Inspector Gadjet

Whether it be a small crack in a wall or a gap between a splash back and the kitchen tiles, gap fillers and silicone products offer a wide variety of uses. There are so many products on the shelves today it's hard to know which one is right for the specific job you have in mind. Harvey Katz Hardware Store Which one should I use? I have probably tried them all at some time or other and they aren't all as durable as a small number of them claim to be. It is good practice to read the label for any specific materials you may be trying to bond to and if you don't see them written there, then look for a product with instructions including the materials you want to bond together. Preparation A good thing to do before even thinking of applying anything is to give the surface a clean with metholated spirits. This helps ensure a good bond with the product and your surface. I always keep a spray bottle half full of metho with my tools in the car  just in case. If usi...

I attended the Earthship Biotecture academy in 2014, below are some pictures of that amazing time Stop sign at the entrance to the Greater World Community (Earthship headquarters). A view of the Rio grande from the bridge on the way to Taos The desert skies never failed to amaze Tarantula's!!! Me learning first hand about the grey water planter construction The wonderful worm box processing all the black water direct from the kitchen sink... no smell whatsoever. Mike agreed to look over my plans ... Me meeting with Mike in his "office" REACH community Americans have this idea that all we drink down under is Fosters! I haven't seen a can of Fosters since the 90's but couldn't resist posing for a shot when we discovered a couple of dozen empty cans in an abandoned Eathship build at STAR. This Eathship was carved out ...

It is April 2015 and I am here again to get the roof on, I have one week and some help so if the weather is kind to us we might just make it. Tassie oak decking covering the rafters as we left it back in Dec 2014 The Decking has survived the rain but the tarps we nailed on look to have blown away a long time ago (did I mention the winds we get here?) and the rear of the earthship is waterlogged but we are here to fix all that so let's get stuck in! With me is Noel who helped me start the project way back in 2013, you may remember him from  Earthship journal  Part I  ,also joining us are Erik and Lisa and our friend Amy, all from the build last November, Brad and laura will also help out in between their own building project across the water..  75mm polystyrene with 20mm therma advantage on top to cover the gap between battens After cutting out the holes where the skylights will go, we started to lay our insulation, Did I mention the wind? it was...

In conclusion I am very happy with the building and budget. Below are the total costs so far for the Earthship at this stage for those who are thinking of building their own this information would be very helpful. Dirt for tyres and backfill 200 tonnes: $2000 Finings (for making cob)    36 tonnes: $1500 Gravel (for drainage)           12 tonnes: $500   Rain water tank(13500L) fittings/pipe : $3000 Insulation (75mm &20mm)for roof, floor and thermal wrap : $5000 Builders plastic (drainage and vapour barrier) : $400 Straw for making cob : $30 Cooling tubes (150mm stainless steel)   : $900 Timber (framing and roof decking)        :  $2400 Re-purposed doors and windows (internal greenhouse wall) : $200 Misc building materials (screws/nails etc) : $1000 Re-purposed doors and windows  :$190 Tyres  :FREE Labour  : FREE TOTAL $17.120 In the last year I have also added to the list: Roof ...

Click here to see Part I , Part II , Part III , Part IV The last couple of days of the workshop were spent trying (and succeeding) in getting the greenhouse timber frame finished, we also happened to get an old cast iron bath installed and about half of the bottle wall for the bathroom done. Thank you to everyone who gave their time and energy to this project, without people, no Earthship! I will let the pictures speak for themselves... Next phase of the project... the roof... 

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