Archive talk:2009 Brian Waddington hut renovations

Windows

If we're double paning the windows, would it make sense to use glass sealed units? These will have much better insulation and they will be UV proof. They will be more expensive, but perhaps it's worth it. The glass sealed unit windows at Brew have proven to be plenty durable.

Scott Nelson 12:53, 27 March 2009 (PDT)

At the very least I think we should do a cost comparison. My guess/understanding is that buying fancy plexiglas/Lexan sheets isn't really so cheap. Scott Webster

Yes, a cost comparison would be good. Scott N, you helped make the windows up at Brew - is that correct? Maybe you just bought them. Can you figure out what it would cost? The dimensions (without frame) are on the wiki - we could get "hole" dimensions before actually having them made.

Advantages:

• They won't fog up
• Better insulator (but by how much?)
• More "long-term" (maybe?)

Disadvantages:

• heavy to carry up
• more expensive (but by how much?)
• must do more work to install
• could get broken during carry-in

I believe the windows up there already are single pane glass - glass absorbs most UV, so Lexan put on the insides will last a long time before it starts to go opaque. The internet says that double-pane glass windows are filled with argon which conducts less heat since it is less dense than air. Of course, argon is actually heavier than air (that's why He makes your voice high, and argon makes it low), so should probably conduct heat better? Do they fill them with Argon (over, say, Nitrogen which would also not fog up but is way cheaper) for some other reason? Having windows which don't fog up is really nice when attempting to look outside, although actually going outside is always possible.--Bigbadbasstrombone 09:12, 1 April 2009 (PDT)

I don't have the answers to all your questions Christian, but some comments. They might be quite a bit better of an insulator... Plastic could get scratched quickly by people removing ice and stuff. Not really sure what to expect. I do think that seemingly minor things like being able to see through windows can actually have a rather large impact on things like happiness level, so could be worth a reasonable amount of money. Clearly the carrying in part of windows is more complex. Presumably the lexan comes with a plastic protective coating which means you could basically drag it up the trail if you wanted. I believe heavier gasses allow less convection. Also, I think triple paned is the latest thing. Scott Webster 09:18, 1 April 2009 (PDT)

The Plan?

I propose we do the renovations in two phases, separated by a long amount of time. Not too long, but long enough for us to bleach the hell out of everything during phase 1 and let the place dry before painting during phase 2. Other tasks can be distributed between the phases however we think will work out best, this also gives us some leeway if we say, decide to fix the roof during phase 1 but discover it's pissing rain that week.

Then we could use industrial-style paint without worrying about it peeling and looking like hell from being applied to wet wood.--Bigbadbasstrombone 09:12, 1 April 2009 (PDT)

Curtain Geek Calculations

Radiation loss calculations are all good and fun, but if the curtains are on the inside of the windows, they will probably be about the same temperature as the inside of the hut (maybe a few degrees cooler). To get any benefit, the outside surface of the curtains must have a low emissivity surface. Also, I think -20C is probably a more realistic outside temperature at night than -10C. Scott Nelson 11:46, 29 July 2009 (PDT)

Peak of blackbody spectrum at 0C is around 10 microns, so make sure you check the label when buying the curtain material. I guess even if the curtains were high emissivity, but well insulated, they could still work, but this seems highly impractical... need a good air seal around curtains. Putting curtains on the outside might work. I think they're called shutters. Scott Webster 12:24, 29 July 2009 (PDT)

Outhouse

I'm no outhouse expert, but I didn't think that the hole was particularly small. Anybody take a picture of it at its final size? Also, there is definitely groundwater in the hole, but is that a big issue? I don't see it being an issue in terms of outhouse capacity, but is there a health (i.e. mosquito breeding ground) issue? It's probably safe to assume that given the current dry conditions the water level in the hole will eventually rise. Sam Mason 09:44, 5 August 2009 (PDT)

Solar Air Heater

Is there a switch to turn this thing off? If I'm staying at the hut in the middle of summer I might not want this machine blowing hot air into the hut all day. But maybe the impact is small enough that if all the windows are open there is little to no effect. In winter it should probably be on all the time to maintain air circulation during the day when the hut is mostly unoccupied. Scott Nelson 11:47, 5 August 2009 (PDT)