Sunday, March 05, 2006
All my plumbing luck spent in one place
The most amazing, impossible, incredible thing happened yesterday. The chances, as I calculate them, are at least 87,120,000 to 1 against this happening, about forty times less likely than getting struck by lightining.
We were using a chain trancher, which is essentially a giant tractor with a four foot chainsaw sticking out of the back of it, to dig a utility trench. Ian, the teen whom I have hired to help me, came running up yelling that he had struck a water pipe. The utility companies had already located all the pipes in the area, we were in the middle of a ten acre field, far from a road and nowhere near where any pipes should run. How could this be?
Nonetheless, when I arrived, water was squirting into our utility trench under pressure. We alerted the neighbors, who all said they had water pressure. So where was the water coming from?
We soon realized we had struck an abandoned irrigation pipe. It was pressurized by the fall from a pond, which contained at least 10,000 gallons of water. All of this water was soon going to flood our construction site, rendering it too wet to work in for months. Disaster!
We moved the trencher about 24 inches closer to the pond, and trenched through the pipe again, packing the new hole with mud. This prevented more water from filling our utility trench for a while, buying time. Then we decided to dig up the irrigation pipe, and figure out a way to pinch it off somehow.
Soon as we were digging, I heard a CLANK as my shovel hit something metallic. What could it be? At first I tried to pry it out of the ground like a rock, but I decided it might be a pipe and felt for it. It was a knob. A round, metal knob. In the ground. Buried. I turned it clockwise, and the water quit flowing.
We had, by randomly digging near where we thought the pipe might run, located the only shutoff valve in the whole irrigation system, and had also not destroyed it with our shovels or our emergency trench.
In an entire ten acres, on a 200 foot irrigation pipe, the farmer who had installed the pipe had buried a shutoff valve in the exact spot where we decided to dig.
I have never been very good at plumbing, because I never had any luck with it. The reason is simple: I spent all my luck on this one, impossible, improbable shot.
The most amazing, impossible, incredible thing happened yesterday. The chances, as I calculate them, are at least 87,120,000 to 1 against this happening, about forty times less likely than getting struck by lightining.
We were using a chain trancher, which is essentially a giant tractor with a four foot chainsaw sticking out of the back of it, to dig a utility trench. Ian, the teen whom I have hired to help me, came running up yelling that he had struck a water pipe. The utility companies had already located all the pipes in the area, we were in the middle of a ten acre field, far from a road and nowhere near where any pipes should run. How could this be?
Nonetheless, when I arrived, water was squirting into our utility trench under pressure. We alerted the neighbors, who all said they had water pressure. So where was the water coming from?
We soon realized we had struck an abandoned irrigation pipe. It was pressurized by the fall from a pond, which contained at least 10,000 gallons of water. All of this water was soon going to flood our construction site, rendering it too wet to work in for months. Disaster!
We moved the trencher about 24 inches closer to the pond, and trenched through the pipe again, packing the new hole with mud. This prevented more water from filling our utility trench for a while, buying time. Then we decided to dig up the irrigation pipe, and figure out a way to pinch it off somehow.
Soon as we were digging, I heard a CLANK as my shovel hit something metallic. What could it be? At first I tried to pry it out of the ground like a rock, but I decided it might be a pipe and felt for it. It was a knob. A round, metal knob. In the ground. Buried. I turned it clockwise, and the water quit flowing.
We had, by randomly digging near where we thought the pipe might run, located the only shutoff valve in the whole irrigation system, and had also not destroyed it with our shovels or our emergency trench.
In an entire ten acres, on a 200 foot irrigation pipe, the farmer who had installed the pipe had buried a shutoff valve in the exact spot where we decided to dig.
I have never been very good at plumbing, because I never had any luck with it. The reason is simple: I spent all my luck on this one, impossible, improbable shot.
Insulation
What is the best insulation for a green home? I rejected fiberglass early on. Fiberglass has been suspected as a possible carcinogen, it has poor ability to stop drafts and infiltration, and at best is available in only 25% recycled content. Some fiberglass contains traces of formaldehyde, an irritating offgas which I am trying to avoid in my home.
Originally I decided to specify 25% recycled content formaldehyde free fiberglass from Johns-Manville. However, after more research, I realized that cellulose offers more benefits than fiberglass. Cellulose is 100% recycled, a Green benefit. Cellulose prevents infiltration and convection far better than fiberglass. Cellulose does not settle if properly installed (despite the bogus assertions of the fiberglass industry). Cellulose provides slightly better R value than fiberglass. And the kicker, there is a woman owned local insulation firm (Nemow Insulation) that I have worked with for 25 years - they know thier stuff. Nemow promised, with thier quote, not only to insulate but to seal cracks and crevices in the most meticulous way. Most insulation contractors are trying to get off your job and onto the next one. After looking at my plans, Nemow understood immediately why someone would want to build a green, solar house and understood the need for extra attention to caulking and weatherstripping details.
What is the best insulation for a green home? I rejected fiberglass early on. Fiberglass has been suspected as a possible carcinogen, it has poor ability to stop drafts and infiltration, and at best is available in only 25% recycled content. Some fiberglass contains traces of formaldehyde, an irritating offgas which I am trying to avoid in my home.
Originally I decided to specify 25% recycled content formaldehyde free fiberglass from Johns-Manville. However, after more research, I realized that cellulose offers more benefits than fiberglass. Cellulose is 100% recycled, a Green benefit. Cellulose prevents infiltration and convection far better than fiberglass. Cellulose does not settle if properly installed (despite the bogus assertions of the fiberglass industry). Cellulose provides slightly better R value than fiberglass. And the kicker, there is a woman owned local insulation firm (Nemow Insulation) that I have worked with for 25 years - they know thier stuff. Nemow promised, with thier quote, not only to insulate but to seal cracks and crevices in the most meticulous way. Most insulation contractors are trying to get off your job and onto the next one. After looking at my plans, Nemow understood immediately why someone would want to build a green, solar house and understood the need for extra attention to caulking and weatherstripping details.
