Helpful Websites for Green Living from BA

Below are a couple of helpful websites that we used on our project so far.

I have also tiled the kitchen and living room floor, and re-tiled the shower floor.
I will add those pics next week. I added a door sweep to the front door that installs over the bottom of the door to keep water out, as well as one on the front of the door at the bottom. We have been getting sideways rain coming in. The 500 BTU window a/c unit is not very useful, go for the bigger one. We will be using it in the shed for the dogs.
I also installed gutters and a barrel on each of the two sheds to catch rain water.



Septic System
http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Small-Septic-System
This is a great idea, as long as it is acceptable to the county and you can install your own.



Wind Turbine
http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/


- BA

Lost and Found in Cow Town

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This is a new resident that I found on the way from Fort Worth to the Land. Some Jack*** left them in the median on highway 35. I had to rescue them, then we got attached. This one's name is Khaleesi from Game of Thrones.

This one we named Katniss from The Hunger Games. My wife loves both of the sets of novels.

These dogs are going to be huge. We were worried they would not get along with Xena, she is good with them.  - BA

New Photos of the inside living area

This is a current view of the living area facing the double doors. We put up 3/4 plywood on the doors to insulate the room, and hung thermal curtains. Instead of purchasing a shelf I liked from IKEA, I make one out of left over wood. 

This is the view of the front door which is solid wood. I recommend  having at least two people to move this. I purchased this at Habitat Restore for about $40.

This is our fridge and appliance set up until we add the other boxes. They are sitting on an IKEA Varde stand I purchased in their close-out area. The fridge I bought online from an auction site. - BA

BA's Plumbing Update

This is the Pressure Tank and water heater I purchased from Sears outlet online. They were new in box at a heck of a deal. The pump is on the left from Harbor Freight at $119 minus the 20% off coupon. TIP: purchase the insider track club membership from Harbor Freight, it will save you tons of money. I purchased a 2000 watt inverter for $89.

Above is the cistern from Tanks for Less on the left. On the right is the shower I need to finish. If you have any suggestions for the ceiling, let us know.We love your feedback. I had to purchase sand to place under the cistern to level it.

Until last week, I did not know how to plumb a house. With the aid from neighbors, great ones at that, I was able to connect our new 2500 gallon cistern to a Harbor Freight 1 HP pump, a 38 gallon pressure tank, and a 20 gallon water heater. Unfortunately I listened to the Home Depot person first, which cost me a day of work, and more money than I needed to spend. When my neighbors came to help, I took back all of the PEX and Sharkbite fittings to Home Depot and purchased regular 1 inch schedule 40 PVC and all the attachments at 1/4 of the cost of the other stuff. Don't waste your time on the expensive stuff. Also, when buying plumbing materials, buy extra. It will save you from making 3 trips to Ace hardware, and 3 trips to Home Depot like I did.  Of course there were some minor dripping at places that was easy to fix. There is a place where the cold water line to the house, from the cistern is leaking. I am blaming that on Blanco Electric and Plumbing since they are the ones who decided to install mobile home tubing instead of PVC for the house. Now, I am having them come back out to fix the leak. It it hard to go from that type of tubing to PVC. I purchased the cistern for $884 plus $70 shipping from Tanks for Less out of Austin Texas. Great company. They also had the 2 inch to 3/4 inch connector that I needed that Home Depot did not have. I was also able to wire the water heater up after trial and error, and a smart neighbor. Next, I plan on building a shed to protect all of these things from reclaimed wood from the concrete blocks we had built. I was able to take a real shower last week. It was awesome. There is a lot of little things that I have to do inside and out. Make it easy on yourself and keep a running list. Mine keeps getting bigger and bigger. Next we have to install a window and a skylight in the bathroom, make a way to open the double doors and attach the wood to them, build a tire wall to house one side of the septic system, install a real toilet, finish some tile on the shower, do something with the bathroom ceiling and closet, attach some more trim boards, paint the ceiling, and tile the kitchen back-splash. Whooo! I am going to be busy. All this and working full time and going to grad school for a teacher's certification. They do say that once you have a house, the work is never done. - BA