Using sound judgment to be more self-reliant.
We'll be hosting our next annual Common Sense Homestead Open House on Saturday, October 5, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. until 4 p.m. .
Our family will be giving tours of the home and grounds during this time. You're welcome to take a quick look or stay for a longer visit during the open house hours.
If you've wanted to see firsthand all the odds and ends I've talked about online, now's your chance. [Read more…] about Common Sense Homestead Open House – October 5, 2019 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Summertime may bring many wonderful things but the extreme heat is not one of them. For many, using air conditioning is not affordable nor available. Here are some tips for keeping your house cool in the summer heat, with or without AC. We use these techniques in steamy South Carolina to reduce our air conditioning bill. Scroll down to see 12 ways to keep house cool without AC.
Note: See the post “Heat Stroke – Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention” for more tips on staying safe in high temperatures.
[Read more…] about 12 Best Tips for Keeping Your House Cool without AC
Back when we were researching our “forever home”, we chose ICF construction for a number of reasons. It's tough, energy efficient and should last a lifetime with minimal upkeep. In this post, I'll discuss:
Let's get started! [Read more…] about ICF Construction – What You Need to Know About an ICF Home
We built our home to be a “lifetime” house, serving our changing needs throughout our lives. We planned to have the option of aging in place. From children, to injured family, to possibly multiple families or live in relatives, we tried to cover likely scenarios. In this post we'll present our Aging in Place Design Checklist, and then highlight how to apply this checklist to different areas of the home. [Read more…] about Aging in Place – Making Your Home Livable for a Lifetime
Masonry heaters store heat from wood, gas or electricity in brick, concrete, ceramics or stone, and releases the stored heat via radiant heat transfer over time. Our unit burns at over 1500°F, but the flue gases that go up the chimney are only around 300-350°F. That heat is absorbed by the thermal mass of the masonry stove, and then transferred to the house – not up the chimney.
This is an ancient heating technique used for thousands if not tens of thousands of years. Masonry heaters were used long before the Romans, with some underground and cave masonry heaters dating back well over 5000 years.
Masonry heaters include masonry stoves or masonry ovens and even the modern cousin the rocket mass heater. Larger masonry heaters can have benches or seats built into them. Some also include a baking oven or even a full cooking stove. We will focus on wood fired masonry heaters, but most of the concepts apply to other heat sources. [Read more…] about What You Need to Know About Masonry Heaters for Radiant Heat
