On Saturday September 12, we broke ground on the rainwater harvesting system for the MSU sustainable house. The first stage of the system construction is to create a stable and thick concrete slab for the cisterns to rest on. The slab is dimensioned at 10 feet by 20 feet with a depth of six inches. The slab will be made from porter cement along with gravel and sand.
To prepare for the slab, over a foot and a half of dirt was excavated to level the ground and placed gravel to create the 10 by 20 foot area where the concrete pad will be laid.
To accomplish this task, the ground was surveyed using a transit and a leveling rod to determine the amount of ground that had to be dug up to create a level surface. After the surveying was completed, many volunteers helped dig out the earth and place gravel.
Tools and gravel were supplied by the research house and labor was free thanks to the volunteers that came out on a Saturday morning to help. This allowed us to accomplish the prep work for a major job for zero cost. Unfortunately, rain has halted the project for a few of weeks, so the pad has not been laid.
As the site continues to dry, purchases are beginning to get made and the system is on its way. The first purchase will be the cisterns and guttering system which will be the largest of the design and will take around a month for delivery, giving ample time to lay and set the concrete needed for the cisterns. Once the site is dry, framing will be laid with reinforcing bars, and the concrete will be pored to create the slab.
Thanks again to everyone who volunteered
