do we dare????

CowgirlGloria · #41 08/18/08, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewie

another question--we've looked at gambrel roofed types but i wonder if that is less efficient? space wise, and structural soundness? maybe we should go with the standard style roof?

Gambrel roof structures are generally much more expensive to build. Often, it is cheaper to build a taller building with a standard roof than it is to put on a gambrel roof. Since it sounds like you are trying to keep costs down, you may want to price it out both ways.

chewie · #42 08/18/08, 06:20 PM

cowgirl is right! we are currently weighing options--getting a gambrel structure, or instead doing like lilandra said, and doing a larger 'plain' pole structure and blocking off part for our home. some friends of ours did this, and its great. then we'd be done with it all! we'd priced a huge (to us) reg. type and the price was half this small gambrel style. sooo, as a cost issue, this may be the way to go. we'd get what we need (a home) some of our wants (extra space) and the cost would be so that we wouldnt' be in debt til i retire! I'm almost 41 and DO NOT wish to sign up for a mortgage that might last longer than i do! yes, i do plan to last longer than 70, but geesh, that is getting up there! and to carry a mortgage that long, and pay interest that long??!! no way!

we also have alot more knowledge of putting the reg. type together, and have several strong bodies who also would be knowing and helpful. we're trying to not have to put something on the property 'to get by' b/c that does cost, and we'd rather put all our money into our 'real' place.

i thank you all again, we are feeling so much more hopeful and after a year of let downs, its a huge relief! so pole shed, small building, or temp housing, we're doing it!!!!!

Common Tator · #43 08/18/08, 09:10 PM

It seems that you could pick a free or inexpensive mobile home and put it on the property near, but not on the site where you want your future home to be. Get the mobile livable. Move to your homestead. While living in your mobile, you could build your post and beam barn/house on a pay as you go basis. It could take several years, but it is doable.

Once you move into your new house, you still have a fully functional mobile home. You could keep it as a guest cottage, or rent it out for nice income, or have it handy in case your parents or kids need a place to live. It is so nice to have options! In any case, you will be living on your soon-to-be-paid-off acreage, and not mortgaged!

jhambley · #44 08/18/08, 10:02 PM

I'll just share a photo of a small (16' x 28') cabin with a loft that we built on our land.
We have three kids (one leaving for college in a few days) but have had a great time working together to make this a nice cozy home. To make it a bit more fun for the kids I had them help build their own bunk beds and even a crank up (treehouse-like) bucket on a pulley that goes up and down the ships ladder to the loft.

We have a small kitchenette, with an under the counter frig and even a small chest freezer in one corner. We cook using a toaster oven and electric skillet/hot plate. It really is amazing how much you can fit into a small space if you get a little creative.

My personal take on a pole barn is that it won't be as energy efficient and the bank (or any other lending authority) will never value it at even the value of a traditionally framed garage. If you can do most of the work yourself, building a traditional cabin won't cost much more than the pole barn and you'll have something that has real value once it's completed.

My suggestion is to find a plan online, take it to a lumber yard and have them do a take off bid on the materials. Read all you can about building a house and visit some local building sites to see how the professionals framed the doors and windows. It really isn't that difficult.

Good luck with your adventure!!!!

do we dare???? - Homesteading Questions

dancingfatcat · #45 08/18/08, 10:34 PM

jhambley, love your place. I would love to see the inside and a layout of the plans. Really nice job and good for you for getting the kids involved. What did it cost to build?

Common Tator · #46 08/19/08, 12:32 AM

Cute house!

tomstractormag · #47 08/19/08, 02:01 AM

When I built a 12X40 addition (1.5 stories, the 2nd has 6ft walls) I had to make the bottom a pole type construction. This because by adding on to the exsisting building that had a slab floor it would have required busting up the slab where they connect and adding a footer. So I made the bottom a pole barn overlapping the old part. The posts are 4ft underground with a 9ft inside ceiling. The top or 2nd story is framed 16in on center just like a typical house. This is just fine with the building inspector. I have not concreted the floor in the new (2001) part, but may do so in the future. It is storage now and I use the older part that has a great floor as my shop.
Anyway the second story is divided in half. One side is storage and the other half is insulated (all 2x6 walls) and contains my office and an area that I use for small parts storage, my lathe and mill and even some food (dry) storage and where I keep my grinder for grinding grain.
Add a bathroom and it would make a very comfy living area.
Tom

jhambley · #48 08/19/08, 08:55 AM

Here are a few photos from a few month ago. We were still working on paint and trim at the time. I also attached a floor plan.

We purchased the cabin plans from: http://www.robinsonplans.com/craftsman/WW/Default.htm

We added three feet to the back of the cabin to make make the bedroom and bath a bit larger. In addition, I added a 4 foot tall stem wall to the second floor to give a 9' ceiling in the loft.

We were able to save quite a bit of money shopping the Lowe's return racks. For example, I was able to purchase all the windows and skylights for the cabin (and many more for our future home) for very little money as they were custom orders that were returned. These are wood and metal clad Pella windows with low-e glass and argon filled.

We've spent about 35K on the entire project so far including the grading.

do we dare???? - Homesteading Questions

Cara · #49 08/19/08, 09:12 AM

Oh what a DORK i am!! Sorry about that....it's $60,000 and that doesn't sound NEARLY as good! Is there a dumby smiley? How about this one

Thanks for the heads up.:baby04:

chewie · #50 08/19/08, 11:48 AM

wow, that is a great place, thanks for those pix! we are still weighing options, wish we'd of just did this a year ago! i have also thought of doing a small cabin, or the mobile while building the small cabin, then use th mobile for my studio, or even let the girls have it as their own place. the price is right too! i will spend some time looking over the link you posted too.

do you live here full time?

i also worry that a pole barn wouldn't be efficient in the long run. and altho i do not plan to move from there anytime soon (once we actually get moved TO it!) i do want to set up a nice resale value. the small cabin would probably be a snap to sell, whereas i am not so certain of the pole barn situation.

i am really thankful again, i need any advice you have to offer, and we are reading and re-reading the whole thread. DH doesn't always pay much mind to boards like this, but he's really reading this one!

jhambley · #51 08/19/08, 12:39 PM

Quote:

do you live here full time?

Yes we just started living here full time this summer.

Quote:

i also worry that a pole barn wouldn't be efficient in the long run.

We framed our cabin using 2x6 and blew in cellulose insulation. You can see that in the following photo. This little cabin is super efficient. We also orientated the cabin so that the prevailing winds easily blow through the 16' dimension much like being on a screened in porch.

do we dare???? - Homesteading Questions

jhambley · #52 08/19/08, 12:44 PM

Forgot to mention...here's another good site for DYI builders. They have plans for sale and the forum is very active. You'll see how many first timers have taken the plunge!

http://www.countryplans.com

Lilandra · #53 08/19/08, 05:01 PM

what about those katrina cottages? katrina cottages?l
do we dare???? - Homesteading Questions

chewie · #54 08/19/08, 05:09 PM

i think we'll have to build it ourselves, but i really have liked those plans! have poured over them more than i want to admit!

we have found a smaller old house to be moved. anyone ever do this?? its tiny, but does have enough rooms for us and building on later would be an option. i just worry that there'd be hidden money-pit issues that we'd wind up paying for more for less house in the long run. may have someone more knowledgable in this stuff look at it, the price to move, set up and start living in would be around 20,000. this is appealing cuz we could do it fairly fast, and make it look very rustic/cabin, it'd be soooo cute! or, would it be better to spend that money and make a new but smaller still, cabin?

what an odd position to be in, we do have some options, but very few. they are all fairly different, and sooo hard to know what is best for us!! if this stupid govt loan woulda told us the truth in the spring, we would've had the summer to work it out, now we'd really like to be out of here, and are just starting! we will have to pay for heat here soon enouhg and this house is a drafty thing, but i really dont' feel like fixing it only to leave! ugh!! how did i get here??!!

Common Tator · #55 08/19/08, 07:09 PM

Chewie, for your permanent home you might consider the Katrina Cottages from Lowe's. They have a lot of very cute historic looking cottages where they sell the blueprints and all of the construction materials and I think they throw in the blueprints for free if you buy the materials from them. Here is a link. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...naCottage.html

These were designed to be low cost housing, but if you build it yourselves, you choose the materials and make it as low cost, or medium or more cost as you want.

You might want to browse through the floor plans when you have a little time, there are plenty of them!

New construction has a big problem now in that thieves scope out where the new construction is and they steal to their harts content while you are away. I mention this because if you do buy some kind of house kit, you really want to be living on site once the lumber, etc arrive. Having someone there is the best deterrent to thieves.

Common Tator · #56 08/19/08, 07:13 PM

Whoa! I just read your last post, where you found a house to move. I would have it looked at by someone who knows houses, and if they give you the OK, go for it! That sounds great! And it could be a permanent home if you want! I especially like that you will be in your home quickly.

jhambley · #57 08/19/08, 08:40 PM

Concerning theft...I would definitely recommend you purchase an insurance policy called "builder's risk". It is inexpensive and covers theft and other accidents that may occurring during the building process. VERY IMPORTANT....you must purchase your builder's risk policy before you start doing any work. If you start building you won't be able to purchase a builders risk policy.

chewie · #58 08/20/08, 07:25 AM

jhambley--woulda never thought of that, thank you!

rose--thanks for sharing your experiences!

i was ready to go, but now hubby isnt' sure he wants the house. its old, and i doubt its even a full 500sf. he's afraid the age of the house will be a problem, like thinking the plumbing will cost $, then having it wind up costing $$$$ to get it going well. hidden costs can really add up in an older home. i was ready for the downsize, the less expense of heating/cooling etc. less cleaning!! and its a very charming house with that old woodwork, felt like a homey place even sitting on blocks!

he's looking into a huge building that was built a couple years ago, and has been sold to a dentist who doesn't want it, only the lot to rebuild new offices. he looked at it last night and said there'd be enough materials there to build a pole barn structure/house and then some.

so we are still in a state of confusion. i feel worn out already, and we've not even started. at least my DH and i are on the 'same page', i have heard horror stories about couples having awful fights, i sure wouldn't handle that at this point!

fordy · #59 08/20/08, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewie

ok, for the last year we've tried to buy a modular house with the help of rural development (govt loan program) which has only helped drive us over the edge. they are impossible and so very slow, that here we are, one year older with no house, and now they say we must wait another 4 months to continue with 'the program' b/c for now, they are out of money. this very small house, on a basement, that we've been trying so hard to get is still going to put us into a big debt, for 30 yrs.

that scares me, and i am not sure its right for us. many of the things rural delv. insists on are things that we could do as we could pay for it, but they must have it picture perfect from day one, which means we have to hire ppl for things we could do ourselves down the road. and many things aren't in the style i'd like either (rustic) b/c its a one-size-fits-all house.

we have 2 daughters, 13 and 11. as i've told before, we are only a few months off of having our 16 acres paid for. it has a nice big barn (not really livable for us, but we need it for animals anyhow and could use some of it for storage) and the area for the house is ready for building...been cleared, etc.

do we dare build a pole barn, outfit it with a bathroom and kitchen area, and live in it as we go??? i know others have said something to me to this effect, but please oh please, i need to hear we ain't nuts! my oldest is already calling me crazy and i know she ain't thrilled.

if we live where we are, we have a decent house, free rent and free animal feed. but not for long, its for sale and i am feeling terrible, like we are freeloading. the owners have rented out some of the pastures too, and the yahoos that show up are not my favorite ppl. (pooping in my milking barn!

) and, living here we have no time to work on our own place since to live here, we do work it off. some of you may remember that there is also a good paying (short term) job a mile from our land, which would be a a boost for us too. so we can either stay here and not get very far due to lack of time or go off the deep end, live in a pole barn of our own!

i know some of you have done similar, i am begging for input!!

yes, begging!
would i be putting our kids in danger of being removed? how can i find out what child services will let us get away with, without showing our hand, so to speak?? is this going to harm them mentally?? if it werent' for them, i'd done this LAST year. i am sure it will not be fun the whole time, but i am fully ready to tackle it, but the kids?? is is bad parenting to raise them in a pole shed??? i can already hear the neighbors and family (my parents will absolutely freak!!!) taking pity on us, and being dubbed 'that weird family'! but i can also see where we could have a really cool home with very little mortgage! or would this be the start of us being homeless???

................Whatever you DO , Don't , pledge ALL 16 acres as collateral for your loan . Wait till it's paid for then carve out 1 acre and leave the rest UNencumbered . Good luck , fordy

chewie · #60 08/20/08, 12:47 PM

oh my, DH just called from work--the fella with the big building took the offer! its a huge building, only 3 yrs old with heaters, insulation (that is just laying, not 'installed') wiring, outlets, everything needed to get this structure framed, and ready for prettying up with whatever wall cover, flooring etc. we'd like. he and a friend (who was the one originally insterestd in this building but called us knowing our troubles!) went to see it last night. hubby is certainly he'd need only about 1/4 of this building to make us a fair sized home! our friend and we will split it halfsies. it was an exercise operation, like a curves. the owner wound up going to jail and the building was closed/for sale. new dentist in town wants to build his own offices (hubby can't figure why not just wokr with this, its brand new stuff?!) but too bad, we got our half for less than $3000!!!! lumber galore, posts, beams, etc. i am happy but yet it won't seem real til i'm rolling up insulation!! he just can't hardly contain himself!

maybe some think its flakey, but i do think all things happen for a reason--and if not getting our original loan/house, and yet being put off one year winds up with this ending, oh yes, it will be worth it!!! this situation, if we have planned right, will be almost 9x less than the original govt. loan house!!!!!!! we'd have about a year of mortgage, if even that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we have help tearing it down, (taking it down, can't tear anything!) and now we're all the closer to our land being paid in full too. and we won't have to put one inch of it up for collateral either! thanks fordy for pointing out that situation. i seldom go to town, but we are going in on friday, DH's day off, and he's going to show me then. he just is like a kid in the candy shop, he can't wait to start, and i am guessing it will be extremely soon--tonight!!? here we go folks, thanks again for the help, we've looked at those links each has posted, gave us ideas for our own. i'm sure we'll reference some of them later too. some of the fellas at DH work are whining they'd like to do something like this too--no mortgage, but gee, 'how'd you get your wife to agree?' hahahah, he laughs at them, you dont' know my wife!!!!

it'll be a post and beam home, partially into the hillside. i'll get my big studio, too, which i cannot hardly even dream about, it doesnt' seem real yet. it will be alot of work for all of us, but the price is right! it has some plumbing, heaters, lights, fixtures, bathroom fixtures and sinks, and all less than 3 years old!!! plywood, 2x4's, too.

sorry this got so long, i know i am starting to ramble, but wow!!!!