Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

    Okay...this is probably one of my favorite threads from pre-crash. I am attempting to salvage what I can from Google cache, so some of the material posted may not have been from myself originally. Wherever possible I will credit the original contributor, but me thinks we will be needing to create much of this thread from scratch again (which stinks because it was a fairly long thread).

    Any ideas, pics, links, books, resources, etc on natural or alternative building techniques and systems from rain barrels and greywater treatment to cob and swimming ponds are welcome in this thread!


    PBS's Building Green series via Hulu


    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
    sigpic

    #2
    Re: Alternative Building Ideas

    Stuff I Posted:

    Compressed Earth Blocks


    So I think these are totally cool. Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) are similar to adobe, but are made without the sun baking, and leave a smaller foot print than conventional adobe homes. Like cob, they act as thermal mass and (usually) can be made from (mostly) on-site materials, however they are more similar to bricks in use. Most importantly, perhaps, CEB's are covered under most building codes as adobe or unfired clay masonry. On the downside, CEB's reqire specialized equipment--which you either need to buy, or hire out a company for (which is generally limited by geographical availability). I really think these would be AWESOME for interior walls...


    E-logs


    I have always wanted to live in a log cabin, ever since I was a little girl and read Little House in the Big Woods. But, as beautiful as they are, in this day and age they aren't exactly cheap, and I'd rather keep my trees in the ground and growing. Though the EPS (expanded polystyrene--the infill in these "logs&quot is a petroleum product, from what I understand of SIPs (structural insulated panels), the composition of EPS is about 98% air (the average SIP home saves nineteen times the energy it took to make the EPS insulation in the first year of installation). Additionally, e-logs can be manufactured at an ratio of 80 e-logs to one conventional log...and, depending on the size of the log, has a much higher R value than conventional logs, making it more energy efficient. E-logs are about the same cost as a mid to hi grade vinal siding, and cheaper and easier to build with than a conventional logs. I do have some misgivings about the green-ness of this particular innovation, but it is something to keep in mind.


    Recycled CD/DVD Shingles


    from http://www.instructables.com/id/CDDVD-Roofing-Concept/

    I had thought about using split soda cans for a metal roof, but this is pretty cool too....now I just need a yard to build Tesla's recycled dog house


    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
    sigpic

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Alternative Building Ideas

      Have you thought about old fashioned sod (turf) for the doghouse?

      I'm not sure I'd want to cut all that sod for an actual house, but it might work for a doghouse.

      I built my compost bin out of turf I cut when I was clearing the garden. I didn't think it would last very long, but, even in rainy Michigan, it's held up for five years (it's not very big - only about four feet by four, and three layers high).
      Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

      Comment


        #4
        Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

        (As far as "living off the grid", this might mean different things to different people.)

        Do you homestead? Do you grow/raise your own food? Did you build your own home? Do you renewable energy sources? Are you a nomad, a gypsy, or part of a hippie commune? Any of this stuff? If you do, have done, or also have an interest in this type of thing, this thread is for you I want to learn about the ways other people live and change the way I do a lot of things I'm just not happy with.

        I'm interested in the simple life - by which I mean not complicated, basic, and - at least in my own sense of it - natural. I don't live in a place where this is common or encouraged, and there aren't a lot of examples to learn from.

        I eat organic and local whenever possible and I do not compromise when it comes to meat, milk and eggs. We've adopted the family bed and our bedroom no longer looks like a traditional master bedroom with a four poster bed - it's now on the floor and will soon be joined by a twin bed nestled beside it. We use oil lamps instead of electric lights after dark. We use a clothesline.

        I'm definitely not where I want to be, but I'm making progress. I'm studying to raise my own chickens and I've found someone knowledgeable around here to help me learn what I need to know. I'm learning more about gardening (my first garden was, for the most part, a failure) to prepare for next Spring. I'm still trying to master the sewing machine and am determined to make my own clothes. Long term, my husband's pretty eager to try solar energy and we're really hoping to build a cob house together sometime in the future.

        Anyone else have an interest?

        Oh, and...
        http://fuckyeahgypsydens.tumblr.com/ has a lot of photos with ideas for decorating and designing a home. I'm crazy about this blog. Where do they find this awesomeness?


        Comment


          #5
          Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

          I did bring back our fave thread... http://www.paganforum.com/index.php?topic=86.0

          ...except it looks like we get to start over...
          Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
          sigpic

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

            [quote author=thalassa link=topic=256.msg2342#msg2342 date=1287016106]
            I did bring back our fave thread... http://www.paganforum.com/index.php?topic=86.0

            ...except it looks like we get to start over...
            [/quote]

            I saw that! I should have put the Gypsy Dens link in that thread instead, shouldn't I?

            XD

            In the meantime, does anyone here raise their own chickens? I'm trying to get some advice from the experienced before I start in on this project.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

              [quote author=Raphaeline link=topic=256.msg2665#msg2665 date=1287084635]
              I saw that! I should have put the Gypsy Dens link in that thread instead, shouldn't I?

              XD

              In the meantime, does anyone here raise their own chickens? I'm trying to get some advice from the experienced before I start in on this project.
              [/quote]

              I thought B did...but maybe that is ducks.
              ???
              Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
              sigpic

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=256.msg2668#msg2668 date=1287084817]
                I thought B did...but maybe that is ducks.
                ???

                [/quote]

                I have no personal experience, but if I have have a chance to have poultry, I may favor ducks to chickens, simply because the eggs are bigger, and they're slightly less likely to destroy a garden if they get out :P
                Great Grandmother's Kitchen

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                  My commune days are (thankfully) well in the past!

                  However, while we are currently raising ducks, we've raised chickens before - for meat and/or eggs (and as pets). Which are you thinking of, Raphe? If you want to do eggs, consider ducks instead - they seem to lay more eggs. But for meat, it's definitely chickens. Duck is kind of greasy, and not one of my favorite meats.

                  Both meat and eggs are definitely much much much better quality than general grocery store fare, and costwise, they can be comparable, if you feed them mostly scratch, and either free range them or use a chicken tractor. - A chicken tractor, if you don't know, is a large cage easily built of two by fours and chicken wire that can be dragged around the yard. It keeps all the birds and eggs together, and provides protection against 'coons. it provides both the benefits of keeping them cooped with the benefits of free ranging. Right now the ducks are just wandering around the house - we'll shoo them into the coop before dark.

                  You really can't go wrong with poultry - the biggest rpoblem is with predators.

                  [quote author=Deseret link=topic=256.msg2675#msg2675 date=1287085539]
                  I have no personal experience, but if I have have a chance to have poultry, I may favor ducks to chickens, simply because the eggs are bigger, and they're slightly less likely to destroy a garden if they get out :P
                  [/quote]

                  Yup - go for ducks. I can't tell the difference between the eggs taste-wise, but they are bigger, they are said to have less cholesteral, and the ducks usually only mess with the garden when the plants are seedlings. And - because people ask - you don't need a pond.
                  Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                    [quote author=B. de Corbin link=topic=256.msg2682#msg2682 date=1287085923]
                    Yup - go for ducks. I can't tell the difference between the eggs taste-wise, but they are bigger, they are said to have less cholesteral, and the ducks usually only mess with the garden when the plants are seedlings. And - because people ask - you don't need a pond.
                    [/quote]

                    I've read that Indian Runner Ducks are a good choice--versatile for both mean and eggs and relatively easy to care for...do you have any preferences?

                    Rafe, here's the one of the links I had bookmarked on heritage breeds http://www.albc-usa.org/
                    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                    sigpic

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                      Corbin, that actually raises a question for me-- if I eventually keep poultry, I would want to do so for both eggs and meat. Did you dispatch your own? And if so, how do you learn how to do so humanely and quickly, as well as all the cleaning required?
                      Great Grandmother's Kitchen

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                        [quote author=Deseret link=topic=256.msg2687#msg2687 date=1287086183]
                        Corbin, that actually raises a question for me-- if I eventually keep poultry, I would want to do so for both eggs and meat. Did you dispatch your own? And if so, how do you learn how to do so humanely and quickly, as well as all the cleaning required?
                        [/quote]

                        Scott duck hunts, he's done tons of that--learning the cleaning and whatnot could be easily done from someone that hunts. Also, from what I understand from my grandmother, its not that difficult to kill them--you grab 'em by the feet and either wring their neck or chop their head off...those are both the quickest way to do it.

                        Believe it or not though, you can google "how to kill a chicken" and there are youtube instructions (I did not link them for obvious reasons)
                        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                        sigpic

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                          Wow...now that is something I never thought to check on YouTube for...I gotta hand it to you, Thal.
                          Great Grandmother's Kitchen

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                            [quote author=thalassa link=topic=256.msg2685#msg2685 date=1287086056]
                            I've read that Indian Runner Ducks are a good choice--versatile for both mean and eggs and relatively easy to care for...do you have any preferences?

                            Rafe, here's the one of the links I had bookmarked on heritage breeds http://www.albc-usa.org/
                            [/quote]http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/phoenix.html

                            [quote author=Deseret link=topic=256.msg2687#msg2687 date=1287086183]
                            Corbin, that actually raises a question for me-- if I eventually keep poultry, I would want to do so for both eggs and meat. Did you dispatch your own? And if so, how do you learn how to do so humanely and quickly, as well as all the cleaning required?
                            [/quote]
                            Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Homesteading, Living Off Grid, and Other Alternative Living

                              CHICKEN KILLING BUS??
                              What you see depends on what you are looking for.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X