changing the corner a bit

i decided it was just not right having the medicine cabinet and little tunnel between the kitchen and eating area....
so i knocked it out and we've put in a little wall with a wrap around bench...
i framed out the windows a bit too...
the photos aren't too great...but that's ok =)
you can see a bit anyway...
it is wonderful how much the kids like to be down here and play...esme especially enjoys putting cob on the wall...all 2 feet of her =)

step 3 on the rocket stove

this week has been great bc i've had some help with the kids for about an hour a day....and the weather has been so good the kids have been helping me with the cobbing!! yay!!!
for cutting wood, i don't like them around....it is just too loud.
anywho...
we managed to almost finish the cob bench....though it needs some drying out before i finish it so it doesn't start to slump...
it seems to work well but then again, it hasn't actually been cold =)
but it doesn't smoke so that's good!

Step 2 of the Rocket Stove

the kids and i laid out the pipe where they bench will go...
placed 2 cleanout holes...
and
insulated the "j"....
but i did make the cage around the j too big...so i redid this later....

Step 1 of the rocket stove

i made a quick mortar from sand and clay which i should have sifted through a screen but didn't....i just didn't have on eon hand...
anywho...i made a base to level out the floor with the mortar...then laid the first course of brick....
i had only 40 fire brick so used regular soft common brick for areas that wouldn't get as hot...like the feed tube and its base
i then put up the first course on edge ...
bc i want the heat to transfer quickly through these bricks...not get too "stuck"
then the bridge or tunnel with fire brick...this part gets super hot as the fire burns sideways...
then the flue out of fire brick...
i tried to mortar any holes ...
and this mortar will turn to brick anyway as the fire temps get hot

a visit to the brick yard

today we bought fire bricks and a drum to make a rocket stove!! yay!
what is a rocket stove you ask? check out this guy's site for a little video and photos
basically you build a "j" with fire brick, place a combustion chamber on top of the small part of the "j", fix an exhaust near the bottom of the "J", run the pipe through through a mass of something (cob bench, floor etc...) and out the side of the house!
they are super efficient bc the recirculate the smoke and re-burn it in a sense...so you use all the available fuel instead of wasting it out the pipe....almost no smoke you see?!

Slowly but Surely

i finished the kitchen cob! yay!