stone axe I had made previously (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-34JfUrHY) I harvested the timber. 6 posts were put into the ground. The floor plan of the hut was a 2 X 2 m square. The 4 corner posts stood 1 m above the ground and buried 0.25m below ground. The 2 ridge posts were 2m above the ground and buried 0.25 m below ground. The ridge and wall beams were 2.5 m long. These had 2 mortises each at 0.5 m from the ends made using a mallet and stone chisel. These were then fire hardened to prevent the wood splitting. The top of the posts were carved into tennons for the mortises to fit onto. Rafters 1.75m long were lashed together and laid onto the frame and then lashed to it. Saplings for the tiles to sit on were harvested later as needed after each firing.
Building kiln and tile frames: 5 days (3/6/ 15- 8/6/15)
A simple kiln was built with a removable (replaceable) kiln floor or grate. The grate was a clay disc about 0.25m in diameter with 19 holes in it to let flames through it. A 0.25m wide, 0.25 deep trench was dug into a slope and a stone lintel was used to cover over it. Onto this the mud wall of the kiln was built. The inner diameter of the kiln was a bit wider than the grate (about 0.3m) and the height of the kiln was about 0.5m tall. The kiln wall was about 0.12m wide. A fire was then lit in the trench or firebox to dry the structure. Originally the fire box of the kiln had 2 stones with a broken tile resting on it as a sort of grate bar. Wood was fed over the bar while air entered under it. This caused the air to come up through the burning wood so that efficiency was increased. Later 2 rows of mud were put into the fire box and a few purpose made grate bars were put in place to make a permanent version of this. Having grate bars that raise the fuel bed off the ground so air goes up through it increases heat production and fuel efficiency several times. 20 tile frames were made. These were split strips of lawyer cane that were kinked and bent into rectangles. They were 25cm long and 15cm wide.
Rain delay: 36 days (9/6/15- 14/7/15)
In what would normally be the dry season we had over a month of unseasonal rain. Work completely stopped on the hut. Unfired tiles left in the open dissolved in the rain, large amounts of dry firewood were impossible to find and the wooden frame of the hut lay exposed to the elements with mould growing on it. It was during this time I built the wood shed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZajpkwDeEYg) to store fire wood and unfired tiles in preparation for the firings to come. Despite the weather I managed to make and fire 20 roof tiles as a test.
Tile making and firing: 28 days (14/7/15-11/8/15)
To make a batch of tiles, clay from the creek bank was dug, mixed with old crushed up pottery or broken tiles and made into 20 balls per batch. A flat stone was dusted with wood ash to stop the clay sticking to it. A lawyer cane tile mould was placed on this and the ball of clay pressed into it and flattened. The surface was dusted with ash and the tile flipped over. The other side then had a tab made into the upper end for it to fit onto the batten. The tile, still in its frame, was then set upright near a fire to dry or left to air if no fire was available. Meanwhile the tiles made two days earlier were place into the kiln 20 at a time (10 at the bottom and 10 at the top) and fired until those at the top glowed at least red hot. Each firing took about 4 hours with the kiln only needing periodic feeding of fire wood allowing me to make tiles for the firing 2 days in advance. The semi dry tiles from the day before were laid against the kiln to become bone dry (slightly damp tile would explode if fired). A typical day of tile making was divided into a morning and afternoon shift: The morning involved firing a batch of dry tiles while simultaneously making another batch and leaving it to dry. The afternoon shift involved mining, processing clay and collecting firewood. In total I made and fired 450 flat tiles and 15 curved ridge tiles. It took 25 firings with 20 tiles per firing (the 24th and 25th firing made up for breakages). A 26th firing was done for the roof capping tiles. The tiles above the firebox got the hottest glowing orange to yellow hot. Those near the top only glowed high red. Some days the wind blew into the kiln and raised the temperature to the point where the some tiles started to soften and sag with some minerals beginning to melt out of them. These tiles were like stone in hardness.
Stone footing for wall: 1 day (14/8/15) A stone footing was built around the hut for the mud wall to be built on. If a mud wall is built on stone footing its longevity in increased as it cannot wick up moisture from the ground. This only took a day.
Underfloor heating: 2 days (15/8/15- 16/8/15) A trench was dug into one side of the floor of the hut from front to back and covered with stone slabs. Gaps were sealed with mud and a fire was lit in the front end. The slight incline ensured that the smoke and flames travelled beneath the floor heating it. A short chimney was built at the back to increase the draft and the stones were covered in mud to form a level platform. The result was a slightly raised floor area that was heated from below. This is similar in principal to a Korean “Ondol”, Chinese “Kang” bed or Roman “Hypocaust”. Flames travel beneath the floor heating it and radiating heat straight up into the room.
Wall: (17/8/15- 30/8/15)
The wall was constructed of mud. Originally I was going to dig soil from around the hut to use for the wall but it became quickly apparent that the drain it would leave around the structure would be too large and lead to the structural instability of the hut. So instead I excavated a large pit in front of the kiln for soil. The mud was placed onto the stone footing so that the wall was about 0.25m thick. The first few layers were of mud alone but I started adding stones to the layers to cut down on the amount of mud needed. It took less effort to carry rocks than it did to dig soil and carry water to make the mud. Before building the wall the wooden structure swayed worryingly when pushed by hand. After the first few courses of mud wall however the posts were held rigidly in place forming a solid structure.
Summary
This was the most complex hut I’ve ever built because of the materials involved, the scale and planning and management of resources. The frame was an experiment in the use of mortise and tennon joints- the first time I’ve used them in a structure and it was justified, given the weight of the roofing material. Firing the tiles in small batches of 20 was inefficient in terms of fuel with one large firing being preferable to 26 small ones. If I were to do it again I might make the all the tiles first then stack them in a pile and cover them with mud- a clamp kiln. The advantage of firing the tiles in small batches was that they did not need to be stored before firing in a separate shelter but be made, fired and put in place on the roof as I went. The underfloor heating was an interesting experiment though here it would only be necessary during the coldest months of the year. It was easy to build and would make all the difference to comfort in cold locations. The mud wall was technically easy to build but required much more labour compared to a wattle and daub wall. The benefit of this though was the stabilising effect on the whole structure. The roof wobbled slightly before building the wall but after was held firmly in place. The finished structure is a little dark and needs to be lit using resin fuelled lamps. In future I may consider windows for better lighting. All in all it is a good, solid, fireproof structure that will not decay any time soon.
Time line: 102 days (21/5/15-30/8/15)
Chopping wood, carving mortises, putting up frame: 10 days (21/5/ 15 -31/5/15)
Using a celt stone axe I had made previously (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-34JfUrHY) I harvested the timber. 6 posts were put into the ground. The floor plan of the hut was a 2 X 2 m square. The 4 corner posts stood 1 m above the ground and buried 0.25m below ground. The 2 ridge posts were 2m above the ground and buried 0.25 m below ground. The ridge and wall beams were 2.5 m long. These had 2 mortises each at 0.5 m from the ends made using a mallet and stone chisel. These were then fire hardened to prevent the wood splitting. The top of the posts were carved into tennons for the mortises to fit onto. Rafters 1.75m long were lashed together and laid onto the frame and then lashed to it. Saplings for the tiles to sit on were harvested later as needed after each firing.
Building kiln and tile frames: 5 days (3/6/ 15- 8/6/15)
A simple kiln was built with a removable (replaceable) kiln floor or grate. The grate was a clay disc about 0.25m in diameter with 19 holes in it to let flames through it. A 0.25m wide, 0.25 deep trench was dug into a slope and a stone lintel was used to cover over it. Onto this the mud wall of the kiln was built. The inner diameter of the kiln was a bit wider than the grate (about 0.3m) and the height of the kiln was about 0.5m tall. The kiln wall was about 0.12m wide. A fire was then lit in the trench or firebox to dry the structure. Originally the fire box of the kiln had 2 stones with a broken tile resting on it as a sort of grate bar. Wood was fed over the bar while air entered under it. This caused the air to come up through the burning wood so that efficiency was increased. Later 2 rows of mud were put into the fire box and a few purpose made grate bars were put in place to make a permanent version of this. Having grate bars that raise the fuel bed off the ground so air goes up through it increases heat production and fuel efficiency several times. 20 tile frames were made. These were split strips of lawyer cane that were kinked and bent into rectangles. They were 25cm long and 15cm wide.
Rain delay: 36 days (9/6/15- 14/7/15)
In what would normally be the dry season we had over a month of unseasonal rain. Work completely stopped on the hut. Unfired tiles left in the open dissolved in the rain, large amounts of dry firewood were impossible to find and the wooden frame of the hut lay exposed to the elements with mould growing on it. It was during this time I built the wood shed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZajpkwDeEYg) to store fire wood and unfired tiles in preparation for the firings to come. Despite the weather I managed to make and fire 20 roof tiles as a test.
Tile making and firing: 28 days (14/7/15-11/8/15)
To make a batch of tiles, clay from the creek bank was dug, mixed with old crushed up pottery or broken tiles and made into 20 balls per batch. A flat stone was dusted with wood ash to stop the clay sticking to it. A lawyer cane tile mould was placed on this and the ball of clay pressed into it and flattened. The surface was dusted with ash and the tile flipped over. The other side then had a tab made into the upper end for it to fit onto the batten. The tile, still in its frame, was then set upright near a fire to dry or left to air if no fire was available. Meanwhile the tiles made two days earlier were place into the kiln 20 at a time (10 at the bottom and 10 at the top) and fired until those at the top glowed at least red hot. Each firing took about 4 hours with the kiln only needing periodic feeding of fire wood allowing me to make tiles for the firing 2 days in advance. The semi dry tiles from the day before were laid against the kiln to become bone dry (slightly damp tile would explode if fired). A typical day of tile making was divided into a morning and afternoon shift: The morning involved firing a batch of dry tiles while simultaneously making another batch and leaving it to dry. The afternoon shift involved mining, processing clay and collecting firewood. In total I made and fired 450 flat tiles and 15 curved ridge tiles. It took 25 firings with 20 tiles per firing (the 24th and 25th firing made up for breakages). A 26th firing was done for the roof capping tiles. The tiles above the firebox got the hottest glowing orange to yellow hot. Those near the top only glowed high red. Some days the wind blew into the kiln and raised the temperature to the point where the some tiles started to soften and sag with some minerals beginning to melt out of them. These tiles were like stone in hardness.
Stone footing for wall: 1 day (14/8/15) A stone footing was built around the hut for the mud wall to be built on. If a mud wall is built on stone footing its longevity in increased as it cannot wick up moisture from the ground. This only took a day.
Underfloor heating: 2 days (15/8/15- 16/8/15) A trench was dug into one side of the floor of the hut from front to back and covered with stone slabs. Gaps were sealed with mud and a fire was lit in the front end. The slight incline ensured that the smoke and flames travelled beneath the floor heating it. A short chimney was built at the back to increase the draft and the stones were covered in mud to form a level platform. The result was a slightly raised floor area that was heated from below. This is similar in principal to a Korean “Ondol”, Chinese “Kang” bed or Roman “Hypocaust”. Flames travel beneath the floor heating it and radiating heat straight up into the room.
Wall: (17/8/15- 30/8/15)
The wall was constructed of mud. Originally I was going to dig soil from around the hut to use for the wall but it became quickly apparent that the drain it would leave around the structure would be too large and lead to the structural instability of the hut. So instead I excavated a large pit in front of the kiln for soil. The mud was placed onto the stone footing so that the wall was about 0.25m thick. The first few layers were of mud alone but I started adding stones to the layers to cut down on the amount of mud needed. It took less effort to carry rocks than it did to dig soil and carry water to make the mud. Before building the wall the wooden structure swayed worryingly when pushed by hand. After the first few courses of mud wall however the posts were held rigidly in place forming a solid structure.
Summary
This was the most complex hut I’ve ever built because of the materials involved, the scale and planning and management of resources. The frame was an experiment in the use of mortise and tennon joints- the first time I’ve used them in a structure and it was justified, given the weight of the roofing material. Firing the tiles in small batches of 20 was inefficient in terms of fuel with one large firing being preferable to 26 small ones. If I were to do it again I might make the all the tiles first then stack them in a pile and cover them with mud- a clamp kiln. The advantage of firing the tiles in small batches was that they did not need to be stored before firing in a separate shelter but be made, fired and put in place on the roof as I went. The underfloor heating was an interesting experiment though here it would only be necessary during the coldest months of the year. It was easy to build and would make all the difference to comfort in cold locations. The mud wall was technically easy to build but required much more labour compared to a wattle and daub wall. The benefit of this though was the stabilising effect on the whole structure. The roof wobbled slightly before building the wall but after was held firmly in place. The finished structure is a little dark and needs to be lit using resin fuelled lamps. In future I may consider windows for better lighting. All in all it is a good, solid, fireproof structure that will not decay any time soon.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Rebuilding Exchange
About Rebuilding Exchange
The Rebuilding Exchange is a non-profit social enterprise (501c3) and our mission is to create a market for reclaimed building materials. We do this by diverting materials from landfills and making them accessible for reuse through our retail warehouse, by promoting sustainable deconstruction practices, by providing education and job training programs, and by creating innovative models for sustainable reuse.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Friday, January 15, 2016
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Introducing The Peddling Flaneur Experiment
Godsil + Jared + Muneer + Milwaukee + Artists + Youth + Farmers Market + Community Garden = P.F.E.
Currently embarking on Neighborhood Relationships in Washington Park with Muneer Bahauddeen, David Baucher & Company via the introduction from the wonderfully conscious Lightworker James Godsil. This dynamic group of visionaries is a testament to the Boomer/Millennial communal precedent that we are setting by bringing The Peddling Flaneur Experiment to fruition!
Muneer’s dreams are bigger than just his own personal space, and his
presence in the neighborhood is immediately apparent. His distinctive
ceramic tiles, and the tiles made by visitors to his workshop, can be
seen in Amaranth Bakery, on a bench at the community center, in parks,
and on wooden posts dotted around the community. Muneer explains that
the posts, which contain visions for the community written down by its
members and slipped behind handmade tiles, serve as a visual reminder of
its potential and the people who care about it.
The flâneur was, first of all, a literary type from 19th century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris. The word carried a set of rich associations: the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street.
David Baucher is the epitome of Building Resilience through Relationships and is is the area's neighborhood planner.
"The relationships that he is building in Washington Park are making his community stronger by creating the social capital that brings community residents together to focus on opportunities and work against the isolation that poverty in the neighborhood has caused. His relationship with Muneer Bahaudeen and Dan Bieser of Tabal Chocolate has helped to stabilize the area by encouraging artistic expression in the neighborhood and focusing on small business development on Lisbon Ave."
Express Yourself is across the street from Muneer's art studio/garden where the focus is on immersing young people in the arts, where they find a powerful tool for self-expression, uncover inner strength, & deepen connection.
I am looking forward to collaborating with Munner as we create Spiritual Batteries for the youth and community to hopefully invigorate and energize a robust, sustainable Washington Park environment. With these efforts, there is no doubt in my mind that we will showcase Milwaukee as the Holy City of the Sweet Water Seas.
 |
| Le Flaneur |
Currently embarking on Neighborhood Relationships in Washington Park with Muneer Bahauddeen, David Baucher & Company via the introduction from the wonderfully conscious Lightworker James Godsil. This dynamic group of visionaries is a testament to the Boomer/Millennial communal precedent that we are setting by bringing The Peddling Flaneur Experiment to fruition!
 |
| My Spiritual/Life Guide James Godsil |
 |
| Muneer Bahauddeen: Founder of Ogbe Meji Studios |
The flâneur was, first of all, a literary type from 19th century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris. The word carried a set of rich associations: the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street.
The crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes. His passion and his profession are to become one flesh with the crowd. For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite. To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world—impartial natures which the tongue can but clumsily define. The spectator is a prince who everywhere rejoices in his incognito. The lover of life makes the whole world his family, just like the lover of the fair sex who builds up his family from all the beautiful women that he has ever found, or that are or are not—to be found; or the lover of pictures who lives in a magical society of dreams painted on canvas. Thus the lover of universal life enters into the crowd as though it were an immense reservoir of electrical energy. Or we might liken him to a mirror as vast as the crowd itself; or to a kaleidoscope gifted with consciousness, responding to each one of its movements and reproducing the multiplicity of life and the flickering grace of all the elements of life.
—Charles Baudelaire, "The Painter of Modern Life", (New York: Da Capo Press, 1964). Orig. published in Le Figaro, in 1863.
"The relationships that he is building in Washington Park are making his community stronger by creating the social capital that brings community residents together to focus on opportunities and work against the isolation that poverty in the neighborhood has caused. His relationship with Muneer Bahaudeen and Dan Bieser of Tabal Chocolate has helped to stabilize the area by encouraging artistic expression in the neighborhood and focusing on small business development on Lisbon Ave."
I am looking forward to collaborating with Munner as we create Spiritual Batteries for the youth and community to hopefully invigorate and energize a robust, sustainable Washington Park environment. With these efforts, there is no doubt in my mind that we will showcase Milwaukee as the Holy City of the Sweet Water Seas.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Solution: Impossible City
A Youth-Built Homeless Village! Local teens team with designers and builders to create a moveable eco-village for Seattle's homeless.
Here is their Indiegogo Campaign
Here is their partner Sawhorse Revolution
Here is their Indiegogo Campaign
Here is their partner Sawhorse Revolution
Friday, February 13, 2015
Fourteen billion pounds of garbage, mostly plastic, is dumped into the ocean every year.
— Random Facts (@factsandtrivia) February 13, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Recycle Life Via Trees !
The first biodegradable urn designed to convert you into a tree after life....On Earth ;)
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Let's meet the Global Environmental Movement Founder!
RACHEL CARSON:
Rachel Carson & JFK were an Environmentalist Tag Team.
"Carson, one of the best marine biologists alive, feared the oceans would be poisoned beyond redemption in the coming decades, and that a point of no return was fast approaching. The thought of Kennedy in the White House--a new Roosevelt--lifted her hopes that aboveground nuclear testing would be banned. (Her dream came true in August 1963, when Kennedy signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.)"
Wonder why I never heard anything about this in school? #CoincidenceOrStaged? #Can'tStopThinkingAboutFukushima #HistoryHasBeenEntirelyFalseFlaggedPerTheFederalReserve/Elite/Illuminati
Rachel Carson & JFK were an Environmentalist Tag Team.
"Carson, one of the best marine biologists alive, feared the oceans would be poisoned beyond redemption in the coming decades, and that a point of no return was fast approaching. The thought of Kennedy in the White House--a new Roosevelt--lifted her hopes that aboveground nuclear testing would be banned. (Her dream came true in August 1963, when Kennedy signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.)"
"The Earth is in need of a good lawyer." - Polly Higgins
= the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.
Click image below to be directed to Polly's Ecocide Movement:
Her global initiative runs parallel with Bolivia's Law of Mother Earth:
Monday, October 28, 2013
Biggest Catastrophe Since Chernobyl...But listen to your local media...Everything's fine...If you believe in propaganda and lies!
The world Economy and Environment are waiting to explode...Thanks to humans.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/10/fukushima-is-here.html
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/10/fukushima-is-here.html
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