There are some 50-lb bags of pasture seed mixes that have more native (to colorado) grasses and plants, and there are some 5-lb bags that are even better mixtures, but are apparently sold by the ounce. It's slightly possible that I went with the more frugal version, as there was more homesteader in me than permie, at the time.

On land like this property that was 100% pine with thick undergrowth, it was indeed a spot that was destined to burn, and needed only a "perfect storm" (red flag day, lightning strike or an idiot) to get it going.

At the micro-level of our individual properties, there is something we can do about it. Mitigation, in all its forms ... in this thread is one of the answers, and is how we are protecting our current property (40 acres) from that next perfect storm:

https://permies.com/t/179791/wildfire/Mulch-clearing-fire-mitigation

Don't think you are missing anything ... to summarize:

1. road access with named, county-accepted road leading to or alongside your property is GOOD ... all you'll need is an address and a driveway permit. This is actually best ...

2. land-locked piece of land, but there is some kind of non-county-accepted road leading to it; you can see this road easement (recorded at the county, and part of your property papers) and it is also GOOD! Read the fine print on the easement details.

3. your land fronts either a highway, or a frontage road next to a highway. This is GOOD (but you might have to jump through hoops to get a state/county driveway permit (with some engineering).

4. totally land-locked piece of property, and no recorded easement, no named road leading to this property ... this is BAD!

5. neighbors ... these are BAD (if you can see them) ... oh, wait ... I'm done with use cases! Strike this last one ...

Good luck!

All rural, undeveloped property typically has a dirt/gravel/roadbase road leading to it from the nearest official county road (which could also be dirt, or asphalt). Could even be just a "two-track" path through the grass.

Before purchasing any piece of land, investigate if the road leading to it is actually easemented and recorded as part of the property deed. Without the easement, the land is known as "land-locked", and is a HUGE problem! As in ... don't buy it!

In Colorado, no land is allowed to be land-locked ... you are always guaranteed to be able to drive over someone else's land to get to the land-locked piece. HOWEVER, the other landowners don't have to provide "free" access to it ... they can charge whatever they want each time you cross their land. Could be a dozen eggs, could be $1000. When their land changes hands, the deal is off and has to be renegotiated. It's impossible to live with and work with, so you just can't buy these things.

We looked at one piece of (beautiful) property, and the realtor never mentioned the land-locked aspect. As I'm digging thru property records, I suddenly catch on that it's in the middle of other properties, with no easement leading out to the nearest county road. Deal is dead, and I now warn everyone about that realtor, if asked.

Your state's laws could be different on this subject, so check those as well.

Hope this helps ... and don't use the realtor we first worked with ...

Note that the equipment is the operator's, not ours ... any equipment I have looks much more beat up and is perpetually near falling-apart stage! Only used equipment on our 40, some of which we unearthed (dug up) and put back into service ...

We paid a day rate for the equipment/operator, and my back cheerfully handed over the money ...!

Given the outlook for a tough fire season this year, with little rain/snow, and my miserable rate of clearing (a few feet at the perimeter per year), we made the decision to bring in a piece of equipment and "mulch-clear" the immediate acre around the house. Equipment operator (a fireman himself) uses a tracked skid-steer w/ Bull Hog mulching attachment (fecon.com)

In one day, all the brush and small trees, basically ladder fuel, was cleared/mulched from around the house, leaving large/viable pines behind which are now well-spaced out. We went from not being able to see 20' into the thick undergrowth to seeing hundreds of feet through the trees.

Lots of mulch on the ground, but now I can get at and work the land. We'll speed up working the mulch into the ground (with water, etc), and get some reasonable grasses and such growing. The sun actually hits the ground, now, instead of stopping up in the treetops. The pine duff layer has been broken up and I can actually see some of the dirt now, and can study and start to repair it.

Per the Colorado Forestry Service, these were suggestions for determining tree density and such:

1. no tree tops touching each other with the wind
2. keep only good/healthy trees; remove double/triple trunks, leaners, etc.
3. try for 80 trees/acre max density

With the brush cleared out, and the homestead structures much safer now, we can study the remaining trees, and selectively thin them out, per something like these rules (these need some research as well).

This, with New Mexico burning up not too far from us (we're eating the smoke on some days).

Hope this helps others, where they can't see the forest for the clogged under-story!

Agree w/ Anne ... some kind of buried utility box, either for water or something else. Can see the "lip" for the (iron) lid. Something like this one:

https://www.pacesupply.com/Catalog/underground-and-utilities/utility-boxes-and-accessories/utility-boxes/chcn36box

Perhaps your property's history might yield the clue, or a neighbor. If you've a metal detector, perhaps there are underground pipes leading away from it, and towards the answer.

Hope there's treasure at the other end (and not a meth lab or something)!

Thanks for the thumbs up!

We find the Micro:bit to be very powerful and useful, even outside the classroom;  it's a joy to do these lesson plans, but it's *way* more interesting to see what the children have come up with as additional projects!

Add to that the Permies Marketplace, which allows us to share them with everyone else ... a winning combination!

In S. Colorado, many folks here will "half-bury" the tank, build sides up with their choice of material, and build roof system ... this is for a large tank of 1000's of gallons, which in itself offers a bit of freeze protection for this area (too much water to freeze solid). The more you berm, or insulate w/ rigid sheets, the better.

Rigid insulation might become a highway for termites, or campsite for ants, so protect per your region (or use something different).

We use a grundfos water pump, w/ small internal reservoir, and this gives us about 40psi from our IBC (in a utility shed) to the rest of the system; it takes some power to get spinning, so might need a "kickstart" device in front of it.

Hope this helps ...

Site planning is everything, so much may be moot until you get closer to that perfect piece of land, and can see the lay of things. If you have to live in an 8'x16' space until the "big house" is built, you may not want the IBC & other utilities in there with you.

For water, dig a half-deep hole, plant the IBC, build rock- or cordwood-wall around it, cap with roof/hatch; this should be enough to protect it from 3 seasons (insulate for 4th season). Now your first "shed" is fully available for living in, vs storing utilities.

Given your particulars, I'd build an 8'x16' skid-platform (in a weekend); skids means temporary, so no codes (although you still build it "better than code") & no property taxes. See the "m-permieable" thread, here:

https://permies.com/t/178689/Permieable-TinyHome-Skids#1411968 (this is an 8'x12' platform, although it may get the tipi/yurt treatment until lumber prices come down, if ever)

Two end-walls with two a-frame walls later, you have a full a-frame structure with more than enough slope to shed U.P. snow load. Roof becomes siding, on the a-frame walls. End walls get the cordwood-wall treatment, for experience & visual appeal. If you extend the a-frame walls on either side (half-diamond pattern, if you can picture it), you end up with more front/rear porch area (could be decked later). This becomes guest house when you're done with it. If you are tall, as I am, many a-frame designs out there with a-frame wall "poke-outs", so no a-frame "slope-phobia".

Back half is kitchen/bath, front half is living ... either bed or storage in loft area (if you finish that out at some point).

Truck water to buried IBC, gravity dump ... small electric pump up to a-frame, and fill water carafe w/ 2.5gal jug on it. All utilities on common wall; spin carafe/jug, and it serves both kitchen sink and shower ... instant water supply.

Small gennie, battery-bank, inverter ... instant power.

Depending on your code/zoning, may need full OSSF (septic system ... not instant wastewater) before setting foot on the property, or portable camper toilets & portable blackwater tote ... instant wastewater (greywater onto the ground from shower area).

Did I forget any "instants" ... woodstove for heat (instant hvac, w/o the ac). Should also heat the water.

Really, REALLY helps to have a site plan to figure out how all systems tie together. Scratch one out on paper, adjust when the land is found.

Hope this helps ...

I would build a machine that generates electricity and stores it in a battery when you drag it across the ground. Harness it to yourself just before walking out to your "project pile".

One HuP per X amount of distance = Y amount of power.

Might not be very efficient at this point, but, now we'll kick it up a few notches ... Once at the pile, you'll realize you forgot a tool, so you turn around and walk back to wherever, get the tool, and walk back to the pile. 2 more HuP's ...

Back at the pile, you've got the tool, but forgot the right screw or screw bit ... turn around, walk back, get the item, walk back to pile. Another 2 HuP's ...

One HuP per X amount of distance = Y amount of power, times Z "forgetfulness cycles". Still not enough power for you? But wait, there's more!

Everything's finally there, all ready to go, when your better half calls you back for something; somehow, she times it just right, as I'm about to swing the hammer for the first time ... back up to the house, back down to the pile.

One HuP per X amount of distance = Y amount of power, times Z forgetfulness cycles, + AA spousal interruptions + BBB whatevers, +, +, ...

See the efficiency getting higher? It's the ultimate "perpetual motion" machine!

If you are anything like me, there are a lot of wasted HuP's in a day of working at a project pile, and if I just strap on this thing, I'd get a lot of that energy back.

Seems reasonable to both heat/cool with "earthtubes", tied in to the greenhouse. Might take an HVAC guy, or the appropriate set of HVAC calcs, to figure out what benefit you'd get in temps.

I would further investigate the "earthtubing" pages at a site like "The Natural Home":

https://www.thenaturalhome.com/earthtube/

... lots of details about passive geothermal tube systems.

I can't imagine trying to use them for water collection, due to mold potential; if water is there, mold would probably follow. I'd keep the tubes nice and dry, and periodically cleaned out; the above site had a nifty solution to cleaning round earthtubes (nylon string, installed with pipes).

Depending on your humidity levels during night/day cycles (check with home weather system), I'd try for some way to gather moisture out of that ... above-ground, visible, easy access for maintenance. Might also be possible to rake in the frost, when it heats up & evaporates during day ... we always get a "morning drip" cycle after a freezing night.

I keep an eye on GVCS every so often, hoping that one day I can build a truck, or tractor, or b-dozer ... not enough has come together for *me* to do so ... still watching them.

I will look into rewording the m-permieable so it's less wordy, and more a "set of instructions", plus the other items you mention.

Currently working on QCAD and some other tools, for the ability to create detailed library parts & plans. I find that I can manually draft something in short order, but *all* cad programs seem to be too much "zoom out for big picture", "zoom in to get lines perfectly aligned" and other i/f issues ... endlessly.

I would be surprised that TN is different than any other state on this issue.

All AHJ's are going the route of "put in an OSSF (septic system)", as part of buying a piece of land and building something. Doesn't matter if you conserve water, use composting toilets, will do greywater, etc.

The clauses in almost all AHJ documents treat greywater as blackwater, so the system for treatment is the same (tank and infiltrators).

Just plan on putting in an OSSF, if the land doesn't have it already; it will sort of be recouped when the land exchanges hands later. To save money, put it in yourself, if a DIY'er. If not a DIY'er, it's the cost of doing business, or the "ante" to play the game, etc.

Once it's in, then do your own thing ... never touch the OSSF again, put in greywater systems (Oasis book), humanure (Jenkins), worm digesters (Solviva), and so on. Composting toilets, bucket systems, it's all good (if done right) ... but only once the OSSF is in, and the AHJ's have moved on to new tax base dollars.

Or, beat your head against the AHJ bureaucratic wall as long as you can stand it ... having read first the definition of "insanity".

We put in our OSSF ourselves ... about $2500 at the time, for the DIY effort. It's on record as inspected and installed ... the land is improved by that amount, the AHJ is happy (and property taxing us).

We've moved on to the "systems" efforts on our property, as in "how many systems can we re-use our water in before it heads off to various treatment methods", and "how can all the waste systems tie together to reduce to almost zero", and so on.

Long-term, definitely try to change the AHJ laws ... but that is a huge effort, and the game is stacked against you in the short-term.

Still mortgage-free, still slamming mortgages ...

I started off mentioning Ramsey & Howard (good debt, bad debt thread), and now I'll further explode your mind with Kiyosaki (as mentioned to me by someone else in the financial forum) ...

Perhaps the term debt shouldn't be used, but the terms assets & liabilities, and the differences therein ...

Had to teach investing to my two home-schooled girls ... they've invested (their 4H money and such) in some assets, and recently "earned" $40 doing exactly nothing. They also "earned" $40 working very hard on a garden for someone else. They are rethinking the whole work equation, which is what I wanted them to do. Now, it's "what do I do to make some money, and buy more assets". They immediately reinvested the $40 of garden money ...

Mom wants them to "get a degree, get a job, get a mortgage" (what she and I did in our generation) ... Dad is saying otherwise, and showing them with investing lessons, mortgage-free tiny homes, and such. You should no longer count on degrees, jobs, or mortgages to do the right thing by you.

Not in today's world ...

It seems like a reasonable barrier, but I would draw up a detail section, and run it past:
 - termite pest control folks; if they say they'd "guarantee it", then it seems feasible from termite control perspective.
 - a builder/engineer to see if it passes muster as a construction assembly ... building, sealing, back-filling, etc.

After all the termite research I did, I'm not sure I'd put any wood underground, if in termite country. Barriers + chemical warfare, water control, and more ... all would come into play, and I can't find assembly details that seem reasonable, other than conc walls w/ insulation panels on the inside; if insulation panels on the outside, then you ring the dinner bell for termites.

We only use high-quality power strips at all "wall outlets", as most standard "wall" outlets are way down there by the floor. Thus, all our devices have an off switch, by virtue of the power strip, even power blocks w/o them. The strip is up high, on our desks, furniture, etc., so no more bending over to get down to the wall outlet level, and there's more outlets, surge protection, etc.

With that off switch at the power strip, no power is being used, anywhere ... confirmed by measuring devices like the kill-o-watt (agreed as to only way to know for sure).

Modern SMPS power blocks (aka wall warts) consume next to nothing if their downstream device is off. The problem is the huge variation in downstream devices truly being "off" ... if it has a display (time clock, status, etc.), or other modern "convenience" features, then it's in some state of "on", and consuming power. Power strips, on/off switches in between plug and outlet ... all help out in this particular whack-a-mole game.

You can't measure enough, as "convenience" means different things among manufacturers and consumers.

Because our state of Colorado allows DIY's to install electrical and plumbing, we can cut out the expensive trades *and* do lots of shopping effort to reduce materials pricing ... however, we still have to get the work inspected by the state electrical/plumbing boards. So, there is no "doing shoddy work"

(shoddy = chook shed? chook = chicken? had to get out my "outback dictionary"

On the "safety valve" idea, because you would *have* to show an "engineered design" to qualify, there should also be no shoddy work. Somewhere in the world, at least once, the idea has been worked up by an engineer.

Out in california, there is an engineering company that specializes in alternative construction, so you can get an engineered/stamped drawing of your alternative thing. This is great ... the problem is that your local AHJ is up against an inflexible code (w/ no safety valve) and doesn't trust the engineered drawing from another state, and/or has a number of other hoops for you to jump through. The engineer in that other state isn't licensed for your state, and so on ...

Madness ...

All part of the bureaucracy ... this is the only answer we know (and can therefore allow), so don't confuse us with other facts. If you present us with an "engineered" (stamped) plan, we'll consider it, but we'll make your life miserable with processes, procedures, fees (regardless of accepted/denied status), and so on ...

Here's an idea ... All codes should have a safety valve in the form of a diy homeowner clause. If homeowner can get it done, by whatever method, and it's been engineered once in its lifetime (somewhere in the world), then just allow it, as a one-time variance from the same old stupid stuff; even fee us for it, as the only thing you really understand is fees. For the next homeowner, revert back to only allowable systems on the books, or go through the same one-time variance process & fee (which is always guaranteed to pass, because of the engineered design behind it).

You have mortgages or other pressures *requiring* the usual drivel, then don't even bother with the one-time variance, because the same mortgage/insurance folks are really bureaucracies in disguise (all we understand is what we think will protect our investment, so don't go there). You want to sell to someone who needs a mortgage, then also don't bother with one-time variance.

But, if you really want to do your own thing, the safety valve allows you to do it ...

As far as I know, no code has this, because it would go against the money-making stream that is codes, AHJ's, trades, mortgages, insurance, and so on ...

My state, and possibly others, have something a little close to it, in the form of "homeowners are allowed to do their own electrical, plumbing ... it just has to pass inspection at the state level". Nothing like the safety valve I'm proposing, but somewhat in the same vein ...

OSSF's are "county health board driven", or similar AHJ's ... all they understand is an OSSF of a basic form; a system that fully processes waste, with only pure water coming out the other end wouldn't pass muster. With a million such AHJ's across the country, there are a million different requirements, but they are amazingly all strict/rigid on the only kind of OSSF they will allow. As you know, we can't have a human dumping in the woods (next to the hundreds of animals that dump in the woods).

When you read a board of health requirement that they only be installed by licensed installers, we're right back to where we were with electrical/plumbing, and it will take state effort to work in a clause that homeowners *can* install it themselves (as I did).

Hmm ...

Interesting ... this thread (& Leaf's post) made my list of potential uses for the 40-acre property, where the (stupid) zoning laws say only "3 families" per property. Obviously, the land would support more, but ...

We'll have to go stealth (yet again!), to get something perfectly normal done. All because if just one person craps in the woods (next to the hundreds of animals that crap in my woods), the guys in white protective suits are called in ... so, stealth it is.

The idea taking shape is:
 - 3 obvious families (all that zoning allows)
 - a few (dozen) individuals camping out with natural/temporary shelters
 - access to water(we haul, so water can land anywhere), dump-facility (our OSSF), possibly electricity at certain times (to recharge whatever)
 - access to tool lending library
 - hand-crafted trails back & forth through the property, until there's miles of them
 - bicycle "parking/storage" zones, so no/little car activity (cars take up lots of land space, and are more "visible")

This is S. Colorado, at 7400' elevation ... winters get tough, so not sure how well a natural temporary shelter would work through the cold season, but that's what more-brilliant-than-I brains are for. TIPI's, maybe (as suggested above)?

Grab a piece of dirt (next to your temp structure or tipi), and do something Permaculture with it. Forest (pine canopy) is in place, so just get the other elements of food-forest in place.

No law-breaking by trespassing (we would get it into the trust by-laws, or some such), more like "appalachian trail" structures "on the trail". Maybe later, this property could be pieced in with similar properties, so you can walk from one end of state to the other, or from N. New Mexico up through S. Colorado, to USFS woods beyond.

Ultimate goal is to find more ways to get the land up to 100% efficiency, with many things happening ... hopefully, community will form up out of that!

Hmm ...

Living in S. Colorado, at 7400' elevation in the mountain front range, everything is a predator; I think I've seen frogs carrying off my chickens. Couple that with more protections on predators than on your livestock, it's a losing game if played the normal way. Most folks play the game based on acceptable losses, but one slaughter scenario, and that game is done.

We love chickens (for all the systems they participate in, like compost, recycle, etc) and the eggs, so we went the *Taj Mahal* route. Predator-proof chicken coop, coupled to a predator-proof (even against bears) 8'x8'x8' cage, as their main stomping ground. Took awhile to build, but this is a secure home base for them.

Layered defenses after that ... more cross-fencing to surround the secure home base and free-range areas, w/ LGD's in that. The pack kind that will attack and drive off a bear, not pansy ones.

No normal free-ranging for the chickens, as that was the equivalent of "ringing the dinner bell" ... we are planning to add moveable chicken tunnels to moveable free-range cages, both of which can be positioned as needed to work the land. Hawks & such are the most protected predator I've ever seen, and they defeat most other systems, especially where free-ranging is involved; this should defeat them.

Like they say in the movies, "there will be blood" if you raise chickens. We are hoping that the secure home base will cut the losses down to close to zero as we can get. Because, after that, I have to move in with the chickens ...

Possibly the least complicated way to do this would be with a "solar generator" (SG) device, where you plug in an appliance, and the SG device is recharged by solar panel (or AC power, if necessary). No engineering decision required on your part, only a sizing exercise, where any solar generator company has loads of info about this on their web pages, or you can call in and talk to somebody.

These are all-in-one systems, so no guesswork on your part, like buying individual solar components and stringing them together correctly. Buy a device that will power your load, hook their suggested solar panels up to it with their connectors ... done.

Unfortunately, these are notoriously expensive, as tightly-packed engineered devices, but with careful shopping, perhaps you can get the right one on sale. I'd suggest building it yourself, as I think that is the only way to go about getting one of these w/o insane pricing, but that is a project itself.

Hope this helps ...

It sounds like you want a certain building method (earth-berm, wofati), but you are using this in an area of the country really susceptible to termites (the story on these guys is pretty scary reading).

The two things may be too incompatible, given the nature of these little bugs; they need only a 1/32" gap to get in and start doing damage ... moisture (dampness) is another nice-to-have for them.

In researching what blocks termites, a barrier system seemed to be the only real defense, outside of chemical warfare. Folks down under have something called "BTB - basaltic termite barrier", and another reference to it (in Hawaii) is GranitGard. I've also seen references to a certain kind of sand that is the right texture to block termites. The trick is to get it applied in such a way that it stays in place, doesn't get damaged or separated, which again creates access paths.

Everything I've ever read about termites is in relation to above-ground buildings, so with termite shields on the foundation and a good visual gap between ground and walls, you can visually inspect and catch these guys early enough to prevent major damage. Going underground in termite country is the opposite of that ... no way to inspect, no gap, etc.

The Wofati forum might take some careful searching to unearth all techniques used to block termites, but it may be that there still isn't enough history to know what works yet?

Further exploring aircrete, and it's waterproofing methods, sounds like a better track to me ... that's a hard barrier, w/ EDPM and sitework tactics to keep water far away.

More head-scratching needed ...

Could you sketch and/or describe the construction details (a sectional detail) of what is, so we could all better scratch our heads over what would work, giving you more choices? Also, for clarity, what is being bermed? House, shed, root cellar ... and alternative construction type chosen?

If a mouse problem, I'd barrier up against them, and in addition, set lots of traps to create a bubble/zone around the item needing protection. There are plenty of mice/rats/rodents in the world (the fields around our structures), but they aren't getting into our structure zone ... occasionally, one does, but it is quickly trapped before harm is done. They just don't mix well with human structures ... damage, disease (droppings, fleas), etc., so best to "keep them at arm's length".

Stuff rotting or getting wet needs clear protection from water/elements, like with 6mil poly layers. In addition, perhaps sitework designs or rework that channel water away before it gets a chance to become a problem (similar to mice).

Perhaps additional points?

Think before signing up for a mortgage (death contract, and that root wording alone should give pause), after looking at all your alternatives; if there is any other way, see if that alternative is better for you. If you *need* someone else to build something for you, then a mortgage isn't a bad thing; it will just cost you a lot. These days, there are so many handcuffs (can't finance that, it has to be this way), chains (no insurance, no mortgage), and whips (codes, etc.), that it is more like ... well, you get the idea.

After all that, the housing and mortgage process is still too much like "musical chairs" ... the game is great while chairs are available ... when the music stops with no chairs left (you are holding a negative-value mortgage, and thrown out of a job), then it is no longer any fun.

If you can get to mortgage-free, then that is a better thing. We bought land and self-built, sinking every dollar we could convert from anything else into funding for the process. There were no dollars left, but we had a mortgage-free house at the end.

Why? To prepare for fluctuating job markets and other madness ... the writing was on the wall, given how hard it was becoming to get and hold on to a job.

All of which is much better than renting, which, given the insane contract requirements these days, should be outlawed ...

I didn't anticipate CoVID (perhaps should have?), but we survived it because we were mortgage-free; my wife didn't use the words "you were right" (she never does), but she came awfully close in her mumbled words during the tough part of the disaster. The effects are still upon us, given inflation and such ...

Being debt-free on top of mortgage-free is the best of all. I'll leave all of those arguments to the Ramsey's and Howard's (radio shows, websites) of the world.

Did I mention off-grid?

The only other point to make is avoiding property tax where possible; I believe it is better to build small than large, mobile vs stationary, and so on. If I were building over again, I would only build mobile or skid-based tiny homes, which avoid property tax. A gentleman in our county has property, but lives only in RV's, which are not (yet) taxed ... I imagine his tax bill is a fraction of anyone else's.

The system, on the other hand (mortgages, construction, zoning/codes, etc.), is designed to build up the tax base, support trades and businesses, and more ... not reduce it with alternative construction, PC, etc. It is up to you to do that, where possible, and those locations left in the country where it *is* possible  are shrinking.

Your county AHJ's would seem to be the board of health and the county building department. If the land is out in these areas of AHJ, then the website with all the details appears to be:

https://ravalli.us/167/Septic-Permits

A quick perusal of their documentation yields requirements for licensed installers, design engineers, no exception for a landowner to install their own system (unless they get licensed as an installer), and so on. Perk tests requiring 8' mini-excavator hole, other analysis tests ...

There does appear to be an allowance for composting toilets, but only if an approved "greywater" system is designed and installed ... this needs more exploration to fully understand, as I couldn't find further details on the above website. Even though they understand composting toilets, the  greywater system requirements might go the same route as the septic system, meaning not much different in permitting and installation (almost the same as an approved wastewater system?) and for a few bucks more, a full wastewater system could be put in.

If you haven't bought the land yet, I'd ask for assistance from local installers, who hopefully will do initial consultations for free. Even extended consultations are worth it as part of the investigation to determine if you want this particular piece of property. These folks know what it takes to work with the AHJ's, or what would fly to handle and resolve issues and constraints, including the possibility of composting toilets, greywater, and so on. You might also get a handle on initial and final costs from them.

Add in to that the size of the property and suitability for such wastewater systems (does the land have gotcha's, like flood plains, waterways, etc.), the proximity of neighbors and their visibility into what you are doing on the land, and so on ... it all has to be discovered and dealt with, hopefully before purchase ...

Hope this helps ...

Added a 2nd item for sale today:

https://permies.com/t/179206/Home-Schooling-Lesson-Plans-Micro

and had the same error (failure) on submitting (if item has attachment and premium content). To work around this issue, I just created a new topic with "no attachment" or "premium content" (and no premium tags), which *will* submit and create the topic, and then I went in and edited it, with the attachment and premium content tabs, and it also submitted/updated the new topic.

So, I can somewhat get a new item out on the digital marketplace, it's just a two-step dance ...

More items to add ...

What's for sale?

A PDF download of a Home-Schooling lesson plan for the Micro:Bit Computer!





What is the lesson plan about?

Engage your children in, and help them learn to program, the BBC Micro:bit computer! In our first lesson, we programmed the Micro:bit with a simulator (software), so no purchase was required, other than this lesson plan. Now, we'll use a real Micro:bit computer, so you'll need to purchase the Micro:bit computer (hardware) separately from this lesson plan. Further details on how to purchase the hardware is in the lesson plan.

The BBC Micro:bit is a must-have in STEM homeschooling for your children. It is a low-cost Single Board Computer (SBC) coupled with a block-based drag-and-drop graphical programming application on a computer. This combination allows your children to pick up these lessons and run with them, with no previous training in programming or SBC hardware.

You have no children, or they’ve grown up and moved out? Not a problem, as these lesson plans are useful for learning programming with SBC’s yourself, or as a gift to those in your life with children, be they your kids with families of their own, or friends raising children.

Programming such as this is a stair-stepping aid to learning to program in other languages, such as Python. Your children could go on to making a career out of programming, or use programming as an income-producing sideline! In fact, the programming editor you’ll be using in this lesson supports Python as an alternative. If nothing else, it is VERY entertaining!

I'm all in ... how do I purchase?

Via the wonderful permies.com digital marketplace, just scroll down and purchase the PDF download!

I've purchased it, and my kids love it, but ...

If, after purchasing and using this PDF, you think it can be better in any way, just send a Purple Mooseage with your request! While not guaranteed, and at our discretion, we'll review the request and determine if we can send you a new PDF with the requested changes!

Please also send us a Purple Mooseage if you have suggestions for other kinds of lesson plans, such as for the Arduino, Raspberry PI, or other nifty electronic devices! We're producing them left and right, on varied topics, but the number of requests might help us prioritize things!

I suggest going small *and* big, in whatever order fits your needs.

We went big first, and have a belarus 75hp 4wd tractor w/ cab (colorado winters), w/ rear grading blade and FEL, bought used. Tractors last forever. Although I'm a computer guy, I didn't want a complex computer system in this thing that made me trade 1st-borns for repairs at a dealership. What breaks (leaks) more than anything are the hydraulic cylinders ...

Between me and the fence posts, it just doesn't get used enough by one family ... needs 2, 3, or more using it. So, it will become part of the "lending library", when we open the property up to other families.

What we need to do next is go small, and we hope to add a walk-behind (BCS or somebody), as there's just way too many scenarios where something quick and small is needed to do a (small) task.

As a final note, all our 4wd vehicles have 2" receiver hitches back *and* front, which means they also participate in homestead duties. Slap a snow blade on the front, and we plow out from underneath heavy snows; slap a "hitch-trailer" (500-lb class) in either end, to do spot jobs ...

Hope this helps ...

We haul water, as we have an excellent water source (pristine mountain lake nearby). We are a mortgage-free and off-grid family of 4, and we use about 250 to 300 gallons of water each month.

Our water system infrastructure is an insulated/heated UTILITY shed 8'x16', in which lives an IBC up on conc heavies (for a bit of height); pex plumbing runs thru an insulated trench over to the house, about 12' away. We use our F350 with a 200gallon round tank to "haul water" ... this tank is easy to load/unload, freeing the truck up for other homestead duties. Once filled, a 1HP (sprinkler) pump and inlet/outlet hoses transfer the water through an access panel up high on the utility shed and into the tank; takes about 15m or so, and a few amps of power. Utility shed was built before anything else on the property, once enough roads were in, to protect all stuff that must survive winters.

If you don't have a truck capable of carrying such a water load (8 x 200, or 1600 pounds), just put it on a trailer suitable for carrying that load (with load-rated tires, and a vehicle that is setup to safely pull it!). The city/county infrastructure brings water down from the lake/treatment facility in a pipeline, about 30 miles or so, and several automated water taps are in place every so often. A simple "water card" and metered panel means we just plug in 200 gallons, and it delivers that into our tank.

We also have other tanks around the place, and it is easy to deliver water to those tanks for summertime use (gardening, etc.) ...

So, plan on enough sq ft in one of the sheds for 1 IBC (a round 500 gallon tank can replace it later, for upgrades), and plan on plumbing out, heat, and of course, power (inverter, battery-bank, generator ... later on, solar) ... even if you only use it in the summer for now, and drain it for winter.

I had thought that this would be temporary until we resurrected a water well on the property, but the system runs so well, and is so easy to do that bringing that well online will be years off still (oil & gas in the area, fracking, etc.); it may not ever happen, and to be honest, we don't need it, as we conserve water so well (see my other posts on what we do). We've been hauling for 5+ years now.

Water in tanks like this is a buffer in the water system, just like the battery-bank is a buffer in electrical system ... there's a chunk of resource available if things break/stop for whatever reason. *Must Have Buffers*, in every system!

What part of Wyoming are you in? Use the pic below to answer ... pic is from these fine folks in your neck of the woods:

 https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/12/homesteading-in-wyoming.html

Would history help?

 https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/dry-farming-wyoming

Would solutions that possibly have worked for others help in your scenario?

"prevailing wind direction + hugelkultur here + windbreak of plantings" ... wind lifts over the things to protect, with less drying action on the lee side; hugel retains what moisture there is, better than plain/poor soil.

Admittedly, it isn't easy to "green the desert" (or whatever your conditions are) ... and the above might not work (right away) on thousands of acres of your wyoming land, but it seems to have been done before.

I haven't found an easy button for anything, come to think of it ...

Predators ... pests ... critters ...

As so many before have said, I think the answer is fencing and LGD's ... my large guard dog keeps the deer on the other side of the fence. The deer will almost come right up to the fence on their side ... but the dog is watching them and they are watching her ... the deer always back down. She gets to practice her stalking and ambush tactics, and scare the scat out of them. The fence keeps her from chasing them across several counties.

For fencing (with an LGD), I tend to use t-posts and cattle panel sections. Takes about a minute to drive t-posts, and then wire the cattle panels in place. Cattle panels aren't cheap, but they are nigh-indestructable. Plus, little to no maintenance ... no post-holes to dig or concrete, no wire to monitor or repair. No batteries ...

Most other small critters don't stand much of a chance either, so even if they squeezed through the panel holes (squares), they'd get eaten ...

Need to reconfigure the fencing for some reason? Takes a few minutes with a t-post puller, and then set the same materials back up in another way.

About the only issue you might have, other than initial costs, are sloping ground ... there should be solutions out there with this t-post system for slope as well.

Hope this helps ...

Others have the same issues, and very smart folks have contributed answers, as in this thread:

https://permies.com/t/176375/Wyoming-homestead

I'd agree with windbreaks ... I don't live in an area of high winds, being in S. Colorado with lots of pine trees ... our highest recorded speed to date was about 50mph gusts.

Haven't researched this specific problem of wind, but for every problem there's almost always a solution ... gotta research your way out of this!

It's funny to extoll the virtues of LiFePO4 (lithium) batteries, as it's pretty much a rule at this point of the technology, and then an exception is thrown out to it (one particular vendor's issue). Every rule has an exception (or 2, or 3), but hopefully it won't negate the rule.

Lithium is good stuff, and beats the lead out of ... lead batteries.

In the case of tool/yard-implement batteries, there is always a chance that the battery, through heavy use or something, will get itself into a state where it doesn't seem to want to recharge ... the charger throws its code for "dead battery". Luckily, there's all kinds of tips for "waking up a supposedly dead battery"!

Don't know what troubleshooting you've done, but either find out this vendor's support page to wake up the battery and get it charging again, or youtube and others will have the tips & processes.

My ryobi tool batteries occasionally do the same thing to me ... sometimes it's as simple as plugging it in to the charger multiple times; which, if you think about it, means it's putting a tiny bit more charge on the battery with each plug/unplug cycle, to the point where there's enough juice in the battery for the charger to recognize it again.

Hope this helps ...

PS: I'm pretty sure I'll never sell enough chickens to get a Lightning ... I might be able to afford a "Spark" or even "Single Electron" version!

I was being facetious about living in your (electric) car, but not by much ... if you visit your local walmart, you might see car-charging stations. This is a good contrast to the other side of the parking lot, where you might find more than a few folks sleeping in their cars.

I ran an experiment for about 6 months in winter-time, sleeping in the back of my F150 w/ car topper shell (stealth) while working an IT job far from my home/family, to both save on hotels and to see if the shell could be rigged up to sleep/shower, make coffee & store food, etc. A 4-day a week job, so only 3 nights per week. This in a city notoriously unfriendly to such stealth methods. Walmart & Sam's Club parking lots were a lifesaver. My experiment worked ...

However, there were cars in the parking lot around me with entire families, and a few towels in the window for privacy/insulation, and they were not running the same experiment ...

I'm not sure I'll see a Tesla in that other side of the parking lot, but maybe it will be a Ford Lightning, or a very enterprising individual who's rigged up some lithium batteries and a car-charging interface to them.

Electric car prices are so astronomical that I can't see when they are available for the rest of us; it's why I had high hopes for hybrids ... may have to build my own. Financing an electric car is the "new" financing a house ...

+1 to the better cycle performance of today's LiFePO4 ... swapped our lead batteries out of the house battery-bank for this new tech, and it's everything they claimed it would do. Massive discharge, (seemingly) endless cycles, no maintenance ... wow.

The earthbag forum probably already had this info in it, but newer books on earthbag construction (and their associated websites) have more info on buttressing and other methods.

Here's some examples:

 http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/faqs/buttresses.htm
 http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/articles/wallbracing/wallbracing.htm

There are rules of thumb for straight walls, wall bracing techniques, and more ...

As a concept moved into very practical construction methods, his stuff is excellent, and it works.

I've only ever used them in "foundations", as I am extremely adverse to poured concrete ... but this method is great, and I've used up 100's of earthbags in all kinds of projects. The magic is in the barbed wire ... turns out I had dozens of rolls of barbed wire laying around the property, as former land owner ran cattle ... these things are strategically hanging from the trees, every so often. I'm in the process of removing all barbed-wire fencing, and replacing with my own design, but it is slow ... earthbags are reusing some of that stuff.

There are a number of authors who have brought the technology forward and built more recent homes with them, since Geiger and other early masters have written about them. The earthbag forum should have it all ... it's what makes permies.com great! I'd say do enough research to see the roots of earthbag construction all the way through to these most recent books.

Yes, if not building round (buttress-free design), Geiger recommends incorporating buttresses into your walls. I'd daresay that there isn't much you can't do with earthbags, with some design thought and planning ...

One of my goals with our 40 acres is to move into alternative construction "demo" projects, where every kind of alternative thing is built, left standing for a few years of good ol' Colorado winters (and maintenance of course), and we then see what survives and gather data ...

Amazing stuff ...

It's a good thing that our cars will talk to everything, because many folks will be living in them, having been kicked out (economically) of all other forms of housing ... unless you are doing what many folks on permies.com are doing ...

I also had very high hopes, out of the CoVID disaster, that there would be an incredible jump in "working from home" ... it seems to have fizzled out. Business is falling back into the old ways (we have to see your behind in the chair, to believe that you are working). This was a chance to reduce traffic, congestion, pollution, etc. ... wasted?

I really like "hybrid" cars ... smaller gas engine, battery system, each helping the other ... that also seems to have fizzled out. I can't buy a pure E-V due to cost, range, etc. ... I might have swung a hybrid ... sigh.

My bicycle is looking better ... for only a few thousands, I can make it all-electric.

Re-reading the OP, I don't think I quite understand the scenario ... is there an existing home and a new (small) one going in as well? Or raw land with a small home going on it?

Any new construction triggers requirements to the latest code item an AHJ cares about. Old stuff might get grandfathered in, but new construction triggers incredible requirements.

It sounds like an above ground septic system is required, due to water table or proximity issues ... these things are "evapo-transpirative" systems, and are built along the lines of what you describe. Here's a link from the TAMU folks:

 https://ossf.tamu.edu/evapotranspiration-bed/

If this is the case, these are very engineered systems (and very costly) ... usually required because a regular OSSF can't be used.

I'd definitely run through all the traps, and see if composting toilets and such would help, with a goal of reducing load into the system and size you end up with. Unfortunately, it is the effluent load that is biting you ... not just blackwater, but greywater and otherwise ... you won't have a regular effluent drain field, as it is all contained within this E-T bed.

I'm surprised that a "town" is requiring this, because usually they make you hook up to their wastewater system, and disallow all forms of septic systems ... I'd also investigate where and when you can hook into their "city" system, hopefully before spending thousands on an E-T system.