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Has anyone moved to one of the few remaining areas in the country with no building codes, specifically to go off grid and build an alternative style home. Earthships, cabin, domes, earthbag, straw bale, earthbermed , underground, etc? I am talking a total from ground up off grid build, not adding a few grid tied roof top solar panels to a suburban home. Has anyone on here done this? What did you build and where? How far out are you willing to go to avoid restrictive building codes? Just trying to "find the others"
I have been into the alternative building scene for a few years and specifically bought a piece of land with no building codes for this very purpose. Here is a picture of a geodesic dome green house I built in Alaska. I plan to build more, connect them and cover them with a material suitable for human habitation and live in them, while attempting to grow plants inside biodome style. Any suggestions are appreciated
In the late 1970's my wife and I lived in a tipi for two years in Northern Idaho until the bears became a problem. I then built a one room cabin with a loft for sleeping. Had two kids and left after five years (1981) because of the economy. Sold the property and cabin ten years later. Probably would still be there if I had been retired at the time with a steady income.
Has anyone moved to one of the few remaining areas in the country with no building codes, specifically to go off grid and build an alternative style home. Earthships, cabin, domes, earthbag, straw bale, earthbermed , underground, etc?
Where I migrated there are building codes, kind of.
Some towns set a higher mil-rate, so they can afford to hire inspectors. Some of those inspectors were hired in the 80s, so presumably they are familiar with 1980s era code. Other inspectors might have been hired in the 1990s, and that defines what level of code-ness they try to enforce.
The majority of towns in this state do not have any inspectors. We refuse to pay much in taxes.
But there are a few cities here with crazy high taxes, and obviously lots of inspectors and 'services'. Since most of the population of this state lives in one of the densely populated cities, the over-all theme they project is that we all have high taxes and we are micro-managed. Even though well over 90% of the state is the opposite.
Most of this town does not have access to the power grid. We have one paved road, some of that road has power lines, but some of our road does not.
There are a few homes here with no grid connection. Some were built before rural-electrification, some were built after.
My house is on-grid. Our grid goes down frequently. The grid here was down for 4 days during Christmas and for 3 days last week. We rarely go a month without the grid going down at least once. Normally we expect to be power outages here 3 or 4 times every month.
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... I am talking a total from ground up off grid build, not adding a few grid tied roof top solar panels to a suburban home. Has anyone on here done this? What did you build and where? How far out are you willing to go to avoid restrictive building codes?
We purchased a steel building kit. 40' by 60' it rather looked like an airplane hanger at first. It provides lots of room.
We are located about 7 miles from I-95, geographically in the Southern half of Maine.
The easiest way around this is to buy (or I guess build if that's your preference) a 'tiny house' on wheels. Because it is mobile there are no code restrictions, given that it technically qualifies to be on a road for a while to transport it. Then you don't need to be able to afford land, or do all the searching to find remote places that don't have codes. But the codes are there for a reason, don't move to a place with natural disasters (most of the US) or your house and possibly your body too won't be there for very long!
Another possibility is learning to sail and parking a boat out in the middle of the ocean on which to live completely off-grid. But there again, natural disasters abound so one has to be really knowledgeable, skilled, and well prepared to avoid calamity. You can build anything you want on a boat in international waters, as long as you stay out of the way of shipping routes and heavily trafficked areas.
Many people are finding ways to make poured concrete, and shipping containers, into decent homes. But of course there are different concerns depending on whether one is in a hot or cold climate. If you are in a truly remote area, no one knows what you're building anyway. One could also consider moving to other countries, where there are fewer, or absolutely no restrictions.
What do you do for internet off the grid though? Satellite? Because I am not at a point in my life where I am willing to go without it - it can be a lifesaver where you have no other immediate contact with humans in a remote place.
Thanks, I now have land with no building codes whatsoever, but at one point was not so lucky, even in a remote area. I am personally not into mobile tiny homes as I have two kids and a wife. I would rather move to an area which there was no building codes and adjust my lifestyle as needed, which I did . There are a few areas left where this is possible.
Some of the "snob zoning" as I call it in some towns here includes limits on how long a trailer (RV/camper/etc.) may be parked and if anyone can be living in it. Needless to say I'd never purchase property in those towns.
6.7Traveler- Didn't realize you had an interest in off grid building and living. We are alike in that we both have kids and a wife - which makes living out in the middle of nowhere unfair to at least the kids. Always thought of doing something like you are planning on doing.
I liked the shipping container homes, until you do the math on what it costs to buy and move those even using your own truck and trailer)- not as good a deal as I originally thought. While I don't necessarily like dealing with the cost and wait of inspections, I do like building codes. They at least give you a guide on how to build a sturdy structure. Electrical codes keep you safe from being electrocuted, water line codes to prevent freezing/bursting, and you get to know the ratings of different building materials too.
In the "wild" you can of course pick and choose what you want to follow, exceed, or skimp out on.
What I really hate are HOA and convenant restrictions... Those totally stink, IMHO..
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