Offgrid desert living, friends, family, pets and work on the house

Offgrid desert living offers insight into living in the Arizona desert.

Mar 2, 2008, Our offgrid living room is open and inviting

Our offgrid living room is an open, comfortable room that invites you to sit down and relax. The dry stack concrete block softens with the yellow paint.

Mar 2, 2008, Our offgrid experience

Building and living offgrid in the desert of S. Arizona. How we built our dry stack home and off grid solar power systems.

Mar 2, 2008, Offgrid solar power systems

How we connected our offgrid solar inverter/charge controller, deep cycle batteries, wind generator. Some of the mistakes we made when calculating how much solar power we needed.

Mar 2, 2008, Offgrid kitchen gives way to conversation

Our first offgrid kitchen was this sink. This is what we had when we moved into our off the grid home. It is a utility sink that was figured we would be able to use in the laundry room.

Mar 2, 2008, Offgrid firewood

Cutting offgrid firewood and finding the wood to cut is challenging. You cannot cut any wood on any state land.

Mar 2, 2008, Sitemap

Sitemap

Mar 2, 2008, Monsoon season in the desert is flash flooding

Monsoon season in the Arizona deser is about two to three months of flash flooding.

Mar 2, 2008, Building the offgrid bathroom

The offgrid bathroom ended up very differently than the plan due to poor selection and/or lack of local materials.

Mar 2, 2008, OFFGRID DOGS DEN

We waited a year before building our offgrid dogs den. It is the room where our dogs eat and sleep. It was very important that we get this room right. It is a comfortable area for our dogs and us

Oct 6, 2007, Offgrid house cleaning, an off the cuff view

Offgrid house cleaning is different in the desert. The demons that you face daily is called dirt. Not just any dirt, but desert dirt.

Sep 30, 2007, Materials to build offgrid dogs kennel

Materials used to build an offgrid dogs kennel for our small dogs.

Sep 30, 2007, The north porch was constructed fairly quickly since I now had some experience.

The north porch was constructed from recycled material as well. Since the lumber was twisted I used metal pole clamps to hold the boards down.

Sep 30, 2007, POURING CONCRETE FOOTINGS FOR OFF GRID HOME

The concrete truck got stuck in the mud. We were not going to start the concrete footings today.

Sep 30, 2007, Offgrid bull what to do when you have a brahma bull in your yard

Offgrid bull, a brahma bull in the yard. What do you do? Stare at him in disbelief, shue him away, yell at him?

Sep 30, 2007, Dry stack concrete block were stuccoed with surface bonding cement.

When working off grid with dry stack concrete block as the interior walls 8 inches of interior space is lost.

Sep 30, 2007, The east porch was built from recycled and scrap lumber.

Recycled and scrap lumber was used to build the east porch. It still allows views of the mountains yet cuts down on the sun's summer rays heating up the dining area.

Sep 30, 2007, Water recycling takes a little ingenuity and forethought

Water recycling can be done with some planning. You can learn to recycle water with spending little or no money.

Sep 30, 2007, Conservation - Putting away for tomorrow

Conservation is setting aside for a future time. Restricting use to insure enough for tomorrow. How much is enough for today? How do we say this is enough? How much will we need for tomorrow?

Sep 30, 2007, Collect water for the future through water harvesting in your own back yard

Water harvesting for the future is a way to make use of our monsoon seasons in dry arid climates. It can be stored and prevent some pooling water of back yards in other areas.

Sep 30, 2007, Water conservation acknowledge that there is limited water resources

Water conservation is a popular isssue. Since it is still an issue, we are not doing enough. We first have to acknowledge that there is limited water resources. If you are not faced with this daily,

Sep 26, 2007, Wiring a solar junction box is not difficult

Wiring a solar junction box in parallel is easy. Each junction box has a positive and a negative terminal. This picture shows red, blue and black wires. Any color of wire can be used.

Sep 26, 2007, Diamond back rattlesnakes in Arizona off grid

diamond back rattlesnakes mid-May through the hot months rattlesnakes change their behavior and become night time preditors

Sep 26, 2007, Desert wildlife on or near our dry stack concrete block home

These are the desert wildlife found on or near our offgrid desert home

Sep 26, 2007, Sonoran Desert Toad

This Sonoran Desert Toad was under a board that was moved near our house.

Sep 26, 2007, Desert spiny lizard found shade from the relentless afternoon sun

This desert spiny lizard was taking advantage of an undercover hide a way in our back yard. We had elavated the rain barrels with a concrete block and some stones. Perfect resting place for a desert s

Sep 23, 2007, Solar schematic

Diaghram of solar schematic

Sep 23, 2007, Solar watts calculation

Solar watts calculation sheet

Sep 13, 2007, Offgrid construction adobe is probably the most efficient.

Of the many offgrid construction adobe is one of the oldest located in the desert.

Sep 13, 2007, Drilling an offgrid well in the desert

Drilling an offgrid well in the desert was one of the most stressful experiences

Sep 13, 2007, Surface bonding cement was applied to the dry stack concrete block

Surface bonding cement was used on exterior walls and interior walls of our dry stack concrete block home. The fiberglas reinforced stucco gives the walls their strength.

Sep 7, 2007, Offgrid atv riding in the Arizona desert with five dogs is fun.

Offgrid atv riding with the dogs every morning. It insures that the big dogs get enough exercise and the small dogs get out of the house.

Sep 7, 2007, Offgrid septic system is a closed system with square concrete recepticle

Our offgrid septic system is a closed system, square concrete recepticle

Sep 7, 2007, gardening in the arizona desert

Gardening in the Arizona desert reaping critters instead of vegetables. Container gardening or raised bed is the least destructive.

Sep 7, 2007, Dogs stories sent by visitors to share information

Stories of dogs sent in by visitors wanting to share information and experiences with their canine friends

Sep 7, 2007, Dogs Tips were researched or submitted by visitors

Dogs tips and safety care can be invaluable when faced with the care of any pet.

Sep 4, 2007, Offgrid roof was made of rolled roofing

The offgrid roof was rolled roofing chosen because it was inexpensive.

Sep 4, 2007, Offgrid roof insulation is R-30 value

Offgrid roof insulation in any desert off grid home is crucial

Sep 4, 2007, Offgrid roof rafters were put up by two people

The offgrid roof rafters were built by Ron and Herb (my brother).

Sep 4, 2007, Laying the offgrid roof OSB proved to be a challenge

The offgrid roof OSB was hoisted up to the roof from a ladder with clamps.

Sep 4, 2007, Off grid rafters pictures

Off grid rafters pictures

Sep 4, 2007, Offgrid daily living makes you aware of conveniences

Offgrid daily living makes your daily life more aware of conveniences that we had taken for granted. Like laundry, water, electricity...If we don't watch, it will run out.

Sep 4, 2007, Offgrid cooling vents are used with prevailing winds to move hot air out.

Offgrid cooling vents were made by turning concrete block on their side with double the width at the top.

Sep 4, 2007, Dry stack concrete block walls were chosen for termite and rodent resistance.

Dry stack concrete block with a surface bonded cement was used for our exterior and interior walls.

Sep 3, 2007, Offgrid construction styles are suitable for the desert.

There are many different offgrid construction styles suited for the desert area. Adobe, stick built, SIPs, kits, straw bale, manufactured homes and trailers to name a few.

Aug 31, 2007, Buildling an offgrid storage shed on top of a concrete base

We are currently building a offgrid storage shed to house the new inverter and the batteries which should be completed soon.

Aug 31, 2007, Finding the right material offgrid interior ceiling

Chosing the right material for an offgrid interior ceiling with our limited resources at your disposal. Keeping with the rustic theme of the house, yet, bearing in mind that one person is doing the i

Aug 31, 2007, Off grid concrete slab foundation

Foundation concrete slab was poured at our off grid homesite by an outside contractor.

Aug 29, 2007, Our offgrid house plans started with a computer program

To design our offgrid house plans we bought a computer program. First I had to learn how to use the program.

Aug 28, 2007, The offgrid adobe ruins by our property was an exciting place to see.

Visiting the offgrid adobe ruins, an old windmill and farm house that are near our property

Aug 27, 2007, Published Offgrid Articles

Articles published from offgrid desert living. Most are about experiences here on the property.