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The Systems Binder

One binder (or one folder) that holds everything about your place. When something fails at 2 a.m., or when you sell, or when someone else has to run the house for a week, this is what they reach for. Fill in what applies; add a tab per system.

Tab 1: The property

  • Deed, survey, plat map, parcel ID, and a marked-up map of where everything is buried or routed
  • Easements, rights-of-way, road maintenance agreement, plow contact
  • Every permit: zoning, building, septic, well, electrical, stove, with dates and inspector names
  • Tax bills, Current Use or conservation paperwork, insurance policy and agent
  • The county's verdict card and your "questions to ask the county" sheet with who answered

Tab 2: Power

  • One-line diagram of the system: panels, controller, battery, inverter, generator, transfer switch, with wire gauges and fuse sizes labeled
  • Manuals for every component; firmware or app login notes
  • Battery: chemistry, capacity, install date, BMS settings, the voltage/state-of-charge table
  • Generator: model, oil type and capacity, plug and filter numbers, service log (hours, dates)
  • Settings that took you a week to get right (charge voltages, low-voltage cutoff, generator auto-start)
  • Spares on hand list, and where they are

Tab 3: Water

  • Well log: depth, static level, yield, pump depth and model, date drilled, driller contact
  • Or: spring/rain/haul system diagram, tank sizes, treatment chain
  • Pump model, pressure switch setting, pressure tank size and air charge
  • Shutoff locations: a map, and a photo of each valve
  • Water test results by date; filter change log; freeze-protection procedure

Tab 4: Wastewater

  • Septic permit and as-built drawing: tank location, size, field layout, cleanout locations
  • Pump-out log (date, company); what goes in and what never does
  • Composting toilet: model, medium, emptying routine, fan and vent notes
  • Greywater system layout and any maintenance

Tab 5: Heat and fuel

  • Stove model, clearances as installed, gasket size, firebrick size, flue diameter, chimney brush size
  • Chimney sweep log and inspection notes
  • Propane: tank size and owner, supplier, account, regulator install date, last leak test
  • Firewood: cords per winter used, supplier or cutting area, where this year's and next year's are stacked
  • CO and smoke alarm locations and battery dates

Tab 6: Building

  • Plans or sketches; foundation details; insulation R-values and where the vapor barrier is
  • Roof: material, pitch, install date; snow load notes; where ice dams form
  • Paint colors, stain, fastener types, and the supplier for anything custom
  • Known quirks: the door that sticks in August, the circuit that trips with the microwave and the pump

Tab 7: Emergency

  • How to shut everything off: power, water, propane, in order, with photos
  • Nearest hospital, fire, and urgent care with drive times; how to describe the location to dispatch (many rural addresses do not map)
  • Neighbors who have a key and know the systems; vet; well and septic contractors; electrician
  • Where the first-aid kit, fire extinguishers, and the go-bag live
  • The "if you are reading this and I am not here" page: a plain-language walk-through of running the house for a week

Tab 8: Money

  • What every system cost, when, from whom; warranties and serial numbers
  • Yearly operating costs: fuel, propane, maintenance, replacements; what you learned about the real number
  • Replacement timelines and budget: batteries, pump, stove, roof

From liveoffthegrid.com. Keep a paper copy in the house and a scanned copy off-site. The binder is worth more than the gear the day you need it.