Non Electric Homestead McMinn County (renting, insurance, transfer)

[Forest Breath]

Yesterday we decided to dig a hole, basically because well, a hole should be dug every once in awhile. Just kidding, we were digging more dirt fot the culverts since the first load had a chance to settle pretty good. Perrin always tries to help out when we do things and he is adorable as well. So I snapped a few pics. We were all taking a break from our hole digging and spotted Perrin up in the woods, learning how to use a shovel.





of course shortly after he had to have a juice break as well!


I love grandkids! When I discovered I was having a grandson, I was a little worries, as I have never raised any of the male species and was worried about how I would connect with them. LOL! I am so glad I have grandsons! They give me balance.

I plan to update as long as I can. We are staking off the home site this evening, moving concrete blocks on Saturday and breaking ground this weekend. I will be posting pics and then post pics of the entire building and moving process. I am so excited!

[Forest Breath]

Today, we decided to haul concrete blocks up to the home site and help lay out the foundation and square it off. I am posting a pic of the actual home site after we got the foundation set "perty square". We spent the majority of our day hauling blocks, getting more blocks, hauling more blocks, taking Dukes Of Hazzard rides up the hill with blocks (because it rained this morning and was very wet, muddy and slippery). We then lucked up and another friend stopped by with a bucket tractor with a backhoe. With his help, we were able to dig the 9 holes for the foundation pillars. We spent a LOT of time, leveling them off, placing the foundation blocks and four concrete blocks in each hole. If you have never done this, it takes a lot of work and time and seeings how it is the foundation of the home, it has to be done correctly.

After doing this, we proceeded to dig the hole for the outhouse. This did not take too long and is basically done now. And then....this man was so kind as to begin digging the root cellar. He is coming back tomorrow to finish that. It started getting late, so we parked the tractor and everyone headed back to their cars and back home. We all plan to meet tomorrow to finish digging the root cellar and making a list of things we will need to buy to concrete in the foundation and square it off completely.

So here is the picture that was taken today of the home site, the foundation pillars laid out and the home basically laid out as well. Looking at this picture is actually looking at the front of the home. The front door will be where the closest pillar is in the center. There will be an 8'x28' porch on the front of the home as well. There will be a 6'x8' porch on the back. We plan to have a slant roof with a gutter leading to a 500 gallon rain barrel for water to use for baths, laundry and washing dishes.

[hiknapster]

Looks great! Your grandson is adorable!

Keep the posts coming, please!

[Grizzlybear34]

Forest breath - Good luck on your adventure. This sounds pretty cool, and pretty daunting. You'll have an experience and memories that will last forever.

[Pam& Bill]

Forest Breath,
Thanks for keeping us updated. I am enjoying this entire story unfold.
Pam

[gemkeeper]

Thanks for including all of the pictures, FB. Although, you are giving us a wonderfully descriptive narrative of this project, it is always great to see it in living color. You know that "one picture is worth 1000 words" saying. How true!!

This is truly fascinating and although I wouldn't choose to live this way again (as my mother did as a youngster), I commend anyone who does choose this way of subsistence living. What a boon for the environment and your financial well-being.

I can't wait to see the movie on the big screen!

[Forest Breath]

Thanks so much everyone. The encouraging words honestly help with motivation! We have had a VERY busy weekend. Of course we got the pillars dug and such as posted above, the outhouse dug and then woke up this morning with another busy day ahead of us.

Every good homestead needs a good root cellar, so today our goal was to get one dug. When finished it will be about 6 feet wide and about 12 feet deep and 6 feet tall. It will be have a concrete or wood floor, that decision has not been made yet. The walls will be concrete blocks and the ceiling wooden beams with metal on top then covered by a mound of dirt.

This root cellar is very important, as it will store the winter supply of food, canning supplies and many root veggies as well as serve as a storm shelter for us. It is in an ideal place on the property and should not take too long to finish now that the digging has been completed.



We put up a lot of No Trespassing signs today along the property and then spent the rest of the day exploring the woods and sitting in the shade enjoying the view.....just watching the Dogwoods bloom by the stream!



We are going to start ordering the wood from the sawmill this week, get gravel delivered for the culverts, buy the concrete for the foundation pillars and hopefully be ready to concrete the pillars and swuare them off perfectly within a week. We are HOPING to start the floor in a few weeks at least. Meanwhile I will be hauling concrete blocks to the root cellar each day we go over to gaze at our future home. I will continue to update here, we are also starting a new website on this entire experience and I will post the link when we get it up and running. This is such an exciting time for us and we feel so blessed that we have been given this chance to live our dream.

[Forest Breath]

Today Chris is loading lumber for the porch and hauling it to the home site. The original plan for the porch was 28’x6’. Jimmy got an unbelievable deal for us from a friend of his and the front porch will be 26’x14’! That is a HUGE front porch! It will be covered and eventually screened in. AND…we got the wood for less than a hundred bucks! We are getting the order together to start the floor. We should be able to start nailing wood within a week or so.

It is so funny, even when there are evenings that nothing really needs to be done over there, we cannot seem to stay away. Even if it is just sitting in a chair under the cedar trees, I want to be there. It feels more like home than any place I have every lived. AND….I am already getting to know the trees on a personal level!

Here is a pic of Jimmy (the man we got the land from) relaxing while Chris and a few others loads our first wood purchase!




edit: The porch has been delivered to the home site...YAY!

[gemkeeper]

Everything looks great, FB. It looks like you are really moving along at a good clip. It must be exciting to see your dream taking shape every day and know that it is a result of your own labors.

I am so glad that you got the extra lumber for your porch. We had a 14'x14' screened in porch in MI that we loved spending evenings on and every single meal from April through Oct. The only regret that we had was that it wasn't about 6' longer. Yours at 26'x14' will be perfect. Lots of sitting area and another eating area. You will live on your porch!

Love the idea of putting in your root cellar. We always had one as I was growing up. In our last house that my folks built themselves, Dad decided a second root cellar was needed for all of the canned venison, rabbit, potatoes and fall apple crop. He built a doorway in the basement just a step above the foundation and dug out the area under our front concrete porch. Some new framing inside, and viola - a second root cellar. Last spring when we sold the house after his passing I cleared away the remainder of some canned goods and a pair of ice skates that I "lost" when I was a kid.

Try to keep the ice skates out of your root cellar! It will so useful for you, and it will smell so good - fruity and soil.

[Forest Breath]

Thanks so much and yes it is so nice to see things move along at a good pace so far. I often sit over under the cedar trees in the shade and I just get overwhelmed at the entire situation. I always dreamed of owning land, especially a place like this, and in my heart I just never thought it would happen for me. I just find it hard to beleive it is mine sometimes.

We ended up getting that porch wood for just 40 bucks today. I was thrilled when I got home and discovered that was the total price for it all. AND...theman that helped haul it has some wood that is perfect for the outhouse. We are getting it tomorrow, not sure how much it will cost yet but it will be a good deal I know. We are filling in around the pillars tomorrow and will turn in my first order for wood. I am getting the air compressor and gas generator by Friday and we can borrow it indefinately. That will certainly help with the building process.

I will just be overcome with joy when I see those first few boards nailed together.

Oh I know we are going to enjoy that root cellar! I plan to do it right from the beginning and make it big enough for our needs. It will be nice to have a storm shelter. We live in a mobile home right now and I have spent way too many ngihts in fear during tornado watches and warnings. There is NO WHERE to go where we live now. I will feel so much better knowing we will have that shelter.

I have been looking at plans for a Spring House and a Smokehouse as well. Those will be two things we hope to get done this year....but we have much more at the top of the priority list right now.