Building an Apocalypse ready homestead

[jb1212]

My wife and I are getting ready to try and buy a nice piece of land to build our home on. We are looking for something in the neighborhood of 10 acres including a nice pond. As of now the plan is to build a Morton Building home roughly 30' X 50' on top of a basement. I get a detached garage for a wood shop and other toys.

I am new to the idea of prepping and I was hoping some people would be willing to share some neat products that they have seen or have purchased for making one's house safe and self-sufficient.

Yes I know there are other threads that have individual items but just wanted to see if I could get them all in one place.

Thanks!!!

 

[CountryBoy19]

A few thoughts.

One of your top priorities should be energy conservation. Energy prices are rising and in an apocalypse situation the less wood you have to cut to heat your house the more time you have t survive.

I assume you'll be storing foods and other items to survive said situation. Create CONVENIENT storage in the floor-plan so you don't have to store things in less-desirable locations like the attic etc.

I would seriously consider having the shop/garage attached at least through a breezeway. This allows you to go to the shop without getting fully dressed and/or without being seen. This would provide additional security. Most people are less-willing to break into an attached shop vs an unattached one.

 

[longbow]

Where you doing this? Hilly or flat land. Spray foam insulation is worth it
a metal roof is the best to collect rain water.

 

[sly14]

I think it's important to have an underground storage system separate from your main dwelling

 

[patience0830]

Your gonna get a mish mash of ideas. Some too expensive to implement all at once. Think basics. Clean water. Cystern and a Berkey filter? Heirloom seeds. Some sort of alternative energy system. Wind or solar with as much storage as you can afford. The convenient food storage suggestion is right on the money. Tools for gardening. Buy Quality, not gimmicky stuff.
Alternative toilet facility, composting perhaps. Food and water is the where to start.

 

[Indyrich]

Besides this forum I would suggest looking at some youtube videos. I know on youtube SOUTHERNPREPPER1 has a youtube channel that has great videos on preparing a homestead. He includes things such as energy, food, animals, security, etc. Definitely worth watching those vids that relate before you commit to a design.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Being prepared for the apocalypse is not about purchases, it's about attitude and mindset, and knowledge and skills are not something you can go out and purchase. Either you live a prepared lifestyle or you don't and the learning starts now and doesn't stop

I know this sounds like a blow-off answer, but it isn't. It's like when people ask what to stock in a first aid kit. If you know how to perform first aid competently then you don't need to ask what to stock, you already know. If you don't know how to perform first aid competently then the best stocked kit isn't worth much.

Start by learning as much as you can about being self sufficient. The rest will follow.

 

[THard6]

besides the things listed in this forum, i'd say go to steep because you'll never live to see an apocalypse.

 

[CopperWires]

This is a great place to start. The forums are great, and Jack is constantly giving other sources that also present great information and tips/tricks.

Survival Podcast

 

[Rikkrack]

I second The survival Podcast. The forum has tons of info there too. THe MSB membership is well worth it so you can go back and get episode one and beyond. Jack is up to 1058 now. You also get discounts at sponsors too. I listen 4-5 back episodes a day while at work.

 

[jb1212]

Thanks for all of the info so far.

shibumiseeker: You are on the money. I am currently taking class and trying to get into a Paramedic program just for exact reason you used as an example.

I have watched hour upon hours of youtube videos and I guess I just need to download the ones that seem the most useful. After a bit they just seem to blur together, or getting the land and house have been to far off to justify committing the room in my head for the info.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Being prepared for the apocalypse is not about purchases, it's about attitude and mindset, and knowledge and skills are not something you can go out and purchase. Either you live a prepared lifestyle or you don't and the learning starts now and doesn't stop

I know this sounds like a blow-off answer, but it isn't. It's like when people ask what to stock in a first aid kit. If you know how to perform first aid competently then you don't need to ask what to stock, you already know. If you don't know how to perform first aid competently then the best stocked kit isn't worth much.

Start by learning as much as you can about being self sufficient. The rest will follow.

This is truth ^^^

I will start by saying I don't intend to brag so please don't take it that way. I am not a perfect prepper nor a perfect person, this is only one example of how I excel at some things.

I have a very diverse skill-set, most of which was learned through trying to do things myself repetitively until I succeeded. I try to do almost everything myself. Some things I don't do myself are legal advice, major medical attention, and things that I've already "conquered" but just don't have the time to mess with like a brake job that requires bleeding the brakes and all the hassles. I have also learned a lot of diverse skills from growing up on a farm and my constant desire to "tinker".

That being said, my point is, over the last few years I've heard comments from people similar to, "Is there anything you aren't good at?" "How are you so good at every **** thing you do?" etc etc. The fact of the matter is, I never knew I was "that good" at doing those things until people brought it up. I thought everybody was good with their hands, could think critically, and make good judgements etc. Why did I think that? Because it's been my way of life since I was young. At this point in my life, I do everything myself. Sure, in a collapse I can't go to the grocery store, or the gas-station etc, but the impact on a person that lives a more self-sufficient life will be less. The less you rely on others the less impact when others aren't there to help you.

I suggest you acquire as many skills as possible now. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to do something. Try it, and if you fail, try it again, maybe with some advice from others. It can be anything from cooking, gardening, etc to construction, gunsmithing, camping, the sky is the limit, just do stuff. Every day of self-sufficient living is another day of practice for SHTF.


That being said, I think this thread is getting a bit off-topic. While building a house with an apocalypse in mind won't necessarily save you from such, it will certainly better facilitate a lifestyle that will save you from such. And therefore, I think the OPs question is completely valid. He mentioned he wants to build a house, which implies that it's already to the point of serious consideration or already in the works. If it's in the works he has nothing to lose by taking into consideration many aspects that would make a SHTF lifestyle much easier.

 

[Sailor]

The hard part is over you talked your wife into living in a Morton building.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Thanks for all of the info so far.

shibumiseeker: You are on the money. I am currently taking class and trying to get into a Paramedic program just for exact reason you used as an example.

I have watched hour upon hours of youtube videos and I guess I just need to download the ones that seem the most useful. After a bit they just seem to blur together, or getting the land and house have been to far off to justify committing the room in my head for the info.

At age 11 I wanted land and worked hard to make it happen by the time I was 19. The hard part is what apocalypse are you trying to prepare for. There are mutually contradictory considerations. I used to prepare for global Thermonuclear war because I started during the height of the Cold War. So far none of the apocalypses that I prepped for when I was younger have occurred. But I have been divorced, I have lost a house to a fire, I have had loss of a job, I have faced the death of people I cared for after watching how aging caused them daily living issues. Now I prep for loss of income, getting older, and all the attendant problems that go along with the things that can happen in life. We are as self-sufficient as we can reasonably be, which means we are better prepared to face a variety of apocalypses. Let your needs guide what you want to build, that is a much better strategy than trying to fit your lifestyle into a house.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Check out this site.

Survival Realty

 

[Khazik]

Thanks for all of the info so far.

shibumiseeker: You are on the money. I am currently taking class and trying to get into a Paramedic program just for exact reason you used as an example.

I have watched hour upon hours of youtube videos and I guess I just need to download the ones that seem the most useful. After a bit they just seem to blur together, or getting the land and house have been to far off to justify committing the room in my head for the info.

Food, Water, Shelter, and Security (includes medicine). Reduce your dependance on outside sources for these qualities as much as possible, that's basically what it all boils down to.

Then look at what you expect to come in the near future (for me, it's economy collapse & gestapo gov't) and do what you can to provide yourself as much independence as possible in those 4 areas above. Thats really what prepping is all about: independence; because one who is dependent is just that, dependent.

Look at your environment, study wildlife plants and animals of the midwest and learn to forage, bush-crafting, grow your own food (composting, seed saving, food preservation, etc..), traditional archery (a weapon you can literally make from nothing), physical fitness, barter goods (alcohol, tea, coffee, spices [ya they're underrated until there are none]), firearms and plenty of ammo, reloading ammo perhaps-all are good areas to start. Strive for independence rather dependence on any system (food, water, shelter, security, medicine, etc..). If you're super tight on budget (like me), you can prep by learning all you can about the long-lost basic skills of living off the land, knowledge is something that cant be taken away.

You cant learn everything about anything, but you can always learn more about something.

 

[jb1212]

I am screwed when it comes to dependency on medicine. While I was in Afghanistan I developed a heart arrhythmia and I have been on pills ever since.

As for what type of Apocalypse I would prep for, I would say it just be more of a self reliant way of life that I want to live. Yes I plan on stocking plenty of 12 gauge shells, I have my dad's old re-loader, I plan to buy and stock up on ammo for a handgun once everything calms down.

I hope to get a pond stocked, rig up a water recycling system to catch water from the roof, build a green house. And hopefully rig up a band saw saw mill.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Being able to mill my own wood was one of the best investments I ever made. Doing so made it much simpler to rebuild after my fire and it's paid for itself in supplemental income.

No need to rig one up, the cheapest Woodmizer only runs about 5 grand and works way better than any one most people could cobble together.

I have 150+ acres and a lake and we catch rainwater off the roof, and grow or hunt a significant percentage of our own food. Self-sufficiency as a lifestyle is rewarding.

 

[Khazik]

I am screwed when it comes to dependency on medicine. While I was in Afghanistan I developed a heart arrhythmia and I have been on pills ever since.

As for what type of Apocalypse I would prep for, I would say it just be more of a self reliant way of life that I want to live. Yes I plan on stocking plenty of 12 gauge shells, I have my dad's old re-loader, I plan to buy and stock up on ammo for a handgun once everything calms down.

I hope to get a pond stocked, rig up a water recycling system to catch water from the roof, build a green house. And hopefully rig up a band saw saw mill.

What would be really amazing for self sufficiency is incorporating that pond into an aquaponics system, and growing cattail and/or rice along the banks, maybe even some duckweed

The downside is you'd have to fish every day (cod or tilapia) but the upside is you'd have your very own grocery store with the freshest foods possible. Oh how I dream of such things...

Being able to mill my own wood was one of the best investments I ever made. Doing so made it much simpler to rebuild after my fire and it's paid for itself in supplemental income.

No need to rig one up, the cheapest Woodmizer only runs about 5 grand and works way better than any one most people could cobble together.

I have 150+ acres and a lake and we catch rainwater off the roof, and grow or hunt a significant percentage of our own food. Self-sufficiency as a lifestyle is rewarding.

So jealous...

 

[Rikkrack]

I have an Aquaponics system and not as easy as you think. Tilapia will not survive in Indiana without heated water. So pond is out. I have mine in a greenhouse and all sorts if issues. True apocalypse situation I couldn't depend on it.

A pond could work with catfish or other cold tolerant species and a windmill water pump.

Growing your own food is a must.