Posts
841
Joined
12/30/2018
Location
Sacramento, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
4/23/2019 8:37pm
With all that's going on here in California (wildfire insurance, solar panel mandate, state policies away from natural gas and towards electrification), I am thinking about a smaller, modular, more efficient structure, as opposed to a gigantic money pit built in 1995.
The upper end of my budget is $450-$500k. I like off-the-grid and efficiency, my wife even said she might be open to a metal home. But she will whiff out any sense of a cheap trailer-type design- not gonna fly.
Blackouts are coming because of new line de-energization (fires), solar with some batteries would be sweet. I see some nice little plots I could maybe even have some fun with. (stuff with creeks, room for trails, food plots).
That is kind of a hodgepodge of wants, but I'm open to any ideas from builder/contractor types who know a helluva lot more than me.
The upper end of my budget is $450-$500k. I like off-the-grid and efficiency, my wife even said she might be open to a metal home. But she will whiff out any sense of a cheap trailer-type design- not gonna fly.
Blackouts are coming because of new line de-energization (fires), solar with some batteries would be sweet. I see some nice little plots I could maybe even have some fun with. (stuff with creeks, room for trails, food plots).
That is kind of a hodgepodge of wants, but I'm open to any ideas from builder/contractor types who know a helluva lot more than me.
Most cite the short building season, less hassle, less money.
There is a lot to be said for not letting a house become your master.
I'm no contractor but watched a few youtube videos on how to pour a slab, frame a house etc.. and did everything myself with a little help from neighbors.
I have been totally off grid for 11 years now and it's so nice to live a simple easy life with no stress, no monthly bills, rules or regulations.
Check these guys out. Should give you an idea.
The Shop
Secondly, how did you get the sign-offs for code? Or are you rural enough that they just let you get on with it? I've never built a new home but I have done a lot of major remodeling (additions with plumbing, electric). I never had a permit and never got hassled but I'm rural and low key about it.
Just asking because I plan on moving when I retire and a major remodel or small new construction is probably what I'm looking at.
I'm far enough out that the authorities don't bother with those of us out here.
I never got permits for anything and won't for any future building. I have real authority issues don't like to be told what i can and can't do by strangers in suits.
I did contract out the building of a 30 x 45 steel building that i don't think i could have handled myself but did all the finish work inside. I used to do residential electric work so wiring everything was easy. Plumbing wasn't too hard just getting the angle right so the water don't run away too fast and leave the poop in the pipe Ha!
4KW in solar panels two 400 watt wind generators some big ass solar storage batteries a well and septic for waste. The only thing i still purchase is propane for hot water and cooking but i keep about a two year supply on hand and refill tanks as they empty. One about every 6 months is the average.
Here's a couple pics form atop the new studio control room under construction. My house to the right recently put a small addition on not quite finished, bike/workshop - recording studio/kitchen center, Moms house to the left.
I could put up a fence but i hate fences and gates.
I had a well drilled in 2009 so good clean water only had to drill 250 ft. I keep a 2500 gal storage tank full for use.
You may not like fences but cattle will eat your house down if you don't keep them fenced. I've seen it.
Arizona is like the polar opposite of CA when it comes to regs, I think.
Got him off google earth.
easiest stick build, is an a frame on a slab.
Most sq footage for the dollar split foyer.
I did the one im in now, full basement stick built and believe me, it's more work than you can imagine.
I laugh at guys when they say, one day, I'm gonna...
There is this one acre lot real close to me. Has an old house that has collapsed into a heap. There is a well, looks like a 10 inch steel pipe. On a paved county road right outside of town.
I agonize maybe once a week on it. It's like it talks to me every time I ride by it. I found the owner, could get it for about 8k. Great views, on a hill, all 4 sides.
But when I add up what a house would cost nowadays to build, even if I do it, it just doesn't make sense.
And now, if you are thinking about selling it in the future it better be to code. The banks and lenders,
who 97% of the people need to buy, all want a home inspection. No meet code, no loan.
The last rehab I did, 2 years ago, was built in 1935.
Solid house. Fucking buyers, every one wanted or needed a home inspection. Every one came up with 20 to 40 k in improvement. One wanted the whole house rewired. No 3 prong plugs or gfi in kitchen and bath. The other wanted a new roof. Both wanted radon. Another said the said the gas furnace was 20 years old and should be replaced.
And every one of them wanted me to pay for it.
Even tho it was listed as is.
Finally it went to a guy that had a good chunk to put down. Said he did not care about home inspection,
understood the house was almost 100 years old, and made a deal with the local bank.
Time I paid to keep the place insured, and the heat on, and taxes up to date, it was at best a wash.
Sorry for the rant guys, just beware, banks and their requirements can kill u if don't play the game to the t anymore.
I keep telling myself I want to build a new old house somewhere out in the Texas Hill Country but at the same time I’m about done with “projects”. Of course that is only until the next one rolls around!
Hats off to you to just maintain.
Remodeling.
Sometimes just getting ready to start building is half the job.
That being said......that little lot up the street......a couple of cargo containers.......maybe a big a frame....something that would light up at night like one of those houses in Builders Digest.......yeah, that would be cool...........
Not sure I could bring myself to sink a whole bunch of time & money into something that could get wiped out again, and these days it seems if there is one flood there is surely to be another one, sometime.
Pit Row
Hope you will love it too.
And flying drones over my house, when I have to get an FAA permit to do so myself? Hell no. If I had property out in the middle of nowhere I'd install an anti-aircraft system that shoots drones out of the sky.
I'm with MotoMojo; I don't like it when "authorities" tell me what to do. I'm all good with obeying traffic laws or anything that regulates public life, but on my own property in the middle of nowhere? I should be able to build, move earth, burn and mine to my heart's content. Anything less is an encroachment on my freedoms.
No offense, but you come across as a very timid individual.
Some people can and do plan to live without having to hit a Starbucks every morning.
Some enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.
There are those that, believe it or not home school their children.
The gentleman has already indicated, he and his neighbors live far enough from any town the police pretty much leave him alone. One would think riding his dirt bike on his property without having to okay it with a green sticker or whatever is a given.
As far as bandwidth, believe it or not, there are those that can and do survive without Facebook.
I'll tell you what is scary to me.
That the masses are becoming very much little more than little children in a way. Many are totally reliant on another man to provide a way to feed, guide, educate and protect his family. Many more seem to find, or look for, self worth in the form of selfies, or the status a mostly useless degree in "higher education" will deliver.
WTF is that?
Yes, it's scary to see so many, so insulated in the, I dunno how to put it, cosmopolitan way of life. That they feel threatened by those that choose to live outside the herd mentality is very disconcerning to more than a few.
Relax, word has it Amazon and their kind will be able, in the near future, deliver everything he needs and wants by drone.
As long as he can pay with plastic.
I would say you are the one needing good luck and a heap of it to boot....
So whats your plan if say the grid goes down for an extended period of time like a month..no groceries , no stove/oven, no fridge,, no working gas pumps,, no charging the smart devices,, no air conditioning or heat, NO TV or Gaming OMG!!!
Meanwhile i will be in the sticks with plenty of everything i need.and won't even notice. Your life will change drastically but mine will not be affected.
From here see Motogradys reply I couldn't have said it better..
Post a reply to: Modular homes, off-grid designs etc.