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bgarrett- I have to let you know, Mike bent the wire so there is a temporary drip loop. He is trying to find the "right" kind of tube(?). He has only found blue and we are not wrapping our outside wires in blue. That would look horrendous.
Ara & Spirit- Welcome to CD and I hope you enjoy our story. Look at the used shipping containers they are much cheaper.
Have a good day everyone. I'll post a story tomorrow.
Good Morning everyone. It's time for Chapter 15 of our story.
Sunday-
This morning we got an e-mail from Nicole, Mike's daughter. She finished tiling and grouting her vanity top. She did great.
We started our day by leveling our shipping container. That took some time because we had to jack it up and either dig some dirt out or add some block. We finally got it level. Of course all the cows were there this morning checking it out because we did something "different".
Then Mike decides he wants to move the motorhome on the side where the building used to be. This way we can finish graveling our parking area and finish seeding the rest of the yard. We have to get grass growing before the winter. We knew that Mike had to do some grading in that area because that section of our land is very un level. The motorhome is 40 feet long and we want to make sure we are not too high in the air when we park it there. First Mike had to scrape the existing gravel off that area and then start grading. This took a long, long time because we only have the tractor and it's not really meant for grading. After he was finally finished he put the gravel back on top and then we moved the motorhome over. It was really, really uneven almost like we were going to go flying down the mountain. So, we made some ramps to put under the front tires.
We were still slanted forward so Mike moved the motorhome and we dug out about 1 foot of dirt under the back tires.
We are still way too high.
Mike had to start all over again(this is now many hours later) by moving the motorhome, scraping the gravel away, re grading, and then getting more gravel to put on top. By the time he thought it was good enough it was getting dark. We moved the motorhome over got it as level as we could and called it a night. We are a little high in the front but we are level.
Monday-
We left our front blinds open and we woke up to a beautiful view. We are now looking at the same view we have from the front of the house.
Howard, the cow owner, came by with his brother and a friend. They had to work on some perimeter fencing where some trees fell. While they were out doing that the man from our propane company stopped by to see the house and figure out how to run our lines. They will be back next week to bury our tank and run the lines to the house.
After everyone left Mike almost got us both killed. We had the trailer attached to the 4-wheeler and we loaded it up with the extra metal re bar and concrete boards that the concrete company left behind. We get it all strapped down and we start down our driveway. We are going to store all of this in the barn. We get through the steepest part of the driveway OK and then because the trailer is so heavy it starts pushing the 4-wheeler forward as we are sliding on the gravel. Mike is doing all he can to keep us from losing control when the trailer starts to jack knife. Oh we are in so much trouble now. Finally Mike is able to get us stopped and I get off. Mike tries again with out me on the 4-wheeler with him. He jack knifes as he is headed for the ditch. Not good. The trailer gets stuck on the back tire of the 4-wheeler and Mike is able to stop. We decide to unload all the stuff from the trailer onto the side of our road, sound familiar, because it is just too heavy. We push the 4-wheeler around until it is straight and Mike takes it to the barn while I walk. "That was exciting, let's not do that again".
After our trailer fiasco we hook the trailer to the jeep and go to David's, the farm supply, to get more "stuff". We hung out with David and his family for a couple of hours because 1. they are all really nice and 2. we were in no rush to go back and work. It was a rough weekend. Last week we told them about the great bargain we got on kitchen cabinets and they went to Lowe's on Sunday and got kitchen cabinets for one of their daughters', Leslie. She is thrilled. His wife Terry told us we could stop by anytime at the house and pick fresh vegetables from their garden. I thought that was really nice of her to offer.
We finally went back home to relax. You know after our long day and we heard someone coming up the driveway. It was Howard with his wife, Ivalee, and their son, Eric. And they came bearing gifts. They all got out of the truck with a big basket of fresh vegetables, canned beets, homemade jam, and the largest head of cabbage I have ever seen. Yum, time to make soup. Howard also gave me a big bucket full of green beans that he picked. they also brought us some frozen beef and Ivalee said "don't ask about it". As long as I didn't name it I'm OK.
We had a really nice time with them. Ivalee and I can talk up a storm and while we were doing that Mike and the men went down to get the metal we left on the side of the road. They loaded it into Howard's truck and took it to the barn. Just as they were getting ready to leave we all saw 3 deer on the hill.
Mike got a beautiful picture of the sunset.
Tuesday-
Our propane is scheduled for next week so we have to get another delivery so we can get back to working on the house. Mike placed the order and I tried to track down my gas appliances.
After lunch our delivery arrived with 40 sheets of sheet rock, 10 sheets of waterproof board(for the bathroom), 28 more 2x4's and 3/4" plywood for my counter top. Now we have so much stuff in the house that it all gets in the way when we work.
It's a mess.
Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.
Wednesday-
Today we really need to get back on track. We started out by moving everything inside the house into the office area, the only room that is sheet rocked. Now we have room to work.
First we wired the bathroom.
We completed the last wall in the kitchen.
Then we installed the boxes and wired the kitchen.
We also cut out the correct openings for our doorways into the master bedroom and the bathroom. We still have to add one more 2x4 across the tops.
The last thing we did in the house was start the plumbing in the bathroom. We are using pex tubing instead of copper for the first time. It is much more cost effective and also much easier to work with. There is no cleaning and soldering the pipes and you can run it through the walls.
Now all we have to do is finish the wiring and the plumbing and then we are ready to sheet rock the house. Now that's going to be a job.
Tonight we went back over to Nicole's to help her finish the sink installation, the plumbing, and put her mirror on the wall. We got most of it done but we were short some plumbing parts so we will have to go back Friday to finish.
That's all so far this week. Have a great day and I will write again on Monday.
I am amazed at what all you two have managed to get done. When I made the decision to go totally off the grid and non electric, people thought I had lost my mind and I heard so many times how I'd never make it a week. It is going on 3 months now and I love it.
Although our styles are a lot different on this off the grid thing, I understand the hard work and dedication it takes to accomplish this. We just built a little primitive home with no plumbing or electric. It was stressful at times, but we have no regrets. I think back on the nailing, hauling, carrying, bending, lifting and wonder myself how I did it. After awhlie I started hearing "I could never live like you".
I can honestly say, I don't think I could have even accomplished half of what you guys have done. All of that is way over my head. Heck our little one room house was over my head. LOL I truly amire your dedication and know you both with have many years of happiness in that home together.
Mine is certainly nothing special, but every time me and Chris sit on the front porch and watch the sun set, when we are taking baths on the abck porch after a long hard day of cutting wood, or when we are cuddled in the bed in the dark listening to the owls across the pond....we have no regrets and are very pleased with the decision to live primitive, with no electric.
I know you all will have no regrets in your choice. Your home is beautiful and the view is stunning.
I love reading your story and how things are coming in to place. It will all seem like a dream when you are laying in your bed some night in your home that YOU built the way you wanted it. Thanks for sharing this dream with us.
Thank you so much for such a nice post. What we are both doing is very unique. The one thing we have in common is wanting to get away and have our own special place where we can live in peace and quiet.
You and Chris did a lot of hard work and with no power tools ha,ha. I am impressed. Don't knock yourself. Your place is very special. It was built with love and determination. Enjoy all of your work you deserve it.
Mike and I still have a long way to go as I know you and Chris do also. We all have to get ready for winter and thankfully we are having a great summer.
I think what you both have done is very 'special'! I haven't posted much, but I have been following your progress and am so impressed with what you have accomplished. DH and I are looking for a remote property closer to the Nashville area and you have given me so much to thing about.
Lisa and Mike....i surely enjoy reading and looking at the pictures! My husband and I bought some land outside of Jackson, TN and are looking at building underground! Watching ya'll and reading everything that you write is very helpful for us! This will be our first time building a house, but we love to do remodling work...how much harder could it be! :-) We were originally thinking of going completely underground, but after seeing ya'lls pics and listening to your words, I believe that we have decided to do a three sided "berm"!
You guys are an inspiration and I throughly enjoy every word and picture that I read and see!
I've been following your progress and I'm really impressed. For that reason, I hate to even mention this...are you sure you want that little framing around your doors? The more conventional framing method would be to have a king stud and jack stud on each side with a double 2x6 header (with 1/2" plywood sandwiched between the 2x6s to shim them out to the thickness of the studs). Your present framing might be just fine - especially since the walls aren't load bearing...maybe someone here with experience in this area can comment.
If you wanted to change it, now is the time! It would be simple to do...just put another stud alongside the existing one for a king stud, then your existing stud would become the jack stud.
Lady.Lake- Thank you and good luck with your land search.
jpntd00- Thank you so much. It's not that hard building a house especially if you have the basic knowledge, although it is a lot of work. You also have to make sure you know the building codes in your area and sometimes they can be really strict. We decided to go with a berm instead of a completely underground house because as you'll see in the next few weeks, hopefully, we will have to go through the roof. We will need to do some venting and also add some solar tubes to the back rooms for lighting. If we had a concrete roof it would be nearly impossible. Good luck with your land and happy building.
tennesseedreamin- Thank you for your post. Yes, Mike and I do realize how lucky we are and we are thankful everyday for the life we have.
JoeCartpath- I'll pass your info onto Mike. Thanks for your concern.
JoeCartpath got me to thinking, and my wife will tell you that is not allowed, but I get away with it when she's not looking.
I agree with his assessment for framing around the doors, both inside and out. Part of the reason is adding strength, especially over the open areas, and part of it is for connectivity. Like sheet rock. You need that extra thickness to nail/screw to. You will also find that there is less sound when you open and close the doors.
The same is true at the angled walls for the openings into the back two rooms. You have a stud on the angled wall where it meets the kitchen wall, and it's counterpart on the other side, but you need to add a stud on the kitchen wall. If you don't the sheet rock is going to have that last 6-8" with no support except at top and bottom.
Notice too that the same problem exists where the kitchen wall meets the out side wall. On both sides (kitchen and bed room) there is no stud for the sheet rock to connect to. There is on the kitchen/bedroom wall, but not the outside wall.
Walk the entire structure and picture the sheet rock being put in place. Make sure every end has a stud to connect to.
Wonderful project. I'm going to look into the pex for plumbing for our house. Really good idea. Like everyone else I appreciate the posts. What an amazing thing to do in life.
Last edited by Tek_Freek; 08-16-2008 at 09:50 AM..
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