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This is a thermal image video of the 15 gallon water pre-heater that Jeff Bosch and Rodney Morgan and I installed on my rocket heater earlier this year. In the first month of operation it saved us about $100 on our electric bill by reducing the amount of work our on-demand electric water heater had to do to heat the shower and kitchen water. We designed it to NOT collect the heat too efficiently…

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We're doing a code and insurance approved CottageRocket Heater install this week for Rosi's WorkshopRocket (shown here) and its twin bell radiatator that she built herself back at our meetup in March. We'll be posting more pictures and video for our subscribers. "Mud Party" and "Family Therapy" level subscribers drop me a note for any particularly interesting bits you want filmed in detail. Info@unclemud.com

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This is a Tandoor Oven. We're building one this weekend only Uncle Mud's will be a Rocket Stove powered Tandoor Oven! I have no idea what this man is saying, but Javed says just watch and if I build it he will cook yummy things for me, so watch for the photos and video of our build this weekend. And if you are a "Mud Party" or "Family Therapy" subscriber join us for Tandoor chicken or drop me a note…

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In which we discuss refrigeration and water catchment and energy use. You should probably start at the beginning for more context. https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-and-of-22391088

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https://www.motherearthnewsfair.com/

Come see Uncle Mud in 2019 at a Mother Earth News Fair near you.
We have a whole stage dedicated to Natural Building, including Rocket Heaters, Straw Bale Buildings, Cob, Pizza Ovens, DIY Composting Toilets and more!

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You can visit it in Gothenburg, Nebraska (if it is open) or check out my video tour if you are an Uncle Mud Patron https://www.patreon.com/posts/22384870

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I have been a fan of this man's work for a long time. As part of his ministry to our returning veterans on the edge of homelessness he has developed a variant of the Earthship with some very exciting features including a materials cost of less than $6000. He has also helped his county write a variant of the New Mexico experimental building code that local officials are so excited about that he now…

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https://www.facebook.com/motherearthnewsmag/videos/10159699490935413/

We explain Rocket Mass Heaters at the Mother Earth News Fair in Topeka Kansas in 2017. With Pyrotechnic Props.

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In which we see the actual thing. You should probably start at the beginning for more context. https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-and-of-22391088

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I even tried to build one of these in my Illinois back yard when I was 10. "Little House on the Prairie" bored me to tears until On The Banks of Plum Creek when they actually lived in a house made of cut blocks of turf dug into the side of a hill. I never did forgive them for moving into a frame house, even though my "dug out" was small, dark and dirty like theirs. It felt snug. Even in the rain,…

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https://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/the-no-mortgage-natural-cottage-zm0z17amz

There are so many ways to DIY. I wrote this article in 2017 to share some of my favorite real-life no-mortgage stories.

Sam asks,

Does anyone have experience or advice on converting a smallbarn/garage into a tiny house?

I'm sure this is kind of stupid but they don't have foundations right? Is it even worth trying to convert one into livable conditions?

My mother in law is moving soon and had the idea of buying a property with a barn to convert into a tiny house for us so exact specs are not known yet.

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Sam,
Converting a barn to a house could be a can of worms--bad foundation, no foundation, rot, leaks, no square angles--all sorts of things can cause a barn conversion to cost more and take longer than just building a new building, but the right barn, one with good bones and character, can be well worth the…

The Bee Wall at Maryland University Arboretum Outreach Center

It has been two weeks of hard work and a little bit of frustration but our bee wall habitat is done. Our goal was to build a meandering wall on Maryland University Campus suitable for earth nesting solitary bees and other critters, and a protected bee box with openable viewing panels and a microphone for listening to bees attracted to our bee box.
The wall has layers of materials with red, brown and even a black layer containing top soil. The contrasting colors are to simulate the cut that a tiny stream might make in passing through a meadow.
Section 1: Tools of the trade
There are many…

I need to find out about any zoning or building issues I might have with building a 12x36 tiny house NOT on wheels in the M------ area.
--KFF

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The more time you take to research now, the easier things will be down the line. A lot of people's tiny or natural house ideas run into trouble when they go to get permission and it is best to eliminate hostile areas from your search before you invest in property. Zoning (size, placing of house) is generally done by city or township. Building code (materials, foundation, framing) is generally enforced by city or county. Zoning generally excludes manufactured housing less than 16' wide and less than a certain number of square feet in order to exclude the…

E.B. Writes:

My partner has a lot in North Seattle with a roughly 40 foot wide and 100 foot deep backyard where she hopes that we can build a 20 ft square, two story small home, and rent out the current home.
We have time and energy to do this, and cob looks great, IF it can work for us. We don't know yet about Seattle city planners opinion on this building style, or if we can use our local dirt as the main raw material.
I'd really like to connect with locals that are already building this way, and assist them to build something first.
Thanks,

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E.B.,

Please do your homework. Consider saving yourself a lot of headache by hiring a consultant who knows the local laws. A cob cottage…

Rene Suarez writes:

I'm building a cob oven in a temperate climate, and I'm trying to avoid unnecessary work. My resources suggest digging/laying the foundation below the frost line. That would be 4 feet deep here. Is this really necessary for a 4x4 oven?

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For those who are just joining us, in temperate climates the winter cold will penetrate into the ground, freezing the water in the soil. That wouldn't be such a big deal except the little oddity of water that when it freezes it expands. Its a very small amount of expansion, but "frost heave" is a very power force. It can push soil and cement pads and houses out of their place by up to a few inches. Since it does so unevenly along the length of say a 40' house, it…

Does anyone else have this problem? By day I'm a mild mannered mud builder. By night I battle wild computer viruses and tangled ethernet cords. In between is stuffed with playing with my kids, going for walks in the woods with my sweetie, and visiting wonderful Natural Builder friends. When am I supposed to squeeze in a blog? Apparently right now if you ask my publicist. Being my sister she knows how to nag me, so this might work. If you have ever read An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge this will look familiar. Not the hanging bit I mean the stream of consciousness bit. Because I've been having too much fun to blog for quite some time, I'm going to FLASHBACK to some of my previous adventures. Hang on. And you can always find me at info@unclemud.com unless I'm out playing in the mud.