I haven't had a chance to write very much this year. With this terrible economy we have had for the past couple of years we have had to fight hard for every nickel. Then to add insult to injury I have had four minor strokes this year, if you can ever call a stroke minor. So My son John, who has been basically running things for a number of years now anyway, is carrying on with the businesses, and I am really going to take life easy. However, writing, film making, and inventing stuff is still fun for me so I will continue to do that.
It's no secret that I grew up very poor, and worked in the mills. That fact should explain my never ending concern for the poor and disadvantaged. I want to talk a bit about the business of micro homes, and micro apartments because the subject really ties into poverty. I knew when I saw the micro home trend coming back over the past few years that the micro home revival was going to be a bumpy road to travel for many reasons. It's mostly the laws in each city and town that are jamming up the works. Smaller homes mean smaller tax evaluations, and most cities and towns never met a dollar they didn't want to wrap their arms around. I sometimes wonder if these politicians ever even realize that they are actually white collar criminals with the deals they are pulling in their daily activities wasting our tax money. Because of all this corruption we are going to continue to have major economic problems in our cities and towns, and things are going to worsen to the point where these cities and towns start folding one after another. I have predicted this before in my writings over the years. We are starting to see it now. You cannot spend more money than you take in, and you cannot tax the people to death trying to pay for your excesses. Over spending has been the downfall of every empire in recorded history. Eventually the taxpayers will rise up and solve the problem one way or the other, and their solutions have not always been kind in other countries, take France for an example, and I would hate to see that. So where do you come into all this? Well you just don't want to be living in one of those cities, or towns when the food, the fuel, and the Beer runs out, and the rioting starts. It's going to be be worse than amateur night in Rwanda! When, not if this happens is the time to have a fall back position. For instance, A remote micro home that is self sustaining, far from the city, the rioters and the looters is not too shabby of an idea. If you think I'm being extreme just go back and check history in similar cases. You can start with the middle east recently. Anyway, all I'm saying is that hard times are coming, and living is going to become even more expensive and you must start taking even more defensive measures. Smaller homes are less expensive to build, to heat, and to pay taxes on. What's wrong with thinking about that? You have to protect yourself and your family these days because the politicians are behaving like they are determined to trash the lower and middle class Americans, and nobody votes anymore so they are getting away with it. We have money to fight wars and give away to everyone except war veterans and needy Americans. Don't kid yourself, both parties have given away the store! I already know that at age 78 I have already seen the best years of America, and they are far behind me. What a country we used to be. It's all downhill from here and the public sits idly by and doesn't even pay attention, how sad is that.
Showing posts with label micro homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label micro homes. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
Micro Home Precut Frame Kits, Elevations and Floor Plans from Walt Barrett
Please click on the images to enlarge
This micro home has 4 feet of head room in the sleeping loft and there is room for two people to easily sleep there. You can easily sit in a chair in the loft. The entrance hatch is large enough to allow small bureau's etc. to fit through it for clothing storage and small personal items. Kits are available with full ceiling height second floors. We will consider any design suggested.
A to Z Global Marketing Inc. Is now offering shipments world wide for its pre-engineered, precut micro home framing kits. Custom sizes are also offered. We are currently designing an 8' x 12 ' unit for a project for the homeless. Kits will be coded for ease of assembly. Precut kits are the best because they save scrap loss, and also because all of the saw cuts including all of the difficult angle cuts have been made. The smaller home kits can be shipped on a single pallet. Micro homes, and micro apartments are a very large part of the answer to providing homes for people who otherwise could never own a home. The kits come with a full forty-five page plan set which includes a complete bill of materials required to complete the home. The plans also include drawings for either slab, pier, crawl or full foundation. Longer, and wider, one or two story kits are available on request. All plans are professionally drawn by a CAD building expert.
All kits sold in the USA are made in the USA.
Persons interested should contact Walt Barrett President wbarrett1@aol.com
All material copyright 2010 Walt Barrett.
Some interior views
How to build a micro home by Walt Barrett
Some interior views
How to build a micro home by Walt Barrett
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Smaller Homes and Population Shifts Are Inevitable For Americans by Walt Barrett
There is no question in my mind that in the near future many Americans will be forced to move into smaller homes. This is going to happen despite the fact that energy prices have come down slightly and we are experiencing temporary relief. Many of us in the northern climates will also be relocating to the warmer climates. The energy prices are going to go up again and will continue to rise every year. This is going to make it virtually impossible for the lower income and retired Americans to stay in the colder climates. Let's take a typical retired couple with a paid up mortgage and a combine retirement income of $1500.00 a month. There are many in this bracket in our area of New England. Let's say that they burn 1000 gallons of heating oil in a year. The way oil prices have been the past year this can amount to anywhere from $2, 000.00 to $4,000.00 a year. If you then add that to their property and fire tax bill, that takes the yearly total up to $10,000.00. Now if their pensions only come to $15,000.00 a year, that only leaves them $5000.00 to pay their income taxes, state and federal, buy groceries, pay doctors bills, drive their automobile, and all the other little incidentals in life.
Now if some of you are gasping in disbelief over the above figures, believe it, because New England is loaded with people in that income bracket and even lower incomes, ands it getting worse! Furthermore, many of the cities and towns in our area are grossly mismanaged and are taxing everything in site. So where are we going with this scenario? It's simple, the poor and the elderly that are lucky enough to own a home that they used to be able to afford are going to have to sell it, or lose it. So I predict that there will be a lot of selling home in the north and moving south where you can at least starve to death without freezing to death first. The crime rates will go up dramatically too.
The folks with the pensions will leave first because they have that "portable income" so to speak, and hopefully the cash from the sale of their home they were forced to sell up north. I see this happening with some of my friends already. Now if they play it smart, this is their chance to start over right. By right, I mean that they can take their seed money and build a small energy efficient home. Air conditioning is a major expense in the south, but if you have 25% of the cubic feet than a larger house, and it is well insulated and designed you can cut the air-conditioning costs by 75% easily. If you have Light Emitting Diode light bulbs, they run cold for one thing, and they also save 95% of your lighting bill. Solar hot water heating in the south will save at least 80%. The same goes for your refrigerator and other appliance. Stoves, Dryers and back up water heaters should be gas. Hanging up clothes never killed anyone either, and saves a lot of energy. So what I am really saying is that if you want to survive financially in the future one of the best ways to do it is to start lining a greener life style, if you will. There is no better time than right now for you to start investigating the alternate life styles that will enable you to survive than the present. Be sure to find a town with low taxes that hasn't been taken over by the "Empire Builders" that bring with them the higher taxes caused by bloated town payrolls with their bloated pension and medical plans that the locals are expected to support. The chickens will be coming home to roost on these guys soon now! We are going to talk a lot more about all of this in the future.
Walt
Now if some of you are gasping in disbelief over the above figures, believe it, because New England is loaded with people in that income bracket and even lower incomes, ands it getting worse! Furthermore, many of the cities and towns in our area are grossly mismanaged and are taxing everything in site. So where are we going with this scenario? It's simple, the poor and the elderly that are lucky enough to own a home that they used to be able to afford are going to have to sell it, or lose it. So I predict that there will be a lot of selling home in the north and moving south where you can at least starve to death without freezing to death first. The crime rates will go up dramatically too.
The folks with the pensions will leave first because they have that "portable income" so to speak, and hopefully the cash from the sale of their home they were forced to sell up north. I see this happening with some of my friends already. Now if they play it smart, this is their chance to start over right. By right, I mean that they can take their seed money and build a small energy efficient home. Air conditioning is a major expense in the south, but if you have 25% of the cubic feet than a larger house, and it is well insulated and designed you can cut the air-conditioning costs by 75% easily. If you have Light Emitting Diode light bulbs, they run cold for one thing, and they also save 95% of your lighting bill. Solar hot water heating in the south will save at least 80%. The same goes for your refrigerator and other appliance. Stoves, Dryers and back up water heaters should be gas. Hanging up clothes never killed anyone either, and saves a lot of energy. So what I am really saying is that if you want to survive financially in the future one of the best ways to do it is to start lining a greener life style, if you will. There is no better time than right now for you to start investigating the alternate life styles that will enable you to survive than the present. Be sure to find a town with low taxes that hasn't been taken over by the "Empire Builders" that bring with them the higher taxes caused by bloated town payrolls with their bloated pension and medical plans that the locals are expected to support. The chickens will be coming home to roost on these guys soon now! We are going to talk a lot more about all of this in the future.
Walt
Monday, February 02, 2009
A to Z Global Marketing is selling Micro Homes, and LED Lighting systems by Walt Barrett
We are now offering LED lighting products for both solar powered and grid powered lighting systems. LED Bulbs are available in 12 volt DC or 120 volt AC versions. We offer 12 volt powered inverters to convert 12 Volts DC to 120 volts A/C so that an off the grid home can power a TV, Computer, and cell phone easily. We can provide complete systems for micro homes, summer cabins, and other off the grid buildings. These smaller systems are very inexpensive compared to the systems required to power the larger energy wasting residences.
We are also seeing clients interested in our micro homes.
Anyone interested in discussing these homes or systems and the various options and costs should contact wbarrett1@aol.com .
Thanks,
Walt
We are also seeing clients interested in our micro homes.
Anyone interested in discussing these homes or systems and the various options and costs should contact wbarrett1@aol.com .
Thanks,
Walt
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Energy Saving Product Profits To Go To Micro and Autonamous Home R & D and Production. by Walt Barrett
We are announcing today that 100% of the profits from all of our energy saving products and micro home plans will be invested in our Micro and Autonomous Home project with the goal of providing low cost energy, free affordable homes. Here is a little more background, and explanation of our on going project below.
An autonomous home is an energy free home that takes care of you instead of you taking care of it. It powered by solar, wind, or hydro depending on the circumstances.
The light emitting diode (LED) light bulb and Solar Power Systems
One of the most important spin off products as a result of our autonomous micro home research project is the light emitting diode lighting system. These light bulbs are available in 12 volt DC, 120 Volts A/C to 240 volts A/C. The latest models have an energy savings in equivalent light for a 100 watt reading lamp of 96%. This has huge implications to the power industry and to people living "off the power grid." These LED bulbs will drastically reduce the number of solar power modules required on any autonomous home, thus lowering the cost. Now, let's take a look at the general population. Suppose we take 100 million homes and put just one LED 100 watt equivalent bulb in each household. This LED bulb actually draws4 watts of power from the grid to equal 100 watts in Light or lumins. That is a savings of 96%.That is 96 watts X 100 million homes, or 9600 million watts from only one light bulb per home!Imagine if it was twenty of these LED bulbs per home. That is 20 X 9600 million watts. The savings in money and energy are incredible. Now let's just imagine that our 100 million homes have just enough solar electric modules to provide the lighting only. The cost of producing just a few hundred watts a day per residence is less than $1000.00 per home just for lighting.The system consists of one solar electric module with charging regulator, two solar storage batteries, a 120 volt inverter if you use 120 volt bulbs, and there is enough back up powering the batteries to charge a cell phone, and run a computer or TV for reasonable amounts of time. Just imagine, all that from a 100 to 150 watt solar electric module Producing about 1 KW per day average. Now, it is common knowledge that our company, A to Z Global Marketing, AKA http://www.chinadepot.com/, A 100% American owned company has already invested thousands of dollars in autonomous micro home research with the intention of mass producing micro and medium size homes at the lowest possible prices ever. This is possible by using the latest material science research and advanced mass production technology. Our main goals are:
1. To provide the lowest comparable affordable housing costs in history.
2. To save huge amounts of energy.
3. To provide employment locally by building regionalized assembly plants.
4. To be the greenest business possible.With these goals in mind, we are announcing today that 100% or all the profits derived from the sale of LED solar lighting systems, and our solar water pumping and power systems will allocated to our Micro and autonomous solar home project. Our goal is to get into mass production as soon as possible. We will also allocate 100% of the profits from the sale of micro home plans into the micro home R&D and assembly plant program. These homes will vary in size from 128 square feet to 700 square feet.We sincerely hope that our loyal readers will pass this information along to as many people as possible. We need to turn things around in this economy and to help as many of our fellow Americans find employment and housing as soon possible.
Please pass this blog information to your friends as we only have a fraction of the people who can benefit from the information on these blogs. There are micro home details and photos on this blog. We are now offering detailed construction plans for sale.
Walt Barrett President
A to Z global Marketing Inc.
http://www.chinadepot.com/ A 100% owned American Corporation
An autonomous home is an energy free home that takes care of you instead of you taking care of it. It powered by solar, wind, or hydro depending on the circumstances.
The light emitting diode (LED) light bulb and Solar Power Systems
One of the most important spin off products as a result of our autonomous micro home research project is the light emitting diode lighting system. These light bulbs are available in 12 volt DC, 120 Volts A/C to 240 volts A/C. The latest models have an energy savings in equivalent light for a 100 watt reading lamp of 96%. This has huge implications to the power industry and to people living "off the power grid." These LED bulbs will drastically reduce the number of solar power modules required on any autonomous home, thus lowering the cost. Now, let's take a look at the general population. Suppose we take 100 million homes and put just one LED 100 watt equivalent bulb in each household. This LED bulb actually draws4 watts of power from the grid to equal 100 watts in Light or lumins. That is a savings of 96%.That is 96 watts X 100 million homes, or 9600 million watts from only one light bulb per home!Imagine if it was twenty of these LED bulbs per home. That is 20 X 9600 million watts. The savings in money and energy are incredible. Now let's just imagine that our 100 million homes have just enough solar electric modules to provide the lighting only. The cost of producing just a few hundred watts a day per residence is less than $1000.00 per home just for lighting.The system consists of one solar electric module with charging regulator, two solar storage batteries, a 120 volt inverter if you use 120 volt bulbs, and there is enough back up powering the batteries to charge a cell phone, and run a computer or TV for reasonable amounts of time. Just imagine, all that from a 100 to 150 watt solar electric module Producing about 1 KW per day average. Now, it is common knowledge that our company, A to Z Global Marketing, AKA http://www.chinadepot.com/, A 100% American owned company has already invested thousands of dollars in autonomous micro home research with the intention of mass producing micro and medium size homes at the lowest possible prices ever. This is possible by using the latest material science research and advanced mass production technology. Our main goals are:
1. To provide the lowest comparable affordable housing costs in history.
2. To save huge amounts of energy.
3. To provide employment locally by building regionalized assembly plants.
4. To be the greenest business possible.With these goals in mind, we are announcing today that 100% or all the profits derived from the sale of LED solar lighting systems, and our solar water pumping and power systems will allocated to our Micro and autonomous solar home project. Our goal is to get into mass production as soon as possible. We will also allocate 100% of the profits from the sale of micro home plans into the micro home R&D and assembly plant program. These homes will vary in size from 128 square feet to 700 square feet.We sincerely hope that our loyal readers will pass this information along to as many people as possible. We need to turn things around in this economy and to help as many of our fellow Americans find employment and housing as soon possible.
Please pass this blog information to your friends as we only have a fraction of the people who can benefit from the information on these blogs. There are micro home details and photos on this blog. We are now offering detailed construction plans for sale.
Walt Barrett President
A to Z global Marketing Inc.
http://www.chinadepot.com/ A 100% owned American Corporation
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Micro Home Construction Update by Walt Barrett
Well yesterday it finally stopped raining and I built the third and probably the most complicated wall of the micro home. It will have two Anderson windows installed in it and I had to frame in the windows properly so as not to compromise the strength of the wall.
Today I will build the final wall with the front door and window openings in it. I will try to get some photos posted this afternoon. I'm looking forward to the next step when we erect the four walls and start on the floor of the loft space.
We have located some space in an abandoned textile mill nearby so that if we do decide to go into production with this tiny home and some larger models we will be able to jump right into production. It certainly will be a lot easier than stick building! These tiny homes will employ a solar electric system, passive solar heating, and solar hot water heating and shower. Toilets will be of the composting type unless otherwise specified. Various options and sizes will be offered. The model we are currently building is for a maximum of two people.
Personally, I see these tiny micro homes as a housing solution for people whom would normally never get a shot at owning their own home, or who may be homeless currently. I like the idea that they provide most of their own green energy. I have noticed that several cities on the west coast have changed their zoning to allow these micro homes to be built in the back yards of existing homes in order to help alleviate the existing low income housing shortages. Several people have commented to me that they could not possibly live in a home that small, and my response has been "That's because you are currently not living in a cardboard box, or sleeping in a shelter, or under a bridge!" That could make a difference in your thinking! We are trying to make them attractive looking, because many we have seen are just plain ugly boxes.
Please stay tuned and please tell your friends about our project. We will be seeking dealers as soon as we get a handle on all of the costs. We expect to have the lowest prices in the country. With us, it's not about the money! We need to provide jobs and housing in our area.
Thanks,
Walt
Today I will build the final wall with the front door and window openings in it. I will try to get some photos posted this afternoon. I'm looking forward to the next step when we erect the four walls and start on the floor of the loft space.
We have located some space in an abandoned textile mill nearby so that if we do decide to go into production with this tiny home and some larger models we will be able to jump right into production. It certainly will be a lot easier than stick building! These tiny homes will employ a solar electric system, passive solar heating, and solar hot water heating and shower. Toilets will be of the composting type unless otherwise specified. Various options and sizes will be offered. The model we are currently building is for a maximum of two people.
Personally, I see these tiny micro homes as a housing solution for people whom would normally never get a shot at owning their own home, or who may be homeless currently. I like the idea that they provide most of their own green energy. I have noticed that several cities on the west coast have changed their zoning to allow these micro homes to be built in the back yards of existing homes in order to help alleviate the existing low income housing shortages. Several people have commented to me that they could not possibly live in a home that small, and my response has been "That's because you are currently not living in a cardboard box, or sleeping in a shelter, or under a bridge!" That could make a difference in your thinking! We are trying to make them attractive looking, because many we have seen are just plain ugly boxes.
Please stay tuned and please tell your friends about our project. We will be seeking dealers as soon as we get a handle on all of the costs. We expect to have the lowest prices in the country. With us, it's not about the money! We need to provide jobs and housing in our area.
Thanks,
Walt
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Micro Home Project Work Day Six by Walt Barrett
Well yesterday and today so far we have managed to fabricate two of the side walls between the time spent in servicing our China Depot customers.
This stick built method is quite time consuming compared to what we plan to do on our proposed production line. Stick building gives us plenty of good ideas for the production line. We hope to be able to cut our time by a minimum of half. Hopefully we will be ready to put the roof on by Saturday. We are going with a sleeping loft on this tiny model. There will still be a place to sleep on the first floor too. We are trying to see just how far we can push the envelope on a sixty-four square foot first floor and about fifty square feet in the loft. This is our smallest model. Personally I would prefer 8' x 16' for two people.
I have included a photo of John and Dave holding up a wall that John and I built yesterday and this morning. We have now completed a second wall by noon.
If this size home seems impractical to you please consider the cost and also the fact that there a many people in our country including war veterans sleeping under bridges and in cardboard boxes. I don't know about you, but this sad fact bothers me a great deal!
Please tell your friends about our project and please stay tuned for more progress reports daily.
Thanks,
Walt
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Off Grid Solar Micro Home Survey by Walt Barrett
Very low cost solar powered micro home survey
We think that the Micro Homes that are currently on the market are greatly over priced. We are fully prepared to start mass producing off the grid solar micro homes if we see enough interest in the market place. If you have an opinion or comment we are interested. We have a list of concerns to comment on below. Our prices will start below $10,000.00
We are a New England based corporation currently building a prototype model of a micro home. Our unit is designed to be totally off the power grid with the electricity and hot water to be supplied by solar energy with a tiny propane or wood backup if necessary. These homes are much lower in cost, and the energy bills are a fraction of full size conventional homes. Energy costs by current micro home dwellers are reported to be as low as $200.00 a year. Some of our models sell for under $10,000.00, less than a new automobile. You must provide your own lot and fresh water supply. We view them as excellent for singles or couples, and retirees who may reside up north in the summer and down south or the desert for the winter. They are a very economical way to live if you can appreciate the life style. We also view these homes as possibly the only alternative for many people to ever own a home in this hostile economy, and seniors whom can no longer pay the ridiculous property taxes in most cities and towns.
If you are interest in this life style you could help us by answering just a few short questions.
Thank you
1.Would you ever consider owning a very low cost but very attractive Micro Home?
2.With some Micro Homes on the market starting at the extremely small size of 64 square feet plus a sleeping or storage loft of 50 square feet.
What is the smallest number of square feet you would consider living in? 64 square feet = 8 feet X 8 feet
3. Can you live without a home laundry if necessary due to space considerations?
4. Can you live with just a shower and no tub?
5. Would you consider using a 100% odor free composting toilet?
6. Would you use a space saving sleeping loft with windows at either end for ventilation and safety, or do you need extra space for a bed on the main floor? (Lofts not recommended for seniors.)
7. Can you find a space to place this micro home if you wanted one?
8.Do you need a full foundation or just concrete blocks to set the unit on?
9. Do you think the micro home is a good idea for low income and retired people, or just plain stupid?
10. How many people would occupy your micro home if you had one?
11. If the models varied in size from 8 x 8, 8 x 10, 8 x 12, 8 x 14, 8 x 16, or 8x20’ is there a size that you would prefer realizing that the 8’ x 20’ is most likely to be nearly triple the cost of that 8 x8’ model, and the energy bills would also be higher?
12 Other comments
We will be happy to answer any questions pertaining to these homes
Thank you,
Walt Barrett President
A to Z global marketing Inc
wbarrett1@aol.com
Friday, June 20, 2008
Micro Home Progress - Site Preperation by Walt Barrett
We will continue to publish reports on the construction of our new Micro Home model. It is all solar and totally off the power grid.
Yesterday I personally took time out from the office to clear the space and stake off the area so the grade can be set and the foundation blocks can be set in place. I will personally build the unit with the assistance of My son John Barrett who is now the CEO of www.chinadepot.com , leaving me the time to develop new projects such as our Micro Home program.
I have included photos of the Micro Home lot and the views from the lot.
When the home is completed it will be open for inspection to the public by appointment, and we will be taking orders for completed units built on the new assembly line we are planning if the home is accepted by the buying public.
The model home is 8' long and 8' wide. We can offer many sizes including the 8' X 8' cube off grid economy model. Stay with us for weekly postings including photos.
Yes, it overlooks a lake!
Thanks,
Walt
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
About an existing solar micro home by Walt Barrett
My friend Bryan Ebbenga has written to me about a solar micro home his friend built and I have included a link to his very informative site in this blog. My response is below.
Good Morning Bryan:
Thanks for sending me the link to your friends web site. Lamar certainly has the right idea. I see that the home faces south and the exterior construction looks very neat and professional. http://www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading/
There are several companies around the USA building a similar style and it is quite like the one I grew up in except my home was 20' X 24' with the same type of loft, and we had room for a small staircase to the two room sleeping loft.
I plan to mass produce a micro home and have two types in mind. One would be similar to the one I own now, but 20' X 24' in Kit form, and one would be long and narrow and low enough to ship assembled on a flat bed and still clear the over passes. Both homes are already pre-engineered to be totally off the grid. Next week I plan to start the platform for a 10' x 14' flat roof shippable unit just for practice so to speak. I'm going to build it on rails and then slide it under my deck to use as additional storage space and my vegetable oil powered backup generator shed.
This will free up a lot of space in my basement inventors workshop.
This project will help me develop the final techniques I will use in my assembly plant if we decide to move forward. I am still concerned if there is an actual market for these units yet, and where people will put them. I think the real market is in the southwest as the population races out of the freezing cold economically dead northeast.
I am using free recycled insulated tempered glass from sliding glass doors that have been removed as part of renovations projects. Friends of mine have been donating various types of left over construction materials. It's a fun project with serious consequences.
I believe that the upcoming horrific increase in fuel cost will advance this idea rapidly, and also force the re engineering of existing home in the cold climates. They will have to be divided up inside into clusters of micro living spaces that are more heat able with far less energy use. Large homes will soon be basically a thing of the past in the colder parts of the world. At any rate, we'll soon be finding out.
Happy Earth Day!
Walt
Good Morning Bryan:
Thanks for sending me the link to your friends web site. Lamar certainly has the right idea. I see that the home faces south and the exterior construction looks very neat and professional. http://www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading/
There are several companies around the USA building a similar style and it is quite like the one I grew up in except my home was 20' X 24' with the same type of loft, and we had room for a small staircase to the two room sleeping loft.
I plan to mass produce a micro home and have two types in mind. One would be similar to the one I own now, but 20' X 24' in Kit form, and one would be long and narrow and low enough to ship assembled on a flat bed and still clear the over passes. Both homes are already pre-engineered to be totally off the grid. Next week I plan to start the platform for a 10' x 14' flat roof shippable unit just for practice so to speak. I'm going to build it on rails and then slide it under my deck to use as additional storage space and my vegetable oil powered backup generator shed.
This will free up a lot of space in my basement inventors workshop.
This project will help me develop the final techniques I will use in my assembly plant if we decide to move forward. I am still concerned if there is an actual market for these units yet, and where people will put them. I think the real market is in the southwest as the population races out of the freezing cold economically dead northeast.
I am using free recycled insulated tempered glass from sliding glass doors that have been removed as part of renovations projects. Friends of mine have been donating various types of left over construction materials. It's a fun project with serious consequences.
I believe that the upcoming horrific increase in fuel cost will advance this idea rapidly, and also force the re engineering of existing home in the cold climates. They will have to be divided up inside into clusters of micro living spaces that are more heat able with far less energy use. Large homes will soon be basically a thing of the past in the colder parts of the world. At any rate, we'll soon be finding out.
Happy Earth Day!
Walt
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
More from oil lamps to the internet by Walt Barrett
I actually have very fond memories of the nineteen thirties and the nineteen Forties in spite of some of the hardships we endured.
The main point I want to make is that I’m not whining. I just want to present the facts as they were for many families at the time. It will help you see the future. The second point I want to make is that in those days we had plenty of fuel available in this country. We just could not afford to buy it! There is a good side to this story, and that is that we learned how to live without electricity, central heat and indoor plumbing. We also learned how to survive on very little money. Now the money thing alone is a valuable lesson because in these times we see many people that have no idea how to budget what little money they have. My Mother had a budget book that she kept faithfully and adhered to religiously. She is the one who showed me the basic rules of business, because, living within a budget is really just a form of business, just like running a shop, or a factory, and especially a City, Town State or Federal government, and it seems that many people have forgotten that. Let’s all say it again. You can’t spend more money than you take in! We can talk about that subject more later on.
I mentioned previously that I grew up in a micro home. It was twenty feet by twenty-four feet with a sleeping loft divided into two sections, one for me and one for my parents. There were no real closets and clothing etc was mostly kept in a few bureaus with heavy coats etc being hung on salvaged clothing racks. It certainly didn’t kill us! It did give me the incentive to try and do better financially, now that I look back at it.
We lit the house with oil lamps for many years. They do give off a very soft glowing kind of light, and at the time I didn’t think about it too much. I just thought that was what everyone else used too. There was no TV, radio, electric toasters, laundry machines, dishwashers, flushing toilets etc, and the bathroom was a small closed off area where you sat in a galvanized wash tub filled with just enough water that had been heated on top of the wood fired cook stove, which also was the heating system. The toilet was in the back yard just like everyone else’s was on our street, and you used whatever paper you could find, no luxury soft tissue or anything like that! Computers were science fiction!
When my Dad managed to find work he was often gone for long periods of time, and he took some pretty terrible jobs like clearing power lines in Vermont in January while wading up to his chest at times through ice cold swamp water. He would come home every couple of weeks or so and bring some money and food. He and his fellow workers would have to ride back to Vermont in the back of a dump truck in the wintertime, but he never really complained about it. He did often tell the stories though just to remind everyone how bad it was in the Thirties. My Dad lost his factory job in 1929 when the economy collapsed like it may do again in 2008.
We didn’t have much water because we had a shallow dug well that went dry for the entire summer. You had to drop a bucket down the well and pull it back up full of water with a rope, hand over hand. When the well went dry in June of July depending on the rain that year my Mom and I would each take a couple of those old style galvanized milk cans with the narrowed down neck and the carrying loop type handle on the side of the neck, and we would walk to a beautiful clear spring about a quarter of a mile from our home that bubbled right up out of the ground for water. My Dad had cleaned it out and sunk a large wooden barrel in it that stuck up above the ground with a cover on it to keep the dirt out. We would go there every afternoon when I returned from school and carry back the drinking water. Somehow I remember the water tasting better then and the air smelling cleaner. We did the laundry and other tasks with water captured in our rain barrels. My Mom said it was nice soft water. She taught me a lot. We used to go picking wild berries, and in the spring we would also gather the tops from fiddlehead ferns. They were liked spinach and the woods are still full of them. My mom knew a lot about plants and herbs. My Dad taught me to shoot a 22 rifle by the time I was seven. I would go out in the late afternoon and shoot three squirrels for supper. We would also go to the pond and catch yellow perch, clean them, and salt them in crocks so we would have food in the winter. After school I would empty the ashes from the stove and put them on the vegetable garden. Talk about recycling. Looking back, it wasn’t such a bad life, but would kids do it today? They might be better off if they did. By the way, there were no drugs in any schools I ever attended.
Well, enough of that for a while. Let’s take a giant leap forward to 2008. I have a vision of a super insulated but properly ventilated micro home with the actual size being based on the number of occupants. It may or may not be tied to the power grid. The electricity could be from solar, wind, or in a few rare cases small hydro, which would be really great because you could actually heat the micro home with free Hydro. Solar hot water, solar heat, a composting toilet, LED lighting, and a gray water recycling system would be a very good start. Now I would build this home on a piece of land large enough to grow a fair amount of food. I would salvage as many of the necessary materials as I possibly be could. As a matter of fact, I have already started to gather my stuff and it has been all for free so far. I have glass-sliding doors that I took apart for the glass. I have sheets of barely used plywood that was going to be thrown away from large construction site and my friends brought it home to me gladly donated by their bosses who have to pay by the ton to dump it in the landfill. Can you believe it! Personally, I think we need to start thinking more along these lines. My micro home is going to be for the two of us, my Wife Nancy and me. I hope to find a reasonable piece of land to put it on, but will build it here at my workshop. I intend it to be a model for others to copy. I would also consider setting up an assembly line to mass-produce them for low bucks. The trouble with all of the commercial micro homes I have seen so far is that the prices are off the wall! We need home for the not so well off folks who carry this country on their backs. Well enough for today. I just hope I can get more people thinking along the lines that I do. Not that my ideas are perfect, but the more people’s ideas we can gather now, the better off we are going to be in the future. Think about low cost building materials and smaller spaces to heat and cool, and cheap electricity. Try to save a gallon of fuel a day. It all helps.
In the meantime I have a business to run, so long for now.
Walt
The main point I want to make is that I’m not whining. I just want to present the facts as they were for many families at the time. It will help you see the future. The second point I want to make is that in those days we had plenty of fuel available in this country. We just could not afford to buy it! There is a good side to this story, and that is that we learned how to live without electricity, central heat and indoor plumbing. We also learned how to survive on very little money. Now the money thing alone is a valuable lesson because in these times we see many people that have no idea how to budget what little money they have. My Mother had a budget book that she kept faithfully and adhered to religiously. She is the one who showed me the basic rules of business, because, living within a budget is really just a form of business, just like running a shop, or a factory, and especially a City, Town State or Federal government, and it seems that many people have forgotten that. Let’s all say it again. You can’t spend more money than you take in! We can talk about that subject more later on.
I mentioned previously that I grew up in a micro home. It was twenty feet by twenty-four feet with a sleeping loft divided into two sections, one for me and one for my parents. There were no real closets and clothing etc was mostly kept in a few bureaus with heavy coats etc being hung on salvaged clothing racks. It certainly didn’t kill us! It did give me the incentive to try and do better financially, now that I look back at it.
We lit the house with oil lamps for many years. They do give off a very soft glowing kind of light, and at the time I didn’t think about it too much. I just thought that was what everyone else used too. There was no TV, radio, electric toasters, laundry machines, dishwashers, flushing toilets etc, and the bathroom was a small closed off area where you sat in a galvanized wash tub filled with just enough water that had been heated on top of the wood fired cook stove, which also was the heating system. The toilet was in the back yard just like everyone else’s was on our street, and you used whatever paper you could find, no luxury soft tissue or anything like that! Computers were science fiction!
When my Dad managed to find work he was often gone for long periods of time, and he took some pretty terrible jobs like clearing power lines in Vermont in January while wading up to his chest at times through ice cold swamp water. He would come home every couple of weeks or so and bring some money and food. He and his fellow workers would have to ride back to Vermont in the back of a dump truck in the wintertime, but he never really complained about it. He did often tell the stories though just to remind everyone how bad it was in the Thirties. My Dad lost his factory job in 1929 when the economy collapsed like it may do again in 2008.
We didn’t have much water because we had a shallow dug well that went dry for the entire summer. You had to drop a bucket down the well and pull it back up full of water with a rope, hand over hand. When the well went dry in June of July depending on the rain that year my Mom and I would each take a couple of those old style galvanized milk cans with the narrowed down neck and the carrying loop type handle on the side of the neck, and we would walk to a beautiful clear spring about a quarter of a mile from our home that bubbled right up out of the ground for water. My Dad had cleaned it out and sunk a large wooden barrel in it that stuck up above the ground with a cover on it to keep the dirt out. We would go there every afternoon when I returned from school and carry back the drinking water. Somehow I remember the water tasting better then and the air smelling cleaner. We did the laundry and other tasks with water captured in our rain barrels. My Mom said it was nice soft water. She taught me a lot. We used to go picking wild berries, and in the spring we would also gather the tops from fiddlehead ferns. They were liked spinach and the woods are still full of them. My mom knew a lot about plants and herbs. My Dad taught me to shoot a 22 rifle by the time I was seven. I would go out in the late afternoon and shoot three squirrels for supper. We would also go to the pond and catch yellow perch, clean them, and salt them in crocks so we would have food in the winter. After school I would empty the ashes from the stove and put them on the vegetable garden. Talk about recycling. Looking back, it wasn’t such a bad life, but would kids do it today? They might be better off if they did. By the way, there were no drugs in any schools I ever attended.
Well, enough of that for a while. Let’s take a giant leap forward to 2008. I have a vision of a super insulated but properly ventilated micro home with the actual size being based on the number of occupants. It may or may not be tied to the power grid. The electricity could be from solar, wind, or in a few rare cases small hydro, which would be really great because you could actually heat the micro home with free Hydro. Solar hot water, solar heat, a composting toilet, LED lighting, and a gray water recycling system would be a very good start. Now I would build this home on a piece of land large enough to grow a fair amount of food. I would salvage as many of the necessary materials as I possibly be could. As a matter of fact, I have already started to gather my stuff and it has been all for free so far. I have glass-sliding doors that I took apart for the glass. I have sheets of barely used plywood that was going to be thrown away from large construction site and my friends brought it home to me gladly donated by their bosses who have to pay by the ton to dump it in the landfill. Can you believe it! Personally, I think we need to start thinking more along these lines. My micro home is going to be for the two of us, my Wife Nancy and me. I hope to find a reasonable piece of land to put it on, but will build it here at my workshop. I intend it to be a model for others to copy. I would also consider setting up an assembly line to mass-produce them for low bucks. The trouble with all of the commercial micro homes I have seen so far is that the prices are off the wall! We need home for the not so well off folks who carry this country on their backs. Well enough for today. I just hope I can get more people thinking along the lines that I do. Not that my ideas are perfect, but the more people’s ideas we can gather now, the better off we are going to be in the future. Think about low cost building materials and smaller spaces to heat and cool, and cheap electricity. Try to save a gallon of fuel a day. It all helps.
In the meantime I have a business to run, so long for now.
Walt
Friday, April 04, 2008
From Oil Lamps to the Internet, or About turning 75 by Walt Barrett
Part one.
I want to give you a little background of why I think the way I think. I always say that if you want to see the future all you have to do is look back. I’m sure that my views will not win me many friends in those circles that swirl around up there in the rarified atmosphere of the wealthy.
I was born in hard times. It was 1933 when we were pretty deep into the great depression. My first memories go back to some time in 1936, and they are vague for that year. But since 1937 I remember a great deal from then on. My parents had bought a piece of property in the country on a lake with future plans for a home they could own. They had paid fifty dollars for the land. By 1932 they had the basic shell of what I would now call a micro home constructed and it was 480 square feet with a loft that you could barely stand up in. There was a front and rear door with one window on each outside wall. Yes, I grew up in a micro home! Right about then my Dad lost his Job in the textile mill just like everyone else around here did. That’s when they had to give up their nice little apartment in the city and moved into the partially finished home in the country. There was no power, electricity, water, heat, or sewer. I lived there with them until I left for the Korean war at age 18. Now those were interesting times, and I’m sure at this point that you can see where I am going with this.
My Dad and most of his World War One buddies blamed the whole mess on the Republican President Herbert Hoover, and big business. They immediately became life long democrats. Franklin Roosevelt became the new messiah and ushered in a whole new era for better or for worse. One of the differences between then and now was that there was plenty of fuel to heat your home and plenty of gasoline and electricity too. The problem was that we could not afford any of it.
Now you might think that I would be really bitter about my past, and sometimes I get a twinge or two, but it’s mostly sadness when I think of how hard my parents worked, the sacrifices they made for me, and the many times they suffered during those hard times. Then there is my guilt for not really being old enough to be of any real help to them. I did manage to start working in a mill in 1947 though and give them all the money I made. I did learn a lot about life in those days, and how to scrape by with literally nothing.
One of the saddest things that happened to my parents during the depression was at the death of my grandmother Barrett in 1929, my Dad's older brother Arthur, A real bum if there ever was one, Collected what little insurance money there was, and took off for Staten island, New York, and started a new life for himself and his soon to be new family, leaving my Parents to pay for all the hospital bills, the funeral, and her debts. It took them until 1950 to pay them off. My parents would have rather died than leave a bill unpaid. It really altered all of our lives.
Now at this time in early 2008 things are only just a little different. We are running out of fuel and the prices are going out of site! We are in another big mess that we are going to really have to fight our way out of. We are not dirt poor like we used to be,but the numbers of poor are growing rapidly. The problems facing us now are a mighty big challenge,and ignoring them like congress has for the past thirty-five years is not going to make them go away, but let’s continue on with a little more background. In 1950 while still in high school I became obsessed with solar energy. Not many people were interested in Solar at that time, but there was a scientist in Israel that was doing a lot of work in the field. I had spent most of my time up until then freezing to death in the cold winters of New England because our home never had central heat. So I started to read everything I could get my hands on at the time. I never lost interest and have continued to learn as much as I can on the subject. In 1973 I started a very successful solar heating and hot water system manufacturing operation,and we did quite well for several years until that great American President Ronald Regan tore down the solar system from the White House, gutted the funding for the solar programs and destroyed the solar industry. The really sad part of the problem is that those sorry bastards in congress went along for the ride! They have had thirty-five years to solve the energy problem and have barely lifted a finger while many of us have been screaming from the peanut gallery! For thirty-five years they have pandered to Big Oil,Big Coal,Big Gas,and Big Nuke. They literally sold us out! I’m not making this up. All you have to do is look back at the facts and the record! Oh well, like the trite old saying goes, "It’s too late to cry over spilt milk." Next time I’ll express my ideas on how we survive this mess our government created with the help of our own wasteful practices. We have to wrap our heads around these problems now! You can't depend on the government to solve your problems. You have to solve them yourself. That's what made this country great!
To be continued
Walt
I want to give you a little background of why I think the way I think. I always say that if you want to see the future all you have to do is look back. I’m sure that my views will not win me many friends in those circles that swirl around up there in the rarified atmosphere of the wealthy.
I was born in hard times. It was 1933 when we were pretty deep into the great depression. My first memories go back to some time in 1936, and they are vague for that year. But since 1937 I remember a great deal from then on. My parents had bought a piece of property in the country on a lake with future plans for a home they could own. They had paid fifty dollars for the land. By 1932 they had the basic shell of what I would now call a micro home constructed and it was 480 square feet with a loft that you could barely stand up in. There was a front and rear door with one window on each outside wall. Yes, I grew up in a micro home! Right about then my Dad lost his Job in the textile mill just like everyone else around here did. That’s when they had to give up their nice little apartment in the city and moved into the partially finished home in the country. There was no power, electricity, water, heat, or sewer. I lived there with them until I left for the Korean war at age 18. Now those were interesting times, and I’m sure at this point that you can see where I am going with this.
My Dad and most of his World War One buddies blamed the whole mess on the Republican President Herbert Hoover, and big business. They immediately became life long democrats. Franklin Roosevelt became the new messiah and ushered in a whole new era for better or for worse. One of the differences between then and now was that there was plenty of fuel to heat your home and plenty of gasoline and electricity too. The problem was that we could not afford any of it.
Now you might think that I would be really bitter about my past, and sometimes I get a twinge or two, but it’s mostly sadness when I think of how hard my parents worked, the sacrifices they made for me, and the many times they suffered during those hard times. Then there is my guilt for not really being old enough to be of any real help to them. I did manage to start working in a mill in 1947 though and give them all the money I made. I did learn a lot about life in those days, and how to scrape by with literally nothing.
One of the saddest things that happened to my parents during the depression was at the death of my grandmother Barrett in 1929, my Dad's older brother Arthur, A real bum if there ever was one, Collected what little insurance money there was, and took off for Staten island, New York, and started a new life for himself and his soon to be new family, leaving my Parents to pay for all the hospital bills, the funeral, and her debts. It took them until 1950 to pay them off. My parents would have rather died than leave a bill unpaid. It really altered all of our lives.
Now at this time in early 2008 things are only just a little different. We are running out of fuel and the prices are going out of site! We are in another big mess that we are going to really have to fight our way out of. We are not dirt poor like we used to be,but the numbers of poor are growing rapidly. The problems facing us now are a mighty big challenge,and ignoring them like congress has for the past thirty-five years is not going to make them go away, but let’s continue on with a little more background. In 1950 while still in high school I became obsessed with solar energy. Not many people were interested in Solar at that time, but there was a scientist in Israel that was doing a lot of work in the field. I had spent most of my time up until then freezing to death in the cold winters of New England because our home never had central heat. So I started to read everything I could get my hands on at the time. I never lost interest and have continued to learn as much as I can on the subject. In 1973 I started a very successful solar heating and hot water system manufacturing operation,and we did quite well for several years until that great American President Ronald Regan tore down the solar system from the White House, gutted the funding for the solar programs and destroyed the solar industry. The really sad part of the problem is that those sorry bastards in congress went along for the ride! They have had thirty-five years to solve the energy problem and have barely lifted a finger while many of us have been screaming from the peanut gallery! For thirty-five years they have pandered to Big Oil,Big Coal,Big Gas,and Big Nuke. They literally sold us out! I’m not making this up. All you have to do is look back at the facts and the record! Oh well, like the trite old saying goes, "It’s too late to cry over spilt milk." Next time I’ll express my ideas on how we survive this mess our government created with the help of our own wasteful practices. We have to wrap our heads around these problems now! You can't depend on the government to solve your problems. You have to solve them yourself. That's what made this country great!
To be continued
Walt
Sunday, March 09, 2008
A stronger case for micro homes by Walt Barrett
Well I just read an article in the morning paper about an elderly grandmother in Maine Who is really in a struggle. It seems that she is barley keeping alive due to her lack of money to pay for the ever-rising fuel costs. This story is being repeated over and over in the northern states from coast to coast. In her particular case she is in a rented home and hopefully she will find a way to move into a more efficient place to live.
This just brings up a point for future reference that we are going to have to take a long hard look at micro homes for people with borderline incomes . Micro homes are cheap to build, cheap to heat and cheap to cool. They are also much easier to run totally off the grid, thus saving money for utilities. Micro homes are easily built from recycled building materials. They can just as easily be built from adobe or straw bales. The point is that they are affordable. We just need a place to put them. It’s time for our local government to start working on the idea and allow areas where these homes can be built on smaller lots etc. Land prices are a problem in spite of the current decline in real estate prices. We need more people to get behind the idea of building energy efficient micro homes. For more information go to http://www.google.com/ and search micro homes, small home or mini homes, and Plan to use solar hot water, solar electric, LED lighting, Please feel free to write to the author for advice.
Thanks,
Walt
This just brings up a point for future reference that we are going to have to take a long hard look at micro homes for people with borderline incomes . Micro homes are cheap to build, cheap to heat and cheap to cool. They are also much easier to run totally off the grid, thus saving money for utilities. Micro homes are easily built from recycled building materials. They can just as easily be built from adobe or straw bales. The point is that they are affordable. We just need a place to put them. It’s time for our local government to start working on the idea and allow areas where these homes can be built on smaller lots etc. Land prices are a problem in spite of the current decline in real estate prices. We need more people to get behind the idea of building energy efficient micro homes. For more information go to http://www.google.com/ and search micro homes, small home or mini homes, and Plan to use solar hot water, solar electric, LED lighting, Please feel free to write to the author for advice.
Thanks,
Walt
Monday, June 25, 2007
THE COST OF BUILDING A MICRO HOME BY WALT BARRETT
I have noticed that several people have commented about the high cost of the micro homes, and I would like to comment that as an experiment we have been gathering used, and surplus materials for free. We find that in our area there are literally container loads of practically new sheets of plywood, and many other types of construction materials going to the landfills on a daily basis. Also, there are many people, and contractors trying to get rid of used tempered glass sliding doors and windows that will go to the landfills. These used glass units can be separated with a razor knife if they are filled with moisture and used as single glazed windows or non sealed double glazed units simply by making new wooden frames for them. If you are poor with no home you can't be splitting hairs about single or double glazing, especially in a mild or warm climate. It all depends on your budget.
My calculations indicate that a 16' long X 8' high x 10' wide exterior shell can be built for practically zero dollars using these recycled materials. The worst-case scenario is that you might have to spend $300.00 for additional materials to build an empty shell. The recycled sliding glass doors will save a fortune in siding etc by turning them into solid walls. That leaves a great deal of money for someone to do a custom interior design for his or her own particular requirements.
Another thing that bothers me about the published costs of these tiny homes is that you can purchase a deluxe larger size aluminum camping trailer for two thirds ($37,000.00) or less of the published cost of many of these homes at $50,000.00 or higher. There is even one camping trailer advertised in Germany for only $6000.00 and two people can easily live in it. What makes a micro home cost, in this case, nearly ten times the cost of a metal camping trailer that is even larger? Personally, I think a little more research into the costs is needed by the consumers. These tiny homes can be mass produced on a low dollar basis, and a business can still make a fair profit doing it.
We also need more research into newer materials that have hit the market recently. There is a honeycomb material that is currently being used in the construction of truck cargo compartment bodies. It will give you an exterior and interior wall all in one unit. The only sacrifice is that the wiring would have to be exterior mounted on the walls and ceilings. There are several attractive products for that purpose on the market now. Low voltage LED lighting can also be used for a great savings in power.
Of course, the problem of land costs remains the greatest problem in our area. We have to get a handle on that. I believe that eventually the powers that be will have to make changes in how the available space in neighborhoods will be used to relieve the pressure in the housing market.
My calculations indicate that a 16' long X 8' high x 10' wide exterior shell can be built for practically zero dollars using these recycled materials. The worst-case scenario is that you might have to spend $300.00 for additional materials to build an empty shell. The recycled sliding glass doors will save a fortune in siding etc by turning them into solid walls. That leaves a great deal of money for someone to do a custom interior design for his or her own particular requirements.
Another thing that bothers me about the published costs of these tiny homes is that you can purchase a deluxe larger size aluminum camping trailer for two thirds ($37,000.00) or less of the published cost of many of these homes at $50,000.00 or higher. There is even one camping trailer advertised in Germany for only $6000.00 and two people can easily live in it. What makes a micro home cost, in this case, nearly ten times the cost of a metal camping trailer that is even larger? Personally, I think a little more research into the costs is needed by the consumers. These tiny homes can be mass produced on a low dollar basis, and a business can still make a fair profit doing it.
We also need more research into newer materials that have hit the market recently. There is a honeycomb material that is currently being used in the construction of truck cargo compartment bodies. It will give you an exterior and interior wall all in one unit. The only sacrifice is that the wiring would have to be exterior mounted on the walls and ceilings. There are several attractive products for that purpose on the market now. Low voltage LED lighting can also be used for a great savings in power.
Of course, the problem of land costs remains the greatest problem in our area. We have to get a handle on that. I believe that eventually the powers that be will have to make changes in how the available space in neighborhoods will be used to relieve the pressure in the housing market.
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