The money verses freedom thread

[devoid]

No, I have a roof over my head. All alone. And while I like it like that I realize it's horribly inefficient and selfish. I think apartment blocks are the way to go if you want to lower housing costs. Nice thick block walls. Good thermal and acoustic insulation. And while your putting the foundation in for it put a geothermal field in. And solar hot water heat up top. Wind and batteries for lighting. Computers can be made much more efficient. The geothermal can keep your beer cold too. Above point A to B cars are toys, and therefore a luxury. Meet '86 740GLE wagon. Coldwar car. They made diesels. I'd like one.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by devoid

No, I have a roof over my head. All alone. And while I like it like that I realize it's horribly inefficient and selfish. I think apartment blocks are the way to go if you want to lower housing costs. Nice thick block walls. Good thermal and acoustic insulation. And while your putting the foundation in for it put a geothermal field in. And solar hot water heat up top. Wind and batteries for lighting. Computers can be made much more efficient. The geothermal can keep your beer cold too. Above point A to B cars are toys, and therefore a luxury. Meet '86 740GLE wagon. Coldwar car. They made diesels. I'd like one.

There's more than one way to skin the cat if you don't want to another cog in the machine. Just look at the not so distant past.

People used to not have electrical service, gas, phones, etc. They heated their houses with wood, used kerosene for lighting and cooking, built their houses with tall ceilings to facilitate cooling in the summer, had summer kitchens, etc. I can think of a local mansion which was built over the mouth of a cave which allowed the cool air to be drawn into the interior for cooling in the summer.

Now if you were to pick up maybe 3-5 acres of woods, set your house into the side of a hill, concrete floor and wall where the side of the house addressed the earth, double envelope construction on the exposed walls, fairly steep roof, lots and lots of insulation, etc. You could even bury pvc in the earth and use a simple blower for natural air conditioning. Install a small wood stove for heat, if well insulated enough you could pick up limbs from the ground for firewood and have more than you could use.

The trick would be in the planning stage. Take your time and get this part right in order to eliminate false steps.

I would also suggest obtaining the financing needed to get the structure and utilities in place and to procure the materials necessary to finish it out. Then finish it at your leisure, you'll have a roof over your head in the meantime.

The costs in new construction are labor and finishing the interior, the basic structure is relatively cheap. I suppose you could accomplish this out of your hip pocket, but unless you have fairly deep pockets, it would be difficult.

One other thing, most bankers won't loan you a penny for a project like this. They can see it coming apart at the seams, and then taking a beating at the courthouse steps when they're forced to foreclose.

One other thing, be realistic in your goals. Solar and wind power are great, but I would run an electrical service regardless. The trick is to reduce your need for energy, not eliminate it. And keep the old car, their isn't a bigger waste of money than a new car.

I've considered doing this myself.

Chas

[piece-itpete]

Hi Devoid.

Nice to live simple. I used to be happy go lucky, now I do worry indeed.

I figure I'll be dead before my house is paid for, and even then taxes utilities et cetera cost a ton.

Pete