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Roper Timelapse
August 30th, 2009
Inserting reclaimed windows from Demxx Deconstruction.
Timelapse photography by Sean Fenzl photography
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Bowater Backhoe services saves the day!
July 18th, 2009
We searched long and hard for a mobile home to put on our foundation. There are many out there if you know where to look. Private sales generally come from either trailer parks that are closing down or mobiles on personal property that have outlived their usefullness. We found ours through a house moving company, the Pridy Bros. The owners of the mobile just wanted it off their land.
Unfortunately I was very disappointed with the service we got from the house movers. Despite charging twice as much as a regular mobile home moving company, they didn’t include leveling the home.
Not to mention they got their truck stuck in the ditch within 5 minutes of being there!!
Since the Pridy Bros. had not brought the proper equipment, we had to get our excavator to come out in the evening to save these guys from being forever stuck in the ditch. Then they abandoned their truck and let a backhoe push the building into position, complaining the entire time.
I still sit up in the middle of the night suddenly angry all over again at the Pridy Bros.
George of Bowater Backhoe Services ended up pushing it singlehandedly up a dirt road, with the help of some neighbors. Thanks George!
photos were taken by Sean Fenzl photography.
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Roper Road
May 25th, 2009
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Affordable Housing from Scratch
May 7th, 2009
The property is raw. There is nothing there but trees and moss. The land is very dry and there is no obvious water source. There is no power. The terrain is extremely rough with loose sandstone boulders, and undulating ridges. There are no clearings and there is no access road.
In order to comply with my local government a few key things need to be in place. Is it easy to become overwhelmed with the bureacracy if this is something that you have never done before. There are a couple of important things that ecclipse others in terms of legalities.
Firstly, goverment officials will insist that there needs to be a human-waste management system that is approved by the ministry of health. In rural areas not connected to the sewer, this means a septic tank. There are endless ways to set up a wastewater management system, depending on the terrain, materials available and the needs of your household.
Secondly, there needs to be a potable water-supply. (Oh, that silly government! requiring you to have drinking water on your property!) In the case of my place. I would probably need to get in a professional dowser to find a promising drilling spot and drill as deep as 300 feet to reach the possible groundwater. Living near water has always been a human trend that is starting to make extreme sense.
To get power to the site, Several power poles are going to need to be added from the main road. Small-scale alternative energy is a bit prohibitive on the site that I am building on. There is no sustained sunshine, very little wind, and no creek or stream. The only way to have self-sustaining abundant power would be to set up something such as a geo-thermal system.
So far, Just having site amenities may put me in the position of later living in a tent. So, I am going to be using recycled housing. This means an old-unwanted mobile home or similar set-up. And I am finding there are many many opportunites to recycle housing and this is a very viable option. Check this website out for example, nickelbros.com. These houses are being saved from demolishment. A bit out of my price range but regardless, less than a quarter of my budget will be spent on the actual shelter.
Not including time spent researching or having insomnia. I have a timeframe of one month to make this happen. You laugh! (So do I sometimes, but I am very determined.) This will include time spent on site clearing and removing trees, having a septic system installed. Developing a water storage system and source. Arranging to have power to the site as well as filing permits, and finally, finding a starter building and having it located there.
It looks as though I will be able to use a mix of natural building methods and conventional methods to achieve my recycled housing project. Stay-tuned!
