Garage Sub-Floor is Virtual Done

We did it.  With Rachel's help this weekend, we were able to finish the work in the sub-floor of the garage.  I barely have 30 minutes of work (maybe less) left, but it was just too hot (over 100F in the shade) to finish the work today.  It was 17:00 and time to quit.

We got a lot done.  We have a supply line for running electricity from a backup generator, if we ever get one.  It wont have to be retrofitted later.  The conduit is already there.

We put in an earth tube and have a much shorter one to install, which will only take me a few minutes on another day.  The earth tube (sometimes called a cooling tube) is for virtually free airconditioning.  In our case, it wont be completely passive due to the fact that we wont really have a chimney effect, so for the system to work, we will be installing a small fan in the system (so it wont really be completely free, but it'll be low cost).

See http://mb-soft.com/solar/saving.html  This site tells about an earth tube system that we really like.  We've read about earth tubes for years but never quite found a solution that would prevent mold and/or mildrew from growing inside the tubes.  This system does that, due to sloped pipe and a place to draw off moisture at the lowest point, and sumped from a drywell nearby.

As stated, we installed the tube in the floor.  This will be for bringing in cold air to the garage (it could later be converted to living quarters, so having A/C felt like a good measure to add to the garage before the garage floor gets poured.

A second tube (closer to the exterior) will be installed as a "return" air duct.  These are 4 inch pipes that are a part of a closed-loop system for air circulation and cooling.  The pipes will be connected to a series of pipe run out into our pasture, approximately 4 or 5 feet deep, and then looped back to the house.  A complete loop, where warm air enters the 'return' pipe, goes through the earth and is cooled and brought back into the house through the other pipe, being drawn through with a small fan.

The system works in other homes and it'll work for us too.

The garage will have its own fan for circulation, but when we install these same type of pipes for the rest of the house, they'll be run via a whole house ventilation system that will also have a filter and possibly a dehumidifier if we feel necessary.

Anyway, we got the work done.  Only the return pipe is left to do.  I can do that one evening this week.

I'm very pleased at where we've gotten progress, but frustrated that it has taken so long to get here.  I am looking to get some help.  Help is hard to get, because you want someone that knows what they need to do in one of these types of houses, and not just anyone can do that.  I think I might be able to get some expertise though and it might not be cost prohibitive.  I'll know for sure in a few days (I hope).