Well, the school year is finished and therefore so is my collection period for water bottles. By estimation I have approximately 6,000 bottles to show for a little over 2 months. I could never have come close to that number without major assistance from faculty members, parents and students! Thank you all!
As impressive as that number is it is still less than half of what I needed for the original plan. With the 6,000 bottles I had two options (I don't have time for continued collection). I could have covered half the wall in the bottle blocks and used another method for the other half or change the arrangement of the bottles to allow for full coverage with lowered insulation value. As this cabin will mainly be a three season retreat, I opted to reorganize the bottles. I can always add more insulation later if needed.
The new plan is to take the bottles and attach them end to end in long rows. The long rows are fastened together with plastic wrapping and then they are inserted into the same mesh tubing that we will be using to build with (I should have plenty of extra). See the picture below but imagine the bottles in an eight foot tube.
As impressive as that number is it is still less than half of what I needed for the original plan. With the 6,000 bottles I had two options (I don't have time for continued collection). I could have covered half the wall in the bottle blocks and used another method for the other half or change the arrangement of the bottles to allow for full coverage with lowered insulation value. As this cabin will mainly be a three season retreat, I opted to reorganize the bottles. I can always add more insulation later if needed.
The new plan is to take the bottles and attach them end to end in long rows. The long rows are fastened together with plastic wrapping and then they are inserted into the same mesh tubing that we will be using to build with (I should have plenty of extra). See the picture below but imagine the bottles in an eight foot tube.
This will considerably reduce the R-value (insulation value) since we are going to be laying the bottles against the side of the wall instead of pointing them out. The insulation thickness goes from 6+ inches of plastic and foam down to about 2.5 inches (the width of a bottle). Oh well.
There are some benefits to this method though. One, the use of the foam is no longer necessary so the cost goes down and the insulation becomes "greener." Two the mesh bags will allow better adherence of the plaster which will eventually cover the walls. All in all I feel very good about what we have done. 6,000 bottles and 18,000+ plastic bags out of the waste stream or without the energy costs of recycling is nothing to sneeze at! Keep checking back to see how things are shaping up.
There are some benefits to this method though. One, the use of the foam is no longer necessary so the cost goes down and the insulation becomes "greener." Two the mesh bags will allow better adherence of the plaster which will eventually cover the walls. All in all I feel very good about what we have done. 6,000 bottles and 18,000+ plastic bags out of the waste stream or without the energy costs of recycling is nothing to sneeze at! Keep checking back to see how things are shaping up.
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