Do it Yourself Large Rainwater Harvesting Part 1.

Can you do it yourself a large rainwater harvesting system for not a lot of money? Yes you can! Start with used IBC Totes. I will summarize in this article and then go into detail in the future parts.

Begin creating a big rainwater harvesting system by finding a used 275 gallon IBC Tote supplier. Get as many tanks as you think you need. You will be linking them together for a combined capacity. I have 9 for a combined 2500 gallon. Cost was about $80 each so it was less than $1000 which is much less than a dedicated tank of the same size.

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Why McMansions and Starter Castles? Because You Can!

In recent years, snickering comments about the increased size of the average new United States house have come up in the news as well as in casual conversation. ‘McMansions’ and ‘Starter castle’ are now cliches. Approximately 1500 square feet was the norm in the 1950’s. The average now is about 2600 square feet. An overlooked explanation for the trend toward large houses is that houses in general are considerably easier to build than in decades past.

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ICF’s: The Wave of the Present?

Integrated Concrete Forms (ICF) homes seems to be gaining momentum as an alternative to traditional stick building judging by the discussion on the owner-builder group. This method of building uses hollow foam blocks as forms that are filled with concrete and then left in place. The foam and concrete together can make for a very well insulated, quiet and strong home. There are many sources of information on this type of building such as The Portland Cement Association, books, manufacturers such as Eco-block, Polysteel, Reward, Arxx
and others. It will be interesting to see how widespread these homes will become.