shelter in the wild

[beast]

so youre out in BFE and need a shelter, everybodys first thought is log cabin
but what if there are no suitable logs or trees! what ya gonna do now?
so lets hear from you people what you know about building a shelter
without logs!

[retired profile of WrethaOffGrid]

Are you talking about a permanent structure to live in or something go get you through the night or a few days?

For an emergency shelter, a tarp works great…

Wretha

[beast]

something you could survive a year or 2 in if you had to do so
for just overnight i just climb a tree …lol

[retired profile of WrethaOffGrid]

I like the bermed earth or underground homes, I have been particularly interested in “The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House”…

There are some good ideas in this book.

Wretha

[beast]

i live in what is basically a bermed home
after 3 floods, i will never do so again
not to mention the constant problem of humidity and
everything i own being damp

dont have or need an a/c unit but it really sux when its
80 plus degrees outside and you have to build a fire to take
the chill and damp out, believe me

[retired profile of WrethaOffGrid]

I wonder how it would be different in the desert with low humidity and less rain?

[beast]

there is moisture in the desert, lots if you know where to look
anytime you go below ground the dampness shows up

[caverdude]

there are dehumidifiers.. from what I understand from one underground house book it require 1/2 the electricity needed for dehumidification vs a/c. As a matter of fact an A/C unis is a dehumidifier. And some by Eco Blue produce pure drinking water.  If you had too much moisture its because you didn’t waterproof the walls right or because you were not dehumidifying.

https://blog.larrydgray.net

[beast]

dehumidifiers require external heat to operate
my basement home stays around 60f in the summer, every dehumidifier ive tried ices up
thats why i said id have to run the fire in the summer
if i run the fire i dont need the dehumidifier and ill be damned if i want to
make my cool place hot in the summer

[caverdude]

Well that is the first time I’ve heard about dehumidifiers icing up and I have not tried them so maybe so. Is it possible you were not using the right brand of dehumidifier? I’m no expert on them so. And there are passive ways to dehumidify, as in rock salt. There must be some answer for the humidity problem.

[Cahow]

This is a tongue-in-cheek reply, beast. First, if I were in BFE, I had to get there somehow. I mean, it’s not like I was air-dropped into NoWhere’sVille. So, I’d hike right back to the sturdy vehicle that I arrived in and take shelter there! You didn’t state HOW LONG you’d need a shelter but people have survived in vehicles for weeks or a month when they’ve slid into ravines. A vehicle is water-proof, cozy, has a soft place to lie down and if you’re prepared (as you well should be if you’re traveling to BFE) you should have plenty of water, dehydrated foods and a blanket or two.

So there’s my answer. ;)

[wirerat123]

Properly configured and with proper ventilation underground houses can be just fine and dry. Most stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I would go underground with the PSP method myself. It passes the common sense test for all housing options.

If there are no trees available, then you just gotta build with rock, dirt, or find a cave or something similar. I would still go underground.

[ladyapril]

use stones to build–

[beast]

yes stones work but how do you hold them together?

[caverdude]

look into slip form concrete or rock work. This is where you build something like a concrete form, drop in rocks, pour cement around them and slip the form upwards as you go.

https://blog.larrydgray.net

[Author]

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