“So many of you have heard about my ebook that I have been working on, I have been putting it together over the past few months and it is finally here! You can check it out here. http://thetinylife.com/store/ (He has house plans and other books as well.)
Codes
Area in Wisconsin with Few or No Codes
The following comment left by a reader got me thinking about publishing a few blog posts about areas in the US with few or no building codes that allow do-it-yourself alternative building with earthbags, straw bales and local wood, and homesteading. As we’ve said many times here, building in areas with codes can skyrocket the construction costs ten-fold, which essentially wipes out the savings of using alternative materials. That probably explains why our blog page Counties with Few or No Building Codes has always been our most popular page.
Colorado: Off-Gridders Forced back on the Grid, Camping on own land Illegal
“It’s something we’ve reported on many times in the past – government agencies trying to regulate Off-Grid living out of existence. Throughout the country, local zoning officials have made it impossible for people to go off the grid, in many cases even threatening them with jail time for not hooking into local utilities.
U.S. Building Codes by County Website
“I am working on a Christmas gift of sorts for the natural building community and I could use some help.
What is it?
U.S. Building Codes by County is a website to collect, organize, and easily display building codes and permit requirements for building in every county in the US. (3,142 counties to be exact).
Gabion Beams for Earthquake Resilience
I met Randolph Langenbach at the Natural Building Colloquium in New Mexico a few weeks ago, and was in the audience when this video was being recorded. Randolph has taken the original footage and enhanced it with many extra images, so that it is really better than it was the first time. I think the … Read more
Tiny House Video Explains Why Codes and Zoning Regulations are a Scam
I was expecting this to be just another tiny house video. Instead, this video does a fantastic job of explaining how building codes and zoning regulations are largely unnecessary and a huge drain on local economies. The video highlights some cities in Texas that are doing just fine without all this bureaucracy and added expense. As a result, housing costs per square foot are only a small fraction of many other US cities.