Hut-Topia: How to Create Sustainable Small Homes and Homesteads

Hut-Topia is a place-name meaning hut for small house and utopia for ideal. You can build your own 'Hut-Topia' as inspired and wonderful as the small house that Thomas Jefferson built which founded his famous Monticello homestead! Hut-Topia is a holistic DIY guide designed to help you on your path to creating a sustainable homestead and affordable dwelling. You'll find perspective from the history of small homes, building and zoning codes, on being a landowner, how rural living is different than urban, examples of off-grid dwellings, and much more: Part 1 Right-Sized Towns: Explains how population influences townships and shows you how to locate and research a place that will work well for your plans. Part 2 Owner-Built Shelter: Emphasizes livable space design and the planning steps to take before building, with examples of affordable construction methods. Part 3 Off-Grid Power, Water, and Food: Expands the design and planning in Part 2 with dozens of off-grid methods and details you can use for your homestead. Full contents: Preface--Sustainability in Technology, Economy, and Climate Introduction to Small House Architecture 1) Hut-Topia and Other Man-Made Words 2) The Rough History of Small Homes in the United States 3) Building and Zoning Codes 4) Landowner vs. Renter vs. Squatter 5) Rural vs. Urban 6) Homesteads 7) Huts-- --Transportable Huts --Built On-Site Huts --Wheeled Huts 8) Tents, Trailers, and RVs Part 1: Right-Sized Towns 9) Mapping Your Region 10) Road-Trip Research 11) In-fills and Suburbia 12) Cottage and Cluster 13) Tent City 14) Intentional Community Part 2: Owner-Built Shelter 15) The Nest Egg and the Plan-- --Budget Is the Bottom Line --What You Don't Know You Can Learn 16) How to Sketch the Details 17) Livable Space vs. the 'Box'-- --Inside or Outside Rooms --Single or Multiple Rooms and Floors --Built-Ins and Fold-Outs --Doors --Windows 18) Construction from the Ground Up-- --Step-By-Step Construction Timing 19) Foundation Basics 20) Post and Beam, Pole-Frame, and Timber-Frame 21) Masonry, Straw-Bale, and Cordwood 22) Log 23) Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Stick-Frame 24) Weather and Pest Proofing-- --Roofing and Siding --Wind --Humidity and Temperature --Pests 25) Interior Climate-- --Vapor Barrier --Conduction and Insulation --Convection Loops --Non-Toxic Radiation --Ventilation 26) Building Supplies-- --Recycled, Re-Purposed, and On-Site Materials --'Big-Box' Depot vs. Lumber Yards --Pre-Fabricated Materials and Kits --Fasteners and Adhesives --Material Delivery Part 3: Off-Grid Power, Water, and Food 27) Happiness Is Good Resource Sizing 28) Energy Supply-- --Step-By-Step Off-Grid Energy 29) Measuring How Much Power You Need 30) On-Site Solar 31) Solar-Electric 32) Solar Space Heating 33) Solar Hot Water 34) Solar Cooking 35) Geothermal 36) On-Site Wind-Electric 37) On-Site Hydro-Electric and Cold-Sinks 38) Batteries, Chargers, and Inverters 39) Burning Appliances-- --Fossil Fuels --Wood 40) Engine Powered Electric Generators 41) Wood and Propane Stoves 42) Wood and Propane Space Heaters 43) Propane Hot Water Heaters 44) Oil and Gas Lamps 45) Water Supply-- --Springs, Wells, Streams, Lakes, and Ponds --Rainwater and Snowmelt 46) Water Storage and Purification 47) Sewage-- --Black Water --Grey Water 48) Compost and Trash 49) Food Supply 50) Crops 51) Livestock 52) Aquaculture 53) Cash-Crop or Trade 54) Urban Foraging 55) Wilderness Foraging 56) Food Processing-- --Fermentation --Canning --Dehydrating --Root Cellar More Information List of Illustrations Index

About the Author :
Christopher James Marshall is the author of the do-it-yourself small house book "Hut-Topia" and a modern-day off-grid mountain-man. After weathering recessions and lay-offs every decade since the '70s thru the 'Great Recession', he became semi-retired by making plans to live sustainably and then built his 500 square foot off-grid home. His lifestyle has the freedom of self-sufficient independence by means of alternative energy on a homestead with an affordable owner-built small home.