Hello from Essex

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Prepé Le Pew
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Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:13 am
Location: Essex

Hello from Essex

Post by Prepé Le Pew »

Hi all

New to the forum so thought I better say hi - found you guys via a Google search.

I'm fairly new to prepping, although it's been on my radar for a long time. The recent cold snap along with the current political climate (eg. Russia) has really accelerated my plans due to having two young children and another on the way.

So anyway, my situation is a fairly good one right now as I've just bought some land to build a house and want to make sure I lay the correct ground work so to speak. My goal is to build a large self-contained basement (same footprint as ground floor) as a bug in/secure living space in a SHTF situation and for prep storage in the meantime.

I don't plan to start the build until 2019 so my main goal for this year is to finalise building plans, seek planning permission and install a borehole/well for off-grid water. On that front, I've been looking for a dual system that uses electric pump when available but can also be run via hand pump if needed - any pointers on something that would satisfy this would be great.

I'm also looking into a few other options:

- ground source heat to run underfloor heating in the basement (although I'm not too sure on the viability here in the UK)
- Tesla solar roof, along with a Powerwall - the stealth aspect of the roof tiles appeal to me
- rainwater harvesting for extra backup

-Nick
pseudonym
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by pseudonym »

Hello and welcome to the Forum. :)
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
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Deeps
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:36 pm

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by Deeps »

Welcome to the forum, hope you find it useful.
Arzosah
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Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by Arzosah »

Welcome! That sounds a great plan! Especially the solar panels on the roof - I've seen those roof tiles that are actually panels, they look really good.

Rainwater collection - guttering on your greenhous as well :) and in some parts of the country, walls have little roofs on too.

How about water out/sewage? Non-return valve on the sewer, and how would you cope with hygiene otherwise?

How much land do you have? Do you have the space to get some trees planted, or would they be harmed by the bulldozers etc during the building?
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Prepé Le Pew
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Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:13 am
Location: Essex

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by Prepé Le Pew »

Good point about the sewage, I hadn't really thought about that part yet but, yes, a no-return valve on the sewer seems like a no-brainer. I'll be buying a composting toilet for the basement but hadn't thought much beyond having that and a separate bucket for pee.

I will be installing a basin for washing (exiting to the main sewer) but I'll have to look at options in the event of sewer failure. I'm assuming building regs would not allow some kind of overflow pipe straight outside?

I have about 0.9 acres in total with the back of the plot sloping downwards towards a small field and then a river.
Arzosah
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Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by Arzosah »

In my previous house, I wasn't charged for rainwater "disposal" (can't remember the correct term right now, sorry!) as the houses on that road each had official soakaways that the drainpipes ran into. In the event of a long term sewer failure, you could maybe dig your own soakaway, though I should think you'd be using your rainwater for lots of other things.

Composting toilet is brilliant, I don't know if you've been to the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales, they've got some really good operating systems there.

Couple of other alternatives I've had experience of - a commode, with the toilet bowl represented by a *big* plastic bag, that can just be tied really tightly and then put in the bin (pity the binmen ...). Or some of my rural-living relatives had a long drop toilet at their picnic site: a socking great hole, 20 feet deep or so, and that's your toilet. No idea why it didn't cave in, but it didn't. Same relatives used to have a hose connected to the drain from the bath, to run the water out to the garden. I asked if the heat of the bathwater didn't cause problems, and they said no because the hose was so long :roll:

At 0.9 of an acre, you've got a great site! And great water security, as long as you don't flood. Let us know how it goes.
jansman
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Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Hello from Essex

Post by jansman »

Welcome to the forum.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

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