pcooley’s Recent Comments

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  A weighty issue.

  My understading is that the weight of the roof is the main proplem.  I have been thinking about putting in a green roof on our house for a long time, but the information I've found insists that you have to know that your house is engineered to hold the additional weight of weight soil, which can weigh an astonishing amount.  (Is it clear I don't have the numbers here at my fingertips).  I haven't found out how to judge the strength of the roof without hiring someone, and there doesn't seem to be anybody in town who is an expert in green roofs.

  I want to make it a weekend project, but it seems to involve a lot more planning that that.On Umbra on green roofs posted 3 years, 11 months ago 4 Responses

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  The Humanure Handbook

  The Humanure Handbook, by Joseph Jenkins is worth looking into.  He makes it available free on his website (http://www.jenkinspublishing.com).  I started reading the free pdf, but soon bought a copy to add to our book collection.  It is well researched, and he makes a good case that thermophilic composting is the safest way to deal with human waste.

  We've been using his sawdust toilet for about a month now, and we are very happy with it.  It cost about fifty bucks for two new buckets, and a toilet seat lid.  I built the enclosure out of some plywood a friend had around the garage.  Thus, it was much cheaper than any of the commercial alternatives that we were looking into.

  I reviewed the book on my blog, http://carfreefamily.blogspot.com.  Just look for the entry titled "Interesting Shit"On Umbra on composting toilets, again posted 3 years, 11 months ago 7 Responses