Wifey said, ".. you've been talking about it for a long time, so when are you going to do it?"
...and, on the way to work some guy bought an acre lot on the side of a hill and after living in a small trailer, he finally has a new roof, built himself, from foundation to the peak - small but pretty nice!

SIP construction - yeah a neat idea, but for a guy like me, most of the $ saving work is lost.
(SIP is foam between 2 panels of sheeting.)

If I wanted to super-insulate, 2x6 or 2x8 wall thickness, would I be losing /gaining anything to build a thick outside wall with offset studs filling the void with foam?

Eg., a 6" overall wall, made with 2x4 studs, on 16" centers, but the outside wall's studs would be offset from the inside wall studs.   Once the sheathing is installed, and the void is filled with foam, inside wall is sealed with plastic & drywall, I wonder if there would be a slight advantage of lower thermal transmission.   Would the wall be inherently stronger, than using 2x6 or 2x8 studs and all that closed cell foam as a stiffener?

Would 2x3"s work for this kind of double-wall?   If it would, I'd run 1" plastic conduit for data/telephone/internet, and home run a couple of 1" spares to each room from the basement.   All pipes & electrical would be "foamed in place", between the offset studs, effectively putting it all in the middle of the wall for the horizontal / vertical runs.

Why foam?  A friend of mine is on his 3rd remodel, and swears by the stuff.  Checking out the walls, and they are much more solid than fiberglass insulated, and QUIET.  He's been using open-cell foam for the walls.  My thought is to completely seal the walls with closed cell, and provide a filtered air-exchange - possibly solar powered with battery backup.   

Here's the question for SOLAR....  (resident expert?)

Working with a 120' well, on a farm with animals, occasional field irrigation into the pastures during drought...
So far, a 3/4hp submersible has been adequate, but we suffer power outages  - warm, clear sky, no breeze, and BAM!  power is out for 3 hours... just as I'm crawling into the shower, covered in sweat and grime.

I don't think I can put a storage tank in the attic, that's a lot of weight (8lbs per gal), and winter freezing would nix the idea.   My main use would be offloading the main pump, and let the solar pump fill stock tanks, pressure tank, maybe a small waterfall/fountain for the ducks.

Has anyone ever done a "dual pump" solution for a well?

120' overall depth, water column starts at 50-60 feet, the well casing is 6"

Would a 3/4 hp pump at the bottom 115 foot level, and adding a solar DC powered pump at 80-90 foot level, with it's own line and outlet work - or would the starting torque of the 3/4 hp tear up the other pump?  Does someone make a "kit" for this?   

(I have a 48vdc battery bank & a couple of 120vac 3kw inverters, but no 240vac inverter, but would prefer to drive the secondary pump via DC)

Any ideas / suggestions, are appreciated.

OK, the end result would be a 2 story with a full basement, about a 800 squ ft footprint (20x40), or a 30' round house, with passive solar and wood fireplace/oven combo.

Quote from: Hoofer on February 12, 2016, 10:26:54 AM
OK, the end result would be a 2 story with a full basement, about a 800 squ ft footprint (20x40), or a 30' round house, with passive solar and wood fireplace/oven combo.

I'll get back to you, OI have thngs to do. But here's food for thought.
9300 Surflo solar pump for an inground holding tank, (PVC Septic works).

"Rice straw bail" home, heats with a match, walls breathe, unlike foam where mold can be an issue in humid areas.

Quote from: Solar on February 12, 2016, 11:15:40 AM
I'll get back to you, OI have thngs to do. But here's food for thought.
9300 Surflo solar pump for an inground holding tank, (PVC Septic works).

"Rice straw bail" home, heats with a match, walls breathe, unlike foam where mold can be an issue in humid areas.

Understood!   insulation saturation shouldn't be an issue with closed cell though.

Quote from: Hoofer on February 12, 2016, 11:24:17 AM
Understood!   insulation saturation shouldn't be an issue with closed cell though.

I know of two examples of sealed homes, where the owners went above and beyond insulating, and both have to run AC heat pumps year round because the home simply can't breathe.
One came into my business one day with his wife, they both looked as they had just witnessed an execution.
I inquired as to why so depressed, they said every morning 5:00 am they would come to my gym, workout, shower and leave, get home after dark and repeat.
They too had a business that required their attention 7 days a week and that weekend decided after a year to take it off, when they awoke, the sun was up, and when they entered the hallway, they saw something that freaked them the Hell out, it was black mold all over the ceiling, going down the walls about 3', the living room was worse.
It wound up costing them several thousand after deductible for insurance. All the walls sheetrock had to be removed.

The other family caught theirs early, though theirs grew around the lower molding near the floor. Nothing bleach and a brush couldn't handle.
Point being, had they not been trying to save money on electricity, none of it would ever have occurred.

My neighbor built a rice straw bail home, rice straw doesn't mold.
Like me, in the summer, he turns on his whole house fan early in the morning, sucks in cold air that keeps his home around 72, and in the winter uses only a small camping propane heater and a fan to heat 1400 sq' home.
His walls are 3' thick, though it costs about 20% more in the long run to build, his energy savings are amazing.
I burn about 3 cords every winter.

As to solar well pumps, yes, you can have both in the well and since most solar pumps are low volume, you don't draw the static level down so it can usually be  few feet below the static line.
Though I do sell some that pump several gallons Per/min, but if you just need to fill a holding tank, a slow pump will suffice, about 1 1/2 gallon a minute.
That's how I do it, I have an Artesian spring in the canyon, solar pumps it to a 2500 gal tank 200' in elevation above the spring, about 1000' from the house, where it's tied into a whole house pump and runs off the inverter.

I built my own home by myself with a worm drive Skill saw and a cutoff saw and an rigging ax.
"IF" I had to do it again, I'd definitely go with rice straw bails, I hate having to cut and haul firewood every year.

Quote from: Solar on February 12, 2016, 12:27:35 PM
I know of two examples of sealed homes, where the owners went above and beyond insulating, and both have to run AC heat pumps year round because the home simply can't breathe.
One came into my business one day with his wife, they both looked as they had just witnessed an execution.
I inquired as to why so depressed, they said every morning 5:00 am they would come to my gym, workout, shower and leave, get home after dark and repeat.
They too had a business that required their attention 7 days a week and that weekend decided after a year to take it off, when they awoke, the sun was up, and when they entered the hallway, they saw something that freaked them the Hell out, it was black mold all over the ceiling, going down the walls about 3', the living room was worse.
It wound up costing them several thousand after deductible for insurance. All the walls sheetrock had to be removed.

The other family caught theirs early, though theirs grew around the lower molding near the floor. Nothing bleach and a brush couldn't handle.
Point being, had they not been trying to save money on electricity, none of it would ever have occurred.

My neighbor built a rice straw bail home, rice straw doesn't mold.
Like me, in the summer, he turns on his whole house fan early in the morning, sucks in cold air that keeps his home around 72, and in the winter uses only a small camping propane heater and a fan to heat 1400 sq' home.
His walls are 3' thick, though it costs about 20% more in the long run to build, his energy savings are amazing.
I burn about 3 cords every winter.

As to solar well pumps, yes, you can have both in the well and since most solar pumps are low volume, you don't draw the static level down so it can usually be  few feet below the static line.
Though I do sell some that pump several gallons Per/min, but if you just need to fill a holding tank, a slow pump will suffice, about 1 1/2 gallon a minute.
That's how I do it, I have an Artesian spring in the canyon, solar pumps it to a 2500 gal tank 200' in elevation above the spring, about 1000' from the house, where it's tied into a whole house pump and runs off the inverter.

I built my own home by myself with a worm drive Skill saw and a cutoff saw and an rigging ax.
"IF" I had to do it again, I'd definitely go with rice straw bails, I hate having to cut and haul firewood every year.

(note to myself - install a fart fan & wind up timer in the master bath)

Were the walls cool or where they using set back thermostats - house & walls get cool, heat comes on, walls collect moisture; house warms up, walls partially dry out, which makes them cooler, attracting more humidity, etc., mold starts....?    Were either of the two examples using air exchangers?

Dust, dirt, from the outside is what I was thinking - filtered air intake on the air exchange.

Are your plumbing lines buried to keep from freezing?   1000' - is that on the same elevation of the house, or above it?

I have no idea where / how / anything about Rice Straw.... gonna have to look that up

Quote from: Hoofer on February 12, 2016, 01:45:05 PM
(note to myself - install a fart fan & wind up timer in the master bath)

Were the walls cool or where they using set back thermostats - house & walls get cool, heat comes on, walls collect moisture; house warms up, walls partially dry out, which makes them cooler, attracting more humidity, etc., mold starts....?    Were either of the two examples using air exchangers?

Dust, dirt, from the outside is what I was thinking - filtered air intake on the air exchange.

Are your plumbing lines buried to keep from freezing?   1000' - is that on the same elevation of the house, or above it?

I have no idea where / how / anything about Rice Straw.... gonna have to look that up

No, that was the problem, neither were heating the house enough because it was so well insulated and sealed, it didn't get cold.
Even a whole house fan with a couple of windows cracked could prevent mold, but then, that defeats the purpose of sealing the house.

I wrapped mine in Tyvek then two layers of 60lb roofing felt. It still breathes, but with 1" plywood walls, and cement lap siding, it really cuts the outside noise out, not that there is all that much in the forest.
I use PEX tubing because it can freeze and generally doesn't split.
I can't bury it because it runs a cliff side mountain made of solid rock.

Quote from: Solar on February 12, 2016, 03:39:45 PM
No, that was the problem, neither were heating the house enough because it was so well insulated and sealed, it didn't get cold.
Even a whole house fan with a couple of windows cracked could prevent mold, but then, that defeats the purpose of sealing the house.

I wrapped mine in Tyvek then two layers of 60lb roofing felt. It still breathes, but with 1" plywood walls, and cement lap siding, it really cuts the outside noise out, not that there is all that much in the forest.
I use PEX tubing because it can freeze and generally doesn't split.
I can't bury it because it runs a cliff side mountain made of solid rock.

Ok, that DOES make perfect sense, there was zero air exchange.  The system I have in mind uses an exchanger to transfer the energy of the exhausted air over to the fresh intake air.  Some have semi-permeable membranes to allow moisture to migrate, others are just thin sheets of Aluminum, only the heat is transferred (and condensate runs out of a drain).  The idea is to preheat (or precool) incoming air with the exhaust air.  Prefiltering the incoming air also reduces crap from growing on on the exchanger plates - where there's dust/dirt, mold will grow.

We currently have a house with a BLACK shingles, and that attic gets HOT when it's sunny.  I've considered running piping the length of the attic to pick up the heat in the wintertime, preheat fresh air, and bring that in.  Just happen to have a bunch of 3" x 40' aluminum pipe, but need elbows.  I'd like to tie something like that into the gas furnace, just ahead of the filters for getting some good fresh air into the house.

For the dream shack, I'd like to do some kind of combination for cooling assistance, and space / domestic water heating.   Been dreaming and talking about this for decades...

Are you running micro-hydro, by chance?

Quote from: Hoofer on February 12, 2016, 05:35:17 PM
Ok, that DOES make perfect sense, there was zero air exchange.  The system I have in mind uses an exchanger to transfer the energy of the exhausted air over to the fresh intake air.  Some have semi-permeable membranes to allow moisture to migrate, others are just thin sheets of Aluminum, only the heat is transferred (and condensate runs out of a drain).  The idea is to preheat (or precool) incoming air with the exhaust air.  Prefiltering the incoming air also reduces crap from growing on on the exchanger plates - where there's dust/dirt, mold will grow.

We currently have a house with a BLACK shingles, and that attic gets HOT when it's sunny.  I've considered running piping the length of the attic to pick up the heat in the wintertime, preheat fresh air, and bring that in.  Just happen to have a bunch of 3" x 40' aluminum pipe, but need elbows.  I'd like to tie something like that into the gas furnace, just ahead of the filters for getting some good fresh air into the house.

For the dream shack, I'd like to do some kind of combination for cooling assistance, and space / domestic water heating.   Been dreaming and talking about this for decades...

Are you running micro-hydro, by chance?

Not yet, I just built the dam year before last, I want it to set 3 years before I fill it, but yes, I will be running hydro electricity.]
I've had plans to do it for nearly 30 damn years now and now it will finally happen. .

Quote from: Solar on February 12, 2016, 06:39:09 PM
Not yet, I just built the dam year before last, I want it to set 3 years before I fill it, but yes, I will be running hydro electricity.]
I've had plans to do it for nearly 30 damn years now and now it will finally happen. .

3 years...?  What is it, "Hoover 2"?

How many ft of head, what kind of flow rate, and have you picked out a generator?

Quote from: Hoofer on February 13, 2016, 12:40:21 PM
3 years...?  What is it, "Hoover 2"?

How many ft of head, what kind of flow rate, and have you picked out a generator?

It's 30' high, 20' static level to avoid breach, and will have a 30' drop over 500' of pipe to the turbine.
I'm looking at this one possibly.
Though we've been in a drought, I can only base it on past years of 20 gal/per min in summer and 100 times that in the winter when it will be used, summer tends to slow down considerably, because it's solely spring fed in the summer months.
It should be a 3 acre lake when full.

http://www.hs-dynamics.com/?p=6&a=view&r=4#.Vr6m5p4QNhE

Quote from: Solar on February 13, 2016, 12:57:51 PM

It's 30' high, 20' static level to avoid breach, and will have a 30' drop over 500' of pipe to the turbine.
I'm looking at this one possibly.
Though we've been in a drought, I can only base it on past years of 20 gal/per min in summer and 100 times that in the winter when it will be used, summer tends to slow down considerably, because it's solely spring fed in the summer months.
It should be a 3 acre lake when full.

http://www.hs-dynamics.com/?p=6&a=view&r=4#.Vr6m5p4QNhE

50' of head @ 20 gal/min is pretty awesome!  If it doesn't need to be continuous flow, I guess you wouldn't worry about the excess power.

I got a pond upstream but it's the actual headwater for the tiny stream in my back yard.  The best I could hope to do is 4-5' head @ 5 gal/min.   Maybe an 4' diameter / 18" wide undershot wheel...?  be luck to get 200 watts.... Yeah, pretty worthless.

Quote from: Hoofer on February 13, 2016, 03:37:24 PM
50' of head @ 20 gal/min is pretty awesome!  If it doesn't need to be continuous flow, I guess you wouldn't worry about the excess power.

I got a pond upstream but it's the actual headwater for the tiny stream in my back yard.  The best I could hope to do is 4-5' head @ 5 gal/min.   Maybe an 4' diameter / 18" wide undershot wheel...?  be luck to get 200 watts.... Yeah, pretty worthless.

Yeah, it would get us through the worst days of winter when we're lucky to get 3 hours of sun on the panels, assuming it's not cloudy.

Been thinking about the Rice Straw Bale idea, probably wouldn't be cost effective in Virginia.

As an alternate to foam filled walls, fiberglass would also work.  I'm looking for opinions on the alternate stud idea.  It probably would be quieter, and cheaper than 2x8 construction, possibly stronger.