Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency: DIY Projects to Get Your Self-Reliant Lifestyle Started - Softcover

Peterson, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591865956 ISBN 13: 9781591865957

Publisher: Cool Springs Press, 2014

Synopsis

Complete plans, instructions, and color photos show precisely how to make 30 original projects to help you live a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Have you ever wanted to build your own chicken coop, cider press, or herb-drying rack? How about a clever two-bin composter, horse-blanket washing machine, or genuine Langstroth beehive? In Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency, you’ll find these projects and a couple of dozen more to help you develop and grow your self-reliant lifestyle. Where most books in the popular self-sufficiency category give you pages of words and a couple of small drawings by way of explanation, this book shows you exactly how to do things, employing beautiful photos and complete plans in the best Cool Springs Press tradition. The book’s projects are organized into four categories: Food Prep & Preservation, Homestead, Garden, and Animals. Within these categories we’ve carefully chosen a broad range of popular projects, often with a creative touch or two to make them easier to build or more efficient to use. A simple brooder box for chicks, a jumbo cold frame, a basic loom, a large-capacity soil sifter that won’t give you a backache, fencing, trellises, and even a solar oven are included in the list of dynamic project plans. So whether you’re a longtime do-it-yourselfer looking to complete your skill set or a newcomer taking your first step toward sustainability, Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency is the book to get you there.

About this title

Review:

A pet door gives your pets freedom and can make life easier for you as well.

Pet Door

Pet doors are available in a variety of styles, colors, materials, and mechanisms. Install one and your dog can go outside whenever he wishes with nary a lift of a nger from you. But don’t even consider installing a dog door to the outdoors if you don’t have a securely fenced-in yard. To avoid the potential for someone opening the gate in your yard and unintentionally letting your dog loose, locked gates are also a must.

One of your biggest decisions when faced with the plethora of dog door styles will be choosing between the electronic and the manual dog door. If cost is a factor, you’re going to lean toward the manual; if security is your greatest concern, then your best bet is the electronic door. The electronic door is made of hard plastic or Plexiglas, and it responds to an infrared signal from a key attached to the dog’s collar. It can emit a hum when activated, which is disconcerting to some dogs at rst. When shopping for an electronic dog door, pay attention to the specs; some electronic doors open in only one direction.

the specs; some electronic doors open in only one direction. Some dogs will go through the door right away without a problem, but most need to have so

Before you install the ap, take the one item that is most irresistible to your dog and go to the other side of the door. Slowly wave the goody just under your dog’s nose and lure him toward you through the door. Give your dog the come command in a cheerful and encouraging manner. Once your dog is stepping through the dog door like it’s no big deal, install the ap. Go to the side of the door opposite your dog, pull the ap toward you just a bit, and lure your dog as you did when the door was wide open. Do this a few times so your dog gets used to the feel of the ap against his body, then just call your dog to go through the door, ap and all. Any time you hit a snag, go back to the last point your dog behaved reliably, and train slowly from there.

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Step 1

Measure the largest animal that will be using your door and purchase a pet door that is a little larger. Measure a dog’s breadth across the shoulders and depth between shoulder and bottom of rib cage. Center the template that comes with the pet door on the lower middle of the human door. The ideal height of a dog door top is about 2" above the standing dog’s shoulders. For structural reasons, the cutout should not fall below 3" from the bottom of the human door. Center the template with a measuring tape. Level with a torpedo level, tape in place, and draw cutout lines and bolt hole locations. Remove the template.

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Step 2

Drill the prescribed bolt holes. Next, drill starter holes just inside the corners of the cutout rectangle for the jigsaw blade. If the door is metal, pound a dimple into the surface at each hole location with a nail, and then drill through with progressively larger bits until you can fit your saw blade through. Cut along the side and bottom cutout lines with a jigsaw. Cut the top side last. Tape the cutout in the door as you go to support it, and to keep it from splintering or tearing.

Step 3

f the pet door straddles a rail and a recessed panel or panels, you’ll need to even out the opening so the door has a flat installation surface. Measure the depth of the panel relative to the rails with a ruler and a board held across the rails of the door. Rip-cut strips of blocking to this thickness out of ¾"-thick stock. Measure and cut the blocking to length to fill low panel areas and glue pieces of blocking around the opening. Put blocking on each side of the opening for pet doors with both an interior and an exterior trim kit.

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Step 4

Insert inside and outside door components and bolt it together through the bolt holes. Trim the bolts and attach the flap according to manufacturer’s instructions. The exact installation requirements will vary. If needed, tape the pet door flap up until your pet becomes accustomed to using the door.

About the Author:

Chris Peterson is a veteran home improvement and design author. Among the many books he has written are 5-Gallon Bucket Book, Building with Secondhand Stuff, Manskills, four books in the Ideas You Can Use series, and many books in Cool Springs Press's BLACK+DECKER Complete Guide series. He has also co-authored numerous home design books with noted media celebrities. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Philip Schmidt (Golden, CO) is an avid environmentalist and a home improvement expert who has written many successful DIY books, including Build Your Kids a Treehouse, The Complete Guide to Patiosand The Complete Guide to Contemporary Sheds.. He lives in Golden, CO

About this edition

• Publisher: Cool Springs Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1591865956
• ISBN 13: 9781591865957
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160