Sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
We ponder and question, how can we put more buildings on the land without adding to drainage problems, compaction, chemical pollution and excessive use of resources? More habitat is destroyed unless we can preserve or reestablish it when our home is completed. How do we touch more lightly on the earth? We have been careful throughout and still we grimace from time-to-time as we purchase some item we know to be environmentally risky, often necessitated by code. Or, when our heavy equipment compacts the earth because its rental coincided with the rain.
Our use of recycled lumber is huge (probably close to 90%), and other recycled materials have been used as well. Nevertheless, plywood and chipboard are needed for structural reasons, are not recycled, and contain nasty glues. The paint available on the island is not as environmentally friendly as we’d like but to drive to Seattle to purchase better paint results in more gas usage and means we’re not shopping locally. Trade offs! We frequently purchase used items – appliances, doors and windows, siding – in an attempt to reuse but the trips to the hardware store are still endless. We can burn through thousands of dollars so quickly it’s like using $5 bills for fire starter.
As we observe other building sites we do feel proud. Our waste pile is tiny compared with the typical construction project, with their piles and piles of unused materials that will be hauled to the dump. Our project has little construction waste. We use the recycled lumber down to the 6” scraps, which we then use for firewood or birdhouses. The buildings were designed on a 4x8 grid, so there is little cutting of plywood with the sheets going up whole. Leftover concrete is turned into garden pots. This past year we’ve been to the dump four times with 4 bags of waste each time. That’s it! All the crew’s bottles and cans are recycled. Bits and pieces of electrical are recycled. And, when it’s all over, the remaining scraps will turn into art or get mulched into the garden. Even our pulled nails sit in buckets of water so the iron-water can be used in the garden.
Still, are we sustainable? Well, yes, more than most building projects but probably not sustainable enough. With the codes and rules and regulations and dreams and desires and wants and needs we all have, it's not easy. At the present time there’s little in America that is sustainable, but there's movement by many to achieve it. Our project is far from the wasteful 5,000 sq. ft. home built directly from the lumber store. Our heating costs will be negligible and our footprint small. Our food production will be high; wildlife habitat will be restored; and the rainwater will be directed back into the aquifer. That's good.
Our friend Kurt is spending his year “Circling Home” see: http://insidepassages.blogspot.com/. Kingsolver wrote about her year of eating locally in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; and others are giving up their automobiles, air travel, beef, or large homes to do what they can for this suffering earth. We are hoping our experiment in living small and inside a town's borders will be a model of sustainability.
Our solar heat system has sensors to record the results so that others can benefit from our work. A home, similar to the one we’re building, could be adapted to modules to build more quickly and inexpensively, yet have style and livability and natural materials well beyond the typical modular home currently found on the market. We are learning and will continue to learn as we move through this home-building project. Living small in our new home will be our challenge and our adventure and our joy.
We ponder and question, how can we put more buildings on the land without adding to drainage problems, compaction, chemical pollution and excessive use of resources? More habitat is destroyed unless we can preserve or reestablish it when our home is completed. How do we touch more lightly on the earth? We have been careful throughout and still we grimace from time-to-time as we purchase some item we know to be environmentally risky, often necessitated by code. Or, when our heavy equipment compacts the earth because its rental coincided with the rain.
Our use of recycled lumber is huge (probably close to 90%), and other recycled materials have been used as well. Nevertheless, plywood and chipboard are needed for structural reasons, are not recycled, and contain nasty glues. The paint available on the island is not as environmentally friendly as we’d like but to drive to Seattle to purchase better paint results in more gas usage and means we’re not shopping locally. Trade offs! We frequently purchase used items – appliances, doors and windows, siding – in an attempt to reuse but the trips to the hardware store are still endless. We can burn through thousands of dollars so quickly it’s like using $5 bills for fire starter.
As we observe other building sites we do feel proud. Our waste pile is tiny compared with the typical construction project, with their piles and piles of unused materials that will be hauled to the dump. Our project has little construction waste. We use the recycled lumber down to the 6” scraps, which we then use for firewood or birdhouses. The buildings were designed on a 4x8 grid, so there is little cutting of plywood with the sheets going up whole. Leftover concrete is turned into garden pots. This past year we’ve been to the dump four times with 4 bags of waste each time. That’s it! All the crew’s bottles and cans are recycled. Bits and pieces of electrical are recycled. And, when it’s all over, the remaining scraps will turn into art or get mulched into the garden. Even our pulled nails sit in buckets of water so the iron-water can be used in the garden.
Still, are we sustainable? Well, yes, more than most building projects but probably not sustainable enough. With the codes and rules and regulations and dreams and desires and wants and needs we all have, it's not easy. At the present time there’s little in America that is sustainable, but there's movement by many to achieve it. Our project is far from the wasteful 5,000 sq. ft. home built directly from the lumber store. Our heating costs will be negligible and our footprint small. Our food production will be high; wildlife habitat will be restored; and the rainwater will be directed back into the aquifer. That's good.
Our friend Kurt is spending his year “Circling Home” see: http://insidepassages.blogspot.com/. Kingsolver wrote about her year of eating locally in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; and others are giving up their automobiles, air travel, beef, or large homes to do what they can for this suffering earth. We are hoping our experiment in living small and inside a town's borders will be a model of sustainability.
Our solar heat system has sensors to record the results so that others can benefit from our work. A home, similar to the one we’re building, could be adapted to modules to build more quickly and inexpensively, yet have style and livability and natural materials well beyond the typical modular home currently found on the market. We are learning and will continue to learn as we move through this home-building project. Living small in our new home will be our challenge and our adventure and our joy.
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