Building Off the Grid

Week after week this show illustrates the problems in building off the grid. Anyone interested in doing this must watch this show. Even if you're not planning to do it, it's still worth watching to educate yourself.

Part of the enjoyment of this shows is not only what you can do, but what you shouldn't do. The #1 problem is under-estimating the time to build. #2 is failing to account for the weather, which is a major part of any construction. #4 is materials and #4 is personnel. Watching people struggle through this is very interesting.

I also like the locations which are usually beautiful, though I don't understand why you can't build off the grid in more hospitable places.

Forget the intended drama for this type of show. After having worked on an industrial site where safety was driven into our very beings...go home in the same condition as you did when you arrived for work...I am disgusted at the MASSIVE amount of safety violations these people commit. Proper use of gloves, shoes (one man did a show barefoot), safety glasses, tying off/harnessing, lack of respect for nature, improper use of tools because of lack of knowledge...the list is endless. The show should be ashamed to air something with such disregard of personal safety. I've known people to lose limbs due to their shortcuts; people have died because they didn't pay attention to a live electrical boards; and costly mistakes are common when a communication process isn't in place. You have an opportunity to showcase the necessary and appropriate way to do things, and yet, this far, you have failed.

Oh my! First, I'm amazed with folk who attempt building off the grid and truly don't think through the details of the process. Second, why do the wives all have their full face make up on, hair swinging down voluptuously....; no dirt...? I guess their concern is more the camera and TV than the build! Silly females!! So i guess the show is more fake than it'll admit to!!

So I watched one or two episodes. The first was about Northern America in the glaciers... Respectable. The second was in an area of great Bushland.... Hollywood drama to the max. The cut scenes made out like there was some fantastic hardships. And perhaps there were, but the exaggerated drama lost me when the people filmed made it obviously appear worse for the camera than it likely was.....

Not true to the experience that was portrayed from what was filmed. Over drama for the sake of film.

The first couple seasons were entertaining. Then the show started to repeat the same formula. Most folks built when the weather was bad. Endless shots of ....golly it's snowing we're behind. Getting six minutes of building, a cut to the next segment with a recap of what we just saw was annoying.. The building off the grid wasn't necessarily green. Lots of styrofoam and plastic included. By season three I just watched the intro to find out where the home was going then headed to the end to see what was built. Really liked some of the buildings. But too much similarity in the furnishings and interiors. Six different owners claimed their log end walls were unique. I get the complaints about construction safety. I was annoyed by families with kids that didn't think they needed hand rails on the stairs or outside areas. Might also add if you have a toddler and a wood stove you need to prevent them from burns. My biggest complaint is about the use of horticultural plants in the builds that claim to be natural. In season two old crunchy hippie guy claimed everything came from the land. Chrysanthemums are not natives. I made it through all 13 seasons by skipping forward except for Cappy. He was okay.