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Flurries on All Fronts

We experienced serious flurries today.

First, we had a flurry of $482 come in today – to almost meet our materials needs on the CEB addition – on the last day of November’s funding cycle.Second, we experienced a flurry of hits on our website – where hits increased 27% over last month, and counting.Third, we had the first snow. It’s time for CEB Plan B.


Snow stops not this show. But, the ground will be wet for some time, so we need to move on. We’re considering using the greenhouse itself to hang the roof, with one CEB wall serving as the second point of support for the trusses. We’ll cover the trusses with 3/4″ OSB, and call it a weather-tight space. From there, with 4 foot overhangs over the CEB walls, we should have the dry environment to fill in the second CEB supporting wall, and side walls.Challenges include reinforcing the back of the greenhouse to hold the roof. We’ll use anchors and tension wire to hold the greenhouse with the additional weight of the roof, plus further structural reinforcement.

Just another day in the life of Factor e Farm.

3 Comments

  1. Enrique Perez

    Could the Liberator eventually make hollow blocks? According to “The Myth and Promise of Dirt Cheap Housing” at:
    http://radio.weblogs.com/0119080/stories/2003/04/09/theMythAndPromiseOfDirtChe.html

    the Auram 3000 by the Aureka company, can produce an assortment of hollow blocks which improve upon adobe by increasing insulation value.

    It would be great if the liberator could do that as well, so that you wouldn’t need to add extra insulation to your buildings, even in cold climates.

  2. Reto

    Oh man, hope you can heat (also without oven). We need constantly wood because the temperature here in Switzerland is below zero degree (32 F) since a few weeks.

  3. Richard

    They have 3 different wood stove-heated buildings at Factor E, two of them are earth construction, so they are extremely warm. This greenhouse is also wood stove heated and the CEB extension is going to help with that heating, however no one sleeps there as of yet.