# Building a homestead- Phase 1, 2, & 3



## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

I've been off on an adventure- finally building our homestead in rural SC. I quit my job and headed up there to build full-time. That's right- I'm homeless and unemployed- on purpose! I'm 58 years old, and wanted to start this before I got too old. My wife is still in FL, keeping the income stream going, with the all-important health insurance. We visit about once a month, and she will look for a job in SC once we have a place to live. I miss her terribly, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Phase One is the camper you see here. It is a 40 year old Apache, a rare hard-side pop-up. Rather than canvas walls, they are made of rigid plastic which unfolds into place. The downside is that there are numerous seals, which have all deteriorated, so there are many small leaks. That's the reason for the tarp over the roof. If you look closely, you can see the pink flamingo that a friend gave as a gag gift.

Phase Two is an 8X12 quick-n-dirty shed I threw together. I had my van full of tools, all of which had to be unloaded and loaded pretty much daily. Building a shed eliminated that task, and also gave me a place to set up a makeshift shower and a sawdust toilet. I need to get a picture of the shed now that it is finished with a door and trim.

Phase Three is the barn, a major undertaking. It is 28X48, with a 12' ceiling downstairs, and a huge loft overhead. This is my new living quarters, and will serve as a workshop once the house is done. It's not designed to keep animals; if I ever have livestock, they'll have a much smaller barn. 1/3 of the barn will eventually get finished as a rustic great room for large gatherings, and to serve as a guest house for overnight visitors. The house will be very small, so the extra space will come in handy. We'll only heat or A/C when actually in use, a major savings. I've already built a full bathroom in the barn as well. Now, I could stop right now and be perfectly happy. The loft could be insulated and finished, and make a nice place to live for this older couple. However, my wife has designs on an actual house, so that will be Phase Four.

Phase Four, the house. No pictures, since it isn't even started yet. Now that the barn is just about done, I'll turn my attention to the house. It will be very small by today's standards, but will be on a walk-out basement, so there will be plenty of room. I'm trying to design an efficient basic box, so I'm going to make the outside Craftsman style to give it more 'curb appeal', even though the 'curb' is several hundred feet away, and not visible from the house. I'm going to make the house as energy efficient as it makes economic sense to do. Some new technology is just too expensive to pay back in my life span. Were doing all of this out-of-pocket, so money is a huge factor.

I'll try to up-date this thread periodically as the build progresses. I don't have Internet at the property, so my visits will be sporadic at best.


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## Goldeneye (Sep 14, 2011)

Nice! Great work on the barn. I like your signature "If not now, when? NEVER, if not now!"

The biggest risk is not having the courage to follow your dreams IMO.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

MushCreek, you are quite a carpenter! I'm looking forward to seeing more photographs as you progress.

One of the things I first thought of when I saw that nice barn were those tall trees. It seems obvious they had to grow up tall to get some sunshine and it reminded me of what occurred here when we first started building. We had to clear off certain areas for what we wanted, i.e. housing, barns/sheds, even grazing pastures; and it wasn't a full year before the heavy rains and strong winds let us know they had been making use of what we took down. The forestry near our clearings started falling over on top of fencing, etc. (We had the trees nearest our house/barn and power lines topped to help prevent this.) I'm not saying such will occur on your place; however, you might want to give it some thought. It would not feel good to have one of those tall trees fall on top of what you've worked so hard on.

Another thing I thought of was that you're out there all alone! In this day and age I sure hope you have some sort of protections set in place.


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## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm concerned about the trees, too. The ones near the barn are fairly small, and probably wouldn't do that much damage, but over near the house site are some that over 2' in diameter. Added to that, the trees are drought stressed, particularly the red oaks. I've had two die completely, and others have a lot of dead limbs. Oddly enough, my contractor doing the site work is somewhat of a tree-hugger, and is trying to save everything. He put the driveway within 2' of a couple of white oaks, rather than take them down. My money is that soil compression will kill them in the next few years anyhow.

SC is not all that windy, but ice storms are common, and do a lot of damage to the trees.


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## KMA1 (Dec 9, 2006)

MushCreek,

That is a fine looking storage shed and barn. Congratulations on getting all this done. It does take a lot of time and sweat. But from my experience you will never regreat it. I am hoping to be in full time homesteading beginning in January myself, and will be starting off with a 40x40 shop, followed by a couple of pole sheds and reworking an old barn. Good luck wiht your house!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Nice work. You will always be able to say, "I built that" Very satisfying feeling. I am helping my B-I-L rebuild a barn like that, 36'x84'. Horse stalls on first floor, 1/2 of second is living and 1/2 of a basketball court in the other half, lol....James


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## foaly (Jan 14, 2008)

Your work is amazing and wonderful! I applaud your efforts!! :bow: :clap:


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## thestartupman (Jul 25, 2010)

Its great that you took the leap to start this journey. I am about to start on the same type of journey. I have already quit my job, and we have finally got an offer on the house.one question for you. Do you not need any building permits, or have any building codes where you are building?


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## homebody (Jan 24, 2005)

The barn and storage building are beautiful. Excellent work. Do you have a lot of experience as a carpenter? Was wondering about codes also as we think we may build a cabin someday where there isn't any codes. Please keep us updated. I love to read about others ventures/successes.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

You've accomplished a lot. Good job!


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

Excellent! We found that plans are kind of like toilet paper... always new crap, and the plans get flushed for new ones  I guess that is why we aren't as far along as you, even after 2 years. Hats off to you sir!


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## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

thestartupman said:


> Its great that you took the leap to start this journey. I am about to start on the same type of journey. I have already quit my job, and we have finally got an offer on the house.one question for you. Do you not need any building permits, or have any building codes where you are building?


We are in Greenville County SC, which is pretty 'citified'. There are permits and inspections required. They are currently under IRC 2009, as is much of the United States, although there are plenty of areas where it is not enforced. Do your homework before you buy! We are considered un-zoned where our property is, so almost anything goes, as long as it's up to code. BTW- the permits for our barn totalled $80.


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## Groene Pionier (Apr 23, 2009)

I think you are doing an wonderful job!
Thank you for sharing, you are an inspiration!
Xant


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

Wow. Great work. You picked an wonderful place to live too! (Former SC resident)


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## Elevenpoint (Nov 17, 2009)

Did you build the barn alone or was that contracted out?


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Looks like your dreams are coming along nicely! Good work! You are doing sort of what I hope to be doing next year, though I'll be on a very tight budget and won't be able to do as nice a barn as you have (and my barn will eventually be for livestock). We've already got the travel trailer to live in, will be living in that this winter at my mother's place, then buy land as soon as possible and move to it. 

Kathleen


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Looks great! Good for you and your wife for working together and facing the hardship of separation to follow your dream!


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

that barn is beautiful. Perfect dimensions.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

You are exactly where I hope to be in 4 years...58 and building our place in Missouri.

Nice work and thanks for sharing your progress with us. We look forward to more pics and maybe even more importantly, tips!


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## MushCreek (Jan 7, 2008)

elevenpoint said:


> Did you build the barn alone or was that contracted out?


I had quite a bit of help with all of the heavy lifting. The walls and trusses are way beyond what one person could manage, unless I had access to a crane!

I'm working with a great contractor who lets me do what I can, and then steps in with his crew when I ask for help.


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## Bentley (Jul 10, 2008)

That's an awesome homestead you are building there. I love the barn. If possible, it would be special to see a few more pictures of it. Maybe a few inside pics too?

You must feel really good with your progress. I know you're proud.

Good luck

B


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