Looking for info on housing/ remodeling website or books?

Hello. Not sure if this is the right place to post, so my apologies if it is wrong. I am looking for information on building or re-fitting/remodeling a home for the northern midwest USA  to prepare for natural disasters such as flooding, tornado, winter etc. We are in garden zone 3 to 4 if that helps. It gets cold here, but we like it. I am new to the research.

What are some websites and/or books about how to remodel an existing home or build a different home to prepare natural disasters?

Other things I and my spouse have to think about: 1. need to be close to medical/hospital..we aren't spring chickens anymore lol. 2. The amount of labor involved in natural building might be too much, and we can't take care of a very large property.

I hope this is understandable. I appreciate any tips and info. Thank you.

WOW, what a big question.
I build and advise, I have probaly 500 books on the subject.
I started by going to book shops until I found what I wanted, now because I am better informed I buy off the internet and find 2nd handbooks or new all over the world on a huge range of topics that interest me.
I think that is a good way, because there are so many variables in the subject matter.
Do you have land?
Maybe you could write down here what your needs might be in relation to the home.
By the sounds of it a ready built would be best, but what experience or age are you so we can help with tips.
Do you have enough money for the project.

Hi, Mari

I can understand your concern regarding natural disasters and preparing your home.

While this book may not be exactly what you are looking for it offers this information:

Diagnose your land and resources for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

https://permies.com/wiki/153863/permaculture-projects/Building-Permaculture-Property-Rob-Avis

If you decide to remodel rather than do a new build, here are some websites that offer some information:

https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-natural-disasters-when-building

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/21-tips-to-prepare-your-home-for-a-natural-disaster/

Here are some threads that you or others might find of interest for preparing for natural disasters:

https://permies.com/t/70703/National-Preparedness-Month-prepare

https://permies.com/t/170598/threads-helping-natural-disaster-zone

https://permies.com/t/179372/real-potential-problems-food-Mid

I hope this information has been of some assistance in your quest.

Mari Henry wrote:

Other things I and my spouse have to think about: 1. need to be close to medical/hospital..we aren't spring chickens anymore lol. 2. The amount of labor involved in natural building might be too much, and we can't take care of a very large property.

I'd just like to say that I'm *really* glad you're thinking of these things. Friends of my mom were most of the way through building their "dream" home in Northern Ontario, when her husband died of a heart attack. It was not a home, property or location for a lone woman who'd never operated a chainsaw to manage when she was starting at retirement age.

Toby Hemenway's books have good ideas about "urban" permaculture properties and the benefits gained from living closer to resources that improve quality of life - libraries for example!

Sarah Susanka's books are a good introduction to choosing smaller homes, but building/renovating for practical, functional space: https://susanka.com/not-so-big-house/

Christopher Alexander wrote A Pattern Language in 1977 and I read it in the late 1990's. It's not for the faint of heart, but it covers a lot of territory including what to look for in a community. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language

There's a huge philosophy of "independence", but if you read history, small communities that build strong support systems and interconnectedness between families have historically survived challenges much better than "loan wolves".

I don't know of a single building book I'd suggest, but I've watched lots of videos about the small house movement.  My takeaway is that they helped me narrow down the things that are really important to me. I'd be happy with a smaller house so long as it has a well-planned, working kitchen as I still do canning, freezing, and drying food.  I'm also a major fan of a stand-alone double garage set up as an efficient workshop - that means in-floor heating and properly insulated walls and maybe an RMH! Many of us permies don't actually need more "living" space, we need more "working space".

This huge thread: https://permies.com/t/146023/aging-homesteader  has lots of ideas of things to be aware of when renovating for independence while aging. The trouble is that we don't always know in advance what we'll most likely face as challenges. But basic things like grab bars in showers and beside toilets are useful even if you simply have an elderly visitor or a friend with a broken leg.

Thank you so much!

Anne Miller wrote:Hi, Mari

I can understand your concern regarding natural disasters and preparing your home.

While this book may not be exactly what you are looking for it offers this information:

Diagnose your land and resources for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

https://permies.com/wiki/153863/permaculture-projects/Building-Permaculture-Property-Rob-Avis

If you decide to remodel rather than do a new build, here are some websites that offer some information:

https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-natural-disasters-when-building

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/21-tips-to-prepare-your-home-for-a-natural-disaster/

Here are some threads that you or others might find of interest for preparing for natural disasters:

https://permies.com/t/70703/National-Preparedness-Month-prepare

https://permies.com/t/170598/threads-helping-natural-disaster-zone

https://permies.com/t/179372/real-potential-problems-food-Mid

I hope this information has been of some assistance in your quest.

Thanks for the info. Yes, I think about access to medical a lot these days as we had a few scares in the recent years. I am only in my early 50s, but hubby is older than me. We are relatively healthy, but who knows? I have had a few broken bones in the past so I have no illusions of what can happen in an instant, and how hard it is to take care of oneself in recovery. You just never know what is going to happen, even for younger healthy type people.

You are also correct about finding a supportive community. We live in a small town, which I like, but our property is too small for the self sufficient gardening I want to do. Also, others get to use our driveway (long story) and it is very annoying and our vehicles have been smacked into in the past. We want out. A different community of supportive individuals/families would be ideal. And yes, we are open to smaller homes, maybe not like a tiny house, but smaller so we can take care of it in old age, one level, laundry, bed  big kitchen all on one level.

Jay Angler wrote:Mari Henry wrote:

Other things I and my spouse have to think about: 1. need to be close to medical/hospital..we aren't spring chickens anymore lol. 2. The amount of labor involved in natural building might be too much, and we can't take care of a very large property.

I'd just like to say that I'm *really* glad you're thinking of these things. Friends of my mom were most of the way through building their "dream" home in Northern Ontario, when her husband died of a heart attack. It was not a home, property or location for a lone woman who'd never operated a chainsaw to manage when she was starting at retirement age.

Toby Hemenway's books have good ideas about "urban" permaculture properties and the benefits gained from living closer to resources that improve quality of life - libraries for example!

Sarah Susanka's books are a good introduction to choosing smaller homes, but building/renovating for practical, functional space: https://susanka.com/not-so-big-house/

Christopher Alexander wrote A Pattern Language in 1977 and I read it in the late 1990's. It's not for the faint of heart, but it covers a lot of territory including what to look for in a community. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language

There's a huge philosophy of "independence", but if you read history, small communities that build strong support systems and interconnectedness between families have historically survived challenges much better than "loan wolves".

I don't know of a single building book I'd suggest, but I've watched lots of videos about the small house movement.  My takeaway is that they helped me narrow down the things that are really important to me. I'd be happy with a smaller house so long as it has a well-planned, working kitchen as I still do canning, freezing, and drying food.  I'm also a major fan of a stand-alone double garage set up as an efficient workshop - that means in-floor heating and properly insulated walls and maybe an RMH! Many of us permies don't actually need more "living" space, we need more "working space".

This huge thread: https://permies.com/t/146023/aging-homesteader  has lots of ideas of things to be aware of when renovating for independence while aging. The trouble is that we don't always know in advance what we'll most likely face as challenges. But basic things like grab bars in showers and beside toilets are useful even if you simply have an elderly visitor or a friend with a broken leg.

Hi there. I have not purchased property or land as of yet. Still in the planning stages. We know some of what we like and don't like based on what we have now lol. I think you are right, Looking for a place already built would be best: bigger yard, bigger kitchen, one level house on the smaller side for easy upkeep. Hard to find as the homes we see are on very small property right next to other homes. yikes. I don't mind being in a small town, but would like space. We would like to stay in our geographic region (Great Lakes, USA) maybe even moving more northward toward Lake Superior as we both like it cooler.  I think it would be great if we had more room for say a greenhouse, a large garage/workshop, and space for a water catchment system and possibly solar. I would like to be as sustainable as possible just in case our power/water/ whatever goes out. I am in my early 50s, hubby is older than me. I am pretty sure building with earth bags etc is out for me lol, when I was younger I would have though.

John C Daley wrote:WOW, what a big question.
I build and advise, I have probaly 500 books on the subject.
I started by going to book shops until I found what I wanted, now because I am better informed I buy off the internet and find 2nd handbooks or new all over the world on a huge range of topics that interest me.
I think that is a good way, because there are so many variables in the subject matter.
Do you have land?
Maybe you could write down here what your needs might be in relation to the home.
By the sounds of it a ready built would be best, but what experience or age are you so we can help with tips.
Do you have enough money for the project.

Dont put yourself down, you may be able to achieve a lot with encouragement.
I am 72 and still build, but I have a lifetime of experience and that is very helpful.
Renovation and building is time consuming and needs constant money inflows.

I am still building my small house after 38 years, so expect not to finish.
Do you have any skills that would help?
bartering and swapping for labour is hard, but in the 1950's in Australia there were home building clubs.
Where people helped each other build, they often were in the same street and it worked well.

Thanks for the encouragement :) I do have skills and know how to use power tools etc. I have done some small projects around the house but we don't have any room for things like a greenhouse or tool shed, which would be amazing lol. I wish I lived in a community, or knew people that would band together to help each other like you mentioned. Due to forces beyond my control, that just isn't happening here.  I think finding a property that has a house on it would be best for us, if we can find one that fits our needs. Small projects like shelves, etc I could handle.

John C Daley wrote:Dont put yourself down, you may be able to achieve a lot with encouragement.
I am 72 and still build, but I have a lifetime of experience and that is very helpful.
Renovation and building is time consuming and needs constant money inflows.

I am still building my small house after 38 years, so expect not to finish.
Do you have any skills that would help?
bartering and swapping for labour is hard, but in the 1950's in Australia there were home building clubs.
Where people helped each other build, they often were in the same street and it worked well.