"Ah well, there’s only one constant in life… and it’s that things change." Indeed Alexandra!
Cannot tell exactly how old you are, guessing though that when I was about your age in college, some kind of experience not remembered brought me to what was then— honestly— the most intense realization yet of my 71years— Yes, that THE ONLY constant in life is CHANGE.
Thank you dear, for reminding me of that moment. 💚
Thanks for this multi-part story! Most people who grind away in a cubicle environment cannot even imagine the volume of work a relatively small group of skilled workers and their machines can put in place very quickly when obstacles are removed.
That sounds fascinating! The Amish are known for their craftsmanship, so I can only imagine the precision and care they bring to excavation. What makes their approach stand out compared to more modern methods?
If you are from Otsego County, Mohawk River Valley or other upstate New York region, Stewarts in a pinch is what you need.
I think I have relayed before that my dad has availed himself of the Amish, he had them build a new roof. Their home is one of those typical Victorian homes from the 1880s that you find in New England, the pitch of the roof quite steep. The Amish have an amazing dedication to their work.
Regarding sons shadowing their dads, I grew up in a family business, and worked in my dad's business starting at age 13, it was construction and real estate. That was back in the 80s where we still had the can-do apprentice style of work ethic, we were far less coddled back then.
I also had the privilege of working for my neighbor, who was 80 at the time. He and his wife were responsible for bringing the 4 H program to Delaware county and started a summer camp. Mr Lennox had a saying that he wanted to use for a book he was writing in his head: Do Your Work and Do It Well. Sadly he passed before he could ever write that book, and fewer today reflect those values that he held so dear. He influenced me with his commitment and work ethic.
This is an incredible project you undertook and quite impressive. The barn building is fantastic. The Amish are true Craftmen. I hope you did not spend a small fortune on building this, but if you sold a house in Florida, hopeful you made a profit and can turn around and revinvest in this project. Sometimes moving is what makes inspiration possible. Too many people get stuck in the day to day rat race and don't see the possibilities. Creative, art, hands on work is really what is missing in today's young person's and hope you reach more people who share this experience.
I'm not trying to endear myself to anybody or anything - but I think what you post here has merit - so that is why I cross-linked it - and I feel tis only fair to share that information.
of the frames were constructed off-site and trucked over in pieces then one day to tilt them up is normal. if they were constructed onsite by two carpenters in one day and tilted up that’s pretty impressive work. if it was six carpenters not such a big deal.
details, details and context is what separates good writing to be consumed by a public from personal journaling that is purely about the emotional digestion of information for an individual.
“The Amish explained to me that it’s more environmentally-friendly and energy efficient as well, with heat rising from the floor as opposed to being blown out vents in the ceiling”.
this is a broad over-generalising statement and so cannot be said to be true or false. but what can be said is that in most cases it’s false to claim that in-slab hydronic heating is more energy efficient than RCAC. especially in the cases where it’s using fossil gas or oil combustion to produce the heat and the slab has no unground insulation (which is so typical of hydronic heating installations in my country) .
so many details of this build have been left out of the breathless cheerleading type commentary around the construction process we don’t know if the all important slab insulation was used under the slab and on the sides of the slab. if not then most of the energy delivered to the system is leaking all day and night into the relatively cold soil in winter when heating is used. that’s the main reason why in slab hydronic heating is so very energy inefficient.
as for the idea that heat rising due to convection from the slab as more efficient from air blowing down the ceiling (or walls) from split units or cassettes from RCAC units, is just completely ignorant stuff. maybe if some of these men (or their clients) had studied physics at school instead of working on site “since four years old” they’d see through this nonsense.
the energy efficiency of a building’s heating system, any kind of heating system, is dependent of three main things:
1. the thermal envelope of the finished building, that is the integrity and effectiveness of the materials that seperate the exterior temperature conditions (weather etc) from the interior (inside). how much does the building leak, radiate, blow, heat from the inside to the outside of the building. this is a huge topic for conversation that i won’t get into. builders in very cold and very hot locations around the world tend to be much more knowledgeable and diligent about getting building thermal envelope integrity right. but even in cold places like Germany and parts of USA there’s passivehaus standards and there are much more inferior standards of building that all met the legal code requirements.
2. passive heating, how much heat gain does the building get from capturing available solar energy hitting the exterior of the building.
3. the efficiency of energy conversion of the heating appliance(s) themselves. heat pumps capture up to 6 times the energy put into them via electricity from the outside air using clever design/engineering. that’s why a split system RcAC unit is always going to me way, way more energy efficient than any fuel combusting heating solution. a RCAC can be ten times faster
more energy efficient than a typical ten year old ducted heating system with much energy being lost up the flue, and in the poorly insulated ducts under the house or in the roof cavities.
for more info please read the questions asked at facebook group “my efficient electric home”.
more energy efficient than a typical ten year old ducted heating system with much energy being lost up the flue…”
should read:
“a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner” can be 13x more energy efficient than your typical ten year old ducted heating system with so much of the energy being lost up the combustion chamber flue…”
Thanks for sharing your journey with us. What a great work ethic the Amish have. I loved the boys shadowing the dads to learn the business.
It still makes me almost tear up lol
Such heartwarming posts that make my soul sing. Isn't it a shame that this is not the 'norm'...
We can make it the norm! I’m trying to spread the word
The Amish culture can save this country.
I really believe that.
"Ah well, there’s only one constant in life… and it’s that things change." Indeed Alexandra!
Cannot tell exactly how old you are, guessing though that when I was about your age in college, some kind of experience not remembered brought me to what was then— honestly— the most intense realization yet of my 71years— Yes, that THE ONLY constant in life is CHANGE.
Thank you dear, for reminding me of that moment. 💚
You are so welcome!! :)
Thanks for this multi-part story! Most people who grind away in a cubicle environment cannot even imagine the volume of work a relatively small group of skilled workers and their machines can put in place very quickly when obstacles are removed.
Congratulations on your barn!
Thank you so much!
I love your writing and your story!
Thank you so much!
I love what you are doing Alexandra! Go girl! 👍🏼
I'm really enjoying these posts. Thank you for sharing Alex. Lots of inspiration here!
That sounds fascinating! The Amish are known for their craftsmanship, so I can only imagine the precision and care they bring to excavation. What makes their approach stand out compared to more modern methods?
STEWARTS!!
If you are from Otsego County, Mohawk River Valley or other upstate New York region, Stewarts in a pinch is what you need.
I think I have relayed before that my dad has availed himself of the Amish, he had them build a new roof. Their home is one of those typical Victorian homes from the 1880s that you find in New England, the pitch of the roof quite steep. The Amish have an amazing dedication to their work.
Regarding sons shadowing their dads, I grew up in a family business, and worked in my dad's business starting at age 13, it was construction and real estate. That was back in the 80s where we still had the can-do apprentice style of work ethic, we were far less coddled back then.
I also had the privilege of working for my neighbor, who was 80 at the time. He and his wife were responsible for bringing the 4 H program to Delaware county and started a summer camp. Mr Lennox had a saying that he wanted to use for a book he was writing in his head: Do Your Work and Do It Well. Sadly he passed before he could ever write that book, and fewer today reflect those values that he held so dear. He influenced me with his commitment and work ethic.
https://open.substack.com/pub/culturalcourage/p/no-safety-net-no-internet-summer?r=2jl5ok&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
This is an incredible project you undertook and quite impressive. The barn building is fantastic. The Amish are true Craftmen. I hope you did not spend a small fortune on building this, but if you sold a house in Florida, hopeful you made a profit and can turn around and revinvest in this project. Sometimes moving is what makes inspiration possible. Too many people get stuck in the day to day rat race and don't see the possibilities. Creative, art, hands on work is really what is missing in today's young person's and hope you reach more people who share this experience.
I especially love the Stewart’s mention!!!!
To be fair I should say - I just cross-posted a link to this here:
https://www.sott.net/article/494814-Voice-of-the-people-Pennsylvania-bakerys-cookie-poll-between-Trump-and-Harris-has-clear-winner#reply386271
I'm not trying to endear myself to anybody or anything - but I think what you post here has merit - so that is why I cross-linked it - and I feel tis only fair to share that information.
BK
Love reading/ learning all this current truth.....thank you Alexandra!
of the frames were constructed off-site and trucked over in pieces then one day to tilt them up is normal. if they were constructed onsite by two carpenters in one day and tilted up that’s pretty impressive work. if it was six carpenters not such a big deal.
details, details and context is what separates good writing to be consumed by a public from personal journaling that is purely about the emotional digestion of information for an individual.
“The Amish explained to me that it’s more environmentally-friendly and energy efficient as well, with heat rising from the floor as opposed to being blown out vents in the ceiling”.
this is a broad over-generalising statement and so cannot be said to be true or false. but what can be said is that in most cases it’s false to claim that in-slab hydronic heating is more energy efficient than RCAC. especially in the cases where it’s using fossil gas or oil combustion to produce the heat and the slab has no unground insulation (which is so typical of hydronic heating installations in my country) .
so many details of this build have been left out of the breathless cheerleading type commentary around the construction process we don’t know if the all important slab insulation was used under the slab and on the sides of the slab. if not then most of the energy delivered to the system is leaking all day and night into the relatively cold soil in winter when heating is used. that’s the main reason why in slab hydronic heating is so very energy inefficient.
as for the idea that heat rising due to convection from the slab as more efficient from air blowing down the ceiling (or walls) from split units or cassettes from RCAC units, is just completely ignorant stuff. maybe if some of these men (or their clients) had studied physics at school instead of working on site “since four years old” they’d see through this nonsense.
the energy efficiency of a building’s heating system, any kind of heating system, is dependent of three main things:
1. the thermal envelope of the finished building, that is the integrity and effectiveness of the materials that seperate the exterior temperature conditions (weather etc) from the interior (inside). how much does the building leak, radiate, blow, heat from the inside to the outside of the building. this is a huge topic for conversation that i won’t get into. builders in very cold and very hot locations around the world tend to be much more knowledgeable and diligent about getting building thermal envelope integrity right. but even in cold places like Germany and parts of USA there’s passivehaus standards and there are much more inferior standards of building that all met the legal code requirements.
2. passive heating, how much heat gain does the building get from capturing available solar energy hitting the exterior of the building.
3. the efficiency of energy conversion of the heating appliance(s) themselves. heat pumps capture up to 6 times the energy put into them via electricity from the outside air using clever design/engineering. that’s why a split system RcAC unit is always going to me way, way more energy efficient than any fuel combusting heating solution. a RCAC can be ten times faster
more energy efficient than a typical ten year old ducted heating system with much energy being lost up the flue, and in the poorly insulated ducts under the house or in the roof cavities.
for more info please read the questions asked at facebook group “my efficient electric home”.
“a RCAC can be ten times faster
more energy efficient than a typical ten year old ducted heating system with much energy being lost up the flue…”
should read:
“a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner” can be 13x more energy efficient than your typical ten year old ducted heating system with so much of the energy being lost up the combustion chamber flue…”