Let's Build a House #4, Well Water

So, one of our learnings from this little adventure was about site selection. We have a beautiful view of the White Mountains and a nice wooded lot, but we ended up drilling 800 feet, mostly through granite, before we hit water in our well.

That translated into a much bigger expense than expected. Because the well is so deep, we needed a 30 stage pump to push the water up to the house. Because of the size of the pump and distance to the bottom of the well, the wiring was large gage and heavy. And to add insult to injury (financial), we had to buy 800 feet of 1" galvanized pipe to support the weight of the pump, wire and pipe.

Even then, we had a slow make up rate, but the good news was that the static level of the water came up to about 40 feet below grade so the well actually stored about 1100 gallons of water when full.

A few years later, a company came in to pressurize the well to pop/force open some cracks in the rock to let more water in. They added dry ice and capped the well tight. As the dry ice melted, the pressure quickly rose and did in fact blow open some more cracks and increase the flow of water into the well. A very interesting and effective way to improve well performance.

Let's Build a House #3, Framing with Timbers

The entire house has exposed beams in the walls. One large section of the house was completely framed using the hand-hewed timbers. In fact, The timbers were knotched out to fit together. Here is a picture of us standing on 4 layers of staging so we can put the peak up for the roof.

Because of the strength of the timbers, we were able to go we a very open design for the house. It is a tri-level and you can see from the first level right through open beams to the second level. The second and third levels of the house a basically hanging off of the beams.

The first level has a kitchen, dining area and family room with large picture window.

The second level which was entirely framed with the beams is a living room with fireplace, a full bath and a sleeping loft. The second level ceiling is exposed beams which span over sixteen feet and are the real structural support for the roof.

The third level has 3 full bedrooms, a 4th smaller bedroom with bunk beds and a full bath. Also, there is a full basement under the second level for utilities and storage.

Falling Waters by Frank Lloyd Wright

My family took a trip to Western Pennsylvania to visit Falling Waters. It is an amazing structure made of just 3 building materials - steel, glass, and concrete. It is literally built over the top of Bear Brook stream right where the stream goes over a waterfall and it is sitting on solid rock. The structure is 3 stories high and has adjacent servant quarters. this first picture looking at the main two floors from the upstream side.

This house has very little storage space and small bedrooms. The original owners wanted a place to get away to the solitude and beauty of the woods with total emersion in the environment. Almost the entire first floor is an open area with glass on 3 sides. There are balconies hanging out into space everywhere. Steps from the main living area lead directly down to the stream for bathing.

Behind this rather pleasant family portrait is a view of the house where it sits over the waterfall. If you're into architecture or construction methods...this is must see.

Therimage Labels - ink without the label

In it's day, this was the most popular way to label a plastic bottle and these labels are still very much around.

So picture this... a layer of wax is coated onto paper. Then the label graphics are printed onto the wax, upside down and backwards. Finally, a layer of clear heat senstive adhesive is printed on top of everything and the "labels" are made into rolls.

To apply the "label" to the bottles, the paper side of the roll passes over a heated platen which softens the wax and activates the adhesive. When the plastic bottle is rolled over the heated label, the adhesive sticks and the wax actually splits. You are left with the label image on the bottle (rightside up and forwards) with a layer of wax over the graphics.

You can still find many household products with this type of label. Look for a label with no paper or plastic label material and look for the faint edge of the wax around the outside of the graphics. Check out plastic bottles in your home - cosmetics, personal hygene, household cleaners, etc.

Just a little slice of technology you can find in your own home.