“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.
Codes
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.
Code-approved Strawbale Building Systems
“The current code approved method for straw bale construction that can resist wind and seismic forces is not shown in the International Residential Code, IRC or the International Building Code, IBC.
However, it is shown as an appendix to some state residential code such as Oregon Residential code, appendix R, Straw-Bale Construction. The provision of this appendix is applicable to single family detached structures and related accessory structures as defined in Section R101.2, utilizing straw-bales in the construction of wall systems. So, if someone wants to build a straw bale home without the need to hire a licensed Engineer or Architect, he/she will need to check with their local building department to see if they have adopted the appendix.
Federal Judge Rules for Property Rights, Smacks Down Abusive Feds
The recent story about Cliven Bundy, the rancher in southeast Nevada who’s been harassed by the BLM, is not alone in his fight for land rights. Here’s a story from last year about one of Bundy’s neighbors. The point is to look into the facts instead of making a knee-jerk decision based on mainstream talking points. All the while keep in mind that what happens to these ranchers could very well be coming your way someday if these government agencies are not reined in.