I am Building a Stone House! My Primitive Off Grid Building Journey

After much reflection and encouragement from the HIVE community, I am putting forth the effort to build a stone house, all by hand.

Here in Arizona, it is hard to control the climate without air conditioning and heaters. Although we live in a much higher altitude than most of the state (around 6500 feet) we do get heat waves and cold snaps.

Living in the camper has been exceptionally difficult to maintain control over the temperature. It is costing us a small fortune in electricity and propane to cool and warm the camper. Basically, any type of RV or trailer acts like a tin can in the sun. It absorbs heat and retains it during the summer, and it does the opposite in the winter.

Stone houses and buildings have been made for thousands of years, and they are known to keep the warmth in the winter and keep the cool in the summer. Our ancestors built these structures by hand, cobbling together locally available rock to make all sorts of structures.

My plan is to replicate these stone structures, and build one all by hand!

We are fortunate to have a dry wash on our property, which has literally tons of beautiful smooth cobblestones which will be perfect for building the stone house.

I have found a nice path that leads down to the wash so I can collect the stones and haul them back to the top, where my foundation is.

I will be purchasing store-bought mortar to hold my stones together. Since they are smooth, I have to use some type of mortar. I entertained the idea of using natural materials from the property, but the project to build this will be so intensive that I feel making my own mortar will be simply too much.

Although, if someone has a good recipe for mortar, let me know in the comments!

I have started with digging out a shallow foundation for the floor. As @ganjafarmer said in a comment of one of my posts, "Just get a shovel out and start digging one shovel at a time" which really inspired me to start this monumental project!

There is a tree right in the middle of my location, which will be a small battle to remove, as Mesquite trees have massive root systems, making them very hard to pull out of the ground. One battle at a time!

Reasons for Building a Stone Structure

Other than having the stone house, I have several motivations for building this structure.

• I am proving to myself that I can do this. This is my way of giving myself confidence, tenacity, and strength to take on such a huge project by myself and push it through to completion.

• I will build muscle mass, burn fat, and get in better shape. My plan is to work on the project 1-2 hours a day, and will replace any type of gym or equipment needed to stay in shape.

• It's a daily meditation. Getting out in the sun, moving earth and stone, building a structure slowly, accomplishing a large goal in baby steps is all soul cleansing and helps me clear my mind and meditate.

• Food storage. We have a 1500 sq ft enclosed garden that produces a ton of food. We need a place to store food that stays cool, but not too cold. This should be the perfect structure without having to build a root cellar.

My plan is to document this journey and share it with the community here on HIVE. What I need is accountability, and I don't want to let all of you down if I give up. I also think you will find my journey interesting, and maybe some of you can give me building tips and ideas.

Don't forget to follow me so you can watch my updates!

Sincerely, Regina Cal.

Maximum Off Grid