The Kids Solved Our Speed Problem. Now We Have a New One?

Last week, I was about done with it. Today, I actually feel pretty confident in what we're doing. It's all about the speed. I don't want to talk. I don't want to talk about it either. In our last video, we were trying to scale up production of our Adobe block mix, but we kept running into issues. Who's irritated? We just needed a minute. Today, we're bringing the kids in for reinforcements to help speed up the process. But inconsistent variables like extreme heat and sand substitutions mean we're still chasing the perfect mix. My brick making prowess has leveled up. Good morning. Our Adobe's are drying wonderfully. We just flipped them all on their opposite side, and that should be kind of the last step for most of these. Then we can get them out of the way and build a bunch more. This morning, we we have one more idea for our high production mix. The problem we were running into was the mortar is easy with the paddle mixer, right? You add clay and sand and water and you mix it up, and that works perfectly. The problem is once you start putting straw in, it adds so much tensile strength and it becomes impossible to continue to mix it. So what we're going to do is make ourselves a big batch of mortar. I'm going to put a little straw on the top, lightly chop it in, make bricks, then add more straw, make bricks, more straw, make bricks. That way, we're not fighting with that straw all the way down through that really deep trough, because we're tired and we're sore and we're tired of fighting against the material. So we're just trying to find ways to fight against it less. We really just need to see if this new idea works. So that's the goal this morning. What did we do? I think we just did it faster. It's all about the speed. We're finally getting faster. We did 17 in an hour. That's better, right? That's from making the mix and doing it. All of it. Right. So we're going to do another half batch and make another 15 to 17. That way, we'll have 30 for the morning. But I don't want to. I'll do all the hard work. So we're going to need more than one of these. By the way, these these forms, these are from the bond beam and the Lava Crete building. So they're just the gift that keeps on giving. Easy peasy, pass the time to find. Aren't you glad to be singing? Let it be. Empty pockets, early June. Got nothing but this silly tune. No big plans, it's summer soon. Feeling fine and free. Don't worry, you know, if I stray. Always love you, baby. Every road that takes me away leads me back to you. Guys, this is a bad place to do it. Oh no. I'm like, I don't know. Are you done? You made a mess. So I'm making 30 more bricks. Today's video is sponsored by the This tiny camera can plug directly into your smartphone or computer to unlock advanced temperature readings anywhere on your property. I've been playing around with this thing for a little bit and so far I'm really impressed. So what do you think? You want to measure some stuff? All right, we are in the solar shed. We're going to see what the air is coming out of this mini split. All you do is you download the Rision app. So I'm going to open that. And it's going to say, hey, plug in the camera. So I do that, get started. You basically get a full color representation on screen of what's going on at whatever you're pointing at. Tell me that temperature. That is 33, 34 degrees. So that tells me that the air coming out is nice and chilly, which is perfect. You ever wondered how hot solar panels get? Here's a good example. Look at that. You can measure stuff individually on the screen. So you can use a spot check. So you can just pick a point directly on it. You can choose up to five of those. It will update as I move. And then you can do lines. Tell me the temperature difference from this panel to this panel. You can also do a box. I would imagine this is pretty hot because this is where all that power is coming through, right? That's 115. But you don't even really see, like these aren't hot, the 8 gauge because they're sized appropriately. So the next thing I want to measure is roof temperature. I should probably say for reference it is 96 degrees outside right now. The camera is warmer than you right now. So my temperature sensor says it's 92 degrees. Let's look at the roof. 93 degrees, which makes sense. This runs at a 320 by 240 super resolution with a 25 hertz refresh rate. So you can see like it's updating pretty quickly. Also, you can take a picture or you can switch over to video and you can record a video. So you can go back to the photo later in the app. Say show me what the temperature was even after the fact. Which is pretty cool if you need to like refer back to something later. All right, we're going to look at our big solar system. The sun just came back out. So our two solar charge controllers are going to be working really hard. So let's see what it looks like. Oh yeah, look at that. Lit up really nicely. I also got to show you this thing they call dual light fusion capture. You can tell it to create edges of everything. You see that? So it's like it's trying to show you in real life what the stuff is. And it uses your phone's camera. And you can also like blend the two things together. Isn't that neat? So there you have it. The Rision Magic Thermal Imaging Camera. It plugs into your iOS or Android device via USB-C. And it gets its power from the port so there's no battery to charge. And it's launching at a pre-order price of $119. Which is actually a really good deal for a thermal imaging camera. You can use the affiliate link in our description or the code tinyshiny5 to save even more. But you know what? I'm done measuring for now. It's time to get back to the build. It's all done. All right, we got about two hours in and 33 bricks. So that's better. I would still like to see maybe 30 bricks an hour. I think we could do that if we had just a couple more people. Pre-mixing the mortar and then just adding straw in as we need it. And then using the shovel and then keeping it a little bit wetter than we thought we should. Made it easier to shovel out. I could get really big scoops. Plop them down in there. Use gravity to kind of get it into the corners. And then when it's wetter it's also easier to push into the mold and into the corners. And then it's easier to clean off. Also, we realized that the faster we get it in the mold and pull it off, the easier it is to pull off. If we take too long making the bricks, those three bricks, then it gets stuck to the sides and it's really hard to pull up. And it deforms the bricks and it's a whole problem. So it's all about finding that process, right? Little things we're learning along the way. It's making us feel a lot better about this process because I feel like the last week I was about done with it. But with what we're learning, I feel like we're getting there. But we still have a ways to go. So our goal is going to be over this next week to really refine this process. Get it a lot faster because we have a lot of bricks to make. We have over a thousand of these that we need to make. So we got to get to it. Hey guys, we're back at the roundhouse making adobes. I'm going to be honest with you. We made a bunch of adobes and we didn't film it. Nope, didn't record any of it. You're not going to get to see it. We all came out here as a family and we worked through all of our problems and we figured it out. And we just needed a minute. As you can see, we have a bunch made and we've already taken a bunch of these and put them over in the window. So we're making good progress. So the goal today is we finalized what we need to do this morning with everybody. So we're going to be back out doing one last large batch test mix before we really get into it. And we're going to tell you all the problems we had and what we figured out because it's been a journey. It's been a journey. Should we move some of these other dry ones so that we have more boards to work on? Uh, we can see if they're dry. Here's the problem. I know, we can't get to them. This was put in the wrong spot. And now there's a pinch point where you can't get the wheelbarrow through there. Well, I have an idea. Okay. Move those onto that board right there. And between that board and this board, we can move all those and then move that board over here. One of the first things that took us a really long time to figure out was the clay just has a lot of chunks in it, right? And I think part of the problem was is we weren't getting these soaked and sort of chopped up enough. And so we were trying to measure a certain ratio and our shovelfuls were way smaller in this pile because it's so hard to get through as opposed to the sand. And so we thought we were mixing things at a certain ratio and we weren't. Anyway, long story short is it should be one-to-one. You shouldn't have more clay than sand because otherwise the bricks just crack when they dry. But that does mean that we have to wet the clay down quite a bit, chop it up, let it soak, kind of move it around, get it nice and goopy, and then start bringing the sand into it. Also, we went back to buckets. Our shovelfuls were just proving to be way too inconsistent. So that helped us figure out the one-to-one ratio. And doing that process has helped us get the right consistency. The bricks aren't cracking. They're drying properly. We are misting the bricks too. That was another problem. It was so hot the other day that a lot of these cracked and I think it was just because they dried too fast. So we're just fighting all these weird variables. We're trying to figure it out. But I think we're almost there. What is that? The second thing we learned in this trial and error period is the form needs to be wet and the right amount of clay. We did find that when we had too much clay in the mix, it was just sticking to the form. It was a mess. So now that we have the right mix, just make sure that form is really clean and wet. Also, we're doing it as fast as possible. Having even just one extra person over here to help get in the form faster is going a lot better because it is so hot out here. That form is drying really quick. So it just makes a world of a difference having even just one more person out here. She just can't help herself. Those are still tearing. You need to get off. Don't step on the corners. Do you need to spray this one? I'll spray it. It's not soaking. There's only one enough for one more brick. I'll do two. That's it? I'll just bring shovels over. No, you're just bringing it. Well guys, that was 17 bricks and 45 minutes. I feel like we did really good. You guys up for making a little bit more? Good morning, friends. We had a very productive weekend. I think we dialed in our process pretty well. We had a good time with the kids. And as you can see, we made a lot of adobes. Almost 75 adobes on Saturday. In fact, we made so much progress, we ran out of sand. And so we didn't do anything yesterday. We had to kind of regroup. Ashley's headed out to get some more sand this morning so we can keep going. But as you can see, I'm going to call this clearing the deck. So we have some here on the back that need to be flipped up. We have a bunch that are flipped up that are ready to move over to the windows where they're going to get laid. So basically what I want to do is get all the ones that are still curing all the way to the back so we can be more efficient mixing in the big tub and then going directly to the forms as close as possible. So yeah, it's a lot of adobes to move. I'm going to get to it and we're going to get ready for more brick production later this week. Okay, so the deck has been officially cleared. We're ready to go to make more bricks. Ashley's not back with the sand. But I'm going to go cool off a little bit because, you know, it's only 8.30 in the morning. But I'm already sweating. Welcome to summer in the desert. Alright, we're back for another day of making adobe blocks. Bricks. Adobes. We're making all the things that we need to make for our house. Today I actually feel pretty confident in what we're doing. That's a first. Boys are out here helping us tonight. Girls are going to be out helping us tomorrow morning. And we are going to get so much done. Can we talk about what we've already done today? What did we do? I've moved basically all of these adobes. By himself? All by myself. Yep. And you got a load of sand. By myself. And then I unloaded it by myself. So basically you're saying you did all the work. And then together, we put the 10 buckets of clay and water and we soaked it all afternoon. I sprayed the water. And so now we're adding the mortar sand. 10 more buckets of sand. And no water yet. Nope. Just to make sure. And we're mixing it in with our new press because the other one broke. Our brand new $270 drill broke within the first three days. And so we went to Harbor Freight and got this one because we know that we can exchange it if it breaks. The other one got sent back. Yep, it did. Onwards and upwards. Let's go. We thought we'd be more efficient by mixing 10 buckets of each material. However, I feel like it's too much for this paddle mixer. Like it's just taking way too long to mix that much material together. I think if we do it again, we'll go back to like 5 or 6 buckets per material. That we were able to mix pretty quick and then get bricks started. Doing double that is just, it's slowing us down. It's making us feel like we're not moving very fast. However, once we get it all mixed, we should be able to make a lot of bricks. That's good. Or we come out earlier and we get this mixed beforehand. That works too. Maybe you should go make a second one. Maybe you should make a second one. I'm busy. We're not going to make it right now. Well, you could. No. I think we should work on it tomorrow. This is good. It means that we're getting fast enough where we could use a second form. And they're looking good. I think we're going to stick with the mortar sand. Even though it's like quite a bit more expensive. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that much more expensive. In the grand scheme of dirt, it's a few more dirt dollars. What do you think about getting on their list of getting a whole truckload so I don't have to keep going back and forth? Probably. I think we should. We're going to use it. The wash sand is so important for good mortar. It locks together. And good plaster. Yeah. So even if we don't use it all for this, we would be using it eventually. Yeah. Although, the longer it's here, the more cat poop that gets in it. So I don't want to have too much here. I definitely don't want it here for interior plaster. Which, I mean, we're way not even close to that point. But, yeah. I think we'd use it. So I think we should just figure out what we need and get a whole truck here. What do you want to do? Start another board? Yeah. Should we spray it? Or do you think it's okay? There you go. That's great. She's got it. She's on it. Yeah. We need to make another one. Should I just go do that? But I feel like I should be doing some more. Do you know how to make one? Do I know how to make one? Is that the real question? It's true. It will have to be the exact same measurement. It will be. But I'm saying it doesn't have to. It should be. Not all these bricks are the same size. We have all the pieces except I need another board 27 inches. So, let's go to the garage and see if we can find one. I need a 1 by 4. I thought for sure I had another 1 by 4. But I only have 1 by 6. So, turns out we're not making the form today. I need 27 inches. That's all I needed. Just 27. I knew I had one somewhere. Let's cut this. 30 bricks. No, sir. Oh, no. Ta-da. Actually, if you could take this drill to the box right next to it, that would be even more helpful. How many did we do? 30. Good morning. Last night it took us quite a while to get the mix stirred up with all the drill and everything. So, I'm going to be out here early this morning and try to get that done before the girls are ready to help and before Jonathan comes out. So, let's go. She does this every time we're out here. Okay, could you do me one favor? We're going to need two more buckets of sand filled up and then that will be all the sand. We've got one full there and then I need to do two more. Trona, look. Whoa, look who showed up. I was in there and I was like, what is all that noise? The inverter was making sounds like when people use the blender. It was like, wow, wow, wow. Trona. Then I heard the drill and I realized it was Trona. I've been out here for like an hour. Where have you been? Well, good communication. Thanks for letting me know. You said we're starting in the morning, so I get out here in the morning. I've heard other stuff too. I know. I'd rather be cold until I'm cold and then I'd rather be hot and then when I'm hot I'd rather be cold. I'd rather be 70 year ground and a nice breeze. I'd rather be hot over the lake. Yeah, just like filter that sun a little bit. Yes, I really do. There's only three more buckets to put in. I might go get some more. You know, I might be able to get another block out of it, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble. I don't think it's worth the trouble. You want to dump it in here? What? Either you pull it off. Todd, are you going to help? Just lay on it. Stay in there. So how many did we do? I don't know. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23. Alright guys, we're back out for one last afternoon before Ashley goes on her fun plaster adventure trip. She's going away. So that means I'm going to get to make bricks by myself for a while. Guys, we're still struggling with our mix. I don't want to talk about it. I'm hoping when we do this and then we see it dry, we can confirm. But the bricks we did this morning are cracked all to heck. And I'm not sure if it's the heat. I don't know if it's not a straw. I'm not sure if it's too much clay. We're just going to have to eliminate each of these one by one. I'm getting very frustrated with the variables. We're going to do one more batch before she leaves. Just one more. One more batch. That would be nice when I couldn't say that. Do I know? I don't know. Mosquitoes are really bad. For like three weeks out of the year when we have mosquitoes? By really bad, I mean I've seen three. Oh baby. My brick making prowess has leveled up. Those are the best looking ones. Just in time for you to leave. All the ones when you come back will be gorgeous and beautiful and perfectly square. And you'll be like, oh my gosh, did you make these bricks? I'm going to be like, yes I did.