So we've been living our pioneer dreams for 5 months now. We LOVE it ... the lifestyle ... the work ... the feeling of accomplishment ... everything! We'd like to think we've learned a thing or two already. Some we've learned just by the amount of thinking we do before proceeding with a plan but some things we've learned through trial & error.
About our cabin:
1) As much as I LOVE my extended porch, I would NOT get it again. It cuts in to the very needed floor space.
2) Get a window in each loft ... they create an incredible cross breeze for those who use them as their bedrooms!
3) Put a bulk of your windows on the side facing your rising sun. That way you can take advantage of passive solar when you need the heat & block it out if you don't. (You can also build mini solarium porches for each window)
4) Use a water sealant on every part of the cabin possible ... inside AND out!
5) Lay a few extra ply boards up in each loft, the opposite way they are already laid. It just gives extra support.
Something I thought about today ... we just built our solar water heater. One thing we should have done before starting (and will do on the next one) ... used a water sealant on the ply wood! Live and learn!
Good info to get before we start ours. Thanks! What exactly are mini solarium porches?
ReplyDeleteLoretta, I want so much to follow the path you have chosen. I guess that's partly why I'm part of this group. I'm blessed that you have allowed me to be part of your journey. My health status has allowed me to do very little concerning my desire to live off grid. I lie on the couch day in and day out, just hoping and praying that I might be well enough to put in a little garden this year. Please pray for me...my friend is going to sell some of his land. I would like so much to be able to buy it and build a cabin similar to yours...not so much for the whole family to move into, but to have as a get-away, and for it to be there if we ever would need to live off grid. Thank you for your love and prayers.
ReplyDelete~Marlena
Rhenda - a solarium porch is where you have 4 posts & can wrap entirely around them, with cellophane, leaving an opening where the window (or a door) would be. The "box" captures the heat ... and by opening the door or window, the heat is sucked in to the house, creating a free heater source.
ReplyDeleteMarlena - I understand. I am praying for you, more than you know. I remember living from the couch. You were there to see the beginning of my healing. Making the move off grid has also aided in my health remaining at a good level. I believe God has used this lifestyle to show me that rushing is not a necessity. I wish we were closer. I'd be over there helping you out!!! Love you, my friend!!!
I too was wondering what a solarium porch is...thanks for clarifying! I've never heard of that. We learn some of our best lessons through trial and error, don't we?!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a garden going yet? We've just started planting stuff this year, and I'm so excited! My garden (and my chickens) are my little steps towards self-sufficiency. We're not quite ready to go off-grid yet!
We do not have anything growing yet. We will in the next couple weeks though! This year we will have a garden ... next year we will have crops!
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