The Summer of Prep continues..
This last weekend we finally finished painting the new Barn/Garage our builder completed in December. ( my buddy has a airless paint sprayer - I WILL NEVER paint without one again) and the Structural Insulated Panels for the Solar Inverter/Battery shed finally arrived and we put those up on the concrete pad.. everything worked as advertised. Total cost with shipping was $3600 for a 10' x6.5' structure with R42 Roof and Walls. The concrete pad was poured over 2 inches of Blueboard and should have an R value of 8-10. The panels just slipped right over the 2x6 Sills connected to J-bolts on the pad. You put a bead of expanding foam on the joints to ensure a good air gap, lift the panel up and cam lock it into place. If you are considering any type of construction, take a look at these - they are a bit more on the upfront costs, but the Higher R-Value and the ease with which they are erected saves time (and lots of money if you hire a construction crew)
You still need to buy some additional lumber to fill the "void" spaces in the panels - You attach the wood into the voids using Liquid Nails and screws ( the screw holes were even pre-drilled in the OSB) - of course, I didn't have enough liquid Nails last weekend to fill the top voids, so the Roof will get thrown on this weekend. I still need to buy a good insulated door, clad it in T111 siding, and put the shingles on. I estimate the total cost of the project ( concrete, rebar, forms, siding, doors, roof etc) will end up about $5k, which seems like a lot until you think about how much money I am throwing down on the gear going inside that needs to be a nice 60-70 Degrees. I did raise the door opening (precut into the panels) so I can pour a second insulated/ solar water heat radiative pad on the inside if I find additional heating/floor insulation is required. I am kinda hoping that the inverters will provide enough heat for the shed. The roof is set at such a high angle to allow me to mount a water panel directly on it if required. The Solar array will be ground mounted in-line with the shed running off to the right in the picture.
I ordered some
spiffy batten boards for laying out the piers for the solar array.. but they have been back ordered for over a month. I may have to do it the hard way and make some by hand.. ( the array area isn't flat and I need to be close to level and this makes that sort of adjustment pretty easy)
The dome in the Picture is the greenhouse from Growing Spaces. Still so much to do.. We are trying to build a "climate battery" within the dome by burying lots and lots of vented tubing in the ground, so I need to ditch witch the entire inside of the dome when I am ditching for the electrical for the Solar. ( Still working on the permitting for the solar... so I need that done before I dig stuff )
The Greenhouse obviously needs to be sheeted, vents installed, raised beds built, a large water tank fabricated from sheet metal, a separate tank for Fish excavated and insulated in the center of the dome, aquaponics bins fabricated, and electrical run and automation added for watering and monitoring. Then of course there are the Outdoor garden swails to be constructed ( with all of that top soil sitting above the dome) and a pretty retaining wall built with those piles of rocks (its need really needed by she who must be obeyed wants it to be pretty as well as functional) Its a lot, but I still hope to be done by the time those Aspens turn gold..
Then we can begin the experimentation phase and see just how much of our own food and power we can actually provide