Photo Sections:
Work in October 2011
14. Outside work:
Reflashed the kitchen roof. It was first done with alum nailed to roof and wall, with membrane ontop of roof part, cut back an inch for the vinyl siding track. The littlest flex in the membrane, instant leak, caulk etc, still, slightest movement would open a leak. Two layer of Ice and Water Shield, then tarred in place, not going to leak now.
Flashed in the gutter on the high roof, the one that kept flipping over in high winds. Hopefully the runoff won't keep wicking back against the house and missing the gutter entirely.
Hopefully the series of flashing and gutter fixes will reduce the water on the North side of the house, and we can clear up the algae growing on the siding.
Also a panaromic from the kitchen roof and end of the pond, before I cleaned it for the last time and refilled it.
Scope of Work
1. Inside Work:
Most of the inside work is for the new toilets and distribution for the GSHP.
Eco-friendliness is helped alot by being adaptable, flexible, and willing to work "outside the box". For starters the project has been nearly waste free. Then the very tight budget has mandated efficent material use and locally sourced (at least from local supply houses) materials and equipment. Which in some cases has cleared out old stock otherwise destined for the waste dump.
2. Outside work:
The real work is the GSHP ground loop, which will be a big hole, then not a big hole, no big deal.
However, I'm hoping to get two experimental ground loops in the job too.
The idea is to get some loop installed as part of other work. Work that is very low level, cheap to hire out, little to no heavy equipment. Get two for one, open the market for GSHP's.
One is for the pond. The pond is too small and too shallow, by the rules, but I know some of the rules are a bit extreme, like allowing for 4 to 6 feet of water drop in a drought. The incoming water is never over 50 degrees, and not under a gallon a min. Will it provide for the whole load, nope, will it help, think so. I also want to try covering it and insulating it, with a reflecting pool on top. Easier to clean, less of a drowning hazard, and at 50 degress, no one ever went swimming.
The garden. I plan to use some foam insulation under pavers I'll line the paths with, to stop all weeds, make a nice level surface for the pavers. I'm going to raise the beds to 16 inches. Everything gets dug up and reset, beds, aisles, to suit a new design / spacing. Between the insulation and higher beds I'm betting if I put some ground loop 18 inches under the paths, it'll do some good. Only one way to find out. At the least, I end up with a nice garden.
