While the cabin was being built, I worked the plans for the modifications that I would do after it was finished. I was building the cabin with long-term survival in mind. The basement would be the main storage place for food and other supplies. Since the basement was below ground level, it would be easy to keep it at a constant temperature year round. In the summer it would be much cooler than the outside, and in winter there would be minimal chance of freezing.
The basement/foundation walls were 18 inches thick. The walls were made from cement blocks, then interior framing of six inches to hold the insulation. The basement ceiling (or the main living area floor would also be insulated. The floor joists were 2" x 8", so that would give me 8 inches of insulation. And the basement floor was concrete slab. Overall, the design would keep the basement area at a fairly constant temperature during summer and winter.
I also planned on setting up a water storage area. Although I had a good water supply from the well, I needed a backup source. The property had a year-round stream (Magpie Creek) a short distance away. That would be my backup source. I'd run some underground PVC pipe from the stream into the basement, where the water would be collected in a series of 55 gallon plastic barrels.
For power, I would build a small room on a "patio" (that's what the plans said) that was next to the house. In there would be the backup power system, solar powered. I didn't plan on using much power during any outages; I would have some oil lamps for lighting (and a good supply of lamp oil). I would need some power for the small refrigerator and other needs. The fridge would be small and well-insulated, and very efficient.
Since I planned on being at the cabin before the problem, I needed to be able to support my clients. Most of the computer stuff that I do can be done remotely; I have set up remote access (well-secured, I might add) to all of the systems that I maintain. It was hard to say exactly when the Problem would occur, but it looked like (at that time) it was several years away. I would be using that time to prepare the cabin, and while there I would need to support my customers. So when PG&E brought in the power, I also had the local phone company (Pacific Bell at that time) bring in four phone lines. Two would be used for computer lines, one for fax, and one for voice. That may be more computer lines than are needed, but as long as Pac Bell was stringing the wire, might as well have the capacity.
Before the wallboard was put up, I ran two sets of 8 pair wire from the basement area to the living room and bedrooms. I'd use that to set up a little network so I could compute from any room. I also wired the four phone lines into each room, and the basement. I left the network and phone wire "roughed-in"; I'd take care of the final connections later.
So I had the proper capabilities for water, food storage, waste disposal (a septic tank system), backup electricity, and communications.
While the cabin was being built, I'd spend most evenings in the garage reading up on things. I had gotten several survival-type books, books on gardening, food preparation and storage, and other similar books. Summers in the Divide are pretty pleasant. Daytime temperatures get in the 90's, but there's no humidity problem. Evenings are pleasant, with temperatures down to the 50-60 F in the evening. There was a bit of mosquito problems, especially the 'no-see-ums', the small gnats that would really bug you. But some insect repellant fixed that problem.
I kept my books in a locked area while Jerry was around. I didn't want him to know of my plans, on the off chance that he would remember later when the Problem hit. He wasn't much interested, anyhow. The prospect of the early completion bonus kept him pretty busy, and by the end of the day, he was pretty tired. A quick dinner, and he was out for the night.
We ate pretty well during the construction. Breakfast was bacon and eggs, lunch was sandwiches, and dinner usually steaks. We got a little bit of variety from some fishing we'd do, but most of the supplies I'd bring in with me on one of my supply trips. Jerry had a thing for Baskin Robbin's Rocky Road ice cream, and so did I. That was usually a weekly treat.
The cabin was finished the first week of September, two weeks ahead of schedule. Jerry and I had done a good job, and he earned his bonus, and then some. I gave him an extra thousand dollars, and promised that I would send some work his way if I had the chance. And I did, although I always made sure that the work was away from that area. I didn't want him stopping by to visit when he was in the neighborhood.
Now that the cabin was done, inspected, approved, and ready to move in, it was time to start on my modifications that would be needed to make me self-sufficient.