Ok, how would you live and build your home ?

[Oberon]

a) Fully powered by solar and wind energy, perhaps also water. Nice and open, with a well near by. As off the grid as possible in order to reduce amenities bills. Otherwise, a swimming pool would be nice, a garden model railway and man cave, lots of storage space for the items the wife would collect en mass and a similar house next door for the mother with the usual home-help items to help her out in her old age. Minus the pool and railway though, but she would like to keep chickens.

b) Same as the above but with less leisure items and more fortifications and farming material.

c) A castle with plenty of land for farming space.

[ikalugin]

The issue is the self reliance on:
- basic safety.
- heating.
- water.
- food.
- power.

My point here is that a lot of complex systems (such as power generators) have a very limited life time, hence you either need the uber reliable systems (such as a long term solid nuclear power plant design with no moving parts in it and 0 maintenance life time of hundreds of years) or some sort of industrial capacity to keep your technology going (and replace it as it wears out).

However if it is a limited time period we are talking about (up to several years) then nothing could beat an old fashioned fall out shelter sufficiently stocked with expendables and with reliable equipment (water, air filters, power generator).

[Eichhörnchen]

Agree with all of Oberon's suggestions, but on a more prosaic level (not in survivalist mode quite yet) I do regret not going for a bungalow when we bought the house. Much easier to get at roof for repairs etc. and wouldn't be as nervous when we get such strong winds as we do out here.

Ideally, a low peat-thatched dwelling like you see in old paintings of Highland scenes, or one sunk into the side of a hill and covered with turf.

Living in a tree ain't so much fun any more...

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

a) Fully powered by solar and wind energy, perhaps also water. Nice and open, with a well near by. As off the grid as possible in order to reduce amenities bills. Otherwise, a swimming pool would be nice, a garden model railway and man cave, lots of storage space for the items the wife would collect en mass and a similar house next door for the mother with the usual home-help items to help her out in her old age. Minus the pool and railway though, but she would like to keep chickens.

b) Same as the above but with less leisure items and more fortifications and farming material.

c) A castle with plenty of land for farming space.

Works for me but only when minus the mother/mother-in-law

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Works for me but only when minus the mother/mother-in-law

^

Yes, Oberon summed it up nicely, would also work for me. Garden railway always was a dream ... but at least i already have two locomotives.


We already have a freshwater supply, or more a kind of hose 8 meters deep, to pump water from.
We also have solar collectors (coll. for warming water, no solar cells for electrical power), but it does not support the heating system - too few roof surface for that.
There's also a wood-burning oven installed, but its chimney is still below the roof. We also plan a smaller building along with a garage, for repairs, and as a man cave. Well maybe next summer..

In case of a power-out, our heating system would not work: No spark to ignite the gas, no electrical pumps for warm water convection.
I always thought it would be nice to have a strirling engine to pump water through the heating system, the engine would get heat to run from the oven, and would drive the circulatory pump .. no electrical current needed as long as you have wood, or coal.

I bought an english book some years ago, by John Seymour, title is "The new complete book of self-sufficiency", and i think it is great. You would need more time and acres for really being independent, but a lot of good ideas and how to build and maintain, with information on plants and harvesting; at least the basics.

[Armistead]

Family has a farm in the foothills of Va, so I guess we would go there. Very few people around and most of us still have old farming skills should we need them...

I also keep a list of known preppers, so all failing, we arm and like aliens go from site to site feeding off their goods..

[swamprat69er]

I think I would go with a couple of 100 acres in the middle of nowhere and the house built in the middle of it (Northern Ontario) totally self sufficient with solar power and heat and the south facing house built into a hill.

[Rockstar]

As a means to generate electricity I'd stick with solar panels, they have no moving parts, are practically maintenance free and can last 20-30 years. Compared to wind driven generators which have a much shorter lifespan require regular maintenance and spare parts to keep them going.

[Platapus]

An acquaintance of mine is a concrete engineer and he is building himself a concrete home in WV. His girlfriend is a chemist and she is building the diesel fuel conversion stuff where they can use waste oils for power. . Their goal is to be as off the grid as they can.