Here we are laying the underground ventilation duct work from the mechanical room to the rest of our underground house… It is unheated air, so we are using High density Polyethylene pipe, N12 dual wall, soil tight (st), 8" pipe from ADS to be specific. It all needs to be sloped back to the mechanical room in the basement. Ducts radiate out from the mechanical room in all directions. We also needed to form registers at the ends of the ducts. As per usual, it starts with digging... For more details on this project, our web site is https://www.homeintheearth.com/2018/10/10/digging-for-fresh-air/. To catch up with were we are now, you can check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HomeintheEarth/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=631lTsqK-KI

This video covers the transition time between some of the larger jobs as spring was breaking on our earth sheltered home project. We stuccoed some of the exterior insulation that we couldn't get to in colder weather. We replaced some earth cover that had slipped of the waterproofing umbrella over the winter. We put in a wireless dog fence. I started moss growing on our stone walls, at least in the shady spots. For more about this project, check us out at www.homeintheearth.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTBxc1-K3w

Here, we build some XPS formwork for gunite (or shotcrete). We decided it was better to keep the steel studs out of the shotcrete, so we rearranged the order of the layers a little and can use the extra room to add insulation. This is also a window wall, so we needed to put in window and door bucks. For more info, please check out our website at https://www.homeintheearth.com/2018/07/14/xps-gunite-formwork-for-the-south-wall/ For up to date pics and status, we are on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HomeintheEarth/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TnSipWhT7E

Somewhat tangentially to my other construction videos, I needed to diagnose and repair my brushless generator this week. Here is how that was done. Find out more on www.homeintheearth.com Brushless alternators use a capacitor to introduce a charge into the windings. This gets them excited so the alternator will produce electricity. When my engine RPM surged, it surged the alternator and the capacitor blew to protect all the electronics downstream… If the alternator is working, it produces a ~5 volt difference (plus or minus a volt or 2) across the capacitor. So, I just had to check the AC Voltage with my multimeter. It turned out the voltage was OK. By process of elimination, I decided to order a new capacitor. My original was covered with a layer of rust, so I couldn’t read the specifics. I checked the internet to find the right one for my generator, a 40µF, 370VAC generator capacitor. The genuine PorterCable part costs 60$. Now that I knew the specific properties, I was able to search based on that and found a Genteq knockoff that only cost 16$ with delivery. It claimed to be just as long lasting (60,000 hours), and like the much more expensive OEM product, it is also “self-extinguishing” so I won’t die in a terrifying fireball if it fails. Its physical dimensions are a little different, but it fit. And more importantly, my generator works again. Now my generator can do its job and give me electricity on my jobsite. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iXhDDwQbSU