Is Living Offgrid Right For You?-Some Things To Consider Before Moving Offgrid
The following are some things to consider before packing up and moving to an offgrid location.
Cost:
How will you finance your offgrid home? Cash, pay as you go, home mortgage loan, private loan? The answer to this question effects how your plans will progress.
If you have cash to pay for your offgrid home, do you have enough? Conservatively speaking, building the home yourself will cost between $80.00 to $100.00 per sq. ft. That's if you userecycled materials where possible and depending on your own your own skill level, cut labor costs. Research home mortgage loans for offgrid, they are not as easy to get as a conventional loan.If you are relocating the mortgage company is going to need to know how you will pay for the loan.
Building permits:
Check with your local city, county and state codes. Laws for your state may supercede local laws. Be sure that you understand the building codes and their cost. Your local office may or may notbe very helpful with this information. You will need to talk with building inspectors to insure that you both understand what is needed to pass inspections. In rural areas this may be up tothe interpretation and the discretion of the inspector.
Where to purchase land:
Are you relocating? How far away is the property you want to develop from your current location?Will you live on the property while it is being built? What permits do you need? Does the landhave any improvements like well (shared or private) or septic? Be sure that the land is ratedfor it's intended use as there may be restrictions on the type of home that you are able to build. Modern conveniences you cannot live without:
If you cannot live without an air conditioner, you may want to rethink living offgrid unless youhave unlimited funds. Large energy consuming appliances are unrealistic for offgrid applications.
Type of home construction:
The type of construction for your offgrid home should reflect your climate and region. Assess the climate were your home will be located. If it is a cold climate, heating and weatherizingyour offgrid home may be your main concern. If it is a hot arid climate, keeping your home coolfrom the scorching hot sun may be the prime issue. If it is hot and humid, cooling and moisturemay be relevent. There are many factors to consider when chosing the type of construction of your offgrid home. Personal style, environment, pests, insects, weather, type of soil and land elevation are also to be considered.
Who will build:
Owner/builder, contractor, some subcontractors. Owner/builders need to assess their skill levelsto insure they are capable of building the type of home chosen. Chose your contractor and subcontractors wisely. Just because someone you know had a good experience does not mean thatyou will. Research local contractors and get to know them to see if you communicate well.Communication is the key with contractors. Be sure you both understand what you are receivingfor the services rendered. You cannot assume everything is included. Ultimately it is the owner'sresponsibility to insure all is done right and on time. If there is a building boom in your areayou can expect delays.
Life style:
Does your personal life style mesh well with offgrid living? If you have no experience with livingoffgrid, read articles of other people's life styles to see if feels right for you. Depending onyour location and building choices, life can be fairly rugged.
Environment:
Is the natural environment where you choose to build your offgird home compatable with your visonof how you want to live?
Usually, but not always, offgrid homes are off the beaten path. This means that you will be living in a natural habitat with animals, reptiles, insects where you or your pets could be the prey. Learn all that you can about the area in which you would like to build. If there arepotentially dangerous animals, learn about their behavior and habitats. Sometimes we createand invite animals close to our homes because we are unaware of their habits. They need food, shelter and sometimes water. If we provide these, they will come.
Employment/how to make money:
If you do not have a home based business in mind, look for one. Or check the local newspapersfor employment before you build. Now what types of industries that may be nearby.
Written and submitted by Jeanne Patera
http://www.offgrid-desert-living.com
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Killer Bees
On August 12, 2007 my husband Ron walkd out to our trailer which we now use for storage. He was stopped dead in his tracks about 30 feet from the trailer by a very loud humming noise. Hovering above the trailer was a black cloud. He looked at the trailer which is 31 feet long and all of the windows were covered in bees. He backed up and came back to the house. The house is located approximately 120 feet from the trailer.
We were going to wait 24 hours because we knew that sometimes bees make a stop and then move on the next day. Later on that evening we were outside in the front of our home and the scrub bushes and mesquite trees were buzzing. It sounded like a huge wall of constant humming moving toward us. I told Ron we needed to get into the house...now. I had images of our home being engulfed in bees. Since we live in Arizona I knew these were not garden honey bees. A swarm that large terrified me. The swarm moved in unison straight for our trailer congregating above it before landing and finding every crack to go inside.
Monday morning I called the Killer Bee Guy. I explained our situation to him over the phone. He met me at the end of our road within an hour. We made our introductions and drove to the trailer. The bees were crawling and swarming the trailer inside and out. He told me that we had a lot of bees and to go up to the house and he would suit up. He put on a white jumpsuit, gloves and a hood. He walked around the trailer a few times and then went inside. When he was finished he came up to the house.
He told me it was a good thing that we did not try to disturb the bees. They had already built a hive and they had only been there 24 hours. He said that the queen sends out about 30 bees and if they do not come back she does not send anymore to the same location. If they come back she will send about 30,000 and in a 24 hour period there can be over 100,000 bees. Which is what had occurred in our situation.
They were Africanized honey bees (killer bees). He tried to take them with him for his hives but he said that they were too aggressive so they had to be killed. Many of the bees escaped when the bombs went off. There were still thousand laying in pools under the trailer the next day. There were hundreds still swarming the trailer so I could not go inside. They had mainly moved to a nearby mesquite tree blocking our main gate to the property.
I tried to walk my dogs on Tuesday but for three days the bees remained highly aggitated. They had moved up to the house making it difficult to go in or out. The bees were on my dogs as soon as we went outside. I cut up some white T-shirts and put them on all four of my dogs. Bees have a hard time seeing white. I made sure I had no fragrances from soap or deoderant. The white T-shirts worked for the dogs but kept swarming around my face. I got stung on the back of the neck. Killer bees will attack the face and eyes as well as anything black in color. One of my dogs is black and small so I did not think he would survive a bee attack.
Africanized honey bees arrived in Arizona in 1993. They are a hybrid of European and Africain honey bees which were an experiment gone terribly wrong in Brazil. Honey bees are not indiginous to the Americas. From what I have read 26 African queen bees were accidentally let loose in Brazil. Brazil was trying to produce a bee that would withstand the heat better. They mated with the European honey bee and spread very quickly.
Some of the consistant observations are:
Africanized honey bees are not particular on where they colonize, they will set up a hive in a hole in the ground, in a soda can, on the side of your home, in a wood pile.
They swarm more than 30 times a year. This means they divide the colony, usually due to a new queen bee being born.
The queen lays between 1500 and 2500 eggs a day
They can be very aggressive when a threat is perceived
They can chase a threat up to 1 1/4 miles
They are moving north through the United States and have arrived in Utah. It is not known whether they can survive the colder climates.
Africanized honey bees a difficult for the beekeepers and farmers to control. I assume that this means they do not come back to the box hives to make honey. They go off and start their own colony where they want.
I am sure this is not the last time we will encounter killer bees. I am told we live in the heart of killer bee country and that there are no European honey bees in this area anymore. There are more and less aggressive Africanized bees.
We were going to wait 24 hours because we knew that sometimes bees make a stop and then move on the next day. Later on that evening we were outside in the front of our home and the scrub bushes and mesquite trees were buzzing. It sounded like a huge wall of constant humming moving toward us. I told Ron we needed to get into the house...now. I had images of our home being engulfed in bees. Since we live in Arizona I knew these were not garden honey bees. A swarm that large terrified me. The swarm moved in unison straight for our trailer congregating above it before landing and finding every crack to go inside.
Monday morning I called the Killer Bee Guy. I explained our situation to him over the phone. He met me at the end of our road within an hour. We made our introductions and drove to the trailer. The bees were crawling and swarming the trailer inside and out. He told me that we had a lot of bees and to go up to the house and he would suit up. He put on a white jumpsuit, gloves and a hood. He walked around the trailer a few times and then went inside. When he was finished he came up to the house.
He told me it was a good thing that we did not try to disturb the bees. They had already built a hive and they had only been there 24 hours. He said that the queen sends out about 30 bees and if they do not come back she does not send anymore to the same location. If they come back she will send about 30,000 and in a 24 hour period there can be over 100,000 bees. Which is what had occurred in our situation.
They were Africanized honey bees (killer bees). He tried to take them with him for his hives but he said that they were too aggressive so they had to be killed. Many of the bees escaped when the bombs went off. There were still thousand laying in pools under the trailer the next day. There were hundreds still swarming the trailer so I could not go inside. They had mainly moved to a nearby mesquite tree blocking our main gate to the property.
I tried to walk my dogs on Tuesday but for three days the bees remained highly aggitated. They had moved up to the house making it difficult to go in or out. The bees were on my dogs as soon as we went outside. I cut up some white T-shirts and put them on all four of my dogs. Bees have a hard time seeing white. I made sure I had no fragrances from soap or deoderant. The white T-shirts worked for the dogs but kept swarming around my face. I got stung on the back of the neck. Killer bees will attack the face and eyes as well as anything black in color. One of my dogs is black and small so I did not think he would survive a bee attack.
Africanized honey bees arrived in Arizona in 1993. They are a hybrid of European and Africain honey bees which were an experiment gone terribly wrong in Brazil. Honey bees are not indiginous to the Americas. From what I have read 26 African queen bees were accidentally let loose in Brazil. Brazil was trying to produce a bee that would withstand the heat better. They mated with the European honey bee and spread very quickly.
Some of the consistant observations are:
Africanized honey bees are not particular on where they colonize, they will set up a hive in a hole in the ground, in a soda can, on the side of your home, in a wood pile.
They swarm more than 30 times a year. This means they divide the colony, usually due to a new queen bee being born.
The queen lays between 1500 and 2500 eggs a day
They can be very aggressive when a threat is perceived
They can chase a threat up to 1 1/4 miles
They are moving north through the United States and have arrived in Utah. It is not known whether they can survive the colder climates.
Africanized honey bees a difficult for the beekeepers and farmers to control. I assume that this means they do not come back to the box hives to make honey. They go off and start their own colony where they want.
I am sure this is not the last time we will encounter killer bees. I am told we live in the heart of killer bee country and that there are no European honey bees in this area anymore. There are more and less aggressive Africanized bees.
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