need some ideas

[homesteadingnky]

We will be moving to the farm very soon and must decide on a plan. We will have limited funds to do all that need to be done. Our intention is to build a 16x28 cabin on runners to live in temporarily.

We are considering a composting toliet for the cabin. We don't know anything about them though. Can someone who has one fill us in on the details and weather or not it's a good idea?

Also, we're condidering a small solar set up for lights and lap tops and either gas/on-demand hot water heater for our hot water.

Anybody with any good money saving ideas? I'd really appreciate it. We are figuring on a gas cook stove, a wood heat stove, and are still in limbo on the frig.

We want to save all we can to put into the main house after we are in the cabin. We can build and move into a movable cabin without all of the headaches and time lag that come with the permits and then we can build our house (debt-free) as we go. WE HOPE!

Homesteading Dad

[LeatherneckPA]

WAY TO GO!! A doer, rather than a wisher! (My father used to say, "Crap in one hand and wish in the other. See which one fills up first.")

The most recent edition of The Humanure Handbook can actually be downloaded here (http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure_contents.html) for FREE. And you know it's legal because it's the website of the author/publisher. The book includes plans for building both an attractive box to hide the "toilet" and the double sided compost bins used to process the manure into rich, safe compost. If nothing else, download it and read it.

As for "temporary housing" consider this (http://www.grandoakstimberframing.com/timber_frame_store.html). I'll grant you it's not especially movable (although it could be built on skids) but BOY is it sturdy. I'm considering either the Timberline or Timberline II for my wife and I to retire into.

If you are intent upon this first home being mobile I would go with a propane fridge.

[bee_pipes]

I haven't looked into this - may not be practical, but with gas prices going up, you might be able to find a travel trailer or winnebago at bargain basement prices. People have to get rid of them. Just a thought.

Regards,
Pat

[homesteadingnky]

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out. We have looked out several campers/travel trailors. The cabin we are considering building will be twice as wide and give our girls more room this winter when they can't get outside as much. And we believe that we can build it for the same money that we can buy a camper that's in any shape at all.
Thanks for the idea though!

[Funkhouser]

The composting toilet is a fabulous idea. A practical way to circumvent the cost and regulatory hassle of digging for and install a septic system. Plus a high-grade soil amendment for next year's garden! ;)

[Cil]

If you have the Preparedness issue, if I remember correctly, towards the end of the pantry article, there is an ad for a composting toilet.

[bookwormom]

we have the Jenkins compost toilet. way to go, we love it .

[mom]

My husband owned 2 Sunmar XL composting toilets when he built his house inthe mountains. (one at a time) *The first one broke. and was replaced with the second one - the handle broke off - too much of a load for it. And he spent a lot of time shoveling manure of it and dumping it in the woods. *If you have 2 adults it "might work" but for 2 adults and 3 teenagers it filled up in a week - not a chance on earth of it working like it was supposed to. *He swears if he ever had to do it again it would just be an outhouse.

[EarthMother]

I read somewhere, maybe here, about someone using 5 gal. buckets under a toilet seat made for bedside use of bed ridden folks. I've seen them for sale at consignment and thrift stores. You throw in a handful of sawdust after each use. Then all you have to do is dump the bucket when fullish. That's all I remeber about the article. Hope this is of some use.I think a shower chair for invalids would work too.

[CarolAnn]

The good things you may be able to get out of an older camper trailer might be a gas refridgerator & stove - small to fit the small cabin you are planning. You may also be able to heat some water on top of the wood stove - I did it for years, and you can get a 10-gallon stainless steel stock pot for 10 bucks at the dollar store. They're too thin for cooking much, but fine to heat water in and stainless steel will not react with the water.

I had neighbors who lived in a very small cabin for several years while he built their nice log home - and one thing I especially admired was the way they planned storage everywhere. The bed was built very high off the floor with lots of storage under it.

They were fortunate to find a gas powered Maytag wringer washer, but they did NOT use it in the house - it has an exhaust just like a motorcycle! They built a very nice summer kitchen/wash house gazebo away from their main dwelling. It also had a gas cook top & storage for canning jars - just the thing for canning on hot autumn days!

Be careful if you consider a wood burning hot water heater. (I know you mentioned point-of use gas, but they are mighty expensive to buy.)

I purchased a wood burning water heater made in Mexico - and not made for US water pressure. It burst a seam first time we hooked it up & it never did get used, as it was so poorly made that it couldn't be fixed.

You might also want to situate your cabin in a place that will be nice for a workshop after your house is built - making dual use of everything is one way to save $$!

[flatwater]

Boy can't add much to all the good ideas. There is one thing that wasn't mentioned though and thats your mental condition. Living in a small structure for a while takes some good communication skills between your wife and you. You both want to be equal in your love of this type of lifestyle. don't go to bed mad and once somebody goofs up let it pass , learn from it , then forget it and don't bring it up again. Remember it's not a contest.
Flatwater

[EarthMother]

I don't have a clue how much you are spending on your cabin. My dh, myself and 6 kids lived in a nice but used 3 bedroom double wide (28x40 ?) we got from a dealer. He had gotten it as a trade in. It cost us $19,000 set up on our land. We did have to put in a well, electric and septic which was an added expense. We bought a 12X60 mobile home from a mobile home mover who transported and set it up for $1100. It will become a barn/storage. My point being if you are open to manufactured housing for temp. use there are some real bargains if you check out dealer trade ins and mobile home movers.

[bookwormom]

Has anyone checked out the Kitchen Queen stove? It does triple duty, ,heating, cooking, and hot water. Ours heats 17 gallons.

[flatwater]

bookwormom , do you have a link so I can check it out.
flatwater

[LeatherneckPA]

flatwater, this is the link to the Kitchen Queen (http://www.kitchenqueenstoves.com/kitchenqueenstoves/index.html) website.

[pcrowder]

Leather - Thank a bunch! It's a NEAT stove!!

[flatwater]

Yes thank you leatherneck , I like it but more important is my wife likes it. I may have to work another year to get it but it looks like it would be worth it.
Flatwater

[Vidman]

If your land has trees, I would visit Logmaster.com and get info about their LM-1 sawmill. I used one for a couple of years commersially and cut over 500,000 Boardfeet of lumber with it before buying a large hydraulic sawmill from them to work fulltime. The LM-1 is a TOUGH machine. After I used my to death I put it up for sale for $2200 and sold it in less than 10 days. I paid 5k for it a couple of years back. I think they cost about 6k today if you make the road trip to come get it. It is on a trailor and can be pulled behind most vehicles. My suburban pulled it without ANY problem. I knwo a guy who pulled his behind a Camry. Anyway. If you have your own wood, then you can have all the lumber you need for free...'cept for the blades and gas for the mill. No mortgage. The way to go!

[bee_pipes]

...It is on a trailor and can be pulled behind most vehicles... ...have your own wood, then you can have all the lumber you need for free...'cept for the blades and gas for the mill...


There are a lot of portable mills out there - many manufacturers. I've got a Norwood myself. Pulled it from Milwaukee to Tennessee with a 4 cylinder Honda.

There are also a few threads here about them and an article in the magazine.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=han-building-tools;action=display;num=1158697909
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=han-building-tools;action=display;num=1166656714
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=han-building-tools;action=display;num=1153234274
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/barden104.html

User DM is an excellent resource for milling - he's been at it a while and is a good guy to go to with questions.

Forestry Forum is a good place to read and learn:
http://www.forestryforum.com/board/

There is also a good book out there on building with green lumber - can't recall the title, but have a copy of it here somewhere...

Regards,
Pat

[Padre]

The idea of an old rv is worth considering.I picked up an old Winnie for $650 eight years ago.The roof had caved in from snow load and was in really bad shape but.From it I have a propane refrigerator,4kw generator,sinks and faucets electrical switches and outlets,loads of 12v. lights cabinet doors,propane cook stove,water heater, air conditioner. My small cabin is pretty much all salvage from this.Must admit I still have it and it is an eyesore but I seem to find things on it to use all the time. Some of the windows are going into my new hen house when I get it built. And evetually the bare frame is going to make a great trailer. All for less than half the cost of just that very same propane fridge.

[bookwormom]

hmmm, some folks we knew long time ago built a basement into a hillside and lived in it until they could build a house on top. If you lay the block yourself... I don't know how old your kids are and if your wife would mix the mortar. around here it would cost around 500 for the excavation, maybe six. But pouring the floor would be expensive as concrete is high. we just paid $1.18 for a block. there is also the option of drystacking block, I have a book about building an underground house using drystack method and covering the walls with a kind of mortar that contains fibers.

[Drawbar]

I saw a guy the other day who built a rather decent looking RV out of one of those Bred Trucks. A Fed Ex truck or UPS truck could be similarly reconfigured. It did not look bad either.

Another idea is one I did. I started with a 2 car garage...24 x 24. I framed it up and was inside it for 7 grand. Granted that is small,but...

I have since added on, but that is the point...START small then work up to bigger things. This nation got where it got by people wanting to be big now.

[MYellowRose]

I know a man in central TN who lived, in '01, in a cab over camper for a pickup truck that he had added a room onto at the rear and a porch onto the back of that room. He also closed in the space under the cab over portion and used that for storage. His wood stove is in the addition and on the side opposite the porch he has a place that he covers with plastic in early spring and sews his seeds for his garden. The plastic is stretched from the wood surrounding this area to the top of the room and nailed down under thin wood strips. He also covers both ends making a mini-greenhouse. Oh yes, the commode is on the back proch, kinda rough in the wintertime!! B-R-R-R!!

[flatwater]

When building , think about what you can get by with for a short time. I would build a big kitchen bathroom set up first and then add on to it later with what you want. I would start with it being tall (at least 12 feet) and about 15 feet wide X 15 long. This would give you four directions to add on to later.
Flatwater