Lifestyle house from a pre-built shed?

meandk0610

Veteran Member
i'm thinking of trying to buy land and then using one of the pre-built sheds (like the 2-story one that Lowe's sells) as our house structure. i know i would have to add insulation and drywall on the inside. has anyone else done one of these? how was it for off-grid? what about water? i was thinking of having a composting toilet and putting a long black hose on the roof somehow to have hot bath water. wood cook stove from Lehman's. am i missing anything? besides electricity? am i completely :screw:? i'm a single WAHM mom who will have to do this on her own, with limited funds, after finding a business that is mobile.
 

imaginative

keep your eye on the ball
There are going to be a ton of hurdles in your path, imo.

Firstly the weather in MD I suspect would be your biggest. Then followed by local & county regs wrt to lack of elec., running water, composting toilet and the like. Then comes the childrens services agency.

I know it could be done- just as it has been for generations. I just suspect that in todays overly regulated society that you would have a bullseye all over you.

You may be much better off watching for a fixer-upper on a decent lot; in todays market there are plenty. A friend of mine bought a fixer-upper (and it was quite a nice house) on an acre in a terrific area for 20K. There are plenty of deals out there. Good luck.
 

geoffs

Veteran Member
You just have to watch for building codes. A friend of mine did it upstate New York in the mountains and no one bothered him. He installed a pre-fab "Garage kit" and made it into a two room cottage. If you're near other people someone may call building department if they get to nosey.
Building dept may require permits etc.
 

rafter

Since 1999
Didn't do it with a pre built...but built one so same thing...at 9000 feet in Colorado, off grid.

We built 2 10x14 garden type sheds put them end to end....so that made a building that was 10x28

Put in a house door, and house windows (insulated)..insulated the whole thing..had a small bedroom, regular sized bathroom (5x7), and a kitchen/living area.

We put log siding on the inside and outside, and green metal on the roof....we even had a jaccuzi jetted tub in the bathroom!:D

So you can make it as nice as you want to spend money on!

We had solar, but ran a genny to run the bath tub if we wanted to turn on the jets.

We had a propane hot water heater/refrigerator, a 1000 gallon plastic tank buried in the yard, hauled water from town in a 200 gallon tank, and pumped it into the house with a rv water pump hooked to a battery charged with a small 12"x12"solar panel.

After we got done with this, we added a 16x16 living room.

It was sweet, and one of the few places we regret selling.

It was on a forest road that bordered forest. 5 miles from power and land line.
 

Sassafras

Veteran Member
In the past we thought of buying a complete garage kit for our home. We know someone locally who did that, traded in the big garage door for windows and had a decent house when it was finished. Someone else we know bought two smaller garage kits, attaching them end-to-end, having plenty of room to raise their five children. They didn't have running water as in a regular home, but had two pitcher pumps inside the house, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. Their electricity was limited to the kitchen only at that time, but was later expanded. I don't know if code would allow that type of construction these days as this was back in the early 70s when this was built.

Things never worked out for us to do that, but it would have been a nice home.
 

Nuthatch

Membership Revoked
Yes, much rural land is un-zoned. We could build a bowling alley, if we wanted.

Friends built a "garage" and kept the sliding doors so they could open the whole thing in the summer. It was their lake house. They had more square footage on the deck than in the building. They really loved it.

I don't see why not, but it might help to price a stick-built shell from a local contractor. That may work out to be cheaper and more customizable.

A long black hose isn't going to be practical in the winter for hot water. I recommend that you consider other options, such as propane or wood fired hot water heaters. If you are going to live in a small place, comfort will go a long way toward happiness.
 
Always wanted to do that

I think it would work nicely. As long as you have the remote land, and neighbors who would care more about privacy and country living than about their property values.

I have that situation, and it is wonderful! Have taken a 600 sq ft cabin, and increased it to 1300, with plans to add on a master suite for my wife's sanity.

If you can get quotes for spray insulation I'd go that route. A little more expensive, but it seals up every little crack. A little wiring, plumbing, and if you can swing a ladder instead of stairs you'll gain a bit of space too, or do spiral stairs. Do the wiring even if you don't have electricity now, it's easier to hide behind drywall than having messy wires on the surface.

I'd also go with a bit more of a solar hot water system if that's what you want to do. Or an on demand propane one that does not need electricity. Then you can save up for a good SHW pre-heat stage which will heat your water 6-8 months of the year without the on-demand kicking in. Propane can also double for your main cooking appliance. If you're dedicated to the wood cook stove I would look into heating water with that somehow, with an add on boiler, or just with a kettle or pot on the top. You don't have to have hot running water.

Composting toilet would work fine, they can get a bit "overloaded" and stink, so do your research and pick one a bit heftier than what you think you may need. Not to be gross, but if you can only do #2 in it, it may function better. Save the #1 for the garden or flowers.

I also run all drains except the toilet to a greywater system. Gives me that much more irrigation water, and keeps the plants growing nicely out here.

Add in a few solar panels as time and money permit (mainly for a refrigerator), and you'd be doing well by many standards.

I often look at that two story shed and think how nice a small house that would be.
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
I have looked at the same shed and it could be turned into a nice micro home with some modifications , like adding more 2 x 4's in the walls and using 2 x8's in the roof and there is a R15 that you can get thats ideal for 2x4 walls and with 2x8 in the roof you can use R19 and much can be done like a small wood stove downstairs with a class A flue and a outhouse somewhere away from the well and many states because of the federal government want you to have a pit outhouse and the only thing wrong with them is you have to pay someone to clean it out and they're a festering smelling mess, not like the old box that can be pulled out and emptied and used as compost. Now we have a Amish and our federal government has attacked them over the years trying to force them to live like the rest of the country.
 
The two-story cabin at Home Depot is not 'pre-built.' It is built on-site. It's a pretty good deal, but you'd need good insulation...expect to pay more than the posted price (of course).
 

sopo

Senior Member
I just did this with a Derksen building. I got the 12x30 with a loft. It's just me, 2 dogs and 2 cats. My dad and I finished it out. Insulation, electric, plumbing. It is bigger than it sounds even though the measurements are from the eaves. I have one end as a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette in the middle and living area at one end. I have enough room for a king size bed, nightstand table, dresser, 7 ft closet, fridge, 5' kitchen cabinets, antique claw foot tub, stool, vanity, secretary for my printer/business supplies, file cabinet, bookshelf, 2 recliners and an end table. It came with a full loft but I did take part of it out. I left a 2' shelf around the living room to set things on but left the loft over the bedroom for storage. I have a window unit air conditioner, electric heaters and just installed an antique cast iron coal/wood stove for heat and could cook on it in an emergency. It's 20* here now, but with just the electric heaters, it's about 70 (where I keep it) in here. I have everything I need and run a business out of it.
 

Mary

My Drawing of Monet
All these ideas sound wonderful. I was talking to my MIL the other day and I told her I was going to buy a tool shed and put it up in her back yard and live there (I'm sick how much it cost to heat this house).

Then I said to her: No wait! I'm buying two and we'll have a duplex. We both laughed so hard we were near tears.

But see, it can be done, as proved by above. She also has a garage, pretty big that we could redo. That's a good idea. We could take out the time in better weather to fix it up and live there. No one would have to know. The neighbors keep pretty much to themselves.

I wonder if she'd go for it? I wonder how I'd ask her? I should probably have a really good plan in place first. :hmm:

Thanks for all these great ideas, I came in here looking for some and what do you know, here they are!


Sopo, what do you do for work. Your place sounds perfect!

M~~
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
There are many outfits around the country that make kit log cabins and kit stick built homes and cabins and many are affordable and some are little pricey for what they are so it pays to look around and keep shipping and or self transporting to the site in mind.

Heres an example of what's out there and explore the website some they do show floor plans and more.

http://WWW.conestogalogcabins.com/pages/cabinmodels.html
 
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lectrickitty

Great Great Grandma!
Have you considered a yurt? I've read that they are affordable and warm in winter. I haven't personally checked on one, but it might be something worth looking into.
 

Publius

TB Fanatic
Many don't stop and think about the hidden cost of converting a large storage building into a livable abode and things like partitions, insulation, wiring, plumbing and windows and the link I posted above shows small homes/cabins that comes with all these things and allot of the work already done for you and I see no reason why they can't be setup for low voltage 12 solar lighting and a wood stove.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
I did the same thing (turned a glorified garden shed into a small cabin) and it's certainly not too difficult. And I'm very thankful that I don't have a mortgage or rent to pay in this current environment. From my experience your biggest hurdle will be the local planning/zoning people. Fortunately I live out in the boonies so the problems were pretty minimal but I still had to play real coy with the health dept (sinking of a well) the electrical inspector (putting up a 'temporary' service) and the township planning (zoning) guy. Up here some folks have had a two stall garage built on a slab, got it approved and when the building inspector left they furnished in and turned it into a house and the county is a little more careful with that now days as they lose a lot of money off the additional permits you would have to get. But if your out of sight of the main road by your place a lot can be done out of sight and out of mind.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
I remember back in the day Sears offering kits to upgrade their "sheds" to the degree being discussed.
 

Firedawg

Inactive
I realize this is a bit of an old thread, but thought I'd share my little cabin's story. My father and I built a 12 X 18 hunting cabin. It had a loft which we used to store ice chests and climbing stands. The interior had a pair of twin beds with storage under them. A cheap flea market dinette set, a camper's stove/oven/refrigerator, a Wal-Mart gun safe, rebar over the windows, bath towel curtains... you get the idea. We insulated the heck out of it. A simple bathroom style propane heater would make you sweat... even on low. When I say it was a hunting cabin, it's kind of a misnomer. Dad had retired and spent about four months a year in the cabin. I'd go up on my Kelly Days (three day breaks from work) and for 30 days in Nov/Dec every year. I'll neither confirm nor deny that a plastic 55 gallon barrel makes a fines septic tank for a cabin that size. A hip roof off the back gave the four wheelers a place to sit ice free. Dad ended up getting pretty sick and we sold the cabin. Still, some of my best memories were made in that cabin. My kids loved it.

Oh yeah, it had a small black and white television because everything stops when the Razorbacks play Tennessee.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
Hey, I know this is a pretty old thread. But I have been doing the research on it for awhile. I recently sold my huge home. I had it all off grid. Don't need much to be comfy. I bought a very small camper. My idea was to find a little piece of land and park my camper there certain times of the year as a homebase. My big house I had wood/coal stove. Rainwater system. Battery op everything I could find. Its just me now, with two small grandsons who love to hike and camp with me. I'm in a city in Ohio right now, helping daughter and her family set up new home and watch boys on weekend while they work. I had originally wanted to go south, as thats where I was raised. But I'm looking more into MI. I think the one issue would be zoning and regs. I still have the compost potty. If I found an area I like, I would definitely put a little cabin there. Just mulling some ideas around.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
The 'tiny house' movement is all en vogue right now. Some townships/locales are struggling now with their zoning and addressing such types of structures. It can certainly be done on the cheap and/or for those that are doing it because they want to and not because they are cash strapped you can have it built to order for a lot less than you would pay for a traditional house. And you can even buy one online and it's built on a trailer chassis so it's moveable or can be pre-built like a modular and have it delivered to your property. I have a large 5th wheel Montana as well and I put in a 50amp service and have a nice spot for it. Best of both worlds. BTW....welcome to the board.
 

Cardinal

Chickministrator
_______________
Hey, I know this is a pretty old thread. But I have been doing the research on it for awhile. I recently sold my huge home. I had it all off grid. Don't need much to be comfy. I bought a very small camper. My idea was to find a little piece of land and park my camper there certain times of the year as a homebase. My big house I had wood/coal stove. Rainwater system. Battery op everything I could find. Its just me now, with two small grandsons who love to hike and camp with me. I'm in a city in Ohio right now, helping daughter and her family set up new home and watch boys on weekend while they work. I had originally wanted to go south, as thats where I was raised. But I'm looking more into MI. I think the one issue would be zoning and regs. I still have the compost potty. If I found an area I like, I would definitely put a little cabin there. Just mulling some ideas around.




Why MI? GA is lovely this time of year...
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
aaggg just deleted my post.

Ok. Well thank you both for replying. MI. Because I've been up north for so long, I prefer it. I like the four seasons. And I like being where few others are. The place I grew up in is all metro now and worse for it.
I've already traveled all over. I just want a little place of my own thats peaceful and quiet. I'm not fancy. I dont need much.
I stopped in the city and looked at the weaver barns, they were nice and price was decent. Do you think they are built ok? For snow loads?
I've taken my two little grandsons in the woods hiking, swimming in the creeks, picking morels, etc. They really love it. I've taught them all about gardening and nature and fishing and off grid. Thats what I hope to do more of. They brought me a popcorn seed today, said they were going to grow corn. Planted it and watered it. LOL.
Bless their hearts. Sweet little guys.
When they would come stay with me in the summer, we were all off grid. Potty. Rocket stoves. Shelf stable foods. Rainwater. Garden. Learning to forage. Played a dvd off the solar for an hour at night then lots of books and stories. Thats what I'm leaning to.
I dont know how my grown kids stand the city. They were raised rural. Of course they all talk about the trap. Need big job to afford the lifestyle. There is still hope.
 

Cardinal

Chickministrator
_______________
OK. Well. Keep in mind N. Ga has four seasons, all pretty mild btw, and lost of places to go off grid.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
its just too far from kids and grandkids in ohio and mi

HFcomms, what is the climate for off grid in your AO?


I'm in the U.P. And very rural. My township has about 700 residents in 162 square miles to give you a hint. I'm right on Lake Superior. Winters can be brutal between the lake effect snow and gales off the lake. The plus side is abundant fresh water, firewood, low population density, geologically stable and the only natural threat is danger of forest fires if the summer is dry and dealing with the snow and cold. Wouldn't live anywhere else because I live where everybody doesn't. If you can handle all that it's a great place to live.

That being said they do a good job keeping the roads plowed in winter and a town of 30K is only 30 miles away and UPS delivers here so you can get anything you need without too much hassle.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
sounds almost like this county (MI). except for pop density. its still pretty rural, and the winters can be challenging. i found one place today called rose lake forest, outside leroy. pardon grammatical errors, typing in the dark in my camper
 

Illini Warrior

Illini Warrior
wow guy - you need something substantial for that UP territory - those sheds aren't much - there's nothing around that's abandoned and just needs some re-habbing???
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
That would be the way to go. Something with a well and septic too, even if you don't use it. Just to keep the pokey off the back.
The places I was looking at are rent to own, use camper or put cabin. Very few restrictions and nice lake.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
wow guy - you need something substantial for that UP territory - those sheds aren't much - there's nothing around that's abandoned and just needs some re-habbing???

I built it myself from plans and added various enhancements including an enclosed porch, ect. I built it in 2000 and here it is 2018 and it's still solid as a brick. A lot more solid and insulated than my luxury 5th wheel which is supposedly arctic rated. [only if you want to burn #200 of propane a week] Basically I bought the property and didn't want to go into debt so that is what I did and it's all that I need. In 2005 we had 350 inches of snow for the season and was snowing several inches almost every day so I know all about substantial structures.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
That is absolutely gorgeous to imagine! Thats what I'm looking to do. Stay in camper while I build. Even if I have the Amish do it, for they are masters.
The cabin would be like that, warm and snug and simple.
One place I'm looking at has little to no restrictions. Just good manner type things. I couldn't care less about being near a lake (this place) but its land contract. I have to have enough left to build/buy and live. The cabin in the woods is what a lot want, and I am determined to make it a reality!
HFcomms, thank you for your input, its very interesting to read. I read another post of yours about you and your brother and how you got to where you are. I do enjoy reading those posts.

ps: had a friend and her husband who went to Lake Superior, bought a place and lived there a number of years. They are back in this county now. I don't know why.

pps: I took out the full size bed and platform today, it took up a lot of room. I put a lightweight metal futon in there instead. In its sitting up position. If and when I take my little grandsons with me to camp, I will get a twin size inflating bed for them. I took all the frame and all out, and I see a few leaks from the recent rain. They can be caulked on the outside. Other than that its an excellent build. Much more room now.
 
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Illini Warrior

Illini Warrior
I built it myself from plans and added various enhancements including an enclosed porch, ect. I built it in 2000 and here it is 2018 and it's still solid as a brick. A lot more solid and insulated than my luxury 5th wheel which is supposedly arctic rated. [only if you want to burn #200 of propane a week] Basically I bought the property and didn't want to go into debt so that is what I did and it's all that I need. In 2005 we had 350 inches of snow for the season and was snowing several inches almost every day so I know all about substantial structures.


soooo - you're agreeing that one of those pre-built backyard tool sheds aren't good enough ....
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
soooo - you're agreeing that one of those pre-built backyard tool sheds aren't good enough ....

I never claimed that it was. I just shared what I did. I think it's possible to purchase a large prebuilt shed and have it delivered say a 12'x16' or 12'x18 and once placed on blocks to reinforce it and put in insulation and wallboard and to make it workable. I use a gambrel barn design myself and have a loft for sleeping and it can be finished quite nicely on the inside as I did. One has a lot of different options. Never had a problem with snow loading or anything else.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
Thats excellent HFcomms.
One place in that lake/forest is half acre and 3K. I know thats not much land. But it isn't crowded and I think it might be good to have like minded around. I have to go look at it.
 

SuElPo

Veteran Member
I would love to have a tiny house or shed type house or small log house, but I still owe too much on my house trailer. I own my land. It's not a lot, about 1/2 acre, but at my age now, I can't handle any more any way.

Susan
 

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Small houses do fine up north.
As for prebuilt sheds - a lot of folks in off grid groups start with one of the prebuilts. It is a "jumpstart". And there are some pretty nice ones put there.
My only issue is that around here the prebuilts are pricey. If you've got the tools, skill, and ability you could build and finish one for what they want for the shell. Maybe even build it bigger.
There are two families within a few blocks of me that picked up smaller prebuilts on craigslist. One uses one for a craft room and the other for an elder parent's bedroom. The other uses two for bedrooms for a couple of friends. So craigslist might be an option for starting. I've seen some nice ones on there. Typically with "I'm moving" or "I'm getting divorced" stories.
 
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