new tiny house in the mountains....

[Ryan24]

You are making some great progress..what a project!

 

[Wild_E]

<p>Another video from tinyhouses.com thru wilderness return<br>Don't think I had seen this one.<br>This video is inspiring to me, Jay says he had no building experience and was a grocery clerk. He has made a business of building small houses for other people now.&nbsp; Hmmm? Blkjak, want to go into business, I can market and decorate. Good at painting and stining too.</p><br><a href="http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-jay-shafer-20910192" target="_blank">http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-jay-shafer-20910192</a><br><br>

<div><br></div><div>I think your onto something and with the Weather down below, and the economy, people can afford places in this price range. There is a video there of a Woman who started her own company as well doing just this, so why not you?</div>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>I think your onto something and with the Weather down below, and the economy, people can afford places in this price range. There is a video there of a Woman who started her own company as well doing just this, so why not you?</FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV><DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>&nbsp; </FONT><FONT color=#000000>I get a little building and repairing experience under my belt and I think I'm all that and a bag of chips!&nbsp; <IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif">&nbsp; I will look for the video of the woman builder though.</FONT></DIV><DIV><b><FONT color=#ff00ff>Dragonfly</FONT></b></DIV>

 

[djpandemic]

I have been working on the house the last few days. Insulation is in...wood stove is in....propane heater is purchased and ready to be plumbed. I am laying on a borrowed futon, listening to the wind howl and staring at my little inside/outside digital thermometer....64.4 inside.......22.4 out. Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Wood stove is working like a champ.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[djpandemic]

I have been working on the house the last few days. Insulation is in...wood stove is in....propane heater is purchased and ready to be plumbed. I am laying on a borrowed futon, listening to the wind howl and staring at my little inside/outside digital thermometer....64.4 inside.......22.4 out. Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Wood stove is working like a champ.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

@dj&nbsp; More pics of your little house please. I left a comment on your blog.<br><FONT color=#ff00ff><b>Dragonfly</b></FONT><br>

 

[Seraphim]

I'm glad things are falling into place for you. Dress warm!

You left Cincy just in time. It was a mess here yesterday morning. No one expected the icy roads.

 

[djpandemic]

soooo...It has been a long time since I have posted but I thought I would share what has been going on. I have been in the house full time for a couple of years now..including last winter which was brutal. The house is now fully self contained and off grid. My power comes from 4 solar panels mounted on the roof which supply electricity to my 12v fridge, numerous 12v L.E.D lights throughout the house, a 12v ceiling fan, water pump, 24" TV/DVD, and a small hood over the range. My batteries never drop below 85% full and even with a few dark, dark days in a row, my electrical system worked flawlessly.
I built a small addition on the end of the house (4x8) which now houses my water cistern, composting toilet, and my camping gear and tools. It also gives me some more roof area for the rain collection system that I'll outline below.
Until recently I had been lugging water from the well to fill my 100 gallon tank which is plumbed into the house and hooked up to an ecco-temp demand hot water heater. In the last few weeks I have put up gutters, a 1st flush diverter (roof washer) and plumbed that into the tank. Last night was the first real test. 1.24" of rain provided a full cistern and about 20 gallons in the overflow tank for the garden. The system looks like it will be a set and forget which I love.....I hated lugging water. I still will have to buy water to drink and cook with due to the shingles but my shower and sink will be hooked up for hot and cold water. This summer I plan to put Galvalume roofing up and I should be able to drink the water after it gets filtered....maybe with a Berkeley Filter. If you have not seen the ecoco-temp outdoor shower it is worth checking out. It works a lot better than my Zodi ever did and it's plumbed in so I just have to turn a faucet on to get hot water.....neat!
The little wood stove worked good all winter except for the last real cold days. I think I have a bit of creosote build up so I need to clean the stovepipe. This winter, with the outside temp dipping into the negative #'s my little house was in the 70's with a roaring fire......Awesome!
There is still a bunch to do. I am going to re-wire all of the electricals in conduit, adding some more lights and some 12v sockets. The outside of the house needs to be resided and I need to put a new roof on. Hopefully I can do these projects before the fall.
Well that is all here.....I have been neglecting the blog but I took photo's of all the aforementioned projects and will update it soon..

 

[offroad]

This is a really good discussion. Glad you are able to share. Do you associate with the small homes meetup group in the area?

 

[djpandemic]

Howdy Offroad..
I have not been too active in the local groups. I mean to but I always seem to be doing something else....like working on the house! I have been keeping a construction journal and I plan to compile it into a book about living small and off grid. It would be neat to share and hopefully save folks some of the mistakes that I made. I iwll try to add some photo's here soon.

 

[djpandemic]

This is the first flush diverter that I made for my water system. The downspout from the gutter system goes into a T fitting with a cylinder beneath it that holds about 3 gallons of water. there is a rubber ball inside the vertical cylinder that floats up as it fills, finally capping the the top and allowing water to make it's way into my reservoir. this system effectively washes the roof of grit, nasties, bug poo etc. There is a seep hole at the bottom that allows the fist flush of water to escape re-setting the system for the next rain fall. There is also a clean out at the bottom to maintain it. I am still using asphalt shingles but when I get a new metal roof this summer I should be able to drink the water (after purification). For now I use it to wash dishes, shower, and water the garden.