I've now had my hut for a year and it is a couple of hundred metres from my house and so I am still able to use it during lockdown. Lucky me!
Here are a few things I have observed over the year about water collection, toilets and lighting.
The swanky metal gutters and down pipes are lovely and were very easy to fit aparently. There are no pre cut holes in the gutter lengths which allows choice about where the down pipe is placed. Murray the joiner drilled several small holes instead of cutting one big one to stop leaves etc getting into the waterbutt. But they block too easily so going to have alter that. I have heard of various methods of keeping leaves out including plastic spikes and pot scrubbers. For now, I just clean them out now and again as they're not very high up and I put a "pop sock" or whatever they're called now(Knee high tights) over the end of the down pipe to cach pollen and small bits that blow off the trees. There's one hanging on the end of the rail having just been washed out. Works quite well. Last year I had quite a thick layer of yellow pollen on top of the water that went a bit yuck.
I have a basic composting toilet with a separate urine container which I have to remember to empty. If I was living further away I would have the urine going to a soakaway as it could get a bit unpleasant if the wee bucket got forgotten about for more than a day or two. The poop and sawdust bucket isn't a problem and sat half full all autumn and winter without any smell or fly problems. Might be different if the urine was going in the same bucket.
It all gets emptied into a container at the bottom of the beautifully manicured lawn. Its an old barrel with some holes drilled in, half filled with straw to help air circulation, covered with an old dustbin lid held down with a brick. I also add in coffee grounds and other kitchen waste and occasionally a bit of washing up water if it's all loking a bit dry. It's rotting down nicely. I keep a long handled brush near the bin to give the toilet bucket a scrub out after each empty.
One of the other hutters has been using compostable toilet liners and putting them in a normal metal dust bin with no extra holes and no straw in the bottom. I was not at all sure that that was going to do but I had a peek in it recently and it all seems to be breaking down nicely if a bit more slowly.
I have an Aladdin oil lamp which gives off an excellent light and a bit of heat which is handy on cooler evenings as I dont have a stove. I love it but it's a bit fiddly to opperateand takes a bit of getting used to so I'm not sure I'd be happy letting visitors use it and I'd be happier with a slightly sturdier table for it to sit on when grandchildren are crashing around. Otherwise I have candles in sturdy wide bottomed containers and a solar powered light for reading in bed at night so that I dont have to take anything with a flame near the bedding.
I was given the solar light by one of the other hutters who now has a much more sophisticated solar power set up in her hut. I also have a small solar powered radio sitting on the windowsill along with the little panel for the light
I also have an old filing cabinet for food, crockery and cutlery, hot water botles, t-towels etc which will hopefuly keep mice out but also keeps things quite cool. Not had any sign of mice in the hut yet.
I guess that if you have a stove then leaving the stove door open and baffles etc open when you are not there will give you some passive convection.
Given it is winter and warming cold air up leaves it very dry and inclined to dehumidify anyway it is a good time of year for you hut to dry itself when not used due to solar gain if you have a steady change over of air. I guess ti depends on your hut orientation and insulation level though.
If you have got the bulk of it dry and there is just a smaller bit o maintenance drying to do you might consider one or more of those chemical dehumidifer/moisture traps.
I believe they contain Calcium Chloride which can be got from ebay cheaper as refills if you shop around.
What most folk don't realize is that Calcium Chloride just absorbs water vapor and deliquesces anyway it is not a chemical reaction as such. So it is reversible and still works even when they look runny.
If you have what looks like a spent solution in a glass oven dish or some such you can dry it out again and go again when you light up your stove. It poses less of a disposal issue if you re-use it a lot.
I don't like the chemical moisture traps but have had to resort to them in places where leccy was not available.
Another option is a bucket of those silca gel balls again you can get the indicating variant off ebay that tells you when it needs drying. It can be used many times over. Just heat it up in an oven or on a stove top to dry it out and go again. The cheapest source of this stuff is to save up the bags of desiccant that get put in parcels etc.
I have used SIlica Gel to dry out the insides of boots and diving suits on may occasions (sown into a cloth bag). It is recycled and reused very easily with a careful application of the microwave oven. I also use silica gel with an electric heating element in a metal container in my 3D printing cabinet to keep the plastic filament dry. To recycle these I just put them in a draft (window crack ed open) and plug in the heating element.
The chemical method and the silica gel method though are no good if you have a lot of initial drying to do but will help you finish off and then maintain your hut when empty. If everything is as soggy as it sounds, the earlier advice from the other guys about airflow is the best option. Plus lots of stove running where you can..
I guess when stove drying out your hut then circulating the warm air is a good move too. There are those stove top peltier electric (heat powered fans) that may help.
Dunno if any of the above is any use but might be worth considering as options.
Ach, any ventilation is helpful.
Thanks, Sam. The long delay in planning left us building in rain when we'd hoped to have had it completed in April/May but who was to know the planning department would all be home based with our allocated planning officer off I'll for what seemed like months. We got there in the end and now just need to get through the worst of the weather while trying to get the place properly dry. I'm there every day opening up windows and door but it's do damp outside, I'm not sure if it's helping. 🙄
Hi Frugaldom,
More of the same, I’m afraid. Gentle/occasional heat and plenty of ventilation are key. The heat warms the air, massively increasing its capacity to hold moisture, which the ventilation then removes. A window at either end is perfect to get a blow through. It’s worth making sure there are no big obstacles in the hut, which will block airflow and leave a few stubborn damp areas. Even better if the windows can be left open a bit when you’re not there but appreciate that has other implications!
Sam
I'd like to know the best way of keeping dampness out of the hut. Having just completed, our build was open to the elements during both storms, Arwen and Barra, so the inside got pretty wet before the windows were fitted. It's drying out slowly but only because we have spent a huge chunk extra to fit a stove and have opening windows at either end of the hut. I've been lighting the stove whenever I have the chance but we've still no log store, so not much by way of dry wood. I've invested in some ecologs, coffee logs and long burning briquettes to try and get the heat into the place before 'winter proper' gets here. I've also used some cat litter tied inside socks to see if they will act like dehumidifiers, one on each windowsill. I also have a bowl of sodium bicarbonate in the cupboad, as it also absorbs moisture.
What are your best tips for keeping things damp free?
We have rain barrels and tanks on all our roofs as we store the water for the ponies and goats - no mains here and we've no well. I've found that covering the gutter entry point in the top of the IBCs with an appropriately sized flower pot and lining it with a good layer of sphagnum moss tends to filter out most things successfully.
Nice posts and piccys, well done. All very useful stuff. I think it also take a bit o chops to offer up such intimate detail on life and living. Kudos.
I found this useful video on youtube about rainwater harvesting. Perhaps a little more involved than folk may want to use on an occasional basis.
Here in the UK we don't actually often need to really deeply think about rain water harvesting due to the way that running water is legislated for and so common it is take for granted.
In other countries like America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand though this is not the case. (apologies for singling them out amongst so many others, it is just that having a common enough language makes it easier to draw lessons from that they have done)
The linked video is a case in point.
I have been messing with rainwater harvesting for a little while, almost exclusively for watering stuff I planted like tomatoes and strawberries etc and providing drinking water to some Ducks I was keeping.. We used a down pipe diverter. It diverts the water that sticks to the outside of the down pipe leaving the larger debris etc to fall down the pipe and out of the bottom. B&Q (and other stores) etc have these for rain barrels. Nothing too fancy. Messing is the correct description, noting too serious as yet.
A few things I learned from this are that a smaller quantity of the small debris (Pollen, dust and other sludgy stuff) still accumulates in the bottom of the Barrel). I must keep a lid on the Barrel to keep other insects out. Ball valves that don't drain on the out feed side crack when they get frozen no matter what they are made of. The last bit was expensive as I had replaced the cheap nasty rain barrel plastic taps with nice shiny stainless ball valve taps. I also learned that when empty the barrels are too light and get blown about in a storm, damaging the hoses etc.
Having replaced the ball valves with the same I put quick release hozelock type fittings on them and then placed a short garden hose between the two rain barrels. In winter I leave the valves open but the hose between the two stops any water loss and it is much more resilient to freezing. I also use this method to level up the barrels contents if one is getting too light through usage and might blow away in a storm
Next thing to try one day is maybe the idea from the video of the first flush sludge trap. Dunno if this would be useful or not.
I've been up at the hut cleaning out the gutter and the water barrel which had an inch of sludge in the bottom but that is the first time I've cleaned it out in a year and a half. I put a new bit of nylon on the down pipe to catch the pollen that'll be blowing off the trees just shortly. I'm also realising that having the gutter that collects the water within easy ladder reach makes it very easy to keep clean
Hand washing solution.Soap in a pair of tights tied to the handle of a 5 litre container. Either plug the hole with a golf tee or similar, or lay the container on its back to turn off. Sit upright to turn on! It is easily emptied and taken inside when not in use. I find anything left out gets covered in debris and fly poop.Also the soap goes soggy
Hi, this is all really helpful thanks! I'm a complete novice to Huts and Hutting, it's great to hear about all the various elements to think about.
I'm not sure about the barrell thingy...why not let the insects help as well?
The hut looks fantastic, and great to learn about how the toilet system is getting on. At a conference in Ireland last year someone called Ollan Herr was talking about how plants can be used to absorb the nitrogen and phosphorus that's lost through domestic sewage systems. Image attached here. I wonder how much ths might apply to huts?
Hi. Sounds you are well established and nested in.
I note two gas cylinders. Is that for the cooker? ... as you mention there is no heating. .... do you not use the hut much in winter? or is it a blanket job?
Looks great...good info on the toilet as well...have you looked at a gutter brush for the leaf problems...they work well on normal house gutters