Going Off Grid in East Tennessee; The Story and Chat Thread (Knoxville: discounts, counties)

[kygman]

I found a great weed killer at Lowe's the other day. It's an Ortho product and I think it's called Brush Kill. Not real sure on that one but it's in a black jug and guaranteed to kill weeds for up to a year. Working great on my driveway right now. The concentrate is about $20/gallon.

[Galiac]

Speaking from a past life, I can say that there are several products that will control weeds for a long period of time. All of the major vendors have a long-term weed control, of course I'd be careful where I utilized it as it's akin to spreading salt on a patch of ground. It works incredibly well at killing just about everything. Depending on if your worried about growing in surrounding soils, I'd be careful with these products.

Round Up is actually not a good weed control product. The original formula of Round Up was formulated for being able to kill the weeds quickly, and then plant the next day. Essentially for farmers and landscapers so that they wouldn't have to worry about utilizing a weed control product. It's very good at killing weeds, but for a patio I would recommend an in-between product, likely a standard Crab Grass weed killer as it's stronger to kill the broad-leaf plants, but won't last as long.

When you originally install a patio dig down 6" + the height of your pavers. At the bottom install a commercial grade landscapers fabric. It's more expensive than the general weedblock, but it will take longer to break down while still allowing the drainage necessary to insure that the pavers do not float and remain level. NEVER put plastic sheeting under a paver install, as your patio will not drain and will cause all sorts of issues. Then put a base of 4" of gravel, and 2" of paver sand. This will allow for drainage, and then install your pavers on top. This would be for a standard patio, this is not meant for vehicular or aquatic environments which should have a deeper base.

If installed correctly the only weeds you would worry about would be a few surface seeds a year, very easy to pick out of the 1/4" to 1/3" spaces left between the pavers, and as paver sand is of a larger grit, it's much easier to pull the whole weed out.

The installations that I've normally seen with weed issues, normally are also not installed with a sufficient base, and quickly become un-level (such as the old brick patios seen all over the place)

Oh, and the pavers I would be manufacturing for the project in question would gradually increase in size as they spread out from a central circle. The smaller paver swould likely be 4-6" while the largest could be as large as 2-3' I think it would look amazing Just imagine what you could do if you constructed your own, any shape is possible, and the caster would be able to insure that every piece fit perfectly with the one next to it. Much longer project than the normal paver patio install, but imo I think it would be worth it

[DarkWolf]

What do the town locals think of your project and have you been in any Newspapers or on TV yet?

[Woof]

The strange thing is that people voluntarily plaster their environments with huge amounts of chemicals and sometimes heavy metals like lead or arsenic to control weeds or pests, and then they wonder why their kids are born with 3 eyes and the adults all have cancer.

[ylisa7]

Hello everyone. I see you have continued on without my help I just thought I'd let you know....we got snow this morning and maybe more tonight Thankfully it didn't stick. We should be back to our beautiful Fall weather on Monday

Anyway, I wanted to share a picture with you. The house had a slight chill this morning so Mike started out first fire for us to take our showers. Niki was very happy about that, lol. Here she is after we let the fire burn out. I think she thought if she started at it long enough the fire would restart. Poor Niki



Galiac-Welcome and thank you for writing in and sharing so much. I loved writing my story here. Everyone here has been wonderful and very helpful and sharing since the start of our journey

It sounds like you have done a lot so far in your life. Good luck in the future. Slow down and smell the roses

Originally Posted by Galiac

When you originally install a patio dig down 6" + the height of your pavers. At the bottom install a commercial grade landscapers fabric. It's more expensive than the general weedblock, but it will take longer to break down while still allowing the drainage necessary to insure that the pavers do not float and remain level. NEVER put plastic sheeting under a paver install, as your patio will not drain and will cause all sorts of issues. Then put a base of 4" of gravel, and 2" of paver sand. This will allow for drainage, and then install your pavers on top. This would be for a standard patio, this is not meant for vehicular or aquatic environments which should have a deeper base.

Wow..I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing that. I have seen multiple paver driveways done in FL and "none" of them go that deep and put weed cloth down. Now I know why those drives have weeds Good luck with yours

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

What do the town locals think of your project and have you been in any Newspapers or on TV yet?

We have had a couple of offers for interviews from some newspapers. we turned them down because we weren't finished tweaking everything. Maybe some day..or not

Originally Posted by Woof

The strange thing is that people voluntarily plaster their environments with huge amounts of chemicals and sometimes heavy metals like lead or arsenic to control weeds or pests, and then they wonder why their kids are born with 3 eyes and the adults all have cancer.

Chemicals can be terrible but sometimes they are the only thing that gets the job done...unfortunately. Our cows don't eat the weeds but I know goats would







If I am housebound tomorrow because of the weather, I will post another story. Mike and I have been working really hard but for you it will become the same old same old Have a great night.

[Bones]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

Anyway, I wanted to share a picture with you. The house had a slight chill this morning so Mike started out first fire for us to take our showers. Niki was very happy about that, lol. Here she is after we let the fire burn out. I think she thought if she started at it long enough the fire would restart. Poor Niki

Lisa...Niki looks right at home in front of the wood stove....

How do you like the new wood stove....

Two things bother me....

1...You need 18" minimum of tile in front of your wood stove for sparks...

2...Get the propane torch out of there...





.

[Sunnydee]

Yikes, snow. I woke up yesterday and it was a bit brisk, so I decided fall had arrived, but snow does not sound appealing to me. Love the picture of Niki in front of the wood stove. She's an eternal optimist. I would love to see more pictures and hear more of your exploits even if they are repeats. I just love your thread. Thanks for sharing.

[ylisa7]

Thanks Bones. We have more tile to add in the front. It's on the list...we just didn't expect snow this soon.

We love the wood stove. It starts up with no problem and keeps us nice and toasty....just ask Niki



Sunnydee-It's good to see you. We should all be more like dogs. They are just so darned happy

[xxmagex]

:-) I Love the photograph!!

[newfarmertoo]

Originally Posted by dominicus

Hey Lisa,
I was wondering what you paid for your acreage. You have 40 acres right?

I was n love with the western north carolina and smokey mountains area but acreage is just way too expensive. So i was looking at tri-cities, frog pond, foothill areas, pretty much anywhere that looks as awesome as your place, which is exactly what ive been looking for.

My budget is 20-40k and im hoping for 20+ acres hopefully and have a place thats unrestricted or no building codes since im building a cob and or strawbale home.

How did you get your land anyway? Word of mouth, realter, random sign?

Thanks and love this thread and the inspirition i get from you!

I have 15 acres paid $25,500 It had a well, septic tank and power already on it. There are also 2 trailers but they are in bad condition. Not a bad deal I think. Used a Realtor, Crye-Leike in Athens