Another Illinois 'stead

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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby mannytheseacow » Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:10 pm

I didn't get quite as far as I wanted, but I almost got her licked. Here it is:

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The sliding door is on and at high noon the eaves are pretty much blocking the direct sun. Open that sliding door and the front (south facing) window is totally blocked.

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And a view of the backside and water storage:
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I finagled a rough inside wall with a salvaged door and have the goat's feeding area/feed storage all set up:
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And here's where I'm at on the chicken palace side:
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So what's left? Well, quite a bit. I need a front door on the chicken palace. Last time I bought a door at the big box store they were like $70. I went down over the weekend and they quoted me over $200. I'm going to either wait to find another salvage one or build one to match the slider. I can build one for $70, but those pre-hungs are so much nicer.

Also still need a gutter on the front overhang. My friend is replacing his gutters soon so I'll have that covered once he does that and I can pick his old ones up.

Still need to wire the electricity too. For that I'm waiting for the Illinois solar incentive program to open up. It should be opening soon, and if they'll pay for 30% then it's worth the wait.

Last is some minor detailing. Moving the hen's laying boxes (once the door is on), caulking the windows, a little final leveling of the floor, adding some hooks, moving the feed in, etc. For the most part, I can say done.
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:30 pm

Job well done , well done indeed. :D
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby Lollykoko » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:33 am

It looks great! Have you checked the secondhand stores yet to see if they might have a door that will suit?
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:31 am

As a small suggestion , I attended a seminar in State College this year and one of the classes I attended was a guy that had built a straw building on his farm for summer interns to live in. The floor he put down in the building was gravel, then beer bottles soldered in, covered with a clay, cobb mix. He did this for insulation. The small Pennsylvania town that he was from provided all the bottles that he needed in one weekend. He was quite frankly embarrassed by that fact. :lol: Since you do not plan on putting any equipment into the chicken coop side of the building I was wondering if you think it would make sense to insulate the floor in that way. The clay finished up like smooth concrete, and made a nice smooth floor. It would make the floor easy to clean, and provide some insulation in the winter for the birds. Just a thought, warmer in winter, easy to clean out the coop. It may be a win win in my opinion. Like I said, just a suggestion. ;) It is easy to make suggestions when you do not have to do the work. :lol: :lol:
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby mannytheseacow » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:48 pm

Good thoughts, guys. Lolly, unfortunately we don't have any second hand stores by me. That concept hasn't hit my area yet, though it would be great if we did. I've been scouring craigslist, the dump, local dumpsters, and the lumberyard trash. I'll find something sooner or later.

Guy, that's a really good idea. Do you have any links to this method? I've never heard of it.
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:31 pm

I tried to find his farm on the net, but no luck. Here is a video about building a cobb oven and using the bottles for insulation, it shows how to lay the bottles in tightly, the idea is about the same. He used more clay and the finished product was more like a terra cotta look. He finished it very smooth and then used a sealer on the floor to harden it and help it to hold up better. It was almost like concrete when he was done. The farm was located just north of Brookville Pa, right above Rt 80. Sorry I could not find a link to his site.
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby matt walker » Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:34 pm

Jeez, I go away for a couple days and look what happens. Manny, that is awesome. I'm so totally jealous of the feeder! I need to do that, stat. Guy, I'm intrigued by the floor. That sounds like a fantastic idea.

Manny, how is the electronetting working out for you?
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby SilverFlame819 » Wed Aug 20, 2014 7:00 pm

That looks just like part of the old shed my great grandpa built that I turned into coops and a barn. :-) nice work!
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed Aug 20, 2014 7:38 pm

I would not use that floor design if I was going to run heavy equipment in it or use the building as a garage. I think the weight of the equipment might break the bottles. But for the chicken coop side where equipment is not an option because of the door and the size room I think it is a cheap way to finish the floor so you can shovel out the poop easily. If you were planning on covering the bottles with a thick layer of cobb, say 4" to 6" it maybe ok to run the equipment on the floor, but I definitely would not do it with a thin layer of cobb covering the bottles. I would be afraid of breaking the bottles and damaging the floor.
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Re: Another Illinois 'stead

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:17 pm

I had posted this video in our education thread, but it gives you the idea of using bottles for a floor. The fellow in Brookville used beer bottle laid on their side. He left them empty so there was dead air trapped inside for better insulation, but you get the idea. Just cover the bottles with clay, or cobb, or what ever you have that will harden like concrete.
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