70 step-by-step off-grid projects for water, power, food and security across 288 full-colour pages — each with a plain materials list, real build photos and numbered steps.
Storms, outages and supply gaps are ordinary now, and most households are one bad night from cold food and no water. Stocking a few cases of bottled water is a start. Building something that keeps working is better.
Across 70 illustrated projects, this manual walks you through the water, power, food and security builds that keep a home running off the grid — each one opening with a materials list, then numbered steps and full-colour photos you can follow at your own bench.
LOOK INSIDE
A look inside the manual.
Real pages from the book below, plus three plain-language samples — a project build, a pre-build checklist, and the planning table that orders your first four systems.
Water Projects
1
A rain barrel that fills itself
A downspout diverter, a food-grade barrel and a screened inlet turn an ordinary roof into a year-round water supply. The build takes an afternoon and about forty dollars of hardware-store parts. You will cut in the diverter, set the barrel on a level block base so it drains under its own weight, screen the inlet against debris and insects, and plumb an overflow away from the foundation. Catchment water is for the garden and for washing unless you treat it — the filtration project that follows covers making it safe to drink.
— From the water chapter —
Field Checklist
Before you start any build
Read the whole project through once before you buy or cut anything.
Check local codes and permits — especially for water, wiring and anything structural.
Lay out the materials list and confirm every part before the first cut.
Eye and ear protection on, and a licensed trade for mains power, gas or load-bearing work.
— Before every build —
Planning Table
The four systems to cover
System
Start with
Why it comes first
Water
Catchment
It runs out first, and you cannot store your way around it
Power
Small solar
Light, radio and phones keep working when the lines go down
Food
Cold storage
Keeps what you already have from spoiling in a long outage
Security
Lighting
Quiet deterrence does more than anything dramatic ever will
A representative summary of how the book is organised — paraphrased, not a direct excerpt.
— How the book is ordered —
Water — plumbing the barrelsPower — building the battery bankSecurity — the tripwire alarmHeat — the copper coil water heater
Actual interior pages — every project is photographed step by step, in full colour.
WHAT'S INSIDE
What you can build.
Water you can trust — a pressurised rain-harvesting system, a PVC hand pump, storage and treatment
Power without the lines — a backyard battery bank, small solar, a wind turbine from salvaged motors
Food that keeps — a smokeless smokehouse, an aquaponics setup, cold storage and preserving
Heat and cooking — rocket stoves, wood heat and cooking with no power at all
Sanitation and shelter — an off-grid shower, a self-sustaining greenhouse, greywater and weatherproofing
No workshop and no trade ticket required. Pick one project, gather the list, follow the steps.
1
Pick your weakest link
Water, power, food or security — start with the one that would hurt most in a three-day outage.
2
Gather the materials list
Every project opens with exactly what you need and where to source it cheaply — most of it from a hardware store.
3
Build it over a weekend
Numbered steps and full-colour photos take you from the first cut to a finished, working system.
★70DIY PROJECTS
WHY IT EARNS ITS SHELF SPACE
“The first book I have owned where I finished a chapter and had something standing in the yard.”— Why it stays on the bench
A practical build manual for off-grid water, power, food and security — written in plain language, photographed step by step, and made to be used with dirty hands.
70 projects
Step by step
288 pages
Full colour
4 systems
Covered end to end
WHO IT'S FOR
Made for anyone who would rather be ready.
You do not need acreage or a workshop. You need one free weekend and a reason to start.
🏠
Homeowners through storm season
🎒
First-time preppers
🌱
Homesteaders & smallholders
🔨
Weekend DIY builders
🎁
A genuinely useful gift
70 DIY Projects
GET THE BOOK
Get it on the bench.
$9.99$19.99Launch price
One copy for the workshop shelf — the kind of book you want in hand before you need it, not after.
“Love this book. Good quality. Pictures are in color. Very good information and well put together. Definitely a must have.”
R. H.
Verified buyer
★★★★★
“Plenty of projects, very quickly delivered and so worth the money!”
A. M.
Verified buyer
★★★★★
“This is amazing. Everyone have to keep one of those at the house.”
W. T.
Verified buyer
Verbatim reviews from verified buyers of this title. The 4.7 out of 5 score is the title's aggregate across 8,630 reviews. Results depend on your own build, materials, skill and conditions.
FORMAT & DETAILS
What you're getting.
A full-colour print manual made to be carried out to the bench, dog-eared, and actually used.
FormatA full-colour print edition, built to be used in the workshop.
Best forAnyone making a household less dependent on the grid.
Honest note: we are the retailer, not the publisher — this is the printed full-colour edition sold exactly as published, with all 70 projects. The projects are general DIY guidance, not engineering plans — check your local codes before you build.
!
BUILD SAFELY — A HONEST NOTE
These are general DIY guides for self-reliance — not engineering, electrical, plumbing or building plans. You are responsible for working safely and legally: follow your local building and electrical codes, pull permits where required, and use a licensed professional for anything involving mains electricity, gas or structural work. Treat any DIY-sourced water before drinking it, and follow current tested guidance for food preservation. Results depend on your own materials, skill and conditions.
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
Not really. The projects start simple, and every one opens with a plain materials list and numbered, photographed steps. If you can use a drill and follow a recipe, you can build most of them.
No. Plenty of the builds are sized for a garage, a balcony or a small backyard — and the book is upfront about which ones need real space before you start.
No. Most readers use it for ordinary life — lower bills, a working pantry, water through a storm. It just happens to be exactly what you want on hand if the grid does go down.
Most projects are built from common hardware-store parts, and each one lists what you need and where to source it cheaply. The larger builds cost more, and the book says so plainly.
Yes — this listing is the printed full-colour edition with all 70 projects. If we add another format, you'll see it as a variant up top.
Ships fast with free tracked shipping. If it's not right for you, easy 30-day returns per our stated policy.
SEREVE · SKILLS WORTH KEEPING
Start with one project.
Storms and outages are ordinary. Pick the weakest link in your household, build it this weekend, and have one system that keeps working.
Sereve is the retailer of this title, not its publisher — the printed full-colour edition is sold exactly as published. The projects are general DIY guidance for education — they are not engineering, electrical, plumbing or building plans. Follow your local building and electrical codes, pull permits where required, and use a licensed professional for anything involving mains electricity, gas or structural work. Treat any DIY-sourced water before drinking it and follow current tested guidance for food preservation. Results depend on your own materials, skill and conditions. The $19.99 "was" price reflects the regular list price. Reviews are verbatim from verified buyers and reflect individual experiences; the 4.7 out of 5 score is the title's aggregate across 8,630 reviews. Free tracked shipping and easy 30-day returns per our stated policy.
