The Outside--Screened Porch and Siding...Part One

It's been a wonderfully mild winter here in Eastern Oklahoma. And spring has arrived with some rain but mostly beautiful days in the 60s, 70s and 80s, a soft breeze blowing through which has been keeping things tolerable temperature-wise.

Tom however has been very busy with building my screened room and I am excited.  Both of us love sitting out in the evenings watching the stars, listening to the bullfrogs, crickets and other assorted creatures and talking....boring to most, I know, but it's our happy place.

Also we still needed to put up the siding on the front of the house to cover the metal of the containers.  The last two/three days Tom has been doing this while I have been painting the areas of the porch that will be exposed. I've chosen boring white again, but have done so to keep heat absorption down.

We have a bit more to go, but I wanted to get some pictures up for those following the blog.

The real live Living part of 'Living in a Tin Can'

Well, it has been awhile since I've posted, but I promised I would give reports as to how living partially underground is working. I am thoroughly enjoying my house. It is spacious (at least to me after living in a big rig for 8 yrs) and comfortable. It has been unseasonably warm here in OK the last few months. That is definitely not a complaint, I love it here.

But it was not possible to test whether or not we'd remain warm in cold temperatures until now. It is 23 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like 9 degrees, outside.  In the containers it is 73 in the front area where the pot bellied stove sits. In the back area of the place it is 66. To me that's about as perfect as one can get.

The electric bill is pretty stable. I'm not anticipating any major rise in my electric bill due to colder weather.  The nice thing about having a pot-bellied stove for heat is that if the power goes out, I still have heat. When we initially discussed it, I decided I didn't want to have to deal with propane/gas for anything.  Even with a gas heater one has to have the electricity to run it. Not to mention if we get snowed/iced in we'd never be able to replenish the propane. And I can cook on this stove, my husband bought this particular type of stove for that reason.

My husband says he's glad he decided to add 18,000 BTU A/C though, he's not sure whether the building will remain cool enough in the summer, which can at times be brutal here. Last year was exceptionally hot, temps into the 100s for months at a time. But, he is adding an enclosed porch to the entrance, which I think, along with this special paint I purchased (Kool Seal) will help keep things moderate in here.

Kudos to my husband, Tom, who did a wonderful job building this place! And thank you to Ronnie for all your help, you also did a great job.

Here is the view from my front door!