What have you done today to lower your impact?

We are washing away the foundations of our existence on every front. It is high time we move from crashing about on the planet like a bull in china shop and find a way to go forward with intent. We must find systems of living based on sustainability. The systems and tools exist, it is up to each of us to adopt them.

Sunday 21 October 2012

At long last, the tile is going in on the bottom floor of the house. Most of it is sourced from local recycled sources or from flooring liquidators who sell on left over batches. Here we see the hearth tiles going in with the input hole cut to supply outdoor air to the woodstove. The roughly 1 ton of tile, mortar, grout and concrete backer board going in will add thermal mass to absorb heat coming up from below provided by the solar thermal system which will encompass domestic hot water and underfloor radiant heating. The added thermal mass will also help to moderate temps in the summer time reducing the need for AC. The posts visible here are locally harvested black locust and they provide support to the upper floor once supported by the walls that have been removed. Eventually the chimney will be cobbed and clay plastered with clay harvested onsite.