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 Post subject: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:32 am 
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If state laws change aren't you grandfathered in until replacement.
Mine would never be legal there. 500 gallons and I think it's leach is 3 or 4 10' sections of pipe like an E or an E with one extra -. It was here when I bought the lots.
But it's grandfathered,replacement would be close to your requirements. Or if I make my basement bedroom LEGAL with a egress window. I'd have to replace it to.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:41 am 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
If state laws change aren't you grandfathered in until replacement.


It's only grandfathered if no improvements were to take place. We are planning for major improvements within the next 5 years, so I'm banking on the fact that the current 2010 revisions in the law will not change.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:55 am 
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Looks like you Guy's are moving right along. Are you going to start construction on the house this spring?

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:40 am 
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kskj wrote:
Are you going to start construction on the house this spring?


Ideally we would like to start construction this summer, however, there are no official plans. The bank will lend 25% of the total appraised value or the cost to build, whichever is lower. This is a numbers game and the numbers simply do not fall into our favor for these two reasons:

1. Comp – Our unconventional open floor design will not be easy to compare.
2. Square footage – Our small footprint may hinder a solid appraisal.

So what does this mean? It means that we are wanting to build something that will potentially cost thousands of dollars over it's appraised value. We are faced with a few decisions and we're unsure in which direction to move in. As odd as it may sound, we would most likely qualify for a construction loan if we built a 2,000 sq. ft. three bedroom log home. So even though the cost would be double the amount of debt, we would have the appraisal.

Here's the irony - The bank would rather lend $200,000 knowing that we meet the 25% equity of the total appraised value than to lend $100,000 and only have 10% of the total appraised value. It's a reckless system that doesn't make fiscal sense, but that's the reality we are living in.

So, do we go ahead and build a 2000 sq. ft. home and take on twice the debt? Or, do we keep throwing money into the pot in hopes to have the 25% by next year?

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:30 am 
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kskj wrote:
Looks like you Guy's are moving right along.


Up to this point, we've been taking out an unsecure loan, making the improvements, and paying off the loan in a 4 month timeframe. We then repeat the same loan process. Our time is running out on what we can do using our "pay as you go" method. Depending on weather, we probably wont have the solar/electric water system finished until the end of April. There's a lot of custom work that goes into that project. We should have the septic finished by next week.

Once the water system is finished, there's nothing we can do past that point. The dirt/concrete work is an estimated 25K. The log kit is an estimated 38K. The bank isn't going to give us a $63,000 dollar unsecured loan, especially since we already have a $33,500 dollar unsecure loan (our college loans combined). :mrgreen:

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:14 am 
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dieselenthusiast wrote:
kskj wrote:
Looks like you Guy's are moving right along.


Up to this point, we've been taking out an unsecure loan, making the improvements, and paying off the loan in a 4 month timeframe. We then repeat the same loan process. Our time is running out on what we can do using our "pay as you go" method. Depending on weather, we probably wont have the solar/electric water system finished until the end of April. There's a lot of custom work that goes into that project. We should have the septic finished by next week.

Once the water system is finished, there's nothing we can do past that point. The dirt/concrete work is an estimated 25K. The log kit is an estimated 38K. The bank isn't going to give us a $63,000 dollar unsecured loan, especially since we already have a $33,500 dollar unsecure loan (our college loans combined). :mrgreen:

How long will it take to put together the log kit? I've been debating all kinds of shelters to put on my property. Change my mind all the time on what to build and location on property.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:40 am 
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CIMARRON13 wrote:
How long will it take to put together the log kit? I've been debating all kinds of shelters to put on my property. Change my mind all the time on what to build and location on property.


Our log kit (under 1,000 sq. ft.) can be finished in about 3-4 days by an experienced small crew. It really depends on who is doing the work and how many are on the job. A larger home (3,500 sq. ft.) could take up to two weeks. A kit typically includes the entire outer shell (roof included). There's no outer wall framing, insulation, or dry wall to worry about. It's up to you on how many interior walls that you want to be log vs. framed.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:10 am 
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dieselenthusiast wrote:
CIMARRON13 wrote:
How long will it take to put together the log kit? I've been debating all kinds of shelters to put on my property. Change my mind all the time on what to build and location on property.


Our log kit (under 1,000 sq. ft.) can be finished in about 3-4 days by an experienced small crew. It really depends on who is doing the work and how many are on the job. A larger home (3,500 sq. ft.) could take up to two weeks. A kit typically includes the entire outer shell (roof included). There's no outer wall framing, insulation, or dry wall to worry about. It's up to you on how many interior walls that you want to be log vs. framed.

Will you have concrete foundation or pier and beam?

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:13 am 
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CIMARRON13 wrote:
Will you have concrete foundation or pier and beam?


Concrete

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:00 pm 
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The septic tank is installed and waiting for inspection.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:54 pm 
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Great job! Nice soil for easy digging.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:12 pm 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
Great job! Nice soil for easy digging.


Thank you! Yes, the soil conditions were perfect as expected. We had the entire system done in 5 hours.

Speaking of soil, we're hoping to eventually plant cover crop for the honeybees. The soil conditions are looking very promising.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:23 pm 
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From the pics it does. What will you plant? Fruit trees.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:49 pm 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
From the pics it does. What will you plant? Fruit trees.


We'll plant cover crops such as alfalfa, white sweet clover, and yellow sweet clover. Eventually, we will also add small patches of other nectar producing plants such as rocky mountain bee plant, lavender, etc. Fruit trees and cover crops will attract a lot of wildlife which is nice, but also problematic. Right now the mule deer and elk are heavy on our property. Bears can also be a problem. Bears don't go after the honey as much as they go for the brood (pupae, larvae, and eggs). And to get to the brood, they will knock off the supers that are full of honey to get to it. We only have 3 hives, but bear control will be something that we will need to contend with as we begin to expand our apiary.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:08 pm 
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Winnie the Pooh lied !
You have a completely different
Guess it's called ecosystem there. White tail deer eat everything , the young even eat plants that are harmful to them.
Not sure if they really eat but they destroy the plants. Turkey's more of a mess than eating plants. Squirrel's, mole's do both, eat and make messes. Mole's eat bulb plants, or just destroy. Bear are around but stay away. Lots of other wild life but not usually a problem. I have a fenced area and plant my shade garden inside it. To many trees to grow much.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:58 pm 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
Winnie the Pooh lied !


Winnie the Pooh exaggerated. It is true that bears will eat honey, depending on what their food availability is, but they prefer immature bees since brood (pupae, larvae, and eggs) is more suitable to their diet (mostly fat and protein). Here's an average composition of honey:

38.5% fructose
31.0% glucose
17.1% water
12.9% maltose, sucrose and other sugars
0.5% proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 9:07 am 
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dieselenthusiast wrote:
Cherrie 274 wrote:
Winnie the Pooh lied !


Winnie the Pooh exaggerated. It is true that bears will eat honey, depending on what their food availability is, but they prefer immature bees since brood (pupae, larvae, and eggs) is more suitable to their diet (mostly fat and protein). Here's an average composition of honey:

38.5% fructose
31.0% glucose
17.1% water
12.9% maltose, sucrose and other sugars
0.5% proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals

You saved my childhood memories.
The owner where I worked bottling maple syrup let a guy place his hives on the land. He sold some of the honey for him. So we had the evaluation sheets for both when people came in or called in and asked. Wasn't there something else that naturalist rave about in honey?
Side note: I hope Jim( maple syrup guy) final pre ran his lines. So this year all he would have to do is tap the trees. If not it's going to be brutal in the cold and snow. Lots of hard work- glad it's not my job. But I sure do like real maple syrup.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:44 am 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
Wasn't there something else that naturalist rave about in honey?


Honey is a superfood, one of the highest nutritional foods on earth. It is the only food on earth that is antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and contains antioxidant properties. For this reason, honey is the only food on earth that will never go bad. Honey can prevent and/or cure hundreds and hundreds of health conditions, diseases, and injuries. There's no way that I could begin to describe all the benefits of honey and other bee related products (bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly).

The only way to eat honey is raw. We take extreme measures in our beekeeping practices to harvest and extract honey in it's purest most natural form. Beekeepers will define raw differently. My definition of raw means that the honey has never been heated treated or filtered.

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Last edited by dieselenthusiast on Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:27 am 
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I wasn't awake this morning!
Thanks for the answer.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:34 pm 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
...Wasn't there something else that naturalist rave about in honey?...

I've heard the theory that it's good for allergy sufferers. The idea is that the bees collect pollen from all sorts of different types of plants and eating the honey is like getting the desensitization shots from the doctor in that you build up your immunity over time. I've never questioned the theory too closely since I love honey anyway and wouldn't want to know if it's not true. :D

EDIT: Didn't realize we had rolled over to a new page and missed the last few comments. :oops:

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