Low Rent Renaissance

My very simple and inexpensive home made mortar sprayer has served me well until lately, when it started clogging every few minutes. I thinned my mortar mix a little and hosed my sprayer out, but every few minutes I'd have to stop. My theory is that sand has scarred the soft PVC plastic or copper nozzle enough to catch a little mortar and make it accumulate there. Or maybe it was the latex cement I sprayed that makes the mortar stick. Regardless, I had to replace my sprayer, and wanted to do it in a way I could duplicate easily. As before, I started with a 1-1/4" male threaded cap and a 1-1/2 to 1-1/4 female threaded bushing, I also used a gnarled adapter for my air gun, and a small copper nozzle. The nozzle and spray hole in the cap need to line up, which can be a little tricky on a rounded piece. I drilled just above the ridge at the bottom of the cap, using the small bit (9/32) first, and drilled all the way through the fitting so I had a hole front and ...

Shower structure, still under construction, with solar hot water heater . Armature for rounded shower structure showing eight foot treated fence posts, 1/2" conduit to help hold shape, and fence wire. The short walls around the shower head are latex cement, the rest are burlapcrete. I originally planned to make the entire structure latex cement, but some of the paint I'd stored was not usable. Sorry, no decent photos of the construction process.The short walls are made of latex cement (paintcrete) over nylon window screen. The long walls that reach the ground are made of  burlapcrete. I investigated the makings of a french drain, but was able to run the drain into an existing septic tank. Me, using home made mortar sprayer.

  This hot water heater is made almost entirely of re-purposed and recycled materials. The tank is from a discarded electric water heater (pin holes were patched for now with a product called JB Weld). Most of the wood is from a demolished fence, The windows, sheet metal roof and door, and much of the hardware (screws, hinges, etc) came from the mobile home we disassembled a few years back. The shower hardware came from the same old mobile home.  Basically the tank, painted black, is in an insulated box with a glass front. The water gets very hot. Photos of paintcrete/burlapcrete shower structure are to follow.

A friend tore down an old deck and offered me the wood, which was deteriorated. Serves as a wall with a shutter/awning on my old shed.  It looks as though it's been there a hundred years. Hopefully some shelves on the inside will help me organize a little.