Hey /out/
Im looking at buying this property (pic related, numbers are in feet) so that i have a nice piece of rural land I can put a cabin on, do a little small arms shooting etc. I wanted to ask you guys what you thought the best setup on something like this would be. Specifically, whats the best way to winterize a property like this while maintaining a level of self sufficiency and sustainability?
I have a lot of long term goals, but I just don't know where to start.
>>797433
>I just don't know where to start.
Get a temp job at a farm. Go from there. 15 acres is plenty of land for that type of thing. Looks like there's a house nearby so getting electric to that spot will be easy and not as expensive. It is always good to have redundancies in place for utilities, regardless of your level of self-sufficiency.
The Resilient Farm and Homestead - Ben Falk
https://kat.cr/the-resilient-farm-and-homestead-ben-falk-t10229834.html
>>797533
Thanks for the link, Ill be sure to look at that.
As for utilities yes it shouldn't be that difficult to hook up. The farm next door and the B&B way down the road are the only inhabited places for a good 50 or so k. This land is owned by the farm in the picture.
Im looking at prefab cabins to put on it to start, although i plan on something more substantial once I start making more money. Problem so far has been finding something thats winterized.
What im most confused on is winter sustainability. I have a great wood stove and a very high quality winterized wall tent so i have so i have done some week long excursions on crown land in the winter before but living for extended periods of times is new.
Some photos of the property.
>>797433
Looks like you’ve got 4.6 acres (the cleared 500 ft road frontage X 400 feet back)
You might want to get the book below, (pdf versions are available) if you’re thinking of actually living on it as opposed to using it as hunting / vacation property.
Carla Emery - The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Updated 9th Ed (2003)
>>797544
Look into, "mobile office trailers."
>winterized
Weatherize your structure as best you can. Have 2-3 types of heating that you can use (electric, wood, natural gas, propane, etc.) Make sure your water pipes are coming up into the house inside an interior wall and not up inside one of the outside walls where they will freeze. Make sure they are well insulated and have a valve at the lowest point with a faucet to drain the lines if you need to prevent freezing if you are not home for a long time. (where I live it gets -40 at night in some winters)
For biomass, learn Coppicing/Pollarding, and to use deadfall wood effectively.
For septic think about how much land you want to be unusable then select the septic method that you're okay with.
>>797555
Unfortunately "trailers" are the one thing the township wont allow on properties zoned as "rural".
We have a ton of freedom out here but that is the one thing they are very strict about. Thanks for the other tips however.
>>797554
Thanks, ill read that. I want to eventually live on it but for the first little while I expect it to be a weekend home since I work in Toronto.
>>797546
>>797547
>>797548
>>797549
>>797550
>>797551
"Zoning is rural which permits quite a range of uses including year round residence, hunt camp. kennel or hobby farm. (sorry Addington Highlands does not permit trailers on rural lots) "
The no trailer clause is bullshit, unless that specifically means mobile homes (i.e. redneck homes) and not campers?
>>797559
It is complete bullshit. The only specifics I can find so far for township zoning laws is this:
5.0 RURAL ZONE (RU) ZONE
No person shall within any Rural (RU) Zone use any lot or erect, alter or use any building or structure
except as specified hereunder:
5.1 Permitted Uses
Single unit dwelling;
Existing converted dwelling;
Seasonal dwelling;
Group home;
Hunt camp;
Home occupation or home industry, in accordance with the General Provisions of this By-law;
Cemetery;
Conservation, forestry and reforestation uses;
Equestrian centre;
Farm;
Farm produce retail outlet;
Garden nursery;
Greenhouses;
Kennel;
Livestock auction sales barn;
Place of worship;
Park;
Sand and Gravel Pit, Accessory;
Trails;
>>797557
>Thanks, ill read that. I want to eventually live on it but for the first little while I expect it to be a weekend home since I work in Toronto.
My buddy has a 40 acre hunting lease here in Michigan and I've been trying to convince him to get a 10 ft steel shipping container for use as a secure shed on the property and that's something you might want to consider also, to stash stuff (lawn mower, picnic table, BBQ grill, ladder stands for deer hunting, shovels, rakes, etc.) so that you don't have to haul that stuff up and back every time.
>>797561
>Seasonal dwelling;
>Hunt camp;
That ought to cover campers but I'm guessing the township don't want hillbillies and their rundown mobile homes squatting inna woods cooking meth.
>>797562
Thats a great idea. Ill look in to that.
>>797563
Thats what I suspect.
Put an ad on Craigslist and a few trailers and turn it into a winter time share.
>>797564
Not the same person but this idea is actually pretty great.
>>797554
There's pdfs available of this also;
John Seymour - The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency
>>797574
I found a copy. Thanks!
>>797564
>Thats a great idea. Ill look in to that.
>>797571
>Not the same person but this idea is actually pretty great.
That's what I keep telling my buddy and he just can't see it for some reason.
As he leases year-to-year, he can't build anything permanent and as the landlord could pull the plug on him at any time, with a 10' (or even 20') shipping container, he can haul it off to a new hunting lease if he gets kicked off.
And in the mean time, his stuff is secure from theft, critters, fire and general trashing by drunk kids and he doesn't have to haul all his gear back and forth.
A local smoked meat restaurant has a couple of 40' shipping containers (one for the kitchen and two for wood storage) and they guy said he got them for around $800 each, depending on their condition (metro Detroit here).
>>797580
If I can find one in a natural color like green or earthy brown it would be easy to put on the property without it looking like shit.
Seems like a no brainer to me. I could leave my ATV in it as well.
>>797582
a buddy i have lived in one for like 2 years while he was building his house.
it survived hurricane ivan like a champ
>>797582
>If I can find one in a natural color like green or earthy brown it would be easy to put on the property without it looking like shit.
If you've got some pine trees where you can tuck it under, you could make up some pine tree branch stencils and camo paint it, even mounting artificial Christmas tree branches to give it some "depth".
>Seems like a no brainer to me. I could leave my ATV in it as well.
I dunno about that. While a shipping container is pretty secure, nothing is 100% secure and I personally wouldn't store anything really valuable in it.
But an 8'x8'x20' one as pictured, provides plenty of space for all kinda other stuff, minimizing the packing hassle for trips to the property.
>>797587
>a buddy i have lived in one for like 2 years while he was building his house.
Seems the township won’t let him live in one, so I’d suggest a pop-up camper.
Odds are, OP is going to be spending a lot time on his property and a camper provides much more comfortable and practical outdoor living then a tent, yet is still easy to tow, store and set-up.
Nice used ones can be found for a reasonable price, if you diligently shop around at the end of the season.
I was tempted to buy a near mint (garage stored) 1987 Palomino pop-up camper a couple of years back for $1500 but I wouldn’t have used it enough to justify it.
>>797554
>Looks like you’ve got 4.6 acres (the cleared 500 ft road frontage X 400 feet back)
Lots you can do with that, if you do get into country live'n down the line.
>>797588
My ATV isn't worth that much, and desu its either going to be in the container or sitting in an unlocked garage at my friends cottage which is just as remote as this place.
>>797599
I have always been a fan of pic related as an inspirational design
>>797593
I have been meaning to look around for one of these. And yes I do intent to spend at least my friday afternoons - late sunday evenings on the property for the first little while. Im sure something that size wouldn't break any bylaws and even if it did its small enough I can put it somewhere on the property where its not going to be noticeable.
>>797561
Can you build a shitter?
>>797605
If you shake a scoop of lime down the hole after every "drop" they don't smell too bad.
>>797602
>Im sure something that size wouldn't break any bylaws and even if it did its small enough I can put it somewhere on the property where its not going to be noticeable.
I can't imagine a rural township like that not allowing campers.
>>797557
>>797559
>>797561
>>797563
>>797566
A mobile office trailer used as a domicile is something they will have to allow.
If it's on wheels it's not permanent. Nothing they can do about it.
Also by laws are complaint based. Small townships have 1 or 2 officers on staff so they don't drive around looking for infractions. So as long as your neighbours are cool and you keep it hidden near the back of the property. You should be golden.
>>797561
If you get a nice looking camper I don't think it would be a problem unless it looks like something hillbilly trash would live out of (be honest with yourself). like >>797563 said, the town just doesn't want hillbillies and redneck trash lowering the value of all the neighboring land by turning theirs into a junk yard.
>>797748
This is true and likely how I will go about doing it.
>>797562
That looks like a good idea. Where can you buy them?
>>797737
>A mobile office trailer used as a domicile is something they will have to allow.
>>797748
>If it's on wheels it's not permanent. Nothing they can do about it.
Nonsense, the Government can fuck you over six-ways-to-Sunday with no rhyme or reason and will absolutely fuck you, if you fuck with them.
Years back, my buddy and his two cousin’s grandmother gave them a 1 acre lot out in the middle of farm country in Michigan’s Thumb, that had been in the family for decades and was used as an occasional summer vacation spot by the “clan” and which had a shitty beat-up old mobile home on it (literally full of bullet holes... from the inside out).
My buddy and his cousins bought a new (that is, old and used and but still decent) mobile home down here in metro Detroit and payed to have it hauled Up North and to have the old mobile home hauled off to the scrappers.
A couple of weeks later, the township/county slapped a sticker on the new mobile home stating that it was too small and in violation of property codes requiring X square feet per structure, forcing them to hire a contractor to build an addition on the mobile home.
From what I can tell according to this post, >>797561 OP can either build a house or use a camper but he cannot stick a mobile home or “office trailer” on the property, unless he’s willing to haul that trailer up and back every time he goes to the property;
> 5.1 Permitted Uses
> Single unit dwelling;
> Existing converted dwelling;
> Seasonal dwelling;
> Hunt camp;
As I suggested up-thread, OP’s best option is to buy a decent used pop-up camper and use that for a few years and maybe eventually have a house (i.e. cottage / cabin) built on the property.
>>797976
>That looks like a good idea. Where can you buy them?
Dunno but there are on-line sources where you can get a start on it;
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=shipping+container+for+sale
>>798017
so many ladders in pool is this designed for the sims?
>>798059
Dunno, just a pic I found but the shipping container swimming pool is a neat idea.
>>798068
That IS a neat idea.
Neat!
