The Myriad Uses of Concrete in Homesteading

The Myriad Uses of Concrete in Homesteading
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Homesteading puts us in a constant state of learning new skills, especially in the early years. One thing you’ll want to become comfortable with as soon as possible is working with concrete, because there plenty of ways we can use concrete in homesteading.

Concrete Is the Ultimate Building Material

Composed of Portland cement, crushed rock and water, concrete is both simple and highly functional. If you want a home that will:

  • Stand the test of time
  • Be easy to heat in winter and cool in the summer
  • Resist strong winds, even those from tornadoes or hurricanes
  • Be unappealing to insects, rodents and other pests
  • Offer a quiet retreat from noise
  • Be fireproof
  • Be recyclable in the future and can be made from recycled materials today
  • Allow you to have full artistic reign

… then concrete is the material for you. Concrete homes, otherwise known as ICF or insulated concrete form homes, offer all of the advantages above and more.

And the last bullet point is one we simply can’t gloss over. If you think of a concrete home and imagine a dull grey monolith to call “home,” you couldn’t be more wrong. Concrete can be colored and stamped to appear like other building materials altogether, giving the appearance of, for example, a brick or stone home. You can also embed materials like tiles and glass to give your home an eclectic look.

Aside from building your home out of this material, there are plenty of other ways to use concrete around the homestead.

Keep Burrowing Critters on the Right Side of Your Fences

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • A fenced garden that burrowing pests still feast on
  • A chicken coop that is raided by digging varmints
  • A dog who digs his way out of the kennel on a routine basis

We build fences for a variety of reasons, and animals, domestic or otherwise, always test those barriers. Fortunately, there is a simple and permanent solution to prevent digging.

Dig a trench about 1 foot deep and just a couple inches wide as close to your current fence line as possible. Fill it with concrete, and while the mixture is still wet, place simple metal stakes in it every few feet to help you tie the fence to it, preventing any gaps between the concrete and the fence that might invite a digger to still weasel in or out.

Take Advantage of Concrete’s Fireproof Properties

Virtually all homesteaders use fire to cook, heat their homes or burn debris. It’s essential to have a safe place to control a fire so that it does not get out of hand and destroy your property. Concrete is fire resistant, and thanks to its malleability, also completely customizable.

You can build:

  • An outdoor “pizza” oven
  • A firepit, either raised, flat or sunken
  • A rocket mass heater
  • A fireplace and chimney
  • Safe storage for flammable materials

Every Building Needs a Concrete Slab

If you need just one good reason to become a concrete pro, it’s the simple fact that virtually every building needs a durable foundation. Barns, sheds, garages … you name it, it needs a concrete slab foundation to provide a solid basis of support.

And best of all, concrete prices remain affordable, even more so if you use recycled concrete, which uses chopped concrete as the aggregate for new concrete rather than gravel. It’s easy to use, strong and cheap … the trifecta of a perfect building material.

The More You Know the Less You Carry

 

The More You Know the Less You Carry
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I got my start with bushcraft as a child living on a state park.  The man in the video above is Mors Kochanski who is a internationally known bushcrafter.

He popularized the idea of the more you know the less you carry.  I am sharing this video to explain a very important concept for preppers.

My conversations with new preppers that talk about their bug out plans and how much ammo they plan on carrying.  It is not uncommon for people to tell me that they keep a pistol, a backup pistol, a shotgun and an AR (or SKS or AK) and 200 rounds each in their car in case they have to get out of dodge.

Now that’s not terribly unrealistic in a car, but next they tell me that they plan on EMP and trying to hike home or to their bug out location 15 or twenty miles away.

I doubt those guys have every tried to walk a distance with 800 rounds, but I carry that much around on the range all the time to issue ammo – I don’t like carrying that 10 feet, much less 10 miles.

Let us be realistic in our plans, let’s think about all aspects of preparedness and not just stop at what we think is cool.

How to Make a Cheap Frame Loom

 

DIY Frame Loom
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Now that I have some homemade yarn I need to do something with it.  I cannot knit.  However, I have made a loom before, but it was small and not very useful.

Today’s post is a much larger DIY frame loom.  I enjoy using a drop spindle.  Spinning is something I do that relaxes me, but unlike the loom, it does require me to pay attention.

Making a loom does not have to be expensive.  A few years ago I reviewed a PVC loom how to manual that I thought was brilliant, but I never quite got around to making one.

This is a simple loom that can be made for under $20 and is a great way to see if you enjoy textile arts.

I used a simple set of canvas stretcher bars that I made into a frame, then marked and drilled small holes one centimeter apart in a line at the top and the bottom of the frame.

Next I tied string from the bottom nail to its partner at the top of the frame.

I should have probably tied each pair of nails together individually, but I took the easy route and ran a single strand up over and down going back and forth over each nail head.

Once the loom was strung, I simply took me yard and wove it between my strings, alternating up and down.

The video is pretty simple, and I am probably doing everything wrong, but in the end, I had a pretty cool start to a wool “rug”.

Balancing Security vs. Liberty

Security vs. Liberty
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Benjamin Franklin once said, “Anyone that gives up essential liberty for momentary safety deserve neither.”  It is amazing how this once commonplace sentiment has changed over the years.  In today’s America it is almost considered required to exchange liberty for safety.  It is important to realize that neither option is a right, nor can it be guaranteed.  In most of Europe, violence is never considered morally justified.  This thought leads to slavery.  If there is nothing worth fighting for, then nothing is worth having.  This trend of choosing security over liberty is becoming more accepted in this country than the founding fathers ever believed possible.

In America we have gun-free school zones.  We also have school shootings.  Jesse Ventura was forced to apologize when, after the Littleton Colorado School shooting, he commented that, “If someone in that school had a gun, they could have saved a lot of lives.”   His statement was considered outrageous.  It might be a distasteful subject, but the idea merits thought.  In Israel guns in school are commonplace; they also have little if any violence in the education system.

An American citizen cannot sue the police for failing to protect them.  They have no right to constant protection by the police.  They also face prejudice, up to and including incarceration if they protect themselves.  States of this country do not allow lawful citizens to carry firearms in pubic.  Many businesses in right-to-carry states disallow firearm possession in their stores.  Do any of these stores hire full time security whose sole job is to protect their patrons?  Do criminals intent on mayhem follow these laws?  If given a choice, would an armed criminal chose a location where firearms where allowed or disallowed?

Is the idea of violence so terrible that we as Americans should give up out Constitution in order for a measure of fleeting safety?  How important is the Bill of Rights to you?  Should we allow police unrestricted accesses into our personal lives for the sole purpose of protection?  Should we allow the trend of the government to dictate who is dangerous to us, without question.  This trend was seen in Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, China, and other countries where people lost the right to protect themselves.  Have we as Americans lost the will to do what is needed?    Do we have to delegate the distasteful to others?  If you as a responsible person feel violence is evil, what is your justification to give over your power to someone else to use violence on your behalf?

Government is needed.  Without it there would be chaos.  However, government is not always right just because it exists.  President Washington said, “Government is like fire; it is a wonderful servant but a fearful master.”  Government should serve the people, but it has a tendency to have the people serve it.  Before you blindly accept what is presented to you as your best interest, decide for yourself if it truly the case.  Our country was founded by men who chose liberty over security.  Should you do any less?