I was digging through the blog and this post from 2003, the first year of the blog, caught my eye….
Its nice to see my ideas about what I wanted have stayed fairly consistent, if not realistic, over the years. Some grandiose ideas that ain’t gonna be cheap, but I’m gonna do what I can. Took 22 years, but I finally managed to get the ball rolling. Now I just gotta get it into the goal before Im too old to enjoy it.
Man, I knew 2026 was gonna be an interesting-in-the-Chinese-way kind of year but I didn’t have ‘black bag a foreign dictator’ on my bingo card at all. And the year is only three days old. Interestingt imes, indeed.
I’ve decided that Uponor Pex is going to be the way to go. There are other options, to be sure, but from talking to professionals in the trade, as well as my own research, it appears to me that for the ease of install, repair, maintenance, modification, resilience, and freeze resistance, the pex is the way to go. To that end, I picked up this little jewel:
See, the fittings for the pex are of the expansion type. You stick this tool in there, like a speculum, and open up the end of the pipe. Push it over the connector and the pipe shrinks back down to its original size, making a tight connection. There are hand tools to do this process, and I’ll probably pick one up ‘just in case’, but for the initial construction there’s probably going to be a lot of call for the powered tool rather than the hand tool. But, suspenders and a belt…..get both. In addition to this, I need to pick up a buncha 1/2″ and 3/4″ pex (which is about $1/foot), connectors, fittings, etc. It really is a very affordable system.
This isnt the only tool hoarding that is going on. I’ve been steadily acquiring tools and putting them up at the storage unit in anticipation of spring/summer. Table saw, table saw workbench, transfer pump, hand tools, work lights, etc, etc. Still gotta pick up a trailer for the side-by-side.
As I said, the property will be cheapest part of this project. However, given the way the world seems to be spinning, having a well-stocked little hideyhole may not be the worst idea in the world these days.
So that happened today…..
Need to go find a trailer for it…..
Independent-minded, and often libertarian, off-grid types often gravitate towards geodesic domes. The domes do have a lot going for them, but they aren’t what I had in mind. At least, not for a primary dwelling. However, for a storage shed or similar structure, there is some appeal…most notably space. I was curious and started dinking around the internet and found this. As a storage building, this would have a lot going for it. Most notably, the requisite building materials…2×4’s, a saw, and a cordless screwdriver…are easily transportable and easy to work with. The size of the dome is just a matter of deciding how long you want to make your 2×4 segments.
I like the idea of something that is relatively simple to put together and doesn’t require anything that doesn’t fit in the back of a pickup truck. I also like the idea that since the construction requires a known number of pieces of particular lenght, I can easily calculate a finished cost and calculate a revised cost if I want to change the dimensions slightly.
Disadvantages? Well, they sure look weird. But Im less about aesthetics, in this case, and more about utility and ease of construction.Then theres also the matter of how to skin it. I’d be curious if covering it in layers of hardware cloth or chicken wire would allow a person to skin it with cement. There would be weight considerations, but Id think you wouldnt need a terribly thick layer to create a waterproof and durable covering.
I might need to investigate this a bit further. One of the first things I need to do at the Beta Site is get some sort of covered structure up there to enable me to stage things, have a place to roll out a sleeping bag, and act as a small workspace. As I’ve said before, the road infrastructure up there isn’t, in my opinion, up to snuff for hauling in a prefabricated storage shed. I suppose a knocked-down storage shed might work but any one wall is going to be larger than the space available in the back of a pickup truck.
Interesting stuff to explore and think about.
On a side note, I’m curious to see how many posts I need to make tagged ‘Beta Site’ before it appears as a ‘frequently used tag’ in the sidebar.
So, back to wargaming the Beta Site. I was thinking of using Uponor Pex for the basic interior water delivery needs. There are other options, of course, there’s the old-school copper piping which is going to be expensive, require a bit of work to cut and assemble, and isn’t exactly freeze-resistant. Pex, on the other hand, is easy to work with, goes together like Lego, and is less likely to burst if frozen. Additionally, it really adds itself to adding more connections and that sort of thing.
Uponor Pex connector and collar on L., regular Pex connectors and collars on R.
Uponor Pex with collars and connectors
Some plumbing experts I know have been nice enough to answer my questions and show me the various fittings and tools required to work with pex material. We took a piece of Uponor Pex, folded it in half so it had a kink that blocked water flow and then straightened it out. Waved a propane torch over it for a few minutes and the kink completely straightened out to the point that you couldnt even see a sign it was there. And, I am told, the structure of the Uponor Pex is such that when youo heat it up like that, the affected region becomes stronger than what it was before the kink in the pipe.
Connections were made by expanding the pipe and a collar, then slipping the expanded pipe over the connector, and the pex then constricted down to form a seal. The pex, I am told, will have memory that keeps it trying to constrict to its original dimension.
So I got to experiment with cutting, flaring, and otherwise playing with this stuff and its really hard to see a downside. My casual and uninformed opinion is that this stuff, if it lives up to its marketing, is awesome and perfect for my needs – its easy to use, durable, modular, allows for easy modifications, is freeze resilient, and won’t break the bank.
For a small structure, this seems like an ideal way to have an easily maintainable and flexible piping system within the structure. I need to investigate it more, but it seems like a good choice.
I wanna thank everybody who took the time to comment on my question about Starlink. For those of you who want the TL;DR version, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that the Starlink Mini, which is native 12v, is the way to go for a middle-of-nowhere off-grid sort of situation.
So, when its time to get some form of connectivity out there, that’ll be the choice.
In other news, I received the copy of the deed to the property in the mail the other day. I guess thats the ultra-official notice I need to let myself relax and consider this little adventure done, done, done.
Speaking of, I tried to get up there over the weekend and made it about 2/3 of the way there before the iced-over road conditions, on the sloping road, alongside a steep drop off, made me decide that it just wasn’t worth the risk. But it reinforced two things – first, I need to investigate alternate routes and b) I need to get a four-wheeler or side-by-side to navigate in these sorts of conditions. So, more things to budget for.
Another thing I’m working on is to locate and prepare a ‘foot accessible access point’. At the lower elevation, its not too difficult to get a vehicle in there. In that lower elevation theres an easily recognizable and locatable area that is almost exactly two miles from the property. Between that point and the property is two sections of land. (For those who don’t know, a section is 640 acres – one square mile.) One section is private, one is public. I’ll need to contact the landowner of the private section and ask for permission to ‘shed hunt’ or hunt on the property and that’ll give me the opportunity to see how that hike looks in terms of terrain and elevation gain. In a perfect world, if the end of the world occurs in a blizzard in the middle of winter and, for whatever reason, I cannot get a four-wheeler or snowmobile in through the road I need to have an ‘if all else fails’ way of getting to the Beta Site. So, my plan is, during the milder season, find a start point and hike in there, keeping a GPS track of exactly where I’m going but also trying to do it on a course thats a simple ‘follow magnetic bearing of xxx for two miles and youre there’. If that works out, then I’ll stage some simple gear at the start point and halfway point to facilitate things under a ‘worst case’ scenario.
This winter will be a lot of planning, spreadsheeting, purchasing, and staging. I’ve already started purchasing the various tools and implements I think I’ll be needing in the spring and staging them at the storage unit. First thing in the spring will be to head up there, build a deck for the tent (yet to be purchased), and get that going so I have a little base of operations for the subsequent activities. Although it’s entirely possible that I’ll be able to get up there with minimal difficulty before June 1, I am using that date as the ‘launch date’ for things.
So, for now, lotsa theory awaiting practical experimenting.
So, there’s a lot of things to think about and research in regards to the Beta Site. One of which is communications. There is no landline out there, cell signal is non-existent, the only electricity is what you bring or generate, and as wonderful as that sounds, I would like a modicum of connectivity to the world, particularly the internet, for those long winters of being snowed in.
So, there’s really only one off-the-shelf solution that doesn’t involve packet radio or that sort of thing – Starlink. I was wondering who here has some experience with it and can perhaps give some input on it’s practicality and utility..esp. in an environment where you’re on your own for power. (Meaning, running Starlink off of a battery system.)
My needs are simple – email, browsing news websites, blogging, and a bit of Spotify music. I’m not planning on streaming videos or any of the heavy-bandwidth activities. So, you off-grid types who maintain a connection to the internet…whats the scoop?
And, while on the subject of Starlink for secret squirrels, I pass along this entertaining and interesting video:
So I’d like to keep a low profile in regards to..well..everything….as I develop stuff on the property. Propane tanks are, it seems, uniformly a bright white color that is going to look a tad conspicuous amongst all the greenery. My first inclination is to just grab a couple cans of olive green paint and a brush. Perusing the internet shows me that it may not be that simple.
From what I’ve read, propane tanks are the color they are in order to reflect and prevent the absorption of heat. If a tank heats up in the sun, the contents can expand and at some point vent themselves through a safety valve, thereby reducing your amount of available propane. Painting a propane tank a camo color would only increase its absorption of heat. And, although Im not clear on this, in some cases it may not be strictly legal to paint a propane tank. (Although that might only be for rented tanks. No matter, my plan is to buy.)
So, if you want a discreet propane tank, your other alternative, it seems, is to obscure it. But, propane tanks are one of those things that, as I read it, you don’t really want in an enclosed space. Personally, what I thought would be optimal would be to pour a slab to put the tank on and then build up a wall of railroad ties or similar on either side of the tank and then berm them to provide visual camo and protection from stray projectiles. Something not too dissimilar to this:
Again, this is my uninformed opinion, but it appears that enclosing/shrouding or otherwise corralling a propane tank is feasible as long as theres enough airflow so that if a tank springs a leak, the propane doesn’t all accumulate in one spot. (Being heavier than air, it will puddle out to low lying areas but I would think it’ll dissipate better in that circumstance than if it were all ‘bottled up’ in a structure of some kind.)
Whaddyou think?
The realtor emailed me to say that the property purchase was recorded which means that The Property I Am Purchasing is officially just My Property. So I got that going for me…which is nice.
I also asked the realtor, who seemed fairly knowledgeable about the area, if she knew any vendors in the area for concrete, propane, well drilling, excavation, etc, who could handle the challenging ‘road’ infrastructure. To my surprise she came up with several, so I need to get those contacts filed and start asking some questions so I can start getting the money together for spring. June first is approximately 24 weeks away and I need to have enough cash on hand to actually get started on things.
If there is a somewhat-local vendor with a propane truck who can navigate into the boonies, then that opens up some very nice possibilities in that I won’t necessarily need to limit my propane logistics to what I can safely (and/or legally) transport up there on my own. I can put larger tanks in and have them filled onsite. And since my anticipated propane needs are pretty small, it seems like having at least a years worth of usage on hand might be in the realm of the do-able.
First order of business, though, is to clear and neaten up the unused and neglected ‘driveway’ that runs from the ‘road’ onto and into the property. I need to make sure it’s wide enough to accommodate service vehicles, and remove the small saplings that have grown in there, the deadfall that litters it, and the occasional large rock. Once thats done, I can bring in a small cargo container to use as a temporary base of operations and (more) secure storage option.
Thats the plan anyway. And we all know how plans work out.
Handed over a (to me) fat check, signed some papers. I guess its a done deal. Now the real money-spending begins.
Even though I just forked out a buncha money, I’m not considering it mine until I have the deed inĀ hand with my name on it. But for all intents and purposes…yeah, done deal.