1 00:00:01,467 --> 00:00:02,667 [Danny] Here we are, in the middle of nowhere. 2 00:00:02,667 --> 00:00:04,567 [Karen] And we're building our strawbale house 3 00:00:04,567 --> 00:00:06,634 at the foothills of the Mule Mountains. 4 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,367 You ready? 5 00:00:08,367 --> 00:00:10,567 -[Karen] The wind's gonna get pretty rough. -Oh! 6 00:00:10,567 --> 00:00:12,767 We got a little bit of a bulge right here. 7 00:00:12,767 --> 00:00:14,767 -[Danny] Look out! -[Karen] Whoa! 8 00:00:14,767 --> 00:00:16,000 It's gonna fall on you! 9 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,567 [Karen] Yeah, let's go! Back! 10 00:00:17,567 --> 00:00:21,266 The cows have discovered that we have straw. 11 00:00:21,266 --> 00:00:24,166 It's a black tail rattlesnake. Whoa! 12 00:00:24,166 --> 00:00:26,166 This heat is killing us. 13 00:00:26,166 --> 00:00:29,467 It's dirt. It's no longer mud. Look at it. 14 00:00:29,467 --> 00:00:30,600 [Karen] It's monsoon season 15 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,467 and all the water just came down into our straw bale 16 00:00:33,467 --> 00:00:34,667 and rotted it out. 17 00:00:34,667 --> 00:00:36,667 [Danny] We're reaching the end of the budget. 18 00:00:36,667 --> 00:00:39,800 But not the end of the build. Oops! 19 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,867 [narrator] Are you ready to go off the grid? 20 00:00:44,266 --> 00:00:48,533 [upbeat instrumental rock music playing] 21 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:51,667 [Danny] Now, what do you think of this stuff, honey? 22 00:00:51,667 --> 00:00:53,066 I like this spot. 23 00:00:53,066 --> 00:00:55,266 [Danny] We're still a little close to the road over there. 24 00:00:55,266 --> 00:00:57,367 Maybe we wanna go over that way a little bit. 25 00:00:57,367 --> 00:00:59,867 So here we are, in the middle of nowhere, 26 00:00:59,867 --> 00:01:03,834 in southeast Arizona, on 20 acres we call Roadrunner Flats. 27 00:01:05,300 --> 00:01:07,567 We get about 10-12 inches of rain a year, 28 00:01:07,567 --> 00:01:09,000 so we are not in the desert. 29 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,467 And we're almost at 5,000 feet elevation. 30 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:14,166 We have 360-degree views. 31 00:01:14,166 --> 00:01:16,066 We've got five mountain ranges we can see. 32 00:01:16,066 --> 00:01:18,367 We got an excellent view of Mexico right there. 33 00:01:18,367 --> 00:01:20,533 So if you ever want to know if it snows in Mexico, 34 00:01:20,767 --> 00:01:21,600 it does. 35 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,266 [Danny] The views are spectacular. 36 00:01:23,266 --> 00:01:25,367 We just fell in love with the place. 37 00:01:25,367 --> 00:01:27,000 -I'm Karen. -I'm Danny. 38 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:28,467 [Karen] And we're building our strawbale house 39 00:01:28,467 --> 00:01:30,567 at the foothills of the Mule Mountains. 40 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:33,266 Our build site is in Bisbee, Arizona, 41 00:01:33,266 --> 00:01:36,266 about an hour-and-a-half southeast of Tucson. 42 00:01:36,266 --> 00:01:38,066 So we're currently living in our RV. 43 00:01:38,066 --> 00:01:40,367 We've been doing that for a couple of years now. 44 00:01:40,367 --> 00:01:44,266 But RV is like, what, 200-300 square feet? 45 00:01:44,266 --> 00:01:46,000 [Danny] We've had a lot of fun in this RV. 46 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,800 But I would rather have a kitchen. 47 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,266 And a place to stand. 48 00:01:50,266 --> 00:01:52,166 Well, I'm the cook around here. Tell me about it. 49 00:01:52,166 --> 00:01:53,567 [both laugh] 50 00:01:53,567 --> 00:01:56,700 It's comfy, it's great. But it's temporary. 51 00:01:56,700 --> 00:01:59,000 Here's to living in a house, eh? 52 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:00,533 -Soon. -[laughs] 53 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,367 [Danny] What do you think? Somewhere around here? 54 00:02:04,367 --> 00:02:06,467 -It feels like home. -Feels like home. 55 00:02:06,467 --> 00:02:07,834 [Karen] What do you think, Charlie girl? 56 00:02:08,500 --> 00:02:09,967 You wanna live here? 57 00:02:10,300 --> 00:02:11,667 She's the decider. 58 00:02:11,967 --> 00:02:13,467 [chuckles] 59 00:02:14,500 --> 00:02:16,367 So, we're building a strawbale house. 60 00:02:16,367 --> 00:02:18,467 We kind of were inspired by the earthships. 61 00:02:18,467 --> 00:02:22,200 But with the earthships, they recycle tires, and to do that, 62 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,567 you have to sledgehammer dirt 63 00:02:24,567 --> 00:02:27,500 into the tires as you're building the wall. 64 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:29,467 -Karen said... -"I want one of these." 65 00:02:29,467 --> 00:02:33,166 Yeah, so, I said, well, I'm not pounding tires. 66 00:02:33,166 --> 00:02:35,467 But I will help build a strawbale version of it. 67 00:02:35,467 --> 00:02:37,467 And so, that's what we're doing. 68 00:02:37,467 --> 00:02:39,800 [upbeat music playing] 69 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,500 [Danny] I've always liked the idea of being off-grid. 70 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:44,967 We don't have to rely on anyone else for anything. 71 00:02:44,967 --> 00:02:46,367 [Karen] We can take this piece of land 72 00:02:46,367 --> 00:02:48,967 that everybody else just kind of saw as wasteland 73 00:02:48,967 --> 00:02:52,100 and we can turn it into our home, into this masterpiece. 74 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:53,400 I used to work on boats 75 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,100 so a lot of carpentry skills there. 76 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:58,700 I've remodeled houses and had side jobs as a carpenter. 77 00:02:58,700 --> 00:02:59,567 [Karen] We're ready. 78 00:02:59,567 --> 00:03:01,100 We're building a strawbale house 79 00:03:01,100 --> 00:03:03,700 with an attached greenhouse on the south side. 80 00:03:03,700 --> 00:03:05,767 And when you walk in, it's gonna be the living room, 81 00:03:05,767 --> 00:03:09,467 and the big masonry heater that's gonna keep us toasty warm. 82 00:03:09,467 --> 00:03:12,367 And then behind that is the kitchen and the dining room, 83 00:03:12,367 --> 00:03:14,533 with a bedroom and bathroom in the back. 84 00:03:18,667 --> 00:03:20,266 We're totally off-grid. 85 00:03:20,266 --> 00:03:23,166 So we've got solar power for all of our power needs. 86 00:03:23,166 --> 00:03:26,567 We've got a masonry heater and passive solar for our heat. 87 00:03:26,567 --> 00:03:29,166 We've got well water for our water. 88 00:03:29,166 --> 00:03:31,467 And we've also got rain catchment. 89 00:03:31,467 --> 00:03:33,900 We're building a 1500-square foot house. 90 00:03:33,900 --> 00:03:38,367 Our budget is about $100,000, but he wants a little more. 91 00:03:38,367 --> 00:03:42,033 And we're hoping to get it done by about six months from now. 92 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:44,066 We've got some challenges. 93 00:03:44,066 --> 00:03:46,100 We've got the monsoon season coming up. 94 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:48,800 It's in the middle of nowhere. What if I had a heart attack or something? 95 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:50,567 If you've seen the roads coming in here, 96 00:03:50,567 --> 00:03:53,200 it would take somebody so long to get here. 97 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,266 So hospitals are pretty far away. 98 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,467 [Karen] It's our forever home. 99 00:03:57,467 --> 00:04:01,300 And it's gonna stand for 100 years and we're gonna pass it on to the kids 100 00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:04,066 and have something to be really proud of, you know? 101 00:04:04,066 --> 00:04:05,767 You better watch what you're committing to. 102 00:04:07,467 --> 00:04:09,900 [upbeat music playing] 103 00:04:09,900 --> 00:04:11,500 The first thing we had to do was clean the land. 104 00:04:11,500 --> 00:04:13,667 But we had snow on day one. 105 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:17,266 I only have one thing to say about this white stuff here. 106 00:04:17,266 --> 00:04:18,667 Get off my lawn! 107 00:04:18,667 --> 00:04:19,834 [laughs] 108 00:04:20,467 --> 00:04:22,166 So, we canceled day one. 109 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:24,567 [Karen] So once that snow melted, 110 00:04:24,567 --> 00:04:26,266 we went right into digging the footers. 111 00:04:29,567 --> 00:04:32,033 After that, it was time to frame 'em up! 112 00:04:34,567 --> 00:04:36,634 So, you know, we're off to a good start. 113 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,667 [Danny] All right, so got our footers in. 114 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:43,467 And the next thing we have to do is a stem wall. 115 00:04:43,467 --> 00:04:46,300 [Karen] There's the concrete footer and this is what connects it 116 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:48,200 to the slab that's on top. 117 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,066 Because we're doing passive solar, 118 00:04:50,066 --> 00:04:53,867 one of the things we would have to do is insulate our stem wall. 119 00:04:53,867 --> 00:04:56,266 But we found a product. 120 00:04:56,266 --> 00:04:58,600 It's an insulated concrete form. 121 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,600 So it actually acts as your form to pour the concrete into. 122 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,900 It's made out of polystyrene, so it's your insulation as well. 123 00:05:06,900 --> 00:05:09,100 [Karen] So there's two pieces and they go together 124 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:10,867 and then there's these plastic inserts 125 00:05:10,867 --> 00:05:13,266 that you use to keep the distance between 'em. 126 00:05:13,266 --> 00:05:15,200 It makes it one solid piece. 127 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,066 [Danny] Go down a little bit more. There you go. 128 00:05:18,467 --> 00:05:20,467 They're very light and maneuverable. 129 00:05:20,467 --> 00:05:21,667 [Karen] And I can do this. 130 00:05:22,867 --> 00:05:24,467 [Danny] The complicated part 131 00:05:24,467 --> 00:05:26,400 is we have some wind conditions today 132 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,667 and it's gonna get up to 16 miles an hour. 133 00:05:28,667 --> 00:05:30,734 So I'm a little concerned with that. 134 00:05:31,667 --> 00:05:33,533 There's that wind we were talking about. 135 00:05:34,467 --> 00:05:35,867 [Karen] It's a-coming! 136 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,467 I think in the next hour or two, the wind's gonna get pretty rough. 137 00:05:42,467 --> 00:05:44,634 And this stuff's all gonna start blowing away. 138 00:05:45,066 --> 00:05:46,567 So ideally, 139 00:05:46,567 --> 00:05:48,400 we're gonna have it in place before then. 140 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:49,367 -[upbeat music playing] -[drilling] 141 00:05:49,367 --> 00:05:51,066 We gotta pick out the corners. 142 00:05:55,266 --> 00:05:57,600 I think it's gonna be perfect. 143 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,467 Once we figure out the corners, we're gonna get 'em glued down. 144 00:06:00,467 --> 00:06:01,533 And they won't fly away. 145 00:06:02,467 --> 00:06:03,433 [groans] 146 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:05,634 All right, last piece! 147 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:08,734 [Danny] There we go. 148 00:06:10,266 --> 00:06:12,500 Bam! Done-zo! 149 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,400 And that... is a day. 150 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:16,433 [Danny] All right. 151 00:06:19,867 --> 00:06:22,767 [upbeat instrumental rock music playing] 152 00:06:22,767 --> 00:06:24,800 [Karen] Yesterday, we put in our ICFs. 153 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:26,567 Today is the day of our pour. 154 00:06:26,567 --> 00:06:30,266 Cement truck's coming and... here we go. 155 00:06:30,266 --> 00:06:32,800 -These ICF forms... -[Danny] New to us. 156 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:34,667 I mean, they say they're great. 157 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,667 But, we'll see. They could blow out. 158 00:06:37,667 --> 00:06:39,467 We're gonna know real shortly here, right? 159 00:06:39,467 --> 00:06:41,567 [Karen laughs] 160 00:06:41,567 --> 00:06:46,100 The worst possible scenario I guess would be a breach 161 00:06:46,100 --> 00:06:47,667 in one or more places, 162 00:06:47,667 --> 00:06:49,734 that the concrete forms don't hold. 163 00:06:52,867 --> 00:06:54,266 Here we go, folks! 164 00:06:56,867 --> 00:06:57,900 Seems to be holding. 165 00:06:59,266 --> 00:07:01,300 [Karen] We get the first bit done, it's like, 166 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:03,300 -"This is working!" -"This is holding just fine." 167 00:07:03,300 --> 00:07:04,567 "It's doing good!" 168 00:07:04,567 --> 00:07:05,867 So far it's gravy! 169 00:07:07,266 --> 00:07:09,567 -No jinxing here. -[laughs] 170 00:07:09,567 --> 00:07:11,033 [Karen] And then we turn the first corner. 171 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:12,634 And there's a bulge. 172 00:07:13,467 --> 00:07:14,767 Hold! 173 00:07:14,767 --> 00:07:17,000 We got a little bit of a bulge right here. 174 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,233 -[Karen] Stop, stop, stop, stop! -[Danny] Up, up, up! 175 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,867 [Karen] We started out so good! 176 00:07:26,867 --> 00:07:28,000 [Danny] Hold! 177 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,767 -[Karen] Stop, stop, stop, stop! -[Danny] Up, up, up! 178 00:07:31,100 --> 00:07:32,467 [Karen] And we're like, 179 00:07:32,467 --> 00:07:34,500 is it gonna? Is it gonna? Is it gonna? 180 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:36,734 -And it held. It did great. -It held. 181 00:07:39,767 --> 00:07:43,066 -Those ICFs, they're handy! -Yeah, they're working. 182 00:07:43,667 --> 00:07:45,033 [Karen] Ooh yay! 183 00:07:45,767 --> 00:07:47,333 -[Danny laughs] -It's holding. 184 00:07:48,367 --> 00:07:50,066 [Danny] Here comes some more. You ready? 185 00:07:50,967 --> 00:07:52,467 -All right. -[Karen groaning] 186 00:07:56,567 --> 00:07:57,800 [Danny] So we're doing good. 187 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,800 The level's looking good for a foundation. 188 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,600 We're well over halfway with our pour 189 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,600 so I think everything's gonna be perfect. 190 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,467 [Karen] Whoa! We got so much. 191 00:08:07,467 --> 00:08:08,533 [Danny] Forward! 192 00:08:09,066 --> 00:08:10,467 We got 'em in! 193 00:08:13,567 --> 00:08:16,100 [in deep voice] I love pouring concrete first thing in the morning! 194 00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:17,533 [Danny groans] 195 00:08:18,867 --> 00:08:21,266 What a team, man. We're working good here. 196 00:08:21,266 --> 00:08:22,634 -[Karen] We're working fast. -Yeah. 197 00:08:23,467 --> 00:08:25,767 So we have this dog, and she's a rescue. 198 00:08:25,767 --> 00:08:29,266 Her name's Charlie Girl. But she loves me a ton. 199 00:08:29,266 --> 00:08:31,934 In your face 24/7, pretty much. 200 00:08:32,767 --> 00:08:35,100 What are you doing? 201 00:08:35,100 --> 00:08:37,867 Silly girl. Come on. Out you go. [laughs] 202 00:08:37,867 --> 00:08:40,533 Well, the dog wanted to be memorialized. 203 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:42,567 She's got some paw prints. 204 00:08:42,567 --> 00:08:45,667 She will forever be remembered. It's kind of sweet. 205 00:08:47,166 --> 00:08:48,800 [Danny] We're done, man. 206 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,834 We managed to get through it with the help of friends. 207 00:08:51,567 --> 00:08:52,767 Look at us! 208 00:08:52,767 --> 00:08:54,767 First time through the front door! 209 00:08:54,767 --> 00:08:56,033 [Karen] Are you gonna carry me? 210 00:08:56,500 --> 00:08:59,266 -No! No! -[laughing] 211 00:08:59,266 --> 00:09:00,634 I am not! 212 00:09:06,100 --> 00:09:08,266 [upbeat music playing] 213 00:09:08,266 --> 00:09:10,467 [Danny] Since we poured the foundation wall, 214 00:09:10,467 --> 00:09:13,767 we've moved 62 tons of pea gravel by hand 215 00:09:13,767 --> 00:09:15,367 inside of that perimeter. 216 00:09:15,367 --> 00:09:18,166 And then we poured a four or five-inch slab 217 00:09:18,166 --> 00:09:19,333 over the top of that. 218 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,400 And it's just smooth as anything. 219 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,000 That's gonna be our permanent floor 220 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,433 as part of the passive solar arrangement. 221 00:09:28,367 --> 00:09:29,433 [Karen sighs] 222 00:09:29,567 --> 00:09:30,767 Yay! 223 00:09:30,767 --> 00:09:33,200 It feels so good. It's all... it's all up from here, right? 224 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:34,567 -Yeah. -Yeah. 225 00:09:37,467 --> 00:09:40,000 [Danny] Today, we're gonna put walls up. 226 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,967 [Karen] So what we're building is a 1500-square foot strawbale house. 227 00:09:42,967 --> 00:09:46,800 And so, the walls that we're putting up are actually wall trusses. 228 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,900 Instead of your typical two-by-four, two-by-six wall construction, 229 00:09:49,900 --> 00:09:52,166 ours are actually 16 inches wide 230 00:09:52,166 --> 00:09:53,667 and the way it works is, 231 00:09:53,667 --> 00:09:54,867 that wall truss stands up 232 00:09:54,867 --> 00:09:57,700 and then the strawbales just press up against it. 233 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:00,133 And so, they're the width of the strawbale. 234 00:10:01,467 --> 00:10:02,667 [Karen] Whoa! 235 00:10:02,667 --> 00:10:04,800 The wind will take these. 236 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,767 [Danny] We'll put some serious nails in the bottom. 237 00:10:07,967 --> 00:10:10,834 On top of these walls, we've gotta put box beams. 238 00:10:13,300 --> 00:10:16,200 Basically, what I'm building is a three-sided box. 239 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,166 And that's a beam that's gonna be on top of the wall trusses 240 00:10:19,166 --> 00:10:20,667 to support the roof. 241 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:22,967 [Karen] They're heavy. 242 00:10:22,967 --> 00:10:25,100 -They're very heavy. -They're heavy. 243 00:10:25,100 --> 00:10:27,600 [Danny] Yeah, they weigh 200, 300 pounds, somewhere in there. 244 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,567 That's the situation we're facing today. 245 00:10:32,667 --> 00:10:36,767 Luckily, we have a neighbor with a tractor. 246 00:10:36,767 --> 00:10:39,000 And we're gonna put these forklift arms on it 247 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,066 and hopefully that'll give us enough height. 248 00:10:42,100 --> 00:10:44,000 So we're gonna lift these box beams 249 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,767 precariously on top of these wall trusses. 250 00:10:47,767 --> 00:10:49,567 We'll have some ropes on the end. 251 00:10:49,567 --> 00:10:52,100 But we gotta perch them on these trusses, 252 00:10:52,100 --> 00:10:54,667 and there's only an inch-and-a-half on each side. 253 00:10:54,667 --> 00:10:58,700 So it's gonna take a little maneuvering and it's this windy day. 254 00:10:58,700 --> 00:11:00,066 [man] It is, indeed. 255 00:11:00,066 --> 00:11:01,867 [Danny] I don't know if we're gonna be able to do it or not. 256 00:11:01,867 --> 00:11:04,166 -[Sheryl] I'm ready. -[Danny] All right. 257 00:11:04,166 --> 00:11:06,266 -You ready? -Let's do it. 258 00:11:06,266 --> 00:11:07,266 All right. 259 00:11:07,266 --> 00:11:09,200 So the big challenges that we have today 260 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:10,700 is not only that these box beams 261 00:11:10,700 --> 00:11:13,500 -weigh like 200 to 300 pounds... -[Danny] Yeah. 262 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:17,567 [Karen] ...but they say our winds are supposed to be 10 miles per hour. 263 00:11:17,567 --> 00:11:19,567 But 10 miles per hour means 264 00:11:19,567 --> 00:11:23,634 -20 to 25 on a normal day. -Yeah, there's always gusts as well. 265 00:11:25,467 --> 00:11:26,934 Okay. 266 00:11:29,867 --> 00:11:33,867 [Karen] My number one concern about lifting this up is the wind. 267 00:11:33,867 --> 00:11:35,567 You know, we're holding it with guide ropes 268 00:11:35,567 --> 00:11:37,400 and I've done that before and that's cool. 269 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,767 We've got good knots on the end to hold it together. 270 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:41,667 But a good gust 271 00:11:41,667 --> 00:11:43,200 and you're not holding that guide rope, 272 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,567 that thing might swing and hit you in the head. 273 00:11:45,567 --> 00:11:47,200 Might knock your ladder out. 274 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,767 I mean, it's 200 pounds flying in the air. 275 00:11:49,767 --> 00:11:51,467 -On a windy day. -[Danny] Yeah. 276 00:11:51,467 --> 00:11:53,433 [Karen] I need to come forward. 277 00:11:56,367 --> 00:11:57,734 -Whoa! -[Danny] Whoa! 278 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:00,634 [Danny] Whoa. Hold it right there. 279 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,233 Actually, bring it up just a hair. 280 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,200 Yeah, I know. I'm trying to do it slow. 281 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:07,767 [Karen] Well, wait for the gust. 282 00:12:07,767 --> 00:12:09,000 [Danny] Oh! 283 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:10,867 It needs to come your way. 284 00:12:10,867 --> 00:12:12,900 Yeah. We have to lock that side down, 285 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:15,500 then it's push the whole thing over this way. 286 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:16,567 Sheryl can drive. 287 00:12:16,567 --> 00:12:19,033 -She's pretty good, yeah. -She's so good. 288 00:12:21,467 --> 00:12:23,333 [nail gun firing] 289 00:12:24,066 --> 00:12:25,567 Here comes the wind! 290 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,567 Right now, it's way too windy to be doing this. 291 00:12:31,767 --> 00:12:33,367 -You want it down some? -[Danny] Yeah. 292 00:12:34,867 --> 00:12:37,767 [Danny] She came in, lowered that thing down nice and slow. 293 00:12:37,767 --> 00:12:40,066 I was amazed how slow she could lower it. 294 00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:43,033 -[Sheryl] Oh, yeah. -[Danny] Right there. 295 00:12:43,567 --> 00:12:44,767 [Sheryl] There you go. 296 00:12:44,767 --> 00:12:47,767 -[nail gun firing] -[Danny] Okay, that's good. 297 00:12:47,767 --> 00:12:50,033 -Will you unhook that strap? -[Danny] Yeah! 298 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:51,467 [groans] 299 00:12:51,467 --> 00:12:53,166 Boom! First one locked down. 300 00:12:53,166 --> 00:12:56,233 -Wow. Nice driving, babe. -[Sheryl laughs] 301 00:12:57,467 --> 00:12:59,000 Look at that. 302 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,066 -Looking good? -Looking good. 303 00:13:01,066 --> 00:13:02,900 [Danny] Once we get another side on, 304 00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:05,867 it'll be stronger and then the third side will be stronger yet. 305 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,133 Well, we can try it again. 306 00:13:12,266 --> 00:13:13,967 The wind's picking up again. 307 00:13:14,467 --> 00:13:17,367 [upbeat music playing] 308 00:13:17,367 --> 00:13:19,634 Ready? Pick it on up. 309 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:21,934 [Karen] I'm on it. 310 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,867 -[Danny] Look out! -[Karen] Whoa! 311 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,900 [Danny] We're right in a critical stage up at the top. 312 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:34,567 Karen's trying to maneuver her side, 313 00:13:34,567 --> 00:13:36,100 I'm trying to maneuver my side. 314 00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:37,266 And the next thing you know... 315 00:13:37,266 --> 00:13:40,367 -Look out! -[Karen] Whoa! 316 00:13:40,367 --> 00:13:43,000 This gust of wind just jerks the rope. 317 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,367 I was like... 318 00:13:44,367 --> 00:13:46,934 -Whoa! -...falling backwards and almost tripped over a pipe. 319 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:49,634 Let's give this wind a minute. 320 00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:53,166 -It was just a gust, so... -It was a doozy. 321 00:13:53,166 --> 00:13:56,266 I'm sure glad that it didn't hit anybody. 322 00:13:56,266 --> 00:13:58,266 -Okay, we're ready now? -[Danny] Yeah. 323 00:13:59,467 --> 00:14:01,066 She's coming. 324 00:14:01,066 --> 00:14:03,266 [Karen] After that, it went really smoothly. 325 00:14:03,266 --> 00:14:06,367 [upbeat music playing] 326 00:14:06,367 --> 00:14:08,000 [Danny] And once we knew what we were doing, too, 327 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:09,567 -it went a lot quicker. -[Karen] Yeah. 328 00:14:09,567 --> 00:14:10,667 But, I mean, that's always the way. 329 00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:12,767 -The first one always takes the longest. -Yeah. 330 00:14:12,767 --> 00:14:14,567 [Danny] So we got this set of walls up. 331 00:14:14,567 --> 00:14:16,967 I have to duplicate that on the other side of the house. 332 00:14:16,967 --> 00:14:19,667 And, wow, within two weeks, we're gonna be putting strawbales in, 333 00:14:19,667 --> 00:14:22,333 we'll have walls. That's amazing. 334 00:14:32,066 --> 00:14:34,500 We ended up getting all our perimeter walls up. 335 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:36,867 Everything's solid. That was pretty cool. 336 00:14:36,867 --> 00:14:38,433 [dog barking] 337 00:14:39,166 --> 00:14:40,333 You know what time it is now? 338 00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:42,300 It's strawbale time! 339 00:14:42,300 --> 00:14:44,634 -Oh right, that's true. Strawbales. -[Karen laughs] 340 00:14:48,667 --> 00:14:50,867 -But what did you order? Hundred and-- -Hundred and thirty-five. 341 00:14:50,867 --> 00:14:52,767 Hundred and thirty five bales. 342 00:14:52,767 --> 00:14:55,900 And so, those are all unloaded onto the slab. 343 00:14:55,900 --> 00:14:58,000 But a lot of them have to be cut to size 344 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,367 and they've got to be wedged in. 345 00:14:59,367 --> 00:15:02,367 And we gotta tie them all in to each other. 346 00:15:02,367 --> 00:15:05,667 If we were to do this by ourselves, it'd probably take us two weeks. 347 00:15:05,667 --> 00:15:08,266 But luckily, 348 00:15:08,266 --> 00:15:10,700 -Karen once again... you got some resources. -We have friends. 349 00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:12,734 [Karen] You spread out the word, people come. 350 00:15:14,100 --> 00:15:18,100 [Danny] All right, so our mission today is to put these strawbales 351 00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:19,333 into these trusses. 352 00:15:19,867 --> 00:15:21,066 Right in here. 353 00:15:21,066 --> 00:15:22,767 We're gonna stuff those in there. 354 00:15:22,767 --> 00:15:25,400 Some of them are at the exact size they need to be. 355 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,166 And some of them are not. 356 00:15:27,166 --> 00:15:30,467 And sometimes, that fourth bale up on top 357 00:15:30,467 --> 00:15:32,867 needs a little bit of persuasion. 358 00:15:32,867 --> 00:15:34,567 This is the Thor hammer. 359 00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:37,767 And this gives us enough weight 360 00:15:37,767 --> 00:15:39,467 to knock that bale around a bit. 361 00:15:40,567 --> 00:15:42,233 Okay, guys, we'll turn you loose. 362 00:15:46,667 --> 00:15:48,900 Nice. Like a glove. 363 00:15:48,900 --> 00:15:50,800 Now, see how easy that was, 364 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:52,233 when you got the right size. 365 00:15:54,266 --> 00:15:56,066 Let's try going in together. [grunts] 366 00:15:59,867 --> 00:16:01,433 -Like a glove. -Yeah. 367 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,333 Push it this way a little bit, Mike. 368 00:16:08,667 --> 00:16:10,133 There you go, you're coming. 369 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,533 [Karen] All right, now the hard part. 370 00:16:19,066 --> 00:16:20,934 [Danny] Ooh, that one's way tall. 371 00:16:21,567 --> 00:16:22,934 I think I'm gonna chainsaw it. 372 00:16:38,367 --> 00:16:39,867 [Karen] Oh, that was too easy. 373 00:16:39,867 --> 00:16:41,567 -[Danny] How about that? -[Karen] Good job. 374 00:16:41,567 --> 00:16:43,500 -How'd you like that chainsaw thing? -That was pretty good. 375 00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:44,867 -Right? -[chuckling] Yeah. 376 00:16:46,667 --> 00:16:48,100 [Karen] So we did an introduction. 377 00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:50,367 We showed 'em how to stack and where to put 'em. 378 00:16:50,367 --> 00:16:51,767 And then they just did it. 379 00:16:51,767 --> 00:16:53,767 [Danny] They broke up into little units. 380 00:16:53,767 --> 00:16:56,000 And just moved in. They started doing this wall. 381 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,166 Another unit started doing this corner. 382 00:16:58,166 --> 00:16:59,667 -It was amazing. -Yeah. 383 00:16:59,667 --> 00:17:03,133 [upbeat music playing] 384 00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:06,166 [Danny] Well, I'm using the knuckle buster. 385 00:17:06,166 --> 00:17:08,433 We're just an inch or so wide. 386 00:17:09,900 --> 00:17:13,066 Usually, if you can get down to where the strings are, 387 00:17:13,567 --> 00:17:15,767 you're pretty clear. 388 00:17:15,767 --> 00:17:17,734 Let me get the hammer on there while you push. 389 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,266 Another successful operation by the Thor hammer! 390 00:17:27,266 --> 00:17:28,467 [man 1] Whoo! 391 00:17:28,467 --> 00:17:30,333 -[grunts] -[laughs] 392 00:17:31,967 --> 00:17:33,600 [Danny] All right, everybody, be careful. 393 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,467 These bales that are stacked up high, 394 00:17:35,467 --> 00:17:37,967 we don't want 'em falling on you, they're about 90 pounds. 395 00:17:37,967 --> 00:17:39,667 They could break a leg or a hip. 396 00:17:39,667 --> 00:17:41,634 And I know it's important to you young folks. 397 00:17:42,767 --> 00:17:44,467 Moving them around, it could be dangerous. 398 00:17:44,467 --> 00:17:47,400 There's straw all over the floor, it's slippery. 399 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,867 You're carrying 60 to 90 pounds on you. 400 00:17:49,867 --> 00:17:51,967 You can't see what's in front of you. 401 00:17:52,300 --> 00:17:53,567 Whoa! 402 00:17:53,567 --> 00:17:55,400 Guys, look out, it's gonna fall on you! 403 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,066 -Look out! -[indistinct shouting] 404 00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:02,333 One, two, three! 405 00:18:03,367 --> 00:18:05,867 Whoa! Look out, it's gonna fall on you! 406 00:18:05,867 --> 00:18:08,367 -[indistinct shouting] -[man 1] Near miss. 407 00:18:08,367 --> 00:18:10,700 Holy cow, man. That was lucky. 408 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,567 Somebody was trying to stack a bale, and it fell over. 409 00:18:13,567 --> 00:18:15,600 I guess we shouldn't stack 'em that high. 410 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,767 [Danny] Luckily, they were able to get out of the way. 411 00:18:17,767 --> 00:18:20,066 Nobody got hurt on that, I'm so glad. 412 00:18:20,066 --> 00:18:22,533 -I suppose you need a little hand, lifting that. -[Mike] You could. 413 00:18:24,367 --> 00:18:26,567 [Danny] Once everybody saw that there could be potential problems, 414 00:18:26,567 --> 00:18:28,367 they started paying a little bit more attention 415 00:18:28,367 --> 00:18:30,100 and safety conscious and all that stuff 416 00:18:30,100 --> 00:18:32,967 and it was smooth sailing after that, everything went well. 417 00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:41,233 Oh, yeah, look at this. 418 00:18:42,467 --> 00:18:44,166 It's amazing how quick it went up. 419 00:18:44,166 --> 00:18:46,467 But this team worked. 420 00:18:46,467 --> 00:18:49,266 Like, little separate units just worked all together 421 00:18:49,266 --> 00:18:50,867 to make this stuff happen, it was awesome. 422 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:52,266 That's it. 423 00:18:53,266 --> 00:18:54,433 We're calling it. 424 00:18:54,900 --> 00:18:55,900 Whoo-hoo! 425 00:18:55,900 --> 00:18:58,367 Touched my heart when all these people turned up. 426 00:19:00,166 --> 00:19:01,467 Boom! 427 00:19:01,467 --> 00:19:03,467 Yeah, everybody's gonna be invited here forever. 428 00:19:03,467 --> 00:19:06,567 Because, you know, they're all a part of it. 429 00:19:06,567 --> 00:19:07,634 It's kinda cool. 430 00:19:08,166 --> 00:19:09,667 You know what time it is? 431 00:19:09,667 --> 00:19:12,266 -Quittin' time. -Quittin' time. 432 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:14,634 [upbeat instrumental rock music playing] 433 00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:21,567 [Karen] Good morning! 434 00:19:21,567 --> 00:19:24,600 Welcome, everybody. We are super excited 435 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,266 to introduce you all to the wonderful world 436 00:19:27,266 --> 00:19:28,734 of industrial hemp building. 437 00:19:30,367 --> 00:19:31,567 [Danny] Today's gonna be a great day. 438 00:19:31,567 --> 00:19:34,266 'Cause we got Micaela and Vince to come out 439 00:19:34,266 --> 00:19:36,600 to do some hempcrete work for us. 440 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,967 But at the same time, they're gonna provide a workshop. 441 00:19:39,967 --> 00:19:42,400 [Vince] We use a product that is sustainable, 442 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,467 non-toxic, mold resistant, 443 00:19:44,467 --> 00:19:47,166 -and good for the planet. -[motor starts] 444 00:19:48,867 --> 00:19:52,166 [Vince] We take hemp powder, lime, porcelain, water, 445 00:19:52,166 --> 00:19:53,867 and depending on the method of build, 446 00:19:53,867 --> 00:19:56,066 we create different ratios of that recipe 447 00:19:56,066 --> 00:19:57,533 that fit what is needed. 448 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,000 All right, so first, I'm gonna need you 449 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,900 to fill up my smaller bucket here. 450 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:05,667 -Right. -With the pre-mix that Vince has made for us. 451 00:20:05,667 --> 00:20:09,567 [Danny] We're just doing one part of the wall that connects our bathroom. 452 00:20:09,567 --> 00:20:11,667 We don't want any mold or mildew going on in there. 453 00:20:11,667 --> 00:20:15,166 So I feel we're sealing off that potential problem. 454 00:20:15,166 --> 00:20:18,467 -[Karen] How's that look? -[Micaela] That looks great. 455 00:20:18,467 --> 00:20:20,567 [Danny] Okay, I see you've made a form out of the wall. 456 00:20:20,567 --> 00:20:23,567 Yeah, so we've taken your existing framing... 457 00:20:23,567 --> 00:20:25,200 -Yeah. -...and we've just made a cavity. 458 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,667 -Okay. -Right? So we've got some plywood on each side. 459 00:20:27,667 --> 00:20:29,100 -Yeah. -And what we're gonna be doing 460 00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:31,467 -is taking our hemp-lime mix... - [Danny] Yep. 461 00:20:31,467 --> 00:20:33,166 ...you're gonna take your tamper, 462 00:20:33,166 --> 00:20:34,767 -give it a good smash. -All right. 463 00:20:34,767 --> 00:20:37,667 And we're gonna continue the process over and over. 464 00:20:37,667 --> 00:20:40,166 [Danny] You basically put the hempcrete in between, 465 00:20:40,166 --> 00:20:41,567 tamp it down 466 00:20:41,567 --> 00:20:44,567 and once you've filled that up, you can move the plywood up 467 00:20:44,567 --> 00:20:47,166 and just continually move that up your wall. 468 00:20:49,367 --> 00:20:51,367 -Cool. -[man whistles] 469 00:20:51,367 --> 00:20:53,000 [Danny] And your wall is complete when you're done. 470 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:54,967 It's still wet. It still has to cure. 471 00:20:54,967 --> 00:20:57,300 But it's right there in place. 472 00:20:57,300 --> 00:20:58,667 It's getting pretty tight here. 473 00:20:58,667 --> 00:21:00,066 I'm gonna have to do it sideways. 474 00:21:00,066 --> 00:21:01,634 I'm loving this! 475 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,967 -[Danny] Look at that! -Whoa! 476 00:21:05,967 --> 00:21:07,567 [Danny] Look at all the layers. Isn't that cool? 477 00:21:07,567 --> 00:21:08,834 [Karen] Wow. 478 00:21:08,834 --> 00:21:11,667 [Danny] So we've gone from dirt to walls up and bales in. 479 00:21:12,567 --> 00:21:15,300 -That's pretty fast. -[Karen] Look at that. 480 00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:17,233 [Danny] Yeah, it's solid as anything. 481 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:20,166 Big grin. I'm happy. 482 00:21:20,166 --> 00:21:22,767 But monsoon season... it's coming, babe. 483 00:21:22,767 --> 00:21:24,567 -Real soon. -It's right around the corner. 484 00:21:24,567 --> 00:21:26,166 We just can't afford to take time off 485 00:21:26,166 --> 00:21:27,867 and we can't afford to slow down. 486 00:21:27,867 --> 00:21:29,066 So I hope you're up for it. 487 00:21:29,066 --> 00:21:31,266 You remember that vacation you wanted to take in Mexico? 488 00:21:31,266 --> 00:21:32,900 Yeah, I think that's out. 489 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:33,934 -Sorry. -Yeah. 490 00:21:37,767 --> 00:21:39,266 [Karen] We have a really unique problem 491 00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:41,800 that most builds don't have to deal with. 492 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,000 This whole mountainside is open range cattle grazing. 493 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,000 And let's just say we've had a few issues. 494 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,467 The cows have discovered that we have straw. 495 00:21:51,467 --> 00:21:55,467 So I've literally gotta block off all the doorways 496 00:21:55,467 --> 00:21:57,400 so they won't come in 497 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,734 and eat this precious commodity. 498 00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:02,266 [Karen] Let's go! Out! 499 00:22:02,266 --> 00:22:04,634 [mooing] 500 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:06,166 Let's go! 501 00:22:07,567 --> 00:22:09,467 It's gonna be a long night. 502 00:22:09,467 --> 00:22:13,533 If we can't get these cows to move out of the way, we got problems. 503 00:22:14,767 --> 00:22:16,667 -Yeah, you too. -[mooing] 504 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:25,166 [Danny] Get! Get! Get on out! Go! Get on out! 505 00:22:25,166 --> 00:22:26,967 -[cows mooing] -Get over! 506 00:22:30,567 --> 00:22:32,800 [upbeat instrumental rock music playing] 507 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,100 -[honking] -[mooing] 508 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:37,967 [Karen] These open range cows, they haven't totally moved away. 509 00:22:37,967 --> 00:22:39,700 But we've put up some preventative measures 510 00:22:39,700 --> 00:22:42,166 to keep them from eating the house. 511 00:22:42,166 --> 00:22:45,900 [Danny] We have stucco netting wrapped and tied around here. 512 00:22:45,900 --> 00:22:48,500 We've got some boards over the doors. 513 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:51,333 I feel pretty safe now. They'll have a hard time getting in there. 514 00:22:55,667 --> 00:22:57,133 [Karen] We've been working hard. 515 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,000 So we put on the roof. We had to do all the I-beams. 516 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,767 We had to sheet it. 517 00:23:02,767 --> 00:23:04,333 And then we put the metal on it. 518 00:23:05,667 --> 00:23:09,367 -And we've been mudding for months. -Forever. 519 00:23:09,367 --> 00:23:11,200 [Karen] We're mudding the outside of the strawbales. 520 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,200 And we have really finely chopped straw, 521 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,700 and that's what protects it from just washing all away. 522 00:23:16,700 --> 00:23:18,800 The straw, like, actually interconnects itself 523 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,033 and it makes it like a solid structure. 524 00:23:24,867 --> 00:23:29,634 I think we've probably put 400 or 500 gallons of mud on the house so far. 525 00:23:31,066 --> 00:23:35,166 -I think it's more like 4,000 or 5,000 gallons. -It's so much. 526 00:23:35,467 --> 00:23:36,934 On the money! 527 00:23:37,967 --> 00:23:40,767 We got all the windows in. 528 00:23:40,767 --> 00:23:43,367 We've done interior wall framing. 529 00:23:43,367 --> 00:23:46,100 We've got the electrical in there. 530 00:23:46,100 --> 00:23:48,400 We've got the greenhouse framed. 531 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,100 We've got an awful lot done. 532 00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:51,467 Success. 533 00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:55,266 So, welcome to the greenhouse. 534 00:23:55,266 --> 00:23:57,100 Right over here, you can see this is kind of where 535 00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:58,900 our garden bed's gonna be. 536 00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:02,967 I got these beams from a neighbor who was tearing down his old barn. 537 00:24:02,967 --> 00:24:04,600 So it's gonna be kind of rustic. 538 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,400 And all of the grey water from the house 539 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,567 comes out at this pipe right here. 540 00:24:09,567 --> 00:24:12,900 And right outside where I have my tractor parked, 541 00:24:12,900 --> 00:24:15,700 I'm gonna bury that 55-gallon drum. 542 00:24:15,700 --> 00:24:19,867 So water will be filtered with activated charcoal into that drum. 543 00:24:19,867 --> 00:24:22,266 There is a sub pump that will, every morning, 544 00:24:22,266 --> 00:24:26,467 will pump that water up to this end of the garden beds. 545 00:24:26,467 --> 00:24:29,166 This is gonna take all that water that we use in our showers, 546 00:24:29,166 --> 00:24:31,567 and laundry and all that kind of stuff from the sinks. 547 00:24:31,567 --> 00:24:34,367 And this is gonna come out here and it's gonna go in that drum. 548 00:24:34,367 --> 00:24:37,367 And it's gonna pump right back out here and grow food. 549 00:24:37,367 --> 00:24:38,634 That's gonna be cool. 550 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,467 Ready to do this window? 551 00:24:42,467 --> 00:24:44,567 All right, we gotta be careful with it, though, 552 00:24:44,567 --> 00:24:47,667 because this is like a one of a kind deal. 553 00:24:47,667 --> 00:24:49,266 Today's a fun day for me. 554 00:24:49,266 --> 00:24:51,667 Because we bought this round window 555 00:24:51,667 --> 00:24:54,000 and today's the day we get to put it in. 556 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,367 We found this at the salvage yard. 557 00:24:56,367 --> 00:24:58,100 And Danny's like, "Do you want a round window?" 558 00:24:58,100 --> 00:25:00,166 I'm like, "No, I don't want a round window." 559 00:25:00,166 --> 00:25:02,300 And then there was that window I saw 560 00:25:02,300 --> 00:25:03,667 in the earthships and the greenhouse 561 00:25:03,667 --> 00:25:05,700 -with the cans and the bottles and... -[Danny] Yeah, once-- 562 00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:08,000 [Danny] Once you get those cans and bottles and stuff going in there, 563 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,700 I think it's gonna be that whole 564 00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:11,300 earthship-py thing that we're trying to do. 565 00:25:11,300 --> 00:25:14,767 Recycled windows, recycled glass, recycled cans. 566 00:25:14,767 --> 00:25:16,000 And a cheap wall. 567 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:17,600 -Yeah. -Fits in our budget. 568 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,900 -[Danny] Yeah. This thing is only $159. -Yeah. 569 00:25:19,900 --> 00:25:22,867 Yeah, if you buy these new, they're like $900 or something. 570 00:25:22,867 --> 00:25:24,767 Yeah. So we did good. 571 00:25:24,767 --> 00:25:26,300 So from that salvage yard, 572 00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:28,667 we're pretty much getting our entire greenhouse. 573 00:25:28,667 --> 00:25:31,266 We got all the south windows, our old slider. 574 00:25:31,266 --> 00:25:33,133 This round window came from there. 575 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,800 All right! She's solid. 576 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,900 -It's a beaut! - [Karen] That's our free room. 577 00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:41,166 [Danny] Yeah, I like that. 578 00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:45,300 Something's gotta be, 'cause this budget is, ah... 579 00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:47,367 -This big. -We're ahead, yeah. 580 00:25:47,367 --> 00:25:49,667 We're reaching the end of the budget. 581 00:25:49,667 --> 00:25:52,266 But not the end of the build. Oops. 582 00:25:52,266 --> 00:25:54,000 It looks great. We'll get some bottle bricks 583 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,400 and some cans and we'll get this mudded in. 584 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:57,667 [Danny] It's gonna be cleaned up, of course. 585 00:25:57,667 --> 00:25:59,467 [Karen] But now I have to clean. 586 00:25:59,467 --> 00:26:00,967 I'm real pleased with it. 587 00:26:00,967 --> 00:26:01,967 It's gonna look even better 588 00:26:01,967 --> 00:26:04,166 as we build the rest of the wall around it. 589 00:26:08,266 --> 00:26:11,066 We're mixing mud for our can and bottle walls. 590 00:26:11,066 --> 00:26:12,900 We got three parts soil. 591 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:15,266 We got one part Portland cement. 592 00:26:15,266 --> 00:26:18,567 We're adding some water. And then we got mud. 593 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,266 [Karen] It's time to do our very first bottle wall. 594 00:26:28,266 --> 00:26:30,600 We've been collecting bottles for a year. 595 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,000 And my parents, 596 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,367 they had their whole neighborhood collecting their wine bottles. 597 00:26:34,367 --> 00:26:35,700 It's hilarious. 598 00:26:38,166 --> 00:26:40,867 Our neighbor Sheryl's here to help with the bottle wall. 599 00:26:40,867 --> 00:26:42,467 Danny's cutting the bottles. 600 00:26:42,467 --> 00:26:44,667 And we're ready to go. 601 00:26:44,667 --> 00:26:47,000 All right, let's get this stuff cleaned up. 602 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,333 And we're ready for our next... 603 00:26:51,367 --> 00:26:53,000 Whoa! 604 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,967 No, thanks. 605 00:26:54,967 --> 00:26:57,200 From around the corner of my eye, I see something move, 606 00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:58,934 and I'm like, "Whoa! 607 00:26:59,367 --> 00:27:00,600 What's that?" 608 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,100 [Sheryl] It's a black tail rattlesnake. That isn't good. 609 00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:04,266 [Karen sighs] 610 00:27:07,667 --> 00:27:09,233 Whoa! 611 00:27:09,834 --> 00:27:11,266 Uh... yikes? 612 00:27:11,266 --> 00:27:13,033 [Sheryl] It's a black tail rattlesnake. 613 00:27:13,033 --> 00:27:14,767 There's a darn snake in the greenhouse! 614 00:27:14,767 --> 00:27:16,266 It wasn't just a snake. 615 00:27:16,266 --> 00:27:18,300 -It was a rattlesnake. -It wasn't just a rattlesnake. 616 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:20,367 It was a black tailed rattlesnake, 617 00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:21,667 which is a rare one. 618 00:27:21,667 --> 00:27:24,367 They'll bite you, and snakes are really only dangerous 619 00:27:24,367 --> 00:27:26,367 if you go into their spot. 620 00:27:26,367 --> 00:27:28,934 Or if you're provoking them. That's where you have your problem. 621 00:27:28,934 --> 00:27:31,400 Any chance you got some snake stuff? 622 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:32,300 I can get him. 623 00:27:32,300 --> 00:27:34,467 [Karen] Luckily, Sheryl's here. 624 00:27:34,467 --> 00:27:36,667 Sheryl's like the master of everything. 625 00:27:36,667 --> 00:27:39,266 Sheryl's the neighbor everybody needs to have. 626 00:27:39,266 --> 00:27:41,133 Go see if we can't move that guy. 627 00:27:42,467 --> 00:27:43,667 This is what I try to do. 628 00:27:43,667 --> 00:27:45,834 Grab 'em about this far from their head 629 00:27:45,834 --> 00:27:46,934 so I don't hurt 'em. 630 00:27:46,934 --> 00:27:49,066 And then I'll take him for a ride. 631 00:27:51,367 --> 00:27:52,333 [Karen] That's a big one. 632 00:27:53,667 --> 00:27:55,834 [Danny] I was hiding inside the house. 633 00:27:55,834 --> 00:27:58,400 I don't do snake. Mm-mmm. 634 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,266 [Sheryl] I'll take him down to the wash by my house and let him loose. 635 00:28:01,266 --> 00:28:04,166 [Karen] I think he'll like that. Thanks for eating the mice. 636 00:28:04,834 --> 00:28:06,367 Good news, snake's gone. 637 00:28:06,367 --> 00:28:08,667 -Bad news, Sheryl's gone. -[laughs] 638 00:28:08,667 --> 00:28:12,166 So guess who has to become the assistant mud person now. 639 00:28:12,166 --> 00:28:13,934 Me. 640 00:28:13,934 --> 00:28:16,834 We just went from that mixer over to here. 641 00:28:17,266 --> 00:28:18,400 It's 100 degrees out. 642 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,166 And it's dirt. It's no longer mud. Look at it. 643 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:25,100 -Ugh. -This heat is killing us. 644 00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:27,367 -[Danny] Ooh, that's hot water. -Yeah. 645 00:28:27,367 --> 00:28:30,400 [Danny] The hose is now a solar hot water heater. 646 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,834 -All right, try that. I'm gonna see-- -I think that's good, babe. 647 00:28:32,834 --> 00:28:34,066 I think that's good. 648 00:28:34,066 --> 00:28:36,767 I'm just gonna put that right in here. 649 00:28:36,767 --> 00:28:39,266 I'm just mimicking what you've done in the past. 650 00:28:39,266 --> 00:28:40,867 Well, you're doing a great job so far. 651 00:28:40,867 --> 00:28:44,166 But just, uh, you know, flick your hair a little bit. 652 00:28:44,166 --> 00:28:46,166 Are you saying I put my butt out or that I'm short? 653 00:28:46,166 --> 00:28:48,634 -That you're short. -[chuckling] Okay, 'cause this is going in your face. 654 00:28:49,567 --> 00:28:51,300 [Karen] What do you think? 655 00:28:51,300 --> 00:28:53,200 It looks like it's working. 656 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,266 Is it gonna be pretty? Uh... 657 00:28:56,266 --> 00:28:59,233 You know what? I think this is looking pretty good. 658 00:28:59,867 --> 00:29:01,567 [Danny speaking] 659 00:29:01,567 --> 00:29:02,967 I knew you'd like it. 660 00:29:02,967 --> 00:29:05,166 Hang out with me, I'll teach you to be messy. 661 00:29:05,934 --> 00:29:07,266 It looks good. 662 00:29:07,266 --> 00:29:10,000 We still have to do the bottom and the sides and it's really big. 663 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:11,400 There's a long ways to go. 664 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,266 [Danny] Look at that. Recycled materials. You and me, babe. 665 00:29:14,867 --> 00:29:16,033 [Karen] Always. 666 00:29:18,266 --> 00:29:20,400 [upbeat music playing] 667 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,266 [Karen] We have almost got the greenhouse up and running. 668 00:29:24,266 --> 00:29:25,667 We've been working on the bottle wall. 669 00:29:25,667 --> 00:29:27,166 We just have a little bit left to go. 670 00:29:27,166 --> 00:29:29,467 We've got ceilings in. 671 00:29:29,467 --> 00:29:32,367 We've got mud on all the strawbale walls. 672 00:29:32,367 --> 00:29:35,266 But the job is done and I never have to do this again. 673 00:29:36,066 --> 00:29:38,000 We stained the floors. That was a week. 674 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,000 Try cleaning floors... in a house of mud. 675 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,734 These floors are pretty fancy. 676 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:45,500 It's a matte finish. 677 00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:46,934 Some acid stain. 678 00:29:47,867 --> 00:29:49,166 Totally worth it. 679 00:29:49,166 --> 00:29:51,667 We've got the kitchen cabinets stained and installed. 680 00:29:51,667 --> 00:29:55,500 To brighten up our little desert house, we stained the cabinets green. 681 00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:58,266 It's beginning to feel like a house. 682 00:29:58,266 --> 00:30:00,433 Better than that, it's beginning to feel like a home. 683 00:30:02,567 --> 00:30:04,667 Today's a really exciting day for me, 684 00:30:04,667 --> 00:30:06,767 because we're doing the masonry heater finally. 685 00:30:06,767 --> 00:30:08,266 And I'm really excited about this. 686 00:30:08,266 --> 00:30:10,066 It's a centerpiece of the living room. 687 00:30:10,066 --> 00:30:12,767 -[upbeat music playing] -It's our only heat source in the house. 688 00:30:12,767 --> 00:30:13,734 [Danny] Here we go. 689 00:30:13,734 --> 00:30:14,834 [Karen] It's super-efficient. 690 00:30:14,834 --> 00:30:18,667 One small fire will heat that thing for 12 to 24 hours. 691 00:30:18,667 --> 00:30:21,433 And it comes with a pizza bread oven. 692 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,834 This will ensure that everything is... nice and level. 693 00:30:26,834 --> 00:30:29,834 You don't want a leaning tower of pizza? 694 00:30:29,834 --> 00:30:34,166 [Danny] Twenty-seven hundred and fifty pounds' worth of masonry. 695 00:30:34,166 --> 00:30:38,367 And it all interlocks together like it's some sort of a jigsaw puzzle. 696 00:30:38,367 --> 00:30:40,767 Okay. Numero uno. 697 00:30:40,767 --> 00:30:42,100 [Karen] And everything's numbered. 698 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:44,367 And you just put the numbers together where it says. 699 00:30:44,367 --> 00:30:45,967 And right in there. Look at that! 700 00:30:45,967 --> 00:30:49,200 It's like a kid's toy, jumbo size. 701 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,233 I hope it's like a kid's toy, 'cause it looks a little intimidating. 702 00:30:52,967 --> 00:30:55,133 All right, here's 11 and 12. 703 00:30:55,834 --> 00:30:57,166 But I'm looking for 10! 704 00:30:58,266 --> 00:30:59,867 [Karen] I thought we had these in order. 705 00:30:59,867 --> 00:31:03,500 And we got through all the numbers until we get to number 10. 706 00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:05,734 And it's like, "Where's number 10!" 707 00:31:05,734 --> 00:31:07,767 I think it's gotta be that little one. 708 00:31:07,767 --> 00:31:09,266 There is no number on it. 709 00:31:11,567 --> 00:31:14,667 -It's number 10! -[laughs] 710 00:31:14,667 --> 00:31:17,467 [Karen] Number 10 fit right in front of there. It was perfect. 711 00:31:17,467 --> 00:31:18,600 And then up they went. 712 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:20,066 [Danny] But that's just the core. 713 00:31:20,066 --> 00:31:21,467 Now we have to do the facade. 714 00:31:21,467 --> 00:31:25,100 We need another four inches of masonry block on the outside. 715 00:31:25,100 --> 00:31:27,867 Then, we get to make it pretty and plastered. 716 00:31:27,867 --> 00:31:30,200 I'm just, uh, planning our first dinner. 717 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,300 [Danny] Get your pizza here! 718 00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:34,367 [Karen] I'm gonna go back to plastering the walls 719 00:31:34,367 --> 00:31:37,367 because we have a long ways to go and a short time to get there. 720 00:31:37,367 --> 00:31:39,266 Well, you get to it. What are you doing here, talking? 721 00:31:40,867 --> 00:31:43,734 So we've already done the long straw, we've done the short straw. 722 00:31:43,734 --> 00:31:45,166 We've flattened it all out. 723 00:31:45,166 --> 00:31:46,834 And now, this is the color coat. 724 00:31:47,767 --> 00:31:50,567 Clay plaster is clay, 725 00:31:50,567 --> 00:31:54,266 sand, fiber, glue. Four ingredients. 726 00:31:54,266 --> 00:31:57,400 Next is our toilet paper. We're using this for our fiber. 727 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,300 Because the clay in the sand won't hold together 728 00:32:00,300 --> 00:32:01,867 without some kind of fiber. 729 00:32:01,867 --> 00:32:03,166 This is the way I like to roll. 730 00:32:03,166 --> 00:32:06,033 [upbeat music playing] 731 00:32:06,033 --> 00:32:08,266 So the secret is, when you pull your mixer out, 732 00:32:08,266 --> 00:32:11,066 if it holds that little circular pattern, you know you have it. 733 00:32:11,567 --> 00:32:12,867 So you wet the walls. 734 00:32:12,867 --> 00:32:15,967 And it's what makes the clay and the mud stick together. 735 00:32:15,967 --> 00:32:17,667 And when you apply it, 736 00:32:17,667 --> 00:32:21,200 you just hold your hawk up and spread it on. 737 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,467 So you can buy clay plaster at the store and online, 738 00:32:24,467 --> 00:32:26,500 but it's crazy expensive. 739 00:32:26,500 --> 00:32:29,600 I made this for... $10? 740 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:30,934 Enough to do the whole room. 741 00:32:31,767 --> 00:32:33,500 We chose to plaster our house with mud 742 00:32:33,500 --> 00:32:36,166 because everything else is mud, so why change now? 743 00:32:40,467 --> 00:32:42,200 [dramatic music playing] 744 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:43,867 [Karen] It's monsoon season. 745 00:32:43,867 --> 00:32:45,367 We didn't have the greenhouse roof on 746 00:32:45,367 --> 00:32:48,367 and all the water just came down into this one point 747 00:32:48,367 --> 00:32:51,667 and went straight down into a strawbale and rotted it out. 748 00:32:51,667 --> 00:32:55,734 [Danny] It was so bad we had to remove that section of strawbale. 749 00:32:55,734 --> 00:32:58,600 [Karen] But now that it's dried out, we made some slip straw 750 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,767 and then I'm gonna shove it into that hole. 751 00:33:00,767 --> 00:33:03,367 It's all gonna kind of intertwine with each other 752 00:33:03,367 --> 00:33:05,967 like one solid mass. 753 00:33:05,967 --> 00:33:09,066 Perfect for filling gaps in strawbales. 754 00:33:09,066 --> 00:33:11,533 -What do you say we check the moisture? -[Karen] Fingers crossed. 755 00:33:13,767 --> 00:33:15,367 [machine beeps] 756 00:33:15,367 --> 00:33:18,033 [electronic voice] Moisture value... 13.4. 757 00:33:18,033 --> 00:33:20,567 -Ooh, that's way better than 56, eh? -I'll take it. 758 00:33:20,567 --> 00:33:22,533 [Danny] We can go ahead and fill this up, babe. 759 00:33:23,266 --> 00:33:24,867 And call it macaroni. 760 00:33:24,867 --> 00:33:27,500 [Karen] I call it slip straw, but okay. 761 00:33:27,500 --> 00:33:30,166 It's gonna dry in about two or three days. 762 00:33:30,166 --> 00:33:31,367 [Danny] More. 763 00:33:31,367 --> 00:33:33,734 [Karen] And when the mud hardens, it's a solid brick. 764 00:33:34,667 --> 00:33:36,500 That will be all we need for this section. 765 00:33:36,500 --> 00:33:38,100 Oh, I'm so glad to have that filled in. 766 00:33:38,667 --> 00:33:40,100 [Karen] Note to self. 767 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,900 Don't wait on the roof until, you know, the week before monsoon starts. 768 00:33:47,567 --> 00:33:50,834 We're six months in already and it's getting a little stressful. 769 00:33:50,834 --> 00:33:53,667 We're gonna be working some really long days. 770 00:33:53,667 --> 00:33:57,033 [Danny] We have the porches on both the east and west sides. 771 00:33:57,033 --> 00:34:01,767 [Karen] We've been building the hot tub, and I gotta say, it's gonna be epic. 772 00:34:01,767 --> 00:34:04,166 And my hands are tired and my back is tired 773 00:34:04,166 --> 00:34:05,967 and my legs are tired. 774 00:34:05,967 --> 00:34:07,867 But we're getting really close. 775 00:34:07,867 --> 00:34:09,133 [Danny] We're gonna get her done. 776 00:34:09,767 --> 00:34:11,166 [Karen] We got this. 777 00:34:16,533 --> 00:34:18,066 [Danny] We're finally done. 778 00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:19,567 [Karen] I think it turned out really great. 779 00:34:19,567 --> 00:34:21,667 Way better than I had anticipated. 780 00:34:21,667 --> 00:34:23,133 -Yeah. -I love it. 781 00:34:23,133 --> 00:34:25,467 [Karen] Our original budget was $100,000. 782 00:34:25,467 --> 00:34:27,100 And that was wishful thinking. 783 00:34:27,100 --> 00:34:29,433 He was right. It was $120,000. 784 00:34:29,433 --> 00:34:33,266 Wood cost more. Metal cost more. Prices have just gone crazy. 785 00:34:33,266 --> 00:34:34,934 Our original timeline was six months. 786 00:34:34,934 --> 00:34:38,867 And we went for seven because we've just put a little extra love into it. 787 00:34:38,867 --> 00:34:41,734 And you know what? It was worth it. 788 00:34:41,734 --> 00:34:44,967 Today, Dan's brother Sammy and his wife Jackie are coming 789 00:34:44,967 --> 00:34:46,133 and we're gonna show 'em the house. 790 00:34:46,133 --> 00:34:47,266 I think they're gonna love it. 791 00:34:47,266 --> 00:34:49,467 -I mean, what's not to love? -Yeah. 792 00:34:49,467 --> 00:34:52,433 [Danny] I think we're gonna blow them away with what we've done here. 793 00:34:52,433 --> 00:34:53,634 -[Jackie] Hey! -[Karen] Hey! 794 00:34:53,634 --> 00:34:55,100 -[Karen] You made it! -[Sam] Guys, so nice to see you. 795 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:56,533 How you doing, big brother? 796 00:34:57,266 --> 00:34:58,867 [Sam] So knocked out to see this. 797 00:34:58,867 --> 00:35:01,233 -[Danny] What'd you think it was gonna be? A shack? -[Sam] Yes. 798 00:35:02,066 --> 00:35:03,867 I mean, I've built shacks with you before. 799 00:35:03,867 --> 00:35:06,433 So I know you can do it. I didn't know you could do this. 800 00:35:06,433 --> 00:35:10,066 Yeah, just started one layer after another, you know. 801 00:35:10,066 --> 00:35:11,467 [Sam] And these walls we're looking at, 802 00:35:11,467 --> 00:35:13,467 -these are actual strawbales? -[Karen] That's it. 803 00:35:13,467 --> 00:35:14,867 -[Danny] Yeah. -[Sam] Wow. 804 00:35:15,867 --> 00:35:19,533 [Sam] It's rustic, but it's sort of got a modern look about it. 805 00:35:19,533 --> 00:35:22,467 -It's really beautiful. -[Danny] Yeah, natural building in a modern fashion. 806 00:35:22,467 --> 00:35:24,667 Wow, I can't wait to see the inside. 807 00:35:24,667 --> 00:35:26,433 Yeah, you guys want to come in? Get out of the wind. 808 00:35:26,433 --> 00:35:27,667 -[Jackie] Yeah, we do. -[Sam] Let's see it. 809 00:35:27,667 --> 00:35:29,333 -Can't wait to see it. -All right. 810 00:35:29,333 --> 00:35:31,667 [instrumental music playing] 811 00:35:31,667 --> 00:35:32,900 [Danny] Come on in, guys. 812 00:35:33,533 --> 00:35:35,166 -[Sam] Wow. -[Jackie] Wow. 813 00:35:35,166 --> 00:35:37,033 -[Sam] This place is beautiful. - [Jackie] Yeah. 814 00:35:37,033 --> 00:35:38,567 - [Sam] Wow. -[Danny] Yeah. 815 00:35:38,567 --> 00:35:39,934 -This is not what I thought-- -And you thought I was gonna make a shack! 816 00:35:39,934 --> 00:35:41,867 [both laugh] 817 00:35:41,867 --> 00:35:45,634 So what's the covering that I see on the walls? 818 00:35:45,634 --> 00:35:48,533 That's a clay plaster that's on the walls. 819 00:35:48,533 --> 00:35:51,567 Everything about 'em is just mud from our soil... 820 00:35:51,567 --> 00:35:53,767 -[Sam] Wow. -...clay, sand, straw. 821 00:35:53,767 --> 00:35:55,200 -[Sam] So awesome. - [Danny] Yeah. 822 00:35:57,333 --> 00:35:59,000 [Sam] I was just wondering about the floor. 823 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,166 [Karen] This coating is an acid stain. 824 00:36:01,166 --> 00:36:03,100 -[Sam] It's very pretty. -It's called shifting sand. 825 00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:04,567 So we don't ever have to clean. 826 00:36:04,567 --> 00:36:06,600 -It'll just look like sand. -[all laughing] 827 00:36:10,266 --> 00:36:11,734 [upbeat music playing] 828 00:36:11,734 --> 00:36:13,667 So what's the story behind this? 829 00:36:13,667 --> 00:36:15,734 So this is a masonry heater. 830 00:36:15,734 --> 00:36:18,867 The concept is you build a smaller fire 831 00:36:18,867 --> 00:36:20,333 here down in the fire box. 832 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:23,567 It actually goes up through a baking oven on the other side 833 00:36:23,567 --> 00:36:26,667 and then it radiates from-- for 12 to 24 hours. 834 00:36:26,667 --> 00:36:30,533 My worry is we won't need it because of the passive solar from the greenhouse. 835 00:36:30,533 --> 00:36:31,767 Let's go out there. 836 00:36:31,767 --> 00:36:33,567 [Karen] And this is our greenhouse. 837 00:36:33,567 --> 00:36:35,934 -[Sam] Oh, fantastic. -[Jackie] Wow. 838 00:36:35,934 --> 00:36:37,433 [Karen] We have the bottle wall. 839 00:36:37,433 --> 00:36:38,667 [Jackie] So unique. 840 00:36:38,667 --> 00:36:40,667 In the morning, the sunlight just pours through it 841 00:36:40,667 --> 00:36:43,533 and it's like little gemstones all lit up. 842 00:36:43,533 --> 00:36:45,166 [Sam] What a perfect place to have breakfast. 843 00:36:45,166 --> 00:36:46,634 -[Danny] Yeah. -[Sam] Have your morning coffee. 844 00:36:46,634 --> 00:36:49,367 [Danny] All of our grey water comes here to water this. 845 00:36:49,367 --> 00:36:52,166 And then it drains into a 55-gallon drum over there. 846 00:36:52,166 --> 00:36:53,266 [Sam] Okay. 847 00:36:53,266 --> 00:36:56,467 And then it's pumped back, so it continually cycles. 848 00:36:56,467 --> 00:36:58,867 So think about all the things we did to recycle here. 849 00:36:58,867 --> 00:37:00,767 -Can walls. -[Sam] Yeah. 850 00:37:00,767 --> 00:37:02,567 [Danny] Recycled bottles. 851 00:37:02,567 --> 00:37:04,967 Rocks to build the outer wall out there. 852 00:37:04,967 --> 00:37:06,934 And this is also part oof our passive solar. 853 00:37:06,934 --> 00:37:09,767 The sun is heating these flagstones 854 00:37:09,767 --> 00:37:11,166 and we can open the doors 855 00:37:11,166 --> 00:37:13,433 -and it'll heat the house. Yeah. -[Sam] Lets the heat right in. 856 00:37:14,467 --> 00:37:15,934 [Karen] You guys want to see the kitchen? 857 00:37:15,934 --> 00:37:18,266 -[Sam] Yes. -[Danny] All right, let's go. 858 00:37:18,266 --> 00:37:21,467 Notice that it's bigger than the living area. 859 00:37:21,467 --> 00:37:23,100 -[Sam] Ah. -'Cause we're kitchen people. 860 00:37:23,100 --> 00:37:24,367 [Karen] You know our priorities. 861 00:37:24,367 --> 00:37:26,367 [Danny] You know, we hang out here, we like to cook. 862 00:37:26,367 --> 00:37:28,867 We like to eat, like to entertain. 863 00:37:28,867 --> 00:37:31,033 [Sam] How do you get power for your stove and... 864 00:37:31,033 --> 00:37:33,333 [Danny] Oh, yeah. So this is an induction burner. 865 00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:34,433 But it's all electric. 866 00:37:34,433 --> 00:37:38,734 And all of our electricity comes from our solar panels. 867 00:37:38,734 --> 00:37:40,567 -[Sam] Wow. -[Danny] And... 868 00:37:40,567 --> 00:37:42,567 the most important thing is the hot tub. 869 00:37:42,567 --> 00:37:45,567 -We need that power for the hot tub. Yeah. -[Sam laughs] 870 00:37:45,567 --> 00:37:46,934 [Sam] And it's so colorful. 871 00:37:46,934 --> 00:37:49,667 [Jackie] I love the color of the cabinets. It's gorgeous. 872 00:37:49,667 --> 00:37:51,634 [Karen] We needed some color out here in the desert. 873 00:37:51,634 --> 00:37:53,567 [Jackie] Well, with that view, I think... 874 00:37:53,567 --> 00:37:55,567 -I don't mind washing dishes all of a sudden. -Yeah. 875 00:37:55,567 --> 00:37:57,734 I would need it. 876 00:37:57,734 --> 00:37:59,066 -[Karen] Wanna see more? - [Jackie] Yes. 877 00:37:59,066 --> 00:38:00,433 -[Sam] Yes. -[Karen] Let's go. 878 00:38:00,433 --> 00:38:04,033 Wow. Dan, are we standing under an arch? 879 00:38:04,033 --> 00:38:05,934 You are actually standing under an arch. 880 00:38:07,467 --> 00:38:08,634 [Jackie] Bathroom? 881 00:38:08,634 --> 00:38:11,000 -[Danny] Yeah. -[Sam] Oh, it's beautiful. Awesome. 882 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,967 -[Sam] So the water comes in from your well? -[Danny] Yes. 883 00:38:13,967 --> 00:38:16,467 So well comes to that big tank outside. 884 00:38:16,467 --> 00:38:18,400 -[Sam] Yeah. -And then it's pumped over here. 885 00:38:20,667 --> 00:38:22,066 [Karen] And here's our bedroom. 886 00:38:23,333 --> 00:38:25,834 [Sam] Wow. So much light, so beautiful. 887 00:38:26,266 --> 00:38:27,934 It's very simple. 888 00:38:27,934 --> 00:38:31,000 All of our dressers and what-not are in the walk-in closet. 889 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,333 So all we needed was space for the bed, a place to sit down, 890 00:38:34,333 --> 00:38:35,967 place for the dog. 891 00:38:35,967 --> 00:38:37,767 [Sam] I really love the lighting that you guys have throughout this place. 892 00:38:37,767 --> 00:38:41,166 -[Danny] Oh, the hanging lights? Yeah. -[Sam] Yeah. It's really nice. 893 00:38:41,166 --> 00:38:43,967 -I love how you have patios on each side, too. -[Danny] Yeah. 894 00:38:43,967 --> 00:38:46,266 You have to have a morning patio and an evening patio. 895 00:38:46,266 --> 00:38:48,567 -It's very important. -[Sam] It is important. 896 00:38:48,567 --> 00:38:51,433 I think, with these views, it's mandatory. 897 00:38:51,433 --> 00:38:53,567 [Sam] So you're gonna wake up to this everyday. 898 00:38:53,567 --> 00:38:54,634 Somebody's gotta do it. 899 00:38:54,634 --> 00:38:56,533 [all laughing] 900 00:38:56,533 --> 00:38:58,567 [Danny] We're happy with it. We really are. 901 00:38:58,567 --> 00:39:00,834 And I believe this is gonna be our forever home, don't you think? 902 00:39:00,834 --> 00:39:02,433 -That was the plan. -Yeah. 903 00:39:02,433 --> 00:39:05,100 [Sam] I'm used to Dan building shacks but this is not a shack. 904 00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:08,266 It's beautiful. It's got heart. It's got soul. 905 00:39:08,266 --> 00:39:10,867 I'm so proud of those two pulling this together. 906 00:39:10,867 --> 00:39:12,233 It's just amazing. 907 00:39:12,233 --> 00:39:15,567 When I heard you were making a strawbale house, 908 00:39:15,567 --> 00:39:18,367 I was picturing something from Three Little Pigs. 909 00:39:18,367 --> 00:39:20,700 And this is definitely not that. 910 00:39:21,867 --> 00:39:23,467 [Karen] It's party time. 911 00:39:23,467 --> 00:39:25,066 We're having some friends over. 912 00:39:25,066 --> 00:39:28,433 A lot of the people that came and helped us, volunteered with this build. 913 00:39:28,433 --> 00:39:30,100 Just a little way to say thanks. 914 00:39:32,533 --> 00:39:34,734 -Hey, you guys want some pizza? -Yeah! 915 00:39:35,867 --> 00:39:37,634 Building off the grid is tough. 916 00:39:37,634 --> 00:39:39,634 But it's so rewarding. 917 00:39:39,634 --> 00:39:42,333 [Karen] We took a piece of land that everybody thought was worthless 918 00:39:42,333 --> 00:39:44,000 and we built a masterpiece. 919 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,033 We're not out here to just survive. We're out here to thrive. 920 00:39:47,033 --> 00:39:48,233 And we're gonna do that. 921 00:39:48,233 --> 00:39:50,433 -By golly, I'm already. -Let's start right now.