I have never struggled with knowing the right thing to say. Quite the contrary, I believe I’d have been a wonderful speech writer or political strategist. Someone behind the curtain as it were. And that is because though I know what to say, how to spin something, I have terrible difficulty actually getting the words out of my mouth. I get much more credit for speaking plainly.
So. We moved into the new house this week. Three long, hard years of building and at last we’re in. This is where I should say that I am so grateful that all of our hard work has paid off and I absolutely love the new digs. Especially as compared to Mouse-House (named for the plentiful rodents that keep making their way indoors) where we’ve made due during the construction phase.
“I’m enjoying not only the fruits of our labour but the pioneering aspects of our new life, such as hauling wood and starting a fire in the morning to cut through the chilly air.” But that would remind me of the time a good fellow in Oregon told me that we would “fall in love with the healthy and abundant vegetarian fare served during the course of the weeklong workshop.” A special way of describing the pots of beige and of green mush served for every meal, all week long. I have (almost) never been so desperate for a steak or something- anything- that I could chew in my life.
The fact is- I am not happy, yet. I’m f*cking cold to be brutally honest. And I cannot stand to be cold. Many (many) years ago I spent a period of time on the streets, homeless. Not a lot of people know that about me and I don’t spend much time thinking about it, but I did make myself two promises all those years ago. That when I finally made my way out of that situation I would never go hungry or cold again. (I’ve since added I will never again live with rodents to the list.)
The rocket mass heater that worked so beautifully last year is completely useless at the moment. And it was our main source of heat for the living room, which borders our bedroom. It is brutal in there. My shoulders are sore by mid-morning from crunching them up to my ears. I’ve taken to warming bricks on the wood stove and packing them inside of rice sacks so that I can at least keep my feet warm in living room. But I hate it. Hate, hate, hate it.
Now I’m pretty rough and tumble as a general rule. I can work like nobody’s business, I’m fine with injuries, long hours, the sight of my blood has never bothered me- or slowed me down for that matter. I’m who you want around if there is a serious crisis, or if you’ve suffered a severe injury. Unless you’re looking for a nursemaid, or require coddling- then I’m definitely not your girl. But if it falls into the category of “hungry” or “cold” (and now “mouse-infested”) I am one of the most vocal, whiniest b*tches you ever want to meet.
I don’t know how many times a person can say, “I can’t live like this” in four days but I’m sure I’ve already hit a record and the day’s not done yet. This morning I actually said to Shane that, “I guess my new retirement plan is just to die young because I’m sure I’ll be completely crippled and useless by 50 at this rate.” It was a struggle to get the words out without my own mouth dropping open from the absurdity and overblown nature of the statement but I kept a straight face- because it’s important to me to look earnest when I’m in full-on whining mode.
You might wonder how Shane is holding up to all of this. Remarkably well, but he is the strongest person I have ever met- and I say that having very high standards of what rates. He has a higher tolerance for cold than I do, by a long shot. And he’s very easy going, so he’s sure that we will solve this problem. I’m probably wearing on him more quickly than any other hardship will. And if I’m being honest- I’m only partly bothered by that, because I need him to fix this and now. There’s not a lot that I need help with, or will admit to, but by the time I get to seeking Shane’s help it’s because I want it done yesterday.
It’s a lot of pressure to put on one guy. Before you send me comments, you should know that I’m aware of that. And I do- somewhat- feel badly about that. I have bursts of, “oh we can do this- we’ve handled tougher” and other sunshiney bullsh*t moments. And those are strictly for his benefit. So I’m trying as best as I can. There are some things that I’ve even enjoyed about the new house- and once I’m in better spirits I’ll share those with you. But in the meantime, I’m cold. (Well, not at this very moment because I’m back at Mouse House, with the heat cranked so high that I could easily walk around naked.)
So- not exactly a ringing endorsement for this pioneering lifestyle that we’ve embarked on. As I started with- I could tell a different, and still true, story that might make you want to join us on this quest for a more simple, environmentally friendly life. And I’m sure over time that I will. But it doesn’t happen to be what I’m feeling in this moment, so you’re left with the harsher side of reality for today.
Hope it all gets sorted out soon!
Just curious, what is wrong with the RMH?
A column of cold air pushing down through the pipe- no matter what we do (even closing it up overnight, preheating the pipe, etc) we just can’t beat it. Haven’t entirely figured out why we didn’t have this problem last year, or in the sauna…
I know it sounds crazy but open window as wide as the pipe area wise. It sounds like you have a back pressure problem (really dangerous if the fire is burning fully). If the house wasn’t fully sealed last year it would explain it working then and now not. I’m not an expert but I know this can be a problem with all wood burning. Good luck!
Just not entirely sure I understand, but basically if you start the fire it breaths back into the house because its not being sucked up (as a result of the cold air pushing down)?
Not sure this will be helpful, but maybe you can install a temporary fan at the exhaust to suck air up and help reverse or kick start the RMH.
Either way I hope it gets solved and you get warm again. My fiancee is very much like you and hates being cold and so I can imagine what it is like a bit!
We just got back from Banff and installed a fan in the pipe- it’s working like a charm, sounds like a rocket again and hot as heck! Going to take a while to warm the whole room but here’s hoping… 🙂
I feel for you. My house is cold and I hate being cold, and the cold in my house is nothing like the cold in your house. Being cold is the worst and makes me whiny too. The last two years I have walked on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim route that runs from France to Spain. In all honesty, I do love it but the only time of the year I can go is when it is rainy and cold. I spend half the time I am there thinking I am crazy and wishing I was at home. The other half of the time I am drinking wine. If there’s a third half, then that is the time I am happy and enjoying the time spent with my favourite fellow pilgrim, my mum. When I get home everyone wants to hear stories of my wonderful trip, but all I can think was, I WAS FREEZING!! As the months go by somehow the memory of the coldness recedes and I’m just left with thoughts of the good stuff that happened. But you have every right to be crabby, you have worked so hard to get where you are, and it isn’t what you hoped it would be…..yet. Hopefully this is just one of those times you will look back on and say, “oh yeah, remember when we spent part of that winter as frozen dirtbags?” Good luck! And remember, wine helps.
And I enjoy all of your blog entries, sunshiney or not.
Sarah in Cape Breton
yes whats up with the rmh?? i need to know ,eh?
Thanks for the support. I kind of felt perhaps I should post another- possibly more cheerful- day but thought, nope- this is where it’s at right now. 🙂
Cold sucks …. I think if hell existed it would be cold and damp. Any ideas how you’re going to solve the issues? Add some kind of insulation? Maybe Straw bales to the outside, Giant mirrors to reflect heat from the sun. Snow can act as an insulator aswell, I’m sure you have a ton of that lying around lol. Keep up the good fight.
No idea yet- possibly install a woodstove in the living room if we can’t figure something else out.
Woodstoves throw a marvelous heat.
My daughter HATES to be cold – and she always is unless I have a fire on in the wood cookstove. But now she has a little heated blankie on her bed which keeps her warm all night long. Hehehe. My ‘always cold’ Granddaughter has a heated mattress pad that has worked wonders for her chronic night-time leg aches.
Good luck!
P.S. maybe Shane should get up first and make a fire – then you can get up when it’s warm inside. lol
He does get up before me- but he takes his heat with him so I’m quick to follow. 🙂
Hey,
nice to see you back online with thawed out fingers.
Relationship issues.. LOL .. I am the very last one to comment !! did I say last, dead last, 3 marriages last… LOL
Rocket stove worked last year;
did you take it apart?
Is the riser still 3-4 inches from the top or did it fall?
did the riser burn out?
did a mouse or something build a next in the pipes, thus not allowing the draw to work properly?
Living conditions in the past, so we have more in common than you might think!!!
Best wishes for now, best wishes for Xmas, may the Goddess Bless you both (I think I got that one right for you?)
Best wishes for getting warm, soon!
Well, more ‘heat’ issues than relationship ones. Though I’m sure my whining can grate on a guy after a while. Luckily he seems to like me pretty good. 🙂
umm… nest not next… LOL
Hey Brandee. I’m totally in awe of your brutal honesty. I don’t know much about environmentally-friendly living, I’m so shamefully urbanized and am too lazy to even think of a different lifestyle. But I know honesty when I encounter it, it is refreshing, so refreshing I find it really hard to feel sorry for the physical hardships that come with living in the conditions you find yourself in at the moment.
I can tolerate cold, much better than my wife Megan whose cold tolerance seems to be pretty much like yours, she hates being cold with a passion, sorry about that.
One thing though, I have a sense that when all this is done, when all this is past, there will be no prouder woman than you. I know some people might not like the mood of your post, but I’m blown away by the honesty and simplicity of the writing. Stay strong and keep smiling. By the way, if it wasn’t for my gender and the distance between us, I’d marry Shane many times over, lol. Pass him my regards.
Thanks Sydney! You’re always such a wonderful support!:)
Hey, I’ll take brutal honesty over blowing sunshine up my @ss any day! Congrats on moving in to your new digs—I’m sorry it hasn’t been the best experience yet, but I’m sure that’s coming (and hopefully, soon, for your sake!). I swear, I’m not going to complain about the cold here since you have to deal with so much worse, I know—on the upside, I bet your new place is pretty well draft-free, huh? Seriously, though, you guys are an inspiration for me and my husband; we can’t wait to get a piece of land and get started on our dome now that you’ve proved it’s possible to build your own place in this godforsaken north country. : )
Definitely draft-free, and that’s no doubt one of the ‘problems’. But draft-free means mouse-free, and I’m liking that aspect. 🙂
I look forward to hearing about your own building!
Crap deal with the rmh! Cold is awful. Temps are brutal in Alberta right now. Does that have something to do with it? Don’t think it was this cold last year. Wood stove might be the best bet.
I appreciate your honesty. My husband and I have been planning our earthbag dream for a while, but still have a few years to go before we can get some land. In the meantime I have been devouring as much info as possible about sustainable living, but – surprise! – there is a lot of “fluff” out there. It wouldn’t do any good to deter people from this lifestyle, after all! I am not saying that is what you are doing, on the contrary. I feel it is extremely important to paint the whole picture here. Yes, there are all of these wonderful things about building a sustainable home…but….it is also really hard work, and you compromise so much, and it can be EFFFING COLD. Ha. Thanks for your great blog. Hang in there.
Oh gosh- there is a TON of fluff out there. It drives me nuts sometimes. I’d rather a person be straight with me so that I know what to expect- and possibly avoid some of the headaches. It has been wicked cold, but we put a fan in the pipe just a little while ago and it’s pulling beautifully now. I’m hesitant to jinx our luck by saying that the problem is fully fixed but right now it’s burning amazingly well again and throwing quite a lot of heat. But I picked up a really good base layer and a couple of hoodies this weekend just in case. 🙂
I didnt know which way you guys would go on this, Its been like a suspense novel for me…waiting for the truth to come out or be covered up (re: RMH).Though I harboured the suspision you would come clean……Thanks for that. I will dig up yours or shanes email and send you a private message on what you need to solve your heating problem. Good news is its fixable…..-34 here I am barefoot, in a T shirt and as warm as can be heating with wood, you can be too.
Thank you! We were in Banff over the weekend and I did a little online research- sounds like the stove to go with if we need to go that route. Just installed a fan in the pipe and it’s pulling again now so it is working- fingers crossed it keeps on and we don’t have to tear it out, but I will keep that stove in mind just in case!
Looks like I have lost shanes email (to many computer crashes), so I will send a message this way, just delete it after, Anyway, Head straight up to fireplace world on stonyplain rd. Edmonton. A great honest bunch there. You want to buy the Blazeking Princess Model with bimetal thermostat control,cat, and bypass door. No other model. it must have those three features. (king model would be ok, but with those three features)This will solve your problems….I know who am I to say? Well, I can only say I have extensive experience heating with wood in many structures, with everytype of stove you can imagine.This is the only! product that will leave you grinning ear to ear the first time you use it. I think I might have some pics of it at analogmanca.wordpress.com/ Cant rememberfor sure but I think there is info on it there under wood stove or some such page, You can send me a message to my email if you want more info and I can give you further advice on how to mod it for even better performance.This stove is unbelievable!!
I should add this is the only stove you will use one match to light in oct, and you will never have to light it again all winter,The cat will burn up all the smoke extracting every last BTU.You can go weeks before emptying the ashes…the entire load will burn at whatever temp you set it to, no starting off hot and then getting cold, imagine the stove burning at the temp you set it to for up to 20hrs..I am not exagerating….I am into my 14th year with this stove….Please consider this stove, there is nohing else like it . You will be grinning ear to ear after using this stove, I am not exagerating. If you buy this stove I would be more than happy to help you use it for heating your domestic hot water as I do…..wood stoves are not =, this stands above all others…
Ditto Lisa, I hope you get the stove figured out soon! Be sure to post what happens.
Hi,
i admire what you guys are doing, and hats off to both of you, and everyone helped you to get where you are today.
i have started reading your posts 3 years a go,, and you guys have achieved a lot in terms of establishing a successful self sustained system that is almost priceless, considering the state of the new world we live in today!
i have been researching building with earth for a while now and came across some interesting ideas that can make winter a little more interesting 🙂
im not sure if you are using a wood burning stove like the dover stove but having one of those can solve a huge problem in winter.
try make use of the hot air rising from your stove and fireplace chimneys by trapping the hot air and channeling it to colder areas using good conducting metal pipes.
donkey boilers are excellent for heating water.
you can also heat your floor by running hot water pipes under your floor and feed them from the donkey boiler.
experimenting with geothermal and passive solar heating can yield good results too.
i wish you the best of luck
You guys are the best! Thank you for all of the support and helpful ideas. A positive update- Shane installed a fan in the pipe tonight and it is working. Roaring away right now! Fingers crossed this isn’t an ongoing problem and we have the issue solved! 🙂
That is good news…I couldnt imagine suffering through this cold..I did look on Kijiji and a used one was for sale down south, I think it was Lethbridge, but really the number one dealer for these is in Edmonton, and its well worth the trip just to see the show room, stock, and talk to the guys….I know your getting by now but should you decide to get one ( I really hope you do) my offer to help you heat your water with it is solid, Before the snow came I had almost finished welding up 3 stainless tanks that I am building for some niebourse(40 gallon) to heat thier hot water with,If you guys decide to buy one of the stoves, I will gladly donate one of these tanks to the cause. You can then have the certainty of heat and hot water! Shane would just have to weld on 2 1 inch NPT stainless fittings, as that was all I had to left to finish on them before the snow came,then you can heat your water with wood all winter, and with solar (as a dump load) in the summer as I do…Keep it in mind..I can drop one off at that store for you so you can pick it up with your stove….Your also welcome to pick it up at my place but that would be more driving for you…(No I dont work at the store or sell fireplaces, only recomend good products)
Going to try emailing you- let me know if it comes through.
I nice honest post 🙂 Merry Christmas to you all.
And to you! 🙂
Thank you for the report on the thermal performance. Having lived in Wainwright for twenty years I completely understand the harshness of the winter climate there … which is why I’m building with cob in Texas now(!). But I’m desperately wanting to see your project succeed so I can justify a return and build something where you are.
Congratulations on the move in. Sorry to hear about the discomfort though. But you folks are resilient and will sort through the problem. It sounds like some good suggestions have been made already. And it is really difficult to get things exactly right the first time. Right now you have an awesome three season house and it might just need a few tweaks to support extreme cold.
I’m certain you have already seen these but just in case…
http://journal.goingslowly.com/2012/08/switching-to-strawbale-part-one
http://journal.goingslowly.com/2012/08/switching-to-strawbale-part-two
http://www.small-scale.net/yearofmud/2011/03/03/cob-building-is-not-appropriate-for-this-cold-climate/
They relate to cob construction but basically they indicate that some kind of ‘outsulation’ is needed in cold climates.
You were planning to add some berms on the north, east, and west sides. Are the berms in place yet? I’m very interested in how they have impacted performance. Right now I’m reading ‘Earth Shelter Technology’. In it they have a map of locations of known earth sheltered residences. At the time of printing in 1987 Minnesota by a huge margin had the most earth sheltered homes. Since Alberta’s climate is similar earth sheltering should be a good approach. I lived in a basement suite for four years and those were the most comfortable winters and summers I ever had in Alberta. The earthship books likely have more up to date information regarding berming and solar gain.
Greg mentioned straw bale ‘outsulation’. This could be beneficial for the remaining areas above the berms.
I’ll continue to follow your project with great interest…
We did berm the northside of the buildings and that seems to have helped quite a bit. There are still some “gaps” where we need to remove some construction material and fill it in with earth and we’ll get to that later next year. Now that we have heat we’ll be able to better gauge how effectively the berm works on it’s own. Shane has mentioned possibly insulating the berm and I guess we’ll have a better idea of how necessary that is come spring. In the meantime, the temperature of the walls below the berm (which is most of the structure) is definitely better than the exposed (north) wall, higher up.