Anyone Thought of using a souped up carport as a temp. home?

jeffreyfloyd · #1 07/25/13, 10:22 PM

Well I have ... Just started thinking of it actually. I have some land from my family that I'm going to build a yurt on and begin a small farm/orchard. Unfortunately aside from not having to pay for the land our money is pretty tight so its making it pretty tricky to swoop in and break ground. All that needs to take place, perc tests, septic design (hopefully presby) well, permits etc. its daunting. especially when i see so much of our money going out the window at our current rental house.

So we've decided to camp to save money! But I don't think it needs to be too primitive, so I thought about constructing a slightly raised deck and erecting one of those steel framed carports on it. Then build some interior walls, throw in a composting toilet, rig up a shower from filtered pond water and voila! I reckon we could make it for a year or so (longer if needed) but that would be plenty of time to put away the money needed to install a permanent residence, and in the mean time we can begin the task of re-vitalizing the apple trees onsite already, as well as plant more, and get the berry patches established and veggie garden up and running.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with using these carports as tents? Any thoughts or comments are welcome, I cant wait to get started!

Raymond James · #2 07/25/13, 11:32 PM

I would build a small building that you add the house onto. It becomes a wing of the larger house or a enclosed mud porch/room.

The steel roof car port is what when you are done with it? If you are going to the trouble of drywall then just build part of the house.

Another option is a portable building / garden shed that you use for storage or a garden shed when you are done living in it.

Wolf mom · #3 07/25/13, 11:57 PM

If you'd put your location in the upper right, it'd help to give a more specific answer as weather is a major item to consider when giving opinions/advice on building a place to live.

How long do you intend to live in your carport? You may want to consider zoning codes in your area before doing anything.

There's lots of alternatives for not much money that may be more comfortable than what you are thinking of.

bluemoonluck · #4 07/26/13, 07:35 AM

For the price of a carport, deck, drywall, composting toilet, etc you may be able to find a used RV on Craigslist instead. I'd at least look into that option first.

Raymond James · #5 07/26/13, 08:06 AM

bluemoonluck I was just coming back on here to suggest they get an travel trailer to use till they can build.

Regardless of most zoning you should be able to park a travel trailer to live out of . Still have to put in a waste water/septic system. I would install the system as big as needed for the house you plan to have. Plan it so that once the house is built you have a place for the trailer ( use as a spare bedroom).

You can re-sell the travel trailer if you decide you do not need it one the house is built. A travel trailer saves you all kinds of time trying to figure out how to insulate, heat, plumb a temporary plae.

I can pull in and have my travel trailer ready to live in in 10 minutes. That is if the water source, waste water line and power is there to hook up too. You can use the bathroom in the trailer for 3 to 5 days until you can get your waste water/septic put in.

rharper · #6 07/26/13, 08:27 AM

I expect the big question is what you intend to do with the thing after ...

If you intend it to be a permanent part of the homestead, sure ... but if it's just a temp structure, a travel trailer is probably a better bet.

Case in point:

We've got a three-acre family property with nothing on it. It percs and has electric access, but no well site as yet. We have considered moving there to consolidate and secure our finances a bit (we're currently mortgaged on a larger property, but we're really only using a portion of it). We can't maintain this home and a new build, so we've considered building a small garage-type space (probably a First-Day Cottage garage) for temp living space, while we build the main house.

The thing is, our plan (for any place in Virginia, including the one we're in now) it to have a full outdoor kitchen/utility space. Not a shed or garage, and not necessarily an FDA facility, but a plumbed, enclosed, electrified building, separate from the house, for canning, game and livestock processing, and food storage. It's not a necessity, but it keeps the mess (and, in the summer, the heat) out of the kitchen, and allows us to have a smaller kitchen in the main house.

Thus, we have looked into building the outdoor kitchen a bit larger than we might other wise, partitioning it out and adding a bathroom, and using it as a living space while we build.

This is not a "cheap" fix, however--it's an affordable start, which allows us an occupiable footprint on the place while we build, but it's only worthwhile if it's incorporated into the future needs of the homestead.

In our case, this is something of a no-brainer. If we make that move, the "kitchen" build is a good and reasonable start, because it's supporting future plans and intents.

If this building you mention isn't a long-term deal (including the plumbing system--even if it's jerry-rigged), I'd go with the RV. You can buy it, live in it, and sell it when its no longer necessary ... and it's already wired and plumbed, so it's plug-n-play.

Anyhow, just my own thoughts, since I've chewed this bone myself once or twice ...

Jim-mi · #7 07/26/13, 08:38 AM

Do an honest price list of all the "stuff" that you would need to add to the inside of the 'car port'
Might kind of supprise you how much $$$ would be involved.

An RV trailer would solve lots of problems....
Around here I often see "Hunters specials" on Craigslist.........
That would provide an instant roof, bed, etc. etc.

jeffreyfloyd · #8 07/26/13, 10:11 AM

Thanks for the responses already! I just joined this site and I love all the info around. I think the travel trailer idea is a good one, and we have actually thought about it ... we may continue to look into that. My main reason for thinking towards the carport was to have it considered a "tent" and not a permanent structure, ultimately I would end up using it as a storage shed or for its intended purpose - but now that i'm thinking about it and reading responses I think the trailer idea is better ... already insulated, plumbed etc.

We won't immediately have water/septic/elec. but between the pond onsite, and portable water containers we should have plenty of H2O for our needs ... we would like to utilize solar to power some low voltage lighting. Not sure if i can have an electric service set up without an official building / permits etc. we just want to get out there on the land and start saving money and establishing the "farm"

Anyone know in general ( i know things differ state to state) if its OK to live out of a trailer for a while? I can't see why it would be a problem, we would convert to a composting toilet and build a grey water collection system and reuse the grey water for irrigation. I just hope town officials don't give us too much trouble about it. It is visable from the road. But with the intention of this project being to eventually install a proper septic and well, and build a yurt - i don't see how the town could consider us trying to 'get away with something' --- thats just the fear I have . THey are a tough town to deal with and get answers from so I figure i'll just do what i want within reason and if they confront me about it i'll have to deal with it then. But come on, a trailer on some open land for like a year or so? Whats the harm?

Again, thanks for the replies! I love this forum and will be a very regular user. I'll post pics of the property and status reports as they come! Take care everyone!

rambler · #9 07/26/13, 10:21 AM

I think you end up putting a lot of money into a building that won't be used down the road a year or 2. Just seems a bit of a waste to take a cheap building and trying to make it insulated and livable. To end up with a building you store hoes and shovels in....

Then, you said 'town' at the end.... I can't imagine any sort of town allowing a person to occupy a carport........ I don't see tat happening at all. Maybe some poor very rural township and county areas of the south would take 2-3 years before they get around to checking and you would be fine, but if you are in a town visible from the road there will be way too many layers of govt for you to be able to do that.

Living in a RV is something probably not allowed either, but you can get by with it easier for a while, and have an asset you can resell for about what you bought it for when you donT need it.

Now, I don't know what the rules are where you live, but.....

Paul

Alice In TX/MO · #10 07/26/13, 10:29 AM

http://mikestexashunt-fish.com/build...port-o-minium/

Scroll pics to see this one:
http://www.unitedcountry.com/Search0...no=35091-10161

Maura · #11 07/26/13, 11:02 AM

The summer we started building our house we got a large "beer tent". Separate roof and sides. Inside that we put the precioius things for housebuilding, like the radiant system and generator. Also put in a tent which was our bedroom. DH built a two story shed which we moved into in September. I had looked at getting a used travel trailor. To me it was not worth the price and I would have felt claustrophobic. Liked the tent much better. You can put up a large tent with a little elbow room.

Get 5 gallon water water jugs. For bathing, put water into a tub of some sort with black plastic over it so it heats up in the sun. We had one of those things you hang up that the sun heats the water in, then you take a shower. I had a lot of trouble hanging it up when it was full and just heated water on the grill in a pot for bathing.

You can rent a porta potty. They will routinely come out to empty and clean it. No electricity needed. You could also dig a deep hole and put an outhouse over it.

Jim-mi · #12 07/26/13, 02:06 PM

All to often we get posters here on HT that are losing sleep fighting the local Nazi zoning and planning regulations . . the city 'do-gooders' who would / will be against every thing you want to do on a low budget.
From what you have posted here-----is this one of those "town's" that is full of those ultra strict permit Nazi's . . . .????
If so, might you consider selling that property --Before-- you have sunk any money into a place where the Nazi's will fight you (permits $$$)..................And buy a place out where there isn't restrictions . . . ?!?!

Ernie · #13 07/26/13, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluemoonluck

For the price of a carport, deck, drywall, composting toilet, etc you may be able to find a used RV on Craigslist instead. I'd at least look into that option first.

The cautionary tale in that though ...

The OP may want and use a carport for the rest of the life, but shelling out money on an RV that you're only going to use while you build your main house ... may not be money well spent. You might not get that money back out of your RV.

A roofline and 4 heavy duty tarps is a building. I say go for it.

geo in mi · #14 07/26/13, 04:34 PM

You will find zoning, building, septic, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes in nearly every place in the Continental US. Because of that, it is up to you to find them out--and whoever administers them--wherever you intend to live. When it comes to building your permanent home, it is NOT better to ask forgiveness rather than asking for permission. And it's pretty hard to trick the local officials---and if they catch you, they have the power of law on their side, and they will be forever over you like flies on dead fish.........

How do you even know if you can build a yurt?

Usually you'll find it okay to camp on your land, in a bona fide camper--but only for so long, probably under a month......but not okay to live in a camper while you're building a house. Go figure. But if you have a step van work truck(that just happens to have a bed, a window, a propane stove for cooking)...............you could probably use it while you build, on a pay as you go basis, with the permits in place, then add a potty when the septic is done, park it in the garage when that is built--with some outdoor carpeting. You could run it into town for supplies, park it in a different place(maybe even Wal-Mart) for a night or two. And sometimes, when you've worked to dark and were just too, too tired to make the trip home, well............................

If you're friendly and congenial with the locals you can usually fly a little bit under the radar. But belligerent or defiant will just bring them out of their wasp nests.

geo

Gray Wolf · #15 07/26/13, 04:56 PM

I'd srart looking for travel trailers. Post craigslist wanted ad etc.

I would give away our old 19' trailer for free if someone asked to haul it off. A couple of them and you'd have some cheap, enclosed, space to live and store your stuff. You might get a working stove in one and the refrig and furnace in another. Who knows. Your compound wouldn't look all that great but.......

oregon woodsmok · #16 07/26/13, 06:02 PM

Massachusetts in the winter in a carport might not be as much fun as OP hopes it will be.

nc_mtn · #17 07/26/13, 06:46 PM

I'd say by the time you tried to insulate a carport (It gets cold above the Mason-Dixon Line), you'd be cheaper (and easier) to get a building about the same size.Then at least the walls and floor will be done also.

Raymond James · #18 07/26/13, 07:29 PM

Ask questions about waste water/septic before doing anything with it. I understand the science of using grey water but in many states it is waste water . Grey/black all the same.
It can vary by state and vary within the state by county or in your area might vary by township.

The idea that you can just dig a hole and put a out house over it is long over. Some areas you can do it -many you cannot.

A porta potty or a holding tank connected to a travel trailer that is pumped out should be allowed for short term use.

You will get many people on here telling you what they can do in there area but you need to know for your area. Contact your local Health Department and tell them you are thinking about building a home ask about septic systems. It is possible they do not handle this in your area but they will tell you who to talk to.

Your references to town worry me. Are you in the country - out where you have a county or township government or in a town? Towns have building codes/permits/inspections. Some counties /townships have that but usually less.

Nothing wrong with building codes I know many people who build to code but they usually build in an area that do not require building permits and do not have building inspectors. When they build in a city they get there permits and the inspectors barely look at them as they know these guys never cut corners.

Alice In TX/MO · #19 07/26/13, 07:33 PM

Poster above said....You will find zoning, building, septic, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes in nearly every place in the Continental US.

The Ozarks must not be in the continental U.S.

luvrulz · #20 07/26/13, 08:33 PM

If you're in a travel trailer and can tow the thing, why couldn't you take it to the local state park to empty when the waste tank is full? We lived in a 32 foot camper while we were getting all of the details together on our 46 acres. When we put the septic in, we hooked to camper waste right into the septic..... Then when we had the bldg. finished and moved the camper - it was simple matter of switching over. Easy peasy and then you have guest quarters when the bldg. is done!!!

We also had a temporary electric pole installed by the local electric co and we used that for > a year.... cheap.....we were in the camper that long....Kentucky. Not sure what they say there in Mass.