# Amish Homes?



## Huntmo1

Has anyone every bought an Amish home and gone through the process of getting it wired for power? I've been looking at a few places online and the property looks really nice and in good condition, but because they are Amish farmhouses, I wasn't sure how much time, effort and money would be required to upgrade it to have electricity or any other upgrades that may be needed.

Has anyone gone through that before?


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## homemaid

I have not it I know people have done it in my area. I think it depends on if the Amish actually built the house from scratch. Or remodeled a pre built home. Most in our area when redoing a pre built they don't rip out the wires. They cut them off and leave the actual wire in the wall. This way you can reconnect the wiring. If they built from scratch you would have to fish or feed the wires through.


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## Molly Mckee

The Amish built log houses from Libby MT are prepared for electricity, even their own houses. If you are interested in an Amish house ask about it. They may have made plans for wiring in case they ever sold it. Some Amish do use electricity, they won't connect to the grid but some are allowed to use hydro, solar or other types they generate themselves.


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## Dusky Beauty

Some Amish tradesmen/builders are actually quite good electricians! Strange but true!


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## AverageJo

What a perfect opportunity to go solar!! We have a 100 year old farmhouse and have pulled new wires as some of the rooms still didn't have electric. It's not as difficult as you'd think. If you're going to go through all this trouble, I'd strongly suggest you invest a bit more and go solar. If you find the right property, don't let a simple thing of electric stop you!! The Amish have lived this way a long time and you can to until you get the electric hooked up.


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## haypoint

Most of the manufactured homes (house trailers, double wides) are built by Amish, hired to work and even do the wiring.
Amish are people. They are all different. Their chirches dictate how modern they can be. It varies. 
Look at an Amish home th same as any other.
The Amish are a growing population. I'd want to know why they left that area or that house. If they couldn't make a go of it, you might not either.


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## Johnny Dolittle

haypoint said:


> Most of the manufactured homes (house trailers, double wides) are built by Amish, hired to work and even do the wiring.
> Amish are people. They are all different. Their chirches dictate how modern they can be. It varies.
> Look at an Amish home th same as any other.
> The Amish are a growing population. I'd want to know why they left that area or that house. If they couldn't make a go of it, you might not either.


Around here they often build a house on a small piece of land and then eventually sell and use the profit from the smaller property to buy a larger property. Here in Pennsylvania the law requires that Amish houses built after a certain date must be wired before selling unless is being sold to another Amish family.


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## francismilker

Some amish actually build a new house and run wire in the walls and all the other modern conveniences. They simply rough it in and never finish it until they sell it. Lots of amish in my area are only here for a little while and then move back to Ohio or Pennsylvania where their kin is from. They don't want to have an unsellable house so they preplan for it.


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## Micheal

Have a neighbor who's bought 2, an older (100 yrs) one and one that was built about 2 years before he bought it. In both homes he gutted them to the studding only because he found it easier to (re)wire, add additional plumbing, and insulate where needed. 
In turn he did get them both for a good price because of the "lack" of _____.


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## IowaLez

When we decided to move to NE Iowa, we initially had a deal to buy a gorgeous large Amish home with about 100 acres of land. We had an electrician look at the house and estimate the cost of electrifying the home, and the bid was $30,000. This was a 2500 sq ft home with a full basement the same size. The cost of electrifying was a part of the purchase price.


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## DenMacII

We've looked at several Amish homes in our search for a homesteading property, and Haypoint touches on what we found. Some homes were beautiful pieces of craftsmanship while others were like the ramshackle forts that I built as a young boy. One of the areas we were looking at had several Amish farms for sale - turns out this was an already small Amish community and most were leaving the area.
As previously mentioned as well - many of the 'English' homes converted to Amish still have the wiring in the walls. I would focus more on the utility of the property and outbuildings than the amount of electrical outlets that could be jammed into the house. You will need the use of the land and outbuildings more than 110 outlets in the house.


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## siberian

Only drawback I see in getting financed. Around here , if you don't have a 100 amp service , you can't get a loan


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## wharton

DenMacII said:


> We've looked at several Amish homes in our search for a homesteading property, and Haypoint touches on what we found. Some homes were beautiful pieces of craftsmanship while others were like the ramshackle forts that I built as a young boy..


This is an amazing truth. The mytical "Amish" craftsmanship. I have seen Amish pole barn builders who did as close to a perfect job as humanly possible, and fast. Every piece of furniture in my house is made by the Lancaster Amish, and will last another century. OTOH, I had a crew on a modular I was building. They were sent by the factory to button up the roof and siding. I had to talk to them several time about their absolutely terrible workmanship. At one point it came down to, " if that's the best you can do, when it comes to installing siding, you should probably get your stuff packed up and leave. All you are really doing is wasting material, and creating a big mess for me to replace". I wouldn't of added a single one of them to my crew, even if they worked for free. 

It's also interesting to see how different communities set their standards. A Lancaster County PA. Amish homestead tends to be squared away to military standards. By mid-spring the grass is perfect, the flower beds look like something at a flower show, and entire valleys look like photo-shopped calender pics. OTOH, my son went to school in western PA. The local (Indiana county PA.) tourism agency encourages travelers to visit their "Amish country". Wow, what a radical difference. Extremely rough hilly ground, lots of poverty visible among the locals, and more than a few Amish homesteads that look like something out of rural Russia. Places that haven't see a paint brush in decades, falling fences, piles of junk in the barnyard. etc..... Interesting stuff.


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## FarmChix

Depending on where/when it was built, it could already have electricity behind the drywall. I could be wrong, but I was told that in the State of Ohio now, they have to put the electricity in but they don't have to use it. I don't know how long that has been in effect.....I would buy Amish built home in a heartbeat!


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## wharton

FarmChix said:


> Depending on where/when it was built, it could already have electricity behind the drywall. I could be wrong, but I was told that in the State of Ohio now, they have to put the electricity in but they don't have to use it. I don't know how long that has been in effect.....I would buy Amish built home in a heartbeat!


If it's wired to any resonable code, it would have electrical boxes in place, and blank covers over the openings. As an electrician for the last thirty years, it's tough to imagine an electrical system hidden from sight, that can be used later. It would be full of code violations, (concealed splices and junctions, boxes not installed flush with the surface, etc....) and very difficult to cut open later.


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## FarmChix

wharton said:


> If it's wired to any resonable code, it would have electrical boxes in place, and blank covers over the openings. As an electrician for the last thirty years, it's tough to imagine an electrical system hidden from sight, that can be used later. It would be full of code violations, (concealed splices and junctions, boxes not installed flush with the surface, etc....) and very difficult to cut open later.


Maybe they just put the covers on it and don't use it...???? Someone told me that they have to at least put it in now. On a related note, the local news also reported that they are making some put indoor plumbing in....???


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## wharton

FarmChix said:


> Maybe they just put the covers on it and don't use it...???? Someone told me that they have to at least put it in now. On a related note, the local news also reported that they are making some put indoor plumbing in....???


Just more of the constant erosion of individual rights in this country. As a builder and electrician, I'm just about done with this silly game. It's hard to imagine that in my rural area we recently went from little interference, to a code enforcement bureaucracy that now is run by a professional engineering firm, staffed by idiots that aren't sure how to hold a hammer, and paid thousands per new home to play games with paperwork. They are putting pressure on folks like the Amish because they want total compliance. If you can demand your freedom based on religion, it threatens their power. So, yes they do spend time violating peoples's rights by demanding electrical installations that will never be used, and indoor plumbing that violates their beliefs. Every year is a slow march toward a rural existance where only the weathy can afford to do as they wish with their property, and things like affordable housing and being able to build what you want, how you want, for yourself, are slipping away. Fire sprinklers, rain gardens, erosion control plans, engineered drawings, constant upgrades to materials and specifications driven by suppleirs and manufacturers. Continually rising costs for permits, additional fees, impact fees.......... If you let a these folks get their slimy little foot in the door, it doesn't take long until all these things start happening to your rural area. Groups of Amish are constantly resettling to more remote locations to start new communities, and avoid all this harrassment, but in the end big brother will catch up with them too. It's disgusting.


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## Raymond James

I have an Amish friend trying to sell property now. He ran a bulk store on a small holding. Big nice home , garden, barn, 30X40 metal storage, store, several small buildings wood shed/water pump house, chicken house, 8 or so acres of pasture. 

There was a failing out in the community many families moved away this property has been on the market for over two years too small for a farm and no one wants a store with out Electricity. He is currently thinking about putting it in. Since he needs several poles put in to bring it to the house the power company is quoting $15,000. Still would have to put the fuse box and wiring in. 

It would be cheaper and better to put in a solar system.


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## Rocky Fields

In regards to Amish homes...you didn't mention indoor plumbing, but you need to similarly address that issue too. Sometimes the piping is there, but the fixtures are removed. Other times there is nothing there. Retrofitting indoor plumbing can be a challenge at times...


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## AverageJo

Raymond..... Do you have a link to that property? Is it listed with a realtor? What part of MO is it in?


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