Gidday to You All

We have just invested into a 10 acre bare block south of Hastings close to O'tane and a stones throw away from the Tuki Tuki River. I have done quite a lot of research into what type of house we should build on the land, and being a thinking self employed builder, I'm not into erecting the old standard conventional 4x2 longrun roof house. The research into alternative building has led my down some interesting paths and we are almost convinced on either rammed earth or cast earth construction. Also careful consideration has been given to our solid and grey waste water system and am convinced that the new but conventional septic tank systems are a thing of the past, due to costs of installation (35 -40k) because of the new regulations as to the treatment of the waste. As apposed to the new composting toilets. (6k) installed
Anyway if anybody is interested in my research I'm only to happy to share.
Cheers

Welcome - and good luck with the project .. I'd say there would be a great deal of folks interested in alternative designs and construction materials. Happy researching!

Thought about hebel construction? Hay bales with stucco over the top

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I and my son are very interested in composting toilets, any particular one you favour?

Welcome, new here too.

The composting toilet we have purchased is ECOTOILET and they are based in Rotorua. There are two systems 1. Purely composting or 2. Low flush composting ie this system uses an conventional toilet like you would have in the city which flushes away all, but has a device contained within that splits the water from the solids allowing the solids to decompose quicker. There are 4 chambers which you rotate and within these chambers you liberate a quantity of Tiger worms who decompose the solids. Each chamber takes (for a family of 3-4) about 6months to fill before you have to rotate the chambers. So by the time a year has past and the worms have done there thing it is ready organic fertilizer for your garden etc. Now your asking yourself where does the liquid go. This is treated along with all your other waste water ie (kitchen, shower,laundry water) and can be used directly to water whatever.
We are going to put in a system that incorporates holding tanks which will allow us to pump it to various parts of our property. There are a lot of other ways you can dispose of your gray water and some have put in raised gardens, water there new boundary border trees etc.
If you are considering Ecotoilets contact Digby Taylor either through his Website or 07 3494940.
Cheers

Yep, Adobe,straw bail, etc , but still come back to either rammed or cast earth as it is a finished product once your have constructed inside and out which means no maintenance. Of course that is if you like earth textured walls for the interior. Do I get the impression you have been down this track or have built a straw bale unit yourself.
Cheers

Elsthorpe999;450563 wrote: Yep, Adobe,straw bail, etc , but still come back to either rammed or cast earth as it is a finished product once your have constructed inside and out which means no maintenance. Of course that is if you like earth textured walls for the interior. Do I get the impression you have been down this track or have built a straw bale unit yourself.
Cheers

Not yet but thinking about it when we get a lsb of our own. Seen it done and looks very cool. Wood sheds, animal shelters, hay shelters etc. Cheap if you have your own hay and can make lime mortar

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Hi Elsthorpe999 and welcome,i'm also interested in replacing our old weatherboard with an alternative type building but haven't decided on what type yet,this is where forums like lsb are great where you can learn from others how they've gone about it.

Welcome.
We are looking at one of those worm systems right now. 6k sounds good. I have been looking at the biolytix systems.

Just had a look at biolytix system on the net. Looks to me to be a good alternative to the conventional septic system. With our one every 8-12 months you empty the compost from the chamber worms and all. The worm population in these systems if treated right apparently double over a 12month period. What's the price of the biolytix system.???Can't figure out how they remove the compost, must be a trick to it.
Cheers