Going Off Grid in East Tennessee; The Story and Chat Thread (Guys: heat pump, skylight)

[KentT]

Lisa,

First time I've interjected, but wanted to reply with a sincere thanks for being open and sharing your wonderful life and adventures with us -- well done!

Regarding a woodshed.

The "best" overall design of a woodshed is quite simple -- picture something like a stand-alone carport. It has no walls (or certainly no more than one on the side blocking the "bad weather") so you can get to it to store or retrieve wood from any side. It's wide open so the wind blows through, drying the wood either intitally or after a storm may have blown some moisture in, yet the roof overhead protects it from most of the weather. Use big overhangs so the stacked wood isn't close to the edge and the weather. Make it large enough for two years wood supply of stacked firewood - ideally with a walking aisle between those two sections. Always cut the wood a year in advance and let it air dry, so that you're always burning out of the "old stack" while this year's firewood is drying. Using fully dried wood has several benefits -- more heat from the same weight of wood that you're handling (you're not hauling heavy, sap-laden green wood to the fire), it's easier to start fires and you'll get hotter fires with less smoke, and finally, less creosote being formed when burned to require chimney cleaning or otherwise risk chimney fires.

Be patient in looking, yet alert, and you can likely pick up salvaged roofing from old barn sides or roofs for little to nothing -- especially if it's done a sheet or two at a time, or if you'll invest some labor. Otherwise if it's large quantities, already removed, it'll have been hauled or sold for today's higher scrap metal prices. This roofing will have nail holes and likely surface rust, but its still plenty good enough for a woodshed, and you can use roofing sealer to coat it and get many more years of use out of it. Design the shed with a simple, sloped shed roof and that salvaged metal roof will be out of signt of most visitors anyway... unless they're up on your hill overlooking it.

Locate it somewhere a bit out of the way, yet convenient to the house, and readily accessible with your ATV or tractor pulling a trailer to haul the wood on. Using "pole barn" type construction, you can likely support the size roof you need with no more than 6 posts (certainly no more than 9) tied together with stringers. You may even have black locusts on your property that you could cut for the posts -- they'll last longer than todays "treated" 6x6s that you could buy at the local building supply. Under roof, those posts would likely last 30 years just by digging a hole and setting them in the ground. If you cement them in, and keep the top of the cement above grade, they'd last indefinitely. Stack the wood loosely between the support posts, on "runners" of parallel poles lying on the ground, so the firewood is up off the ground.

Just some thoughts to stimulate your brain, and perhaps contribute in return to all you've shared here...

By the way, if you haven't discovered the Foxfire series of books, I suggest you explore them from your local library. They're a compendium of oral history from Southern Appalachia's "old-timers" that have many, many practical tips for "homesteading" at low cost, low tech, that are still applicable today -- plus they're a darned entertaining read...

One further suggestion on your vegetable gardening -- two excellent books "The Ball Book" from the company that sells the Ball brand mason jars, and the second is "Stocking Up (latest edition)" from Rodale Press which publishes (or did) Organic Gardening magazine. Both are excellent, with "recipes" or step by step procedures...

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

Hello everyone. It has been a long winter and Mike, Niki, and I are thrilled to be back home. We had work to do in FL but now we are back We have been home for just over a week and we have quite the list of things we want to do this year. I guess Mike and I will lose the weight we gained while in FL We may be moving a little slower to begin with but I'm sure we will pick up the pace in no time.

Mike has a new saying for our "Off Grid Home" It is now our ongoing living laboratory where we will and have tried, lol, many different things in search of the perfect outcome. This is where we all get to learn and if one thing doesn't work out then we will try something else. We are now hoping to improve upon our home...so that means there will be some re-do's I hate re do's...but if it will make our living better than we will do it.

Before I tell you what we accomplished since we got home I have to take you back, way back. We did some work last August and I never posted the story. Since I am going by my notes I apologize if my usual humor isn't up to par...I just can't remember specifics from that far back



Our Awning Story....I hope you enjoy

Lisa, I think the awning "makes" the house!!

Seriously, it is so cute and very functional.

Great pics, as usual!

[Tek_Freek]

Lisa! You're back! Now I have an even better reason to visit every day...

I do have a concern about your awning. The one picture that sort of shows it from the top doesn't show anything in the way of support. By support I mean a wood/metal strip running over the length of the joints that gives added resistance to wind. I've seen many awnings flying off into the storm clouds around here.

[TN Tin Man]

Did you do this last fall before heading too Florida.. I see the date as of 2010...
How are the killer cows doing ?

[hiknapster]

Love the bug picture. Our daughter just learned about hosts and bugs and animals that benefit from each other.

Great ideas PNW, Ma and Pa Kettle and Kent T. Thank you very much!

I have a carport with a flat roof. It's attached to the house on one side and has a workshop - without a flat roof - on the other. Anyone know what I should do? It's collecting water that is now leaking. One of these days, if we don't do something, it's going to collapse. I really can't afford to hire someone. I suspect we are going to have to lose the flat roof and somehow add a different kind. It's hard, though. The carport juts out from the back of the house so I can't add on the roof from the house.

That was probably about clear as mud. sigh.

Glad to see you posting again, Lisa, and love all of these helpful hints from people.

[ylisa7]

Thank you all for writing in and sharing such wonderful ideas. Everyone here is alwas so helpful...thank you

I'm sorry I have to make this short and sweet. Our power is low and we need to conserve. Lots of rain coming in and it's snowing now

Anyway, I will post a story and write back to all of you as soon as our batteries get a recharge. I don't want to waste any juice.

Have a great day

[burr]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

I'm sorry I have to make this short and sweet. Our power is low and we need to conserve. Lots of rain coming in and it's snowing now

Anyway, I will post a story and write back to all of you as soon as our batteries get a recharge. I don't want to waste any juice.

Have a great day

Days like this, I reckon, makes one feel like living in the barn, huh ?

[nrthwdswmn]

Hi Lisa, thanks for the information about your story. I have done some speed reading over most of it but will read more detail as I get more time...what a wonderful opportunity for you and hubby to build your own place and it's gorgeous. I envy you-all I ever do around here is cobble stuff together to make it last longer. My house was built in 1901 with the living room brought over from another placed and tacked on! But it's home sweet home! I've done a bit of remodeling, but am nowhere near the carpenter you and your husband are...Congratulations!

[hiknapster]

Snowing? Wow. We haven't seen snow since January in Knoxville.

[ylisa7]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Snowing? Wow. We haven't seen snow since January in Knoxville.

Lucking you I think(hope) we are done with the snow.

I'll be back later today/night to post our wood stove story. Gotta paint right now