off grid DIY construction
After purchasing your off grid property, the next item to consider is housing and storage. Everyone who plans on moving off grid or to a remote area doesn’t have the luxury of hiring a general contractor and having it “build” for them. This was our situation 11 years ago. When you’re going to do it yourself (DIY) its a good time to do research and be creative. Doing this others come up with adobe, straw bale, earth, and cordwood home construction. In our case, a simple pole building was the solution.
The pole building is rather simple and has been around for ages. Its most commonly used for barns and outbuildings. The pole building is built around a series of sturdy poles anchored in the ground with beams sitting on top, or bolted to the poles. These beams bear all the weight of the roof, and anything under them is not load bearing.
One great advantage of this construction technique is that once the pole anchoring, the beams and roof trusses are designed and built, the rest of the construction is not load bearing or critical structurally. The rest of the “boxing in” keeps the wind out. Yes its important to know about the insulation, how many windows and doors, but if the first part is done right, the building is structurally sound.
Construction, Kids testing out new rabbit cage
This construction method probably saves 25% over standard construction with concrete footers and foundation. It may not be suitable for all areas depending on the soil composition and the pole loading factors, but if you can, it will get you up and going quickly. In my case, I wasn’t comfortable with the roofing design so we ordered some designed to our specifications. The trade off was speed of construction versus raised ceilings.
Now as you and I have an opportunity to review this construction project 11 years after the fact, you will benefit from the few short comings learned the hard way, and you will be able to proceed on your own design with confidence.
What kind of building are you considering for your remote property? What construction tips do you have? Want more details on our project? Tell us all about it below!
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