the daydream fund challenge thread

stitching_witch

RAS wrote: »

CTC

maybe not your style?

Definately my style too, but I do wonder how he got planning permission and got through building regs if he was "making it up as he went along", unless he collected all the materials first then designed the house around what he'd found.

RAS

rhiwfield wrote: »

Local ratcatcher was at great pains to tell me of a local composting loo that was "overrun" with rats. If true, it would certainly make me think twice before I sat down, not so bad for the gals but us guys have more to lose!

God, that must be very badly built then.

I have used a number over the years, ranging from temporary lash-ups in wild areas to the raised thrones over plastic dustbins, with sawdust toppings (you do not have to look at the previous occupant's doings) and the various offerings at CAT - simple and so sophisicated that most folk just about register that there is no water in the hole.

You can make them from ply-wood and someone I know has one that they made but disappoints because it produce so little "compost". Most are made from breezeblock.

choille

We used to have a dry toilet & it didn't smell other than sweet - we used sawdust & kept a double bucket - one for solids the other for wee.
People have become so removed from their own waste...............

RAS

choille wrote: »

We used to have a dry toilet & it didn't smell other than sweet - we used sawdust & kept a double bucket - one for solids the other for wee.
People have become so removed from their own waste...............

I know. In fact a dry composting toilet will small sweet as long as it is kept dry.

There is a really posh completely odourless one on one of the allotment sites I visit. Certainly nicer than many male loos.

Even when i was on Bardsey, where they have to prettiest karzis imaginable (mine was festooned in American Pillar) and use a one bucket system utilising dry grass clippings, because of the regular emptying there was only a slight whiff at the end of a two long hot days. The actual composter was unsmelly.

choille

I've visted one that used wood ash & that was the same - sweet.

Forgot to add - I grew the biggest pumpkins ever!!!!!! Humanure!!!

choille

I also grew a 22lb cabbage........

RAS

There is cracking article somewhere about this guy (city based Yank) who has a urinal made out of a pop bottle inside his shed, with the hose leading to a seeper hose in a long raised bed next to the shed. He grow cracking crops in that raised bed.

Have you read the Liquid Gold book?

choille

If you have access to birch leaves you can put them in a chicken wire circle to keep them in place & wee on them or pour on buckets of it & it makes fabulous leaf mould.

Haven't read the Liquid Gold book but it sounds like it'll be right up my street!

Davesnave

choille wrote: »

People have become so removed from their own waste...............

Speaking as one with two septic tanks in the garden, under 25m from the back door, I'm not sure I agree with this, but hey ho, there are always carbon filters for the vent pipes.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I think my very weak stomach stems from the many a year going to bike rallies every weekend, and seeing and smelling the porta
loos:eek:_pale_.

Even now the thought of it can make me heave...maybe i would be different with the compost toilets, but i will not be holding my breath ( or maybe i should lol)

I have an opt out clause on our business lease which if i want to exercise it i need to give notice next month ( 6 months notice) or we are there for another 2 years...I must admit it does feel we are working just pay the rent,rates, insurance etc.... so we are seriously thinking of down scaling the business and moving to a smaller unit etc, ok we will lose alot of business, and we will have to lay off staff, but i cant keep thinking of other people anymore...as at the moment it feels as though hubby and i are working our butts off to pay the bills and keep other people in work...We hardly get any free time now, I am ashamed of our garden...and if we down scale just enough to pay our over heads, ourselves a 'decent' wage and make enough to keep one other person one... we might even be able to work a shorter week....and have time for ther things:D:D;)

soooooooooooooo Loads of number crunching this weekend...

Hubby said the weatherman said its going to be bbq weather next week:rotfl: we'll see