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Posted: 5/11/2017 9:56:51 PM EDT

[#1]

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Quoted:

Good luck with your build.

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Thanks but mine is already done.

Don't plan to do another one. Second house I've built for myself and frankly, don't want to do it again.

Posted: 5/12/2017 7:11:51 AM EDT

[#2]

Great thread, but I have only scanned it.

My wife & I have been looking for a mini
far to play on, if we can find the land.

I think a good start would be 2 sea containers
spaced out side by side & with roof trusses
across them.

This would give you 2 very secure sections
and an open barn type area for tractors, cars,
materials, etc, and that area could be enclosed
and even finished into a living area, or could be
left as a barn for when you complete a more
conventional house.

My .02.

John

Posted: 5/12/2017 10:04:38 PM EDT

[#3]

Quote History

Quoted:
Thanks but mine is already done.

Don't plan to do another one. Second house I've built for myself and frankly, don't want to do it again.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

Good luck with your build.

Thanks but mine is already done.

Don't plan to do another one. Second house I've built for myself and frankly, don't want to do it again.

Yeah your post was pretty clear about that. I blame screaming toddlers for my lack of concentration.

Posted: 5/13/2017 9:35:11 PM EDT

[#4]

I saw just the thing in Texas barndominium.

Posted: 5/13/2017 9:53:23 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I just put a contract on a new BOL: 57 acres, has 2 creeks and a 14 acres pasture, with the rest in mostly oak. Deer, hogs, turkey, coyote. It is about 30 minutes from work, so not a terrible drive. I live close to town now, but wanting go ahead and move to the property soon, as in within the next 3-6 months. I find that when I live somewhere, I'm much more likely to work on it, than if I have to drive. Going to have wood heat and a separate solar setup, but also be hooked up to the grid for non-emergency living.

Been looking at housing options.

1. Double wide/single wide mobile home - takes 3 months for delivery, otherwise most of the work done, just level, put up piers, hook up utilities and you are done. I think these are much better quality than they used to be, some even with 2x6 walls, metal roofs, etc. Cost - $40,000 for everything for about 1500 sq ft. Comes with new stove and fridge. That is $26 per square foot. Cons: Don't hold value very well, but I'm not worried about that currently.

2. Stick build - the main reason I would do this is so I could get a basement built. These will hold their value, but seems around here, you are looking at 3-6 months or longer to get it built. $125 per square foot is what I see quoted at a minimum. I'm willing to go down to 1000 sq ft for this, but with a basement, that is still at least $150,000.

Problem is that I don't think either of these are good for a BOL.

Other options I've considered:

1. Monolithic domes: I've read Big Bunker's posts in the past and really like these. There is a builder that does them about 2 hours away that could do this. Looking at $150 per square foot minimum when I talked to them, so 150,000 for a 1000 square foot home. These will last basically forever as far as I'm concerned if they are done right.

2. Shipping container homes - these really intrigue me, and I already have 2 of them and have played around some with finishing them. I do have the time to work on it myself, and can get the engineering drawings online from a designer/engineer that would be approved by the county. Probably be around $70,000 for around 1200 sq ft finished, provided I work on this myself, but that would be with premium materials, and knowing that the work was done right. Would take about 1 year at least, but I could get started right away, and the county allows you to live in a camper on the property as long as you are actively building.

Any other options out there that the SF has experience with? or that would be ideal for a BOL, but also a full time dwelling? I'll post pictures of the property as soon as I close.

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You can put a modular home on a beasememt, I was in a modular today that was on a basement in fact. Pretty nice house if I am honest.

Posted: 5/13/2017 10:25:57 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Great thread, but I have only scanned it.

My wife & I have been looking for a mini
far to play on, if we can find the land.

I think a good start would be 2 sea containers
spaced out side by side & with roof trusses
across them.

This would give you 2 very secure sections
and an open barn type area for tractors, cars,
materials, etc, and that area could be enclosed
and even finished into a living area, or could be
left as a barn for when you complete a more
conventional house.

My .02.

John

View Quote

Yep, I have seen this before. Pour a concrete slab in the middle would be my only addition. My BIL has one that has the roof trusses high enough that you can walk in the center, and has lots of storage up there. I'm planning on using this for a garage to work on stuff, but not for living in as my wife doesn't not approve.

Posted: 5/13/2017 10:27:24 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:

You can put a modular home on a beasememt, I was in a modular today that was on a basement in fact. Pretty nice house if I am honest.

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I really need to get a local contractor to give me a quote on a basement to put a modular on. I've already talked to one modular builder. They seem helpful, and are based up north where lots of folks do basements. Maybe they could point me in the right direction.

A modular comes in about 1/2 the price per square foot as most houses around in this area to build new.

Posted: 5/13/2017 11:07:06 PM EDT

[#8]

Hey Op... stop and think about that $40K modular a bit. No one wants to "waste" that amount of money, but in the grand scheme of things, that expenditure is no more costly than the average pickup truck or car which depreciates to nothing in 10 years. That's a fast way to get into a comfortable setting and with proper maintenance can last as long as you want or need it to; easily 15-20 years or more.

The pole barn/shop approach isnt a bad idea, but to make it homey, you'll need to build it out and spend more $ than would be done for a typical shop. I personally doubt I could get my wife to go for that route but your circumstances are probably different.

Posted: 5/14/2017 12:31:51 AM EDT

[#9]

For the amount of equipment and supplies needed to build at all, plus secure storage, the barn/shop is required. Unless the plan is to drive a large truck in with the materials and tools stored in it, back and forth every time.

Building sites are notoriously picked over when you are not there with thieves taking anything they can access. The wiring phase is their favorite.

With that in mind I would go for concrete tilt up panels. They don't have to be thick, as they go up they support the next, and once shelled in with a roof they are a lot more resistant to bad weather and attack from vandals/thieves when you are absent. It's masonry held to a minimum with some supporting frame work and the interior put up with steel studs like commercial. That will be less depreciable over time and hold up better to use, while allowing the option of making it as high end as you want.

Stick built can be blown away by 100mph winds, SC is known to get hurricanes and hurricanes make tornadoes moving inland. Build it to withstand that and it will also lower your insurance costs, too.

In India homes are done on sight with the ground itself being the form. No doubt American ingenuity can complicate that to the $100 a square foot level. I mention it because when younger my wife and I looked into earth bermed but found no one was knowledgeable about it. We later bought an A frame and it's working out ok - except it's in a sloped hill that drops 8 feet from the front to the back, meaning the basement is half buried. And we have water and insulation problems galore because of it. I do not recommend any concrete wall being exposed to the winter air then running into your living space - it's a major heat bleed sucking your money out of the home as it tries to warm up a 25 degree ice storm outside.

Concrete tiltup is inherently thermal breaking, it's only on the outside. You insulate on the inside and by pouring thin you reduce the thermal mass and it's carryover affect. The most durable houses on the face of earth are stone - minimize the disadvantages using thin panels and you still get the benefits.

Please choose the color carefully - if you ever succumb to the urge to paint it call me and I will bring my baseball bat.

Posted: 5/15/2017 7:40:52 PM EDT

[#10]

ICF

Yes, cost more to build but can pay for its self.

I have a 4000 sqf house in NC. Summer my power bill is $140-160 with heat pump.

You can design it small and add on as time/ $ allow.

Posted: 5/15/2017 8:59:59 PM EDT

[#11]

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Quoted:
I saw just the thing in Texas barndominium.http://www.wdmb.com/images/BarndoPitchRoof.jpg

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I'm not sure if you're serious or being facetious, but for OP's reference bardominiums often can't be financed like "regular" houses. Even in Texas. They seem cool and go up fast and cheap, but good luck if you have to finance or sell the thing.