The layout.....
I thought maybe I'd dig into my archive of illustrations I created while working out some concepts to try out when we get to that point.  |
| Smaller gravel drains water down to the ground. The vapor barrier keeps out moisture. Insulation keeps the heat from the sun-baked sand and brick from losing heat to the earth. Sand, brick and grout act as thermal masses, absorbing sunlight in winter, and when shaded in summer help to wick heat out of the room. |
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| As roof water enters the top pipe, it fills the bucket and traps heavier particles in the bottom, eventually spilling over into the lower pipe. Additionally, a filter-cage can fit over the lower pipe to prevent floating debris from entering the water tank. |
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| Another way to keep particulated , both floating and heavier, is to let the water flow through a J pipe before entering the storage tanks. By floating the pipe so water only enters from the middle of the tank, any floating debris or sinking debris that might get through the J tube will more likely be stopped in the first tank |
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| Once the rainwater is gathered, a sustainable way to filter it is to build a tank and fill it with sand, gravel and charcoal.The top of this tank is kept wet by positioning the output pipe at a point level with the filtered-water storage tank's water level. This keeps the filtered tank full of water, so a film of microorganisms can live on that thin layer at the surface of the sand filter, where the microbiome can help clean up the water. The input pipe feeds the filter tank through tiny holes so the water just trickles in, not harming the microorganisms. Diverting rainwater to this filter is only necessary for drinking and cooking water. Again, positioning the intake pipe in the middle of the tank prevents heavy and floating debris from entering the filter tank, extending the life of the filter Below is how we laid out our raised bed garden this year. I'd raked up a couple hundred pounds of leaves from the yard at the house we're renting and cleaned out the goat stalls and used them for the base to build up the garden beds, then added topsoil and then mulched with straw.  How it looks now...  |
These are plans I intend to submit to the county health department.
Basic house design
Heat transfer to improve stable air temperatures
