Jim: I am considering using Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) for building my next house/retreat back in the United States for when I feel that it is not longer safe to live abroad. For a relatively small incremental cost in a new home (3-5%), you have disaster proof, fire resistant, fortified home. I found this brochure (in PDF) that describes some of the advantages of ICF construction. Best Regards, – AmEx (American Expatriate)
In case of TEOTWAWKI, being successful in the art of camouflaging will be a serious matter. It will be necessary for many aspects of life to include; movement, reconnaissance, and ambush. Camouflaging is a multi-tiered animal, including camouflaging your skin, your clothing, your gear, and your weapon. I spent six years in the army as an Infantryman. As a result I personally have spent 26 months of my life in Iraq, and I have been on well over 500 combat patrols: to include raids and ambushes of all kinds. Camouflaging of your outfit or uniform begins with the construction of …
Recently (based on a suggestion by a SurvivalBlog reader) I began a Meetup Group for Emergency Preparedness. One of the Meetup events that I’m soon to host is entitled “To Build a Fire”. Hosting this Meetup which I originally conceived as simply a fire building class has forced me to think logically about tactical fire building in a WTSHTF scenario where you are forced to build a fire for survival purposes. I’ve synthesized these ideas into this article. By “tactical” what I mean is “low observability” because technically no true definition of tactical perfectly fits this discussion. However people should …
Okay, I admit it, I’m a Prepper. The first time I read the Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, I was hooked. “Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, “Why, for any old thing.” said Baden-Powell. My real awakening with the Boy Scout Handbook was my first introduction to fire. Learning to make a basic campfire, a cook fire, bonfire and camp-fire television were the first tastes of what would prepare me for the future. I camped, earned merit badges and worked my way to First Class and Patrol leader all the while putting an end …
James: That was an excellent article by A. Arizonan! As a former newspaper deliverer (rural route in the American Redoubt), I would like to add that there are benefits to delivering or subscribing to newspapers. As a deliverer who serviced home customers and coin-op boxes, I could amass “extra” or “unsold” paper to the tune of about 300 to 500 pounds a month. To this day I still have about 2000 pounds in storage. I’d have more but I can’t properly store any more. The added benefit of my former route was that I got to meet a lot of …
I believe in having all the “big” things, to prepare for the possible breakdown of civil society. I have a large home outside of a small mid-west town, and expect 12 people to arrive to hunker down, if things do fall apart. I need to be able to feed and supply of them, perhaps for years. So I have 1,200 gallons of Kerosene. This is intended for heating the home for 3 winters, and I have 3 Kerosene heaters to do the job. The Kerosene is stored in in 3 large 330 gallon plastic totes, half buried in my back …
INTRODUCTION I began work in Toronto on August 1, 2003. The lights went out three weeks later. The entire Northeast was dark for several days. The company had provided us with three months of free housing. By my standards it was quite posh ¾ pool privileges, chandeliers, weekly maid service. But we knew nobody, had little food in the cupboard, and no local currency. (Then again the cash registers didn’t work anyway.) When the sun went down it got dark and stayed dark. We had no light of any kind. Granted, the two huge candlesticks on the mantle were a …
Hi, Doing some research on earth domes and I’m seeing a new trend, tire bales. These are 5 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 2.5 feet tall. They weigh 2,000 pounds apiece. They are environmentally friendly, being sold for $25-35 a unit plus shipping. I’m planning on using them around the houses perimeter as I feel they are much less expensive and more durable than a masonry wall. Covered in concrete or adobe they won’t be an aesthetic issue either. I was wondering what your opinion of them would be as a ballistic barrier/wall? Keep up the great work. – …
Hi James, I recently attended a close quarters battle (CQB) training course with a company here in the United States. After the course, I was very kindly ‘gifted’ a ‘Breath of Life’ emergency mask. I was very grateful for this gesture, and curious as to this product. Luckily, as a volunteer fire fighter, I got the chance to try this mask’ effectiveness during one of our training sessions, which can be seen here. I must say, I was incredibly impressed with this product, and as a long time reader of your excellent site, feel it maybe of interest to your …
Just like everybody else, I am unique. In the disaster prepper field I am unique in that I am both a diehard personal prepper and a college trained emergency management professional. I did not become one because of the other; my personal preparedness mindset comes from my parents, as well as my internal system of ethics and belief structure. My career path grew out of my military and correction background. However, even though they are separate, I find that my skills in one translate to the other even though the goals of the two are not always identical. I would …
Mr. Rawles, A s a distributor of oil and gas parts, it warmed my heart to read R.J.’s article. I would note a couple of things, however. First, when you reduce the pressure of gas you also reduce its temperature. In the aforementioned case, that pressure reduction would drop the temperature by around 10 degrees F. Ordinarily this isn’t a problem, but in the winter an already-cold regulator could seize or internal parts could break. With higher pressures, the problem becomes much more significant. To solve this problem, most installers would use two regulators with some pipe between them. Each …
When shopping for our retreat property a few years ago our family was looking for something that could sustain several families besides our own and have as many features common to a retreat that most readers would recognize as desirable for TEOTWAWKI. Water, security, location, population, soil, and local wildlife (four and two legged) were all things we were concerned with. When we came across our current retreat property we were shown what was supposed to be a 400 foot deep, 10 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) well. Luckily we were serious and bought a new pump and had a well …
Sir, Happy Independence Day to you and your family. Concerning underground tanks for fuel storage, most states require both lining systems and cathodic protection to prevent leakage into the ground and or ground water. I fully agree with the defensive sense, being a veteran of the US Army and most of my time serving in the Infantry, having prepared many a defensive position. As such for OPSEC, finding a discreet contractor may present a challenge, and of course the local county may get interested, Hopefully not too much. – Grog JWR Replies: Cathodic zinc anodes (commonly called “sacrificial …
As the saying goes “preventive medicine is the best medicine”, this can be said for many aspects in life. Why wait until something happens to fix it? Why not perform proper maintenance procedures so you don’t have to fix it? Frankly, before I became a prepper, I’ve always found this approach to be best. It can save you time, money, frustration. Even if something is going to break no matter what, with preventive procedures, you can sometimes see it coming, therefore fixing or changing a part. From a prepper’s perspective, preventive measures are a necessity. The U.S. military puts an …
Mr. Rawles, Thank you for all you do. I cherish my daily visits to SurvivalBlog. The recent letter titled “Living in a Small Town – An Australian Perspective” by Margaret G. inspired me to write you. We moved from a large city to place just outside a small town a year ago. We are just now being accepted as part of the community. I agree very much with Margaret G.! Another thing I can add is joining the local Volunteer Fire Department. Through the dept and a lot of hard work we find ourselves a part of the community. Because …