a change of course...

[mobile_bob]

for about the last dozen years i have been dreaming, researching, planning, drawing, thinking and rethinking
my offgrid place on a hillside in kansas... well reality is sometimes a cruel bitch.

over the last several years my physical health has declined to the point that it is unlikely that i could see to fruition
my goals, add to that a shaky economy and the basic fear of the unknown, i finally decided to take a look at options.

basically separate "wants" from "needs"

i need a house that is paid for, while i wanted it to be out on my property, there is no real need for it to be so.

so i took a big gulp, swallowed my want's, and decided to take a look in town to see what might be available. what i found
was the little town of ~650 pop. no building code enforcement, no inspections, and just about nothing else either, but
it did have an interesting property.

it is a two story, built with the living space on the upper floor, and a garage on the bottom floor, solidly built, decent concrete floor
850sq/ft up and same down, sitting on a corner lot that is 125x 140ft. it is habitable as is but could use new floor coverings upstairs and a new tub surround, other than that perfectly acceptable. all appliances, central heat and air, city water, gas, electric and also 2 wells on the property, one in the garage and one in the side yard for what the previous owner used to irrigate his rather large garden.

i had to think about this for a while, mainly because i cannot build for the cost of this property, even if i were healthy enough to do so myself it would be hard to build anything of similar size for twice the price, so i pulled the trigger and made and offer and it was accepted.. they even threw in the washer/drier and a riding lawnmower and weedeater. i guess they feel as good about the offer as i do, so it is a win/win solution.

on the downside, it is in town and i won't have the privacy and i guess i can't run around naked in the yard, other than that there are few neighbors and all of the are much older than i am.

on the upside i have nat gas to research the use of in dual fuel operation and this might well be a godsend as the epa has proven to be rather slow to get an answer on importation of our chosen diesel engine, perhaps they would be more agreeable to a dual fuel engine for combined heat and power,, the emissions would be very low.  so i am quite upbeat about the prospects in this regard.

this also leaves me with enough money left in the building fund to put up a good size shop and then move the equipment out
of the lower level garage and convert it into a living area complete with massive thermal mass heat/cold sink which if all these years of experimentation and research prove out should dramatically reduce my heating and cooling requirements.  it also leaves me with perhaps enough money left to have a bit of cushion in savings to be able to relax a bit or use it to build a small cabin out on the hillside that would truly be offgrid,,  be my escape from the big city weekend getaway 

this is not exactly what i had intended to do, but when life deals you lemons i guess you add vodka?



bob g

[mbryner]

Congratulations on your acquistion!   Post a few pictures!

[veggie]

Hey Bob,
Congratulations on the new digs!
Now you're gonna find out what I learned two years ago....
I'm talking about Changfa's in residential neighborhoods 
You'll see 

Nice to have the natural gas. Very efficient/clean heating.
An excellent fuel for CHP systems.
I'm planning on running my Roid on 80% NG and 20% liquid fuel.
I have already added a tee in my garage heater gas line and capped it off right beside the roid until I finish designing the regulator & controls.

veggie

[LowGear]

Hi bob g,

Great decision.  Wish I had the smarts. 

Best wishes with your new endeavor. 

Casey

[Henry W]

Bob,
Congratulations! I think you will be fine. New doors just opened up and I feel it will be a winning combination. The place is paid for. No mortgage what a releif!!! You can still build a nice sound reducing engine house on the property and still not bother the neighbors with the S195's.
And like you said, It also leaves me with perhaps enough money left to have a bit of cushion in savings to be able to relax a bit or use it to build a small cabin out on the hillside that would truly be offgrid,,  be my escape from the big city weekend getaway.

I think you will enjoy your larger property even more.

Henry

[SteveU.]

Congratulations on your practicality Mobile Bob

Basically the same decision my wife and I ended up with. Keep the old, now modernized 1906 house on the edge of Yacolt town 'cause we own it free and clear and it was remodeled to accommodate wheelchairs and aging in place for her folks. Our offgrid family cabin property up on the Wind River can remain just that. The get-a-way-from-it-all it has been for the last two generations.
Ha! Ha! She won't allow me any engine noise up there disturbing her river sounds so I have wood heated TEG's up my sleeves for it.

Regards
Washington State Steve Unruh

[vdubnut62]

Way to go Bob, looking back in a few years, I predict you will decide that was a proper application of the 'ol noodle.
A ready place to live while you tinker and play/experiment. That is looking more and more the same as my options, WE ALL are getting older everyday.
Ron

[AdeV]

Nice one Bob - like Marcus said - where's the pictures? In fact, to borrow a smiley from another forum... (I'm sure I did this before):



Sounds like your garage will be the perfect size for all those engines of yours, and you could always install a lift between garage & living quarters, should you ever become immobile_bob...

[oiler]

Congratulations Bob

Funny really how this crisis affects all of us, allover the world

I'm considering selling off most of my land in order to keep our house

[mobile_bob]

this is all i have for pic's, most of them are not very good, however these give you a sense of what the place is

the house/garage is sitting on the front left corner of the lot, hugged up about as close to the property line and the street
as probably was legal at the time, it was built in 1969  by a bachelor ww2 vet that lost a leg during the war. climbing stairs must have
been a challenge for him as i remember he didn't walk real well. i vaguely remember the place being built, being 13 at the time i didn't pay a lot of attention to the project.

the first pic is from the street, a corner view,, not sure if that is a tv antenna tower or ham radio?, the discoloration on the paint is
from moss growing on the siding, this is the north facing wall.

the second pic is garage viewed down the center from front to back, the ceiling height is 9ft so if i later develop the area as living space the central air duct could be all covered with the ceiling

the 3rd pic is garage back to front, not sure if that is some extra wall board placed on the door? the garage door has an autoopener
which is handy.

the 4th pic is a shot of the kitchen, a little dark, probably not the highest quality cabinets, but serviceable. since i am the cook in the relationship i will make the kitchen work for me.

more next

[mobile_bob]

the kitchen, 4th pic

[Henry W]

Bob, It has lots of potental and I know you will turn it in a nice cozy place. It looks like it had a new electrical panel installed. My guess 100 amp service. Looks like the garage is has lots of space. You scored big time.

Henry

[mobile_bob]

the asking price was 20k, i offered 17.5k and they accepted

i can't build anything for 17,500 bucks!

even if it isn't perfect, i can afford to put a few bucks into it, given that i am not looking at the place as an investment
that appreciates, but rather a place to live.

if it were to be a long term investment that i was looking for appreciation on, i probably wouldn't have made an offer
on something in that area.

if it lives as long as i do, then it will have served its purpose

bob g

[billswan]

M bob

"can't build anything for 17,500 bucks!"

My god I guess not! This past summer I had to rip a 12x20 hunk off my house and replace it with 16X24 with basement under. IT cost about 35,000 and I had to work my butt off helping all the various contractors and I put in all the wiring myself. And that is rural Minnesota and no need to have anything but the electrics inspected!

Good luck with your new digs and build yourself a GREAT shop

Billswan

[wrightkiller]

Wise choice my friend.