Home Sweet Home

Step by Step

1 Slate must be laid on a firm base that will support it. Timber floors present a problem in that timber and particle (chip) board expand during humid periods, and shrink during drier times. Timber floors can be prepared in several ways. Care should be taken with all the procedures however, bearing in mind that timber or particle (chip) board is not the best base material for slate.

2 A number of slate suppliers have specially developed membrane systems available for the installation of slate on a timber floor. The one used here is the hessian and bitumen method and will provide the necessary `slip’ joint between the rigid tiles and the timber. (more…)

Before phoning the plumber consider the following — you can’t take the mountain to Mohammed, so Mohammed will be charging a call-out fee to come and look at the mountain, after which he will charge you a bit more to fix the mountain. After 5 minutes you may realize that the mountain was in actual fact a very insignificant little molehill, easily taken care of yourself, if only you’d known.

The molehill could take on various forms: a leaking tap, a blocked toilet or a blocked drain, all of which you will be able to fix if you follow our detailed instructions. But there are a number of mountains best left to the plumber. These will include a burst water pipe (possibly caused by over-eager digging in the garden), a water pipe that accidentally connected with a power tool near the bathroom or kitchen (caused by over-eager drilling) or an old geyser that is on the blink. (more…)

Bathroom

Why is cleaning the bathroom always the worst? The stains are the pits — once they are there they stay, so don’t let them. Use these concoctions to get rid of them, clean regularly and keep the stains away.

Toilet bowl

Most old toilet bowls have stubborn stains that, regardless of how may litres of bleach you’ve poured in there, still remain. With a gas mask securely tied over your mouth and nose and industrial strength gloves on your hands, mix 5 cups of bicarbonate of soda with 1 cup of caustic soda. Sprinkle the mixture in the bowl and leave for half an hour. Give it a quick scrub with the toilet brush (you DO own a toilet brush, right?) and flush. (more…)

Before coming to New Mexico, Peter had been deeply involved in the prewar Decentralist movement and wrote extensively on a variety of related subjects, including the small-scale biotechnic theory, which advocates the redistribution of population into smaller, more humane, and more efficient communities.

He dropped out of architectural school because he felt that what was being taught was not relevant to the urgent problems of the near future. (He doesn’t think the situation has changed much in the last forty-seven years.) He lived for several years aboard his ketch, and then during his first homesteading venture on the borders of the Everglades in southern Florida he fabricated and erected solar water heaters. (more…)

Diatomaceous earth filters

Diatomaceous earth filters have three advantages over sand filters: They are less expensive to install, they take up less space, and they are more modest in their backwashing demands.

This type of filter strains the water through diatomaceous earth, or D.E., a sedimentary rock composed of microscopic fossil skeletons of a small water animal, the diatom. The skeletons have a highly porous lattice structure of silica which makes them almost inert to any chemical action. The D.E. rock is mined and then crushed, washed, sized, and packed as a white, flourlike powder. The coarser sizes are more adaptable to swimming pool filtration; the particular grade best suited to your equipment will be recommended by the manufacturer. (more…)

Heating a pool is not mandatory, but even in very mild climates pool heaters are on the increase. They can extend the swimming season from early spring to late fall, or even the year around.

Swimmers generally find water below 70° chilly. Some prefer their swimming water about 75′; most like a comfortable 80° to 84°. But even in the warmest areas, water in unheated pools frequently drops below 70°, even when air temperatures are well above this.

Recently pool heaters have been produced which are “stackless” (presenting a low silhouette and a neater appearance) and have AGA (American Gas Association) all-weather ratings for total outdoor installation. This eliminates the need of a shelter. (more…)

“The more you know, the less you need.” Old Australian Aborigine proverb

Animals, birds, and insects respond to a far greater range of natural stimuli than do people. Dolphins, whales, birds, butterflies, and many other creatures can all detect electromagnetic energy and use this “supersense” to navigate and guide them in their migratory routes. Beyond our visible spectrum, insects use ultraviolet to see food-bearing plants and snakes use infrared to detect their prey. Although our sensory awareness is not as acute as this, our own senses were once far sharper.

Our move indoors, out of the wild and into cities, coupled with the effects of pollution, have dulled our senses, as well as altered the emphasis we place on them. In a world beset with noise, unpleasant air, and bad smells, amid the dominance of visual information, TV, and advertising, we have come to rely heavily on sight and have pushed into the background sensory input from our ears or nose (let alone the subtler messages of electromagnetism to which we may also be sensitive). These “sensory blind spots” have had their effect on our homes. (more…)

Equally as important as the quality of our water is the quantity we consume. Most of us have become accustomed to using a lot of water everyday and take it for granted that supplies are limitless (or at least put to the back of our minds the fact that they are not). This attitude is particularly in evidence in North America where an average family of four can use on average up to 1000 litres (220 gallons) a day - between two and four times average consumption for a family in Europe.

Water leaks

Before water even reaches your home, huge amounts are often lost through old and corroded underground distribution pipes. This waste can be as high as 40 or 50 per cent of valuable, processed drinking water. On top of this, an additional 5 to 10 per cent can be lost through leaks in the home, mostly from faulty toilet cistern valves and worn tap washers - a steadily dripping tap can lose 90 litres (20 gallons) per day. Hot-water leaks increase your energy costs, too. As a first priority, run a regular check on all your tap washers and cistern valves. You can also fit a check valve to the incoming main water supply. This valve shuts off the flow if a predetermined rate is exceeded by either a sudden or slow, steady loss. (more…)

Hot humid

Shade the house as much as possible with a high canopy of deciduous trees planted nearby. You can increase air movement by facing the house into cool prevailing winds and siting it high up slopes. In the same way as this Malay house, elevate the structure and make rooms and verandahs open to the wind. Light-toned walls and roof help.

Hot arid

Have most shade in the late morning and all afternoon and allow trees to overhang the roof Site the house to catch the summer winds and moisten the air with water and vegetation. With hot/cold extremes — day and night, summer and winter — a courtyard house of heavy materials to store heat and protect against the cold is ideal. Use light colours. (more…)

After the shock of the oil crisis, there was a surge of activity from governments and industry in the fields of conservation and the use of alternative energy sources. But the recent oil glut and the fall in oil prices have lulled many back into the old belief that cheap energy is here to stay.

At present, three-quarters of world energy consumption comes from nonrenewable “hard- energy” sources - a third of this amount is oil, a quarter coal, and the rest from natural gas. The other quarter of world usage is supplied by amixture of nuclear power, hydropower, and biomass. In developing countries, however, there is heavy dependence on biomass, and the burning of fuelwood and animal dung is resulting in serious environmental destruction. (more…)