Archive | Safety

Reclaimed Material in Tiny Houses

or Two rights can make a wrong

Sometimes, two rights do make a wrong! Recycled, reused or repurposed building materials can conflict with other environmental and health concerns. For instance, many green buildings are extremely energy-efficient, in part because of new synthetic materials that provide greater insulation and strength than traditional materials. The reuse of old materials can reduce stress on the environment, but at what cost? Is it better to reuse old, drafty lead-tinted windows or simply make or buy new ones? Wooden beams may retain their structural integrity, but what if they are contaminated with lead paint? In the world of reclaimed lumber, beams and timbers are called “black gold” because of the price to purchase and then recondition them. Recycled or repurposed building materials must be closely examined before they can be used in new construction projects.

If you are planning a tiny house project, using reclaimed building materials can help you save money while adding a touch of nostalgia to your work. When looking for reused building materials, it is important to know what size lumber or fixtures you need. Examine the wood carefully to see if it has rotten places or signs of termite damage. You may also want to know if the secondhand building materials you are considering contain lead or asbestos, because these elements can be dangerous and costly to remove. While the EPA discourages the use of these materials for building, they are not ruled unusable if they have a sealant placed over them to prevent dust or particles from flaking off. However, while the EPA may not be specific on the use or sale, state laws may. For example there is a state statue in Wisconsin, against selling building materials with lead on them.

The rules are a lot tougher on the contractor and “builder” and once again, it is wise to check out the rules and statues in your particular state. For example, building one tiny house, you may not consider yourself a builder, but your state may. If, your intent is to build one and live in it, then resell and build another one, Minnesota considers you a builder and you need to be licensed as such.

You may want to start your search for reclaimed building materials at a salvage lumberyard. Here, you may be able to browse through stacks of vintage building materials in order to find a specific item. Since the inventory at such lumberyards changes on a day-to-day basis, you may not find exactly what you are looking for on your first visit. Having a written plan and material list for your building project will help you know what recycled building materials you may be able to use, and give you guidance in determining the size of different items.

After you find reclaimed building materials that you are interested in, the next step is to make sure they are usable. Look each piece over carefully, and check to see if there are rotten places in any of the wood. It can also be a good idea to look for insect damage to avoid carrying home termites or other bugs.

Knowing where the reclaimed building materials originated can help you determine whether these building materials may contain lead paint or asbestos. Many dealers identify such items by placing a label on them warning consumers about these hazardous materials. Lead paint and asbestos were widely used before 1980, so materials from homes built before that time could contain them, even if they are not specifically identified.

Some vintage building supplies may need a great deal of work before they can be used in your tiny house project. This is especially true of baseboards and molding. If you chose an item that needs repair work, you need to decide if you will do this yourself or if you will hire a professional. A professional needs a clean room specifically for working with these products. In the event that you need to hire someone, this could make the end cost much higher than you anticipated. Knowing how much it could cost to refurbish certain items can help you make an accurate calculation so you will be able to buy recycled building materials while staying within your budget.

Below is a handy index for use to help you determine if the reclaimed material is wise to use.

Reclaimed Material Index

Item	What to reuse	What to recycle	What to dispose	Environmental & Health Concerns
Wood (lumber, flooring, etc)	Timbers, large dimension lumber, plywood, flooring, moldings, lumber longer than 4′	Unpainted and untreated wood unfit for reuse	Painted, pressure-treated and rotting wood	Painted wood may contain lead or contaminates, especially prior to 1980
Windows	Windows in good condition (for single pane consider adding a storm window)	Metal frames and screens, unpainted and untreated wood	Glass, unusable painted items and wood in disrepair	Lead paint, asbestos in older window glazing compound, energy inefficiency
Cabinets	Good used cabinets (consider re-facing or reusing in your home/workshop/garage	Remove and recycle hardware, unpainted and unfinished wood	Painted or finished wood	Lead paint, formaldehyde in particle board or interior grade plywood
Plumbing Products	Sinks, tubs, faucets	Metal pipes, toilets and inefficient plumbing fixtures (porcelain or metal), faucets with lead content	PVC and other plastic pipes, toilet seats(not accepted at recycling centers)	Drinking water; lead content in faucets, solder, and old galvanized pipe
Plaster and Gypsum Wallboard	Repair cracks, or cover with textured paint, install new wallboard over old or skim coat	Wood lathe if clean can be reused/recycled, unpainted wallboard	Painted plaster or wallboard	Nuisance dust, lead paint on walls, possible asbestos in older wallboard
Electrical Products	Only if in good working order or rewired	Metal fixtures, conduit	Ceramic and plastic parts	Frayed wires, possible asbestos insulation
Roofing Materials	Retain sheathing, if in good condition, terra cota slate times, metal roofing	Metal materials, contractors generally have outlets for recycling asphalt roofing materials, untreated cedar shingles	Treated cedar shingles	Possible asbestos content

Cedar and Tiny Houses

Cedar-lined storage chests and closets have long been used for long-term storage of out-of-season clothing, in the belief that the cedar will deter moths from destroying the clothing. But does it really work?

The damage moths cause to natural fibers is caused not by the moth itself, but by the larvae that hatch out of the eggs the moth lays. Therefore preventing the damage can take two forms, preventing the moth from laying the eggs in the clothing, and killing the larvae as they emerge (or in the egg).

The heavy scent of the cedar is thought to mask the smell of wool, effectively hiding it from the moth seeking a home for her eggs. That is, it doesn’t repel moths so much as it camouflages the moth’s natural target. If the smell-disguise in fact does deter moths, then any masking smell would work as well, and people have packed old garments away with sprigs of lavender, tansy and rosemary tucked in them for literally centuries.

If the scent-deterrent works (and there’s only anecdotal evidence that it does), then it only works on the egg-laying moth. Packing away garments already hosting moth-eggs will yield a cupboard full of rotting wool. Since the larvae are repelled by strong light, shaking and hanging clothing in the sun for a few hours before folding for storage should ensure that what you are storing is larvae-free.

Mothballs have been used to destroy the emerging larvae, but this has fallen into disrepute. The smell that mothballs leaves on clothing is reason enough to avoid their use; further deterrent should be toxins they contain. These chemicals slowly vaporize, creating a toxic vapor that kills moth larvae, but which is also dangerous to people and pets.

A report from the University of California at Davis suggests that one type of cedar, Eastern Red Cedar (which is actually a juniper), does kill moth larvae over a period of time. The wood contains an aromatic oil that in sufficient concentration, as in an airtight cabinet, will kill small moth larvae. If there is too much air circulation, as in a closet, concentration of the vapors will remain insufficient to kill larvae, although the scent might deter adult moths.

My concern is that when building a tiny house with techniques used today to get the highest efficiency for minimizing heat loss and being air tight; have we not in all practicality built a cedar chest for men and women which some could say is very similar in building a cedar chest when cedar is used as paneling and interior mill-work. While a sauna is meant for use once in a while, living in a tiny house year around, and sleeping there could be putting oneself in an unhealthy environment, much like a moth larva in a cedar chest.

What do you think?

Non Toxic Finishes

Or to finish or not to finish ”

As we build smaller and smaller homes, tiny houses and micro homes, the materials that are used in that home becomes increasingly more important. In a 2600 sqft home, there is considerably more space for some toxins to dissipate into the environment. The parts per million of these toxins becomes small on that scale, and don’t get me wrong – they are still there wrecking havoc on ones immune systems. The long term effects, just like inhaling second hand smoke can be more deadly that smoking it seems.

In a tiny house, the overall space is considerably smaller, and therefore small amounts of toxins will impact ones environmental sensitiveness faster. And the very last step is where one can introduce toxins to the home; in wall coverings, paints, floor finishes, stains, and sealers.

We have noticed that one of the favorites in finishing woods by painters is polyurethanes. However, that is not the best coating to apply, it may be easier, and yet it is not a safe coating.

Polyurethane – Has been notoriously toxic. Most always related to a plastic in some form or another. Even the waterborne polyurethane can be very dangerous. The process of burning polyurethane has been known to cause dioxin to be created. Dioxin is one of the most poisonous substances on earth. Some good chemistry based descriptions can be found here about polyurethane production. There are tons of great uses for polyurethane but it doesn’t biodegrade well and it’s poison to burn.

The best thing about polyurethane, is how hard it gets. It gets harder than most other coatings. It is appropriate for industrial use occasionally. There are some high solids polyurethanes for industrial use but these are expensive and must be applied with special care. We don’t suggest poly for residential use or for small businesses. Coating wood in this plastic seems like a waste since it looks poor and fails quickly outdoors. There is simply too high a price paid envirosocially, for the few benefits of polyurethane. Natural wood finishes are much better choices.

We have used poly in the past, and do not use or recommend it for the home or office. We also stay away from other petro-based products for interior coatings.

2 of the products/methods we suggest using are Tung Oil or a Walnut Oil Beeswax Finish. We will discuss Tung oil in part 1.

Finishing with Tung Oil

TUNG OIL HISTORY: Pure Tung Oil was and is one of the first truely “Green” finishes. It is all natural and contains zero VOC’s. Pure Tung oil (China wood oil) is a all natural finishing product that provides a tough, flexible and highly water-resistant coating. It is classed as a drying oil along with linseed, poppy seed, safflower seed, walnut, soybean, oiticica and a few other oils. Although it is relatively new to the Western world, tung oil also known as chinawood oil has been known for centuries to the Chinese, and until this century, China was the main source for the oil. It comes from the seed of the tung trees, Aleurites fordii and Aleurites montana, deciduous trees that are very susceptible to frost damage. This vulnerability has restricted the cultivation of the tung trees to China and South America. Tung oil (china wood oil) received wide application in China: in the building trades as a treatment for both stone and wooden structures; in marine trades as a preservative and water repellant on wooden boats. It is said to have been introduced to the West by Marco Polo. From the 13th to the 19th century, tung oil had only limited use in the West. More recently, Tung oil has gained favor over linseed oil for wood finishing because it is faster drying and does not darken as much with age.

For ease of application, a solvent such as mineral spirits or citrus solvent is used. The mineral spirits is considered a toxic application while being applied, and the solvent quickly dissipates during the drying process. The citrus solvent is a natural solvent that is non toxic and does the same thing as mineral spirits. Mineral spirits and citrus solvent are used as “thinning agents” for easier applications of the Tung oil.

PURE TUNG OIL ADVANTAGES:

Zero VOC’s
All Natural means “Green”
Naturally polymerizing finish
Cures by oxidation not evaporation
Does not form a glossy finish no matter the number of coats
Form a flexible water proof finish
Resists abrasion and acids
Does not blister and peel (properly applied)
Does not mold like linseed oil
Long shelf life (will last for years, properly sealed)
Does not darken with time like linseed oil
Concentrated (thin one to one, doubles the coverage)
Combined with “Citrus Solvent” makes an all natural finish
FDA approved for food contact

Finding Tung Oil;

Tung Oil can be found on line here, or a good woodworking store such as Rockler Woodworking.

Application;

Step 1; Lightly sand the area with a 120 grit sandpaper, or oscillating orbital sander. Using a shop vac and dust cloth such as tac cloth; dust/clean the surface to remove dust and debris.

Step 2; Thin the Tung Oil 1:1, stirring the product until mixed thoroughly.

Step 3; Using a rag; dip the rag in the Tung oil and apply it to the area liberally. Making sure not to over apply to heavily, then rub the product into the surface being applied, and allow 10 minutes to soak into the wood.

Step 4; After about 10 to 15 minutes use old rags to rub the surface to remove excess Tung oil and weeping of joints. Nathann is shown rubbing the excess Tung oil from the White Ash Paneling.

Step 5; Repeat step 2 and 3 although do not apply as liberally as in step 2. For high traffic areas such as floors, 2 to 4 costs are recommended for protection.

Part 2, Walnut Oil and Beeswax

Tiny House Security

A Tiny House Security

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller

Can one live safely and feel secure in a tiny house? This week, will be an exploration of the positive aspects and challenges of living small in a tiny house.

Last week started with our laptop compromised by a hacker and malware program. I was surfing “stumbleupon” and a website started opening and our security essentials program, alerted me to the site that was trying to open. The next instant, what appeared to be the “recovery” window of Security Essentials opened and said to run an immediate scan, and started automatically. The next page, a millisecond later, so it seemed, another page opened confirmed that I had a malware program, and asking for credit card numbers the program could download the “fix” By that time, I knew this was just plain wrong and shut down the computer. On restarting the laptop, it was discovered that all the files were “gone!” So, it off to “Chips” to see if they could recover the date and fix the laptop, which they successfully did. The malware program hid the files and password protected them, so that the technician had to hack his with pass the program.

So, we got the laptop back on Thursday, and started to catch up on admin work. It started raining around 11PM when we closed up the shop and headed for the loft. The next morning, on walking from the cabin to the shop, I noticed that the car doors had been left open. Left Opened!???

To be continued….

A Tiny Green Cabins Safety Feature

Pictured is the Break Away Hitch and Safety System. All of Tiny Green Cabins trailers have this brake away safety feature, so just in case, the trailer breaks free from the tow vehicle, the electric assist brakes stop the trailer from becoming a runaway tiny house. The electric assist brakes also aid in transporting the tiny house as this feature assists the tow vehicle by applying the brakes in normal traffic when the tow vehicle applies its brakes. Tiny Green Cabins orders these safety features as a standard package of a tiny house to make the tiny house experience a wee bit safer for our customers. We consider the tiny house as a major investment by the customer, so we want to provide the best product available for the customers safety and investment security.