7 CHEAP OFF-GRID HOME OPTIONS for Your Homestead - Podcast Episode 122

[@sethmear]

I remember coming home from my deployment back in July and telling my wife my crazy plans of the six of us being homesteaders and now she asks does Aust and K have a new video out? Thank you guys for all you share with us. Be safe and warm for the holiday. I am thankful for how much you've helped with bringing my family around to this crazy idea of mine.

[@Homesteadyshow]

🥲 happy to be a little inspiration!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Pole barn houses are awesome! Love how quick they go up and how easy it is to DIY finish the inside. We are finishing the inside of ours now and love it!

[@dirtroaddestiny]

Oh man we started with raw land. It had an older mobile home on the property that we fixed up, added a well, got electric, and from there our farm started. ❤ such a journey but I love hearing others journey too

[@dreamingtreefarmstead]

YES. The whole time you were talking about ridiculous houses (sorry to anyone living in a straw hut) I was like POLE BARN!! When you talk about cost/durability/aesthetics you can't beat it.

[@frenchysandi]

I grew up oldest of 9 kids we had a small house 3 bedroom 1 for parents downstairs, upstairs we had 1 big bedroom for girls 1 bedroom for boys with beds in halls upstairs as well. Downstairs we had a Large kitchen and living room with 2 cribs in it. The basement has a washer and dryer 2 large freezers and a wood furnace plus a store room where we put canned goods and potatoes. Our bedrooms only had a foot between beds and between beds and dressers and we used bunk beds where possible. There wasn’t tons of room except there was a nice size kitchen. We did fine.

[@Homesteadyshow]

9 kids, wow!

[@lapetitemaison4219]

Pole Barn structures are a great home design. So are Quonset huts and Concrete domes. With the rounded dome structures they withstand high winds because there is nothing for the wind to catch and tear off. Pole Barn structures are very economical. Once it's on site, you can work on the inside at your own pace and wallet availability. Best wishes on your final decision.

[@janetdiaz8916]

You probably have watched "My little homestead". They moved onto a property with a one bedroom house and they have kids. They actually built 4 tiny bed nooks in the unusually small attic. It wasn't much more than a bed and shelves for each child. The kids loved it. They never did build a large house. No. Each child slowly got their own earthbag bedroom. Laid in a circle around the yard, near the main house.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Oh cool! Earthbags! We didn't cover those, they are so cool!

[@deborahgrantham3364]

We bought 3 sheds and put then together in an H pattern. It's wonderful. We did the inside ourselves. Cheep and very easy to build

[@kathleensanderson3082]

Cheap housing ideas we used while setting up our first homestead were tents (two, for six people), and travel trailers. Later, second homestead, travel trailer, with a shed built over the top of it. Third homestead, old farmhouse in need of a lot of work. Fourth -- youngest daughter and I lived with my grandmother for the last eight years of Grandma's life (she lived to 97, and was still of sound mind when her heart finally gave out). Fifth, an old fifth-wheel travel trailer, followed by an old double-wide. Sixth, and current, another old farmhouse in need of a ton of work. Raised three children on homesteads one through three.

[@goofyroofy]

A few things about cob and your situation at the sunny mt. Where you have lots of clay and access to excavators, other machinery in the family, you can mix cob on a much larger scale, so time and manpower will be less of an issue than you may think. if you look into cob building in the UK, the use JCB's and such to mix it and make straight 90 deg walls like reg builds its not all Cascadia hippy stuff. The UK has used it for centuries and still uses it, so you could get the info you need to do it right, and i'd imagine cheaper than other options. Use passive solar orientation, windows, earth floor, climate battery and you're most of the way there for your heating/cooling, maybe a rocket mass heater or kachel oven & you're set with less maintenance than usual construction.

[@deborahmauro8754]

Something for you guys to think about…bring up a 20 ft. Container to store some of the equipment you need to start. It keeps out rodents of all types and is lockable. Later it can be used to store grain, etc. Then build your pole structure using steep pitch roof so you have usable 2nd level and snow load easily falls off. Great for water catchment. With outside lean to (even more out of weather coverage). You can add tarps to drop down for rainy snowy season on lean to. Insulate the structure at the start (less work than doing later). Going up saves money while giving added space as you only need one roof.

[@melindawolfUS]

I live in a HOT climate, so a pole barn becomes VERY expensive to cool. I like the idea of using a metal barn kit to somehow to create structure and roof, but maybe use straw, cob or hempcrete layers to create natural, affordable insulation. Like you guys, I like hybrid systems the best! I'd love to be using passive solar, air circulation, natural fire/pest resistant insulation and geothermal heating/cooling all in one building. I wish more people advertised that they design things like this, I have trouble finding design help in Southern Utah and there aren't ready-made plans for my dry, hot climate that I've been able to find to address all the advantages/disadvantages of each building method. Seems like people (and their workshops) will just teach one method to keep it simple but I'm happy/able to learn multiple skills if it means ending up with the best house. Any suggestions for help, maybe in Vegas?

[@CynthiaRockroth]

In hot climate in 1800s. People built all buildings off the ground on poles. Or now concrete post. About 3ft off the ground to let the Breese go under the house year round. It will make you much more comfortable. Also frount and back porch is used like an outdoor room. And a summer kitchen is a separate building to keep heat out of the living space in summer.

[@evelynrogers7145]

Take a look at Cog Hill Farm. Gorgeous Barndominium.

[@kenziebessinger3557]

My fiancé and I just got approved for a VA home loan and have decided to get a cheap place with enough land to eventually build our own off grid homestead. Your videos are not only super informative but are also really helping me to get excited for the adventure we are about to begin.

[@findingfitmom9926]

If you do the pole barn, you can have a door that goes right from your kitchen into your milk room. Save time and energy.

[@ThatOneLadyOverHere]

I LOVE the way cob homes look, but the time and effort that foes into them is really overwhelming. I hope I can at least incorporate cob into a part of the home, because the very organic curvey shapes are just so appealing to me.

[@hillarywright7965]

I like how you guys have thought this out. Thanks for sharing!

[@victoriamonet1117]

😂😂😂😂 I’m here now. Researching something, and loving it! Then, seeing someone say something negative…. And have the wind knocked out of my motivation.

[@rw8147]

I looked into every one of these options as well and, no kidding, came to the same conclusion for the same overall reasons.

[@theresahansell3507]

Don't want to beat the same drum but you really need to look into: Lumnd acres on KZbin, and tiny shiny homes on KZbin. They're both off grid ones in the desert with no water. (They show how they collect their water and their solar system.) The other one is in the mountains. With water but cold weather. They both did solar. And got outbuildings in kit form. Good luck anyway and hope everything works out.

[@heatheranderson1204]

We did the same in TN. A little sheet rock and flooring and it came together from there💜

[@moniquem783]

How about calling it your barn home? I've heard that before on UK based tv shows. I love the idea. Sounds perfect. I was looking at one place here that was pretty much a big shell like a barn, and then inside they put up a sort of pod of bedrooms with quite a wide hallway down each side which would provide a stack of space for storage, and then the bathroom at the end of one hallway and the laundry at the end of the other. The pod left a big open space with high ceilings so the kitchen/dining/living space felt really big and open even though it wasn't huge. It was a really nice place. Probably wasn't as tall as yours is going to be (you could have a double story pod!), but it was a similar idea I think. Perhaps as the kids get older you might find yourself wanting a bit more space, and then you could add little guest houses/teenage retreats using the natural materials. A cob house for one, a straw bale house for another, a mud brick house for someone else. Maybe start with one and call it the play room and send the kids out there when you need some quiet! If you do something with cob, you've got to test my theory that it can be mixed in a cement mixer with a couple of cricket balls bouncing around to stomp it, rather than doing it with your feet. I only want a cob oven in my backyard but I still don't fancy all of that stomping. There has to be an easier way!

[@Homesteadyshow]

“I don’t fancy All of the stomping” needs to be a t shirt 😂

[@moniquem783]

@@Homesteadyshow 😂😂😂 or socks!

[@JNPummill]

I'm commenting before finishing the video *gasp* first off, love y'all! We're trying to start our homestead and I'm bingeing your videos because I love how you break things down and are realistic. It seems we have a lot of the same values. Anyway... One thought for you... You may consider trying different forms of homes in the way of making little versions of them in the form of sheds or outhouses or barn-type shelters. Maybe even be able to rent the little buildings out to others? Love to hear your thoughts on that idea!

[@mariannahardin9473]

Straw bale would be awsome, would love to watch you build one. If you do the stick frame your bales are insulation (insurance purposes its called cellulose insulation not straw bale.) The burm or earthship style are cool too. So many choices it's awsome that you two are researching all your possibilities. Can't wait to know what your choice is.

[@noon8019]

Have you looked at Jamaica Cottage they sell cottages that are built like Lincoln Logs very easy to assemble

[@1965gracebug]

Our only need was a place to put all our tools and stuff. We lived in a 30 ft. Rv and we tried the Harbor Freight Temp vinyl type garage. Our garage was bent up, ripped up 2 or 3 times so some of our tools and stuff were kinda ruined. Enjoying this journey and praying for you all!

[@joshuamason1867]

I've heard of people using those garages and either adding heavy duty tarps to them or slapping on some tin

[@MRRIntel]

As always a loving video. So inspiring, heartfelt, beautiful! Why not find something in the middle not so remote with modern conveniences.

[@laurenarbogast8916]

We considered so many options, and ended up going with a double wide. I actually really love it. With 4 kids, I couldn’t imagine one big room😅

[@feliciatiba2885]

For how much and what state and is it cold or hot there? I'm in Arizona

[@paulmastre8202]

You two are the cutest couple not on a soap opera. Love your podcast.

[@rachelholdt6840]

One thing you may want to consider for heating purposes are rocket mass heaters. They're super efficient on fuel, really clean burning, easy to build, and can be used for a variety of purposes.

[@jrsf222]

Always love to see your energy and hear your thoughts‼️

[@kathyh.1720]

Have you considered making a home out of tires? "earthships" (I don't live in one, so I can't say if they're any good or not for your area.) By the way, I agree that it shouldn't be called a barndominium for EXACTLY the same reasons!

[@theimperfectpantry5936]

We bought a shed that had been repo’d. 80% of the interior was finished. It is 35 x 14. 1 bedroom and 1 bath. We Are going to finish the loft out with a bed and railings for the grands.All In, including finishing it out, getting it moved and attached to our existing septic and a generator we spent about $35,000.

[@The1stChristgrl]

Before discounting the yurt idea, why don't you guys talk with Mike over at The Fit Farmer YT Channel? They have 3 kids, one on the way, and they've been living in a yurt together for years as market farmers and homesteaders over in the Carolinas. I bet they have first hand knowledge and experience for your unanswered questions!

[@Homesteadyshow]

Our climate is a bit different! We’ve been able to talk to some yurt owners locally, so they’ve been a great asset

[@MrDavidlfields]

Monolithic Domes and Earthships have been on my wish list for decades.

[@squid24736]

thank you for this, this is exactly what I've been looking for 🥰

[@mariannahardin9473]

You guys are awsome. Whatever you two decide to do for heat you might think about some sort of masonry heater, winter you can if you want able to cook/bake in and from my research are very conservative on wood usage drawback is the foundation needed. Just a thought that popped in my head while watching.

[@monahardy978]

Metal house is going to be amazing..thia was a good listen!

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

You have your metal walls that are unlined - don't forget that. But then, you could use your straw bales for that. Listening to K, I'm asking myself, you've got your Loader there, why don't you do an Earthship! Gather up all those free tires at the local tip. Maybe you can score a few other disposed of but useful building materials, metal and wood. Car and tractor tires you can use for a raised garden bed as well, or, with a little adaption, chicken tractors.

[@fincarosa6767]

I absolutely love The Jamaican cottage Shop. They have so many designs and look more like an actual cabin. Good luck in deciding, so many choices in housing. They have a KZbin page to see all the cabins , if ypu wanna check them out.

[@zoecrowhurst9177]

Loving watching your videos! How beautiful are your sweet cows!!!!? I am about your age (I am guessing) I grew up sometimes in a yurt. We were not desolate at all but my parents thought it was cool and functional. I will say, that the experience made it so I have a visceral reaction whenever I even see a yurt to turn and walk the other way😂💕

[@donnamoore4494]

You can also do the Little House on the Prairie thing with as you can you add on to it. Or how about a Triple wide manufactured home. Also for tiny homes. You can build several, I would make one a kitchen and dinning area. Another for the bathroom. Another for the kids bigger and put walls up to give them their own space and attached by a hall from one to the other your master bedroom. Start with one and add more as you go. Map out first of course

[@omick333]

No mention of timberframe with sip panels?

[@maryloomis8075]

What are the codes on your new property? Have you looked into cordwood or cob building which is "green friendly". I would think about the wind and how strong it is on top of your "mountain". What about a prefab house like the one Living Traditions homestead just had built? I've been watching 'The Outsider' build a log cabin with his father. I'm so impressed with the quality of the build. Good luck guys...hope you come to a consensus on what to build.

[@ezellccful]

Earth ship, check out Kris Harbour, he did a wood shop and metal shop. If you find more clay....

[@enosyodermattieyoder4298]

You guys should do a geodesic dome. We refurbished one piece by piece and it's awesome and big enough for 8 people. And we did it with our own lumber that we sawed on our sawmill.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Wow awesome! We didn't cover Geodomes in this episode, we should have mentioned them! Thanks for sharing!

[@Jskh]

Our family is in a very similiar place as yours! We went through all or most of those ideas, as well, and we are also leaning towards a pole barn home. It really seems like a winner with the cost, low maintenance, and even the heights available compared to a shed-to-home, which would allow for a full upstairs. Looking forward to future updates on your new homestead. Hoping all the best for you and your family!

[@kaydefreese7586]

I have some friend who have a pole barn home. They finished it so lovely inside that you could not tell it was from a pole barn.

[@taliandzelda5006]

I am thinking of doing an arched cabin or Quonset hut

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

I'm crazy for earth sheltered homes, but this time we bought a dome house for $600 at an auction, and then we'll supplement the footing/basement/coldroom with cob and bricks (which so far has cost us about $100), and pre-owned windows for $30 apiece, glass bricks for the bathrooms which so far has been $120, and then however much we use to frame out the inside into rooms and a loft. Plus electrical and plumbing. We're currently estimating somewhere around $7000 for all that inside stuff.

[@sandyp998]

We had a shed company build the steel shell with mezzanine floor then we insulated and created the interior space. Pros for us in temperate area, no snow but rain, frost, average summer was it was fairly cheap but more than we expected. Cons, the top floor gets hot, We have had trouble with birds finding their way into the roof space between the metal sheets and also we have had trouble with vermin getting in under the bottom metal sheets even though we were told it was vermin proof. Remember that roofing iron still rusts around the bottom of the building and any scratches or dents that happen. We explored earthbag building as a good cheap method for our next house. Squared corners not Round and continual rolls of bags not individual bags. You could build some of your internal walls with the bags as well. You have enough followers that surely you could pull together some helpers for a group effort.

[@nitapachulski9758]

Hi you too,I wish I had that much money or even half that much. I love your videos you too are so cute together

[@ElizabethRobertson-cq2xt]

Incredible Tin Home.....owner/builder Randy Jones

[@SawmillerSmith]

You could get a used mobile home to remodel. That's about the cheapest way to get a home. Or a used Campers.

[@hannahtiemstra8173]

We use the term Shouse (shop house)

[@lindakurtz2653]

Lost our home to fire this spring and like you we will by building on a shoestring. We have an advantage with a septic, well and driveway already. We are thinking in phases- phase 1 is having the utilities, foundation and shell complete. Phase 2 is getting the inside livable- plumbing, heating and insulation. Then we’ll put our sweat equity into it to get the inside finished. It’s not going to happen overnight ( we’re in our 60’s) but it’ll be livable short term and we can put lipstick on our pig as money and energy permits! This is so timely, this is just where we are. Thank you.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Sorry about your house! Thats gonna be one beautiful pig!

[@johncampbell191]

A lesson at the lowest hanging fruit home you can possibly endure. For the times we face this is appropriate and helpful so thank you and keep up the good job. Your spokesmen looks like a young Gomez Addams so you need a out of this world doorbell no matter what house you get. I know of a 67 acre ranch that can be had if you need a back up plan.

[@inthisseason]

We want to build a barndominium. The initial plan is to get the structure out there and have it professionally installed and then do all the interior work ourselves. We might have to start out with a small 20x20 and then add on with stick built construction down the road. We are a family of nine so far.

[@kaydefreese7586]

Living Traditions Homestead did a Modular Home which is different than a mobile home. A modular home is built off site but it is installed on a permanent foundation.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Yes! We built a (partial) modular barn before

[@rubymcgilvra1771]

Check out Cog Hill Farms channel. They just had a pole barn home built on a budget. I don't know what their budget was but it's gorgeous. They have metal trusses.

[@walterrutherford8321]

Dammit! I just spent about two hours watching your video and stopping to make comments. But when I tried to pause the video to send my comments it went to the next video instead. No! 😱 So I won’t redo all that, but a quick synopsis. I’ve only seen log cabins built of spruce or cedar. I believe softwoods are used for cabins because hardwoods deteriorate too fast in the elements. You can use smaller logs for a cabin if you place them vertically. That way there is no bottom log supporting the entire weight of the wall and roof. I hear there’s less trouble from shrinkage that way too. My Dad built a root cellar of small spruce logs that way. I was very interested in rammed earth because it can be built with local materials and it’s literally dirt cheap. I also liked cordwood. They both can be beautiful, but look very labor-intensive. I grew up on a farm and learned the value of straw bales when I ran into our large barn mid-winter and it was approximately 35°F warmer inside. The walls had simple sawdust insulation, but the hay loft overhead, had ~12ft of stacked bales. And what was heating the barn? One cow! I like the idea of shipping containers not for living quarters but for storage and structural outer supports that enclose 20-40ft of roofed living space. I’m surprised you’re so opposed to them when you’re metal barndominium loft looked like a double wide shipping container. And the beauty is they can be used to ship and safely store all of the building materials and tools during construction. And I’m surprised you didn’t mention domes. They cover the greatest area with the least material. I helped my brother build one from 2x4s, metal hubs that he cut from 3” pipe, and metal strapping. Not a single nail. The frame went up surprisingly fast using scaffolding and the help of some friends. He then covered it with plastic and spray foam. It was very spacious and very warm. He couldn’t fully fire the woodstove or it would run you out of the building midwinter with the door open. I’d estimate it had to be 150°F at the ceiling.

[@jrsbebes1]

We just bought 30 acres last year and we started with a tent, now we have a shed home. But that is just temporary until we move out there permanently and either do a pole-barn or modular home.

[@protofmaster]

So out here in the Midwest, a pole building and a post & beam structure are two different entities. Post & beam structures have much larger timbers, and utilize mortise and tenon joinery. They are much more expensive to frame than a pole building, both due to the more costly materials and the extensive labor and expertise required. Pole buildings often (although not always) have the poles set directly into the ground, which adds much structural integrity to resist wind loading. The downside of having poles in the ground is wood rot. But there are mitigation techniques that can help minimize or even eliminate in-ground rot. There are many Amish and Mennonite companies out here which will build a poll building for a very reasonable cost. But you still have to shop around, as there are vast price differences between builders, which are not always indicative of the quality of the finished product..

[@Homesteadyshow]

Same here. Post and beam and pole building (pole barn some call it) are different

[@doreenwhitehead4224]

I imagine you have watched the videos from Cog Hill Farm with Jason and Brooke.

[@albanymountainhomestead]

Warning a couple in Tennessee who had the shed to house idea was shut down by the state. You can build the shed "on site" and turn that into a home, but a pre-built shed delivered couldn't.... the insanity... they lived in an area that didn't have restrictions so they thought and upon digging deeper found out otherwise...

[@FantailValleyHomestead]

Our current house is a 'pole barn" kiwi style mono pitch farm shed, about 2000sq ft and lined with ply, it was a really efficient way to build

[@taliandzelda5006]

I like Miracle Truss too

[@malzimus]

Experimenting with a few of the methods like straw bales, etc. could be good overall anyway for some permanent use. Loafing sheds and other outdoor animal shelters or even goat playgrounds, chicken coops, etc. You could experiment and build cost effective animal housing at the same time, experiment with the types of natural material floors, even if it only lasts a couple of years it could be a financial buffer until you're gradually able to add other structures if desired instead.

[@puremayhem3540]

I’m going through the same process atm I got just under 27 acres a year ago and I’m planning how I want to build my barn and I’m putting a area in the top so I can stay there.. so far I’m figuring under 10k just for the building for any of my choices and 36x48 is my biggest design. I’ll be doing it myself and some help from my son the steel is the most expensive part

[@schifflangefarms4539]

If you have not check out Marshall remodel on pole barn houses, do so. they do a great job showing how to build a pole barn house

[@Britishborn1]

Wow that love the steel home idea so spacious and durable or the ready built sheds but I would have too buy the largest especially with childre who will want their own rooms soon plus save all that hard work building

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

Also, my family lived in a straw-bale house on a strawberry farm when we first moved here. It was a dream come true. I wish we could have stayed ❤️

[@moniquem783]

My grandparents had a strawberry farm. No straw-bale house, but the farm was awesome.

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

@@moniquem783 it was very sweet.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Oh cool! We soooo love the look of a straw build home!

[@promisedjubileedaniels]

@@Homesteadyshow something nobody ever talks about when it comes to straw-bale is how INCREDIBLY GOOD they smell!

[@Lifeisgood91]

Hey not sure if you’ve heard about temp cast. Might be a great solution for the firewood concern.

[@33dubya33]

Really enjoying your videos! But had to kinda laugh to myself when I saw the upstairs pole barn apartment. It really looked like a overiszed shipping container.

[@monikamelilloboissewilcock2666]

Hey check out Cog Hill. Jason and Brook built what you are talking about and it's beautiful.

[@lynnbetts4332]

Shipping containers may be good for arid climates, but they literally rain inside from condensation in damper climates. If you intend on getting any kind of home insurance, make sure the type of home you build can be insured. And, if there is a chance of selling later, there may be an issue with shed conversion homes. Sheds are not designed or intended as homes and even if finished out, they may not be able to be sold as a 'house'. If the manufacturer sells it as a 'shell home' or 'unfinished cabin' you may be able to get around that. With a totally metal home, you may have to put up a booster outside for internet/phone service. All that metal can interfere with receiving signals. My next home will have a metal roof, but I will probably have Hardiplank exterior walls, with large front and back porches and stained concrete floors. Would love cedar board and batten, but not the cost.

[@jdwilsun]

It’s simple. Make the house rectangular and oriented it east west with a greenhouse on the south side and most of the windows in the south side. The greenhouse; reduces heat loss from the home, heats the home when the greenhouse has excess heat, and to grows food, starts bedding plants and has an aquaponics system. The greenhouse can be made 2x4s covered inside and out with flat polycarbonate sheets sloped to receive the high winter sun at 90 degrees to maximize solar gains when heat is needed most on the shortest day of the year. A rule of thumb for this angle is latitude plus 15 degrees. As summer approaches and the sun gets higher, sunlight will strike the glazing at an increasingly acute angle reducing both the amount of sunlight striking the glazing and the light which penetrates it. This automatically modulates greenhouse heating. Insulated curtains can be drawn at night to retain heat or when shade is desired. Inside the upper part of the greenhouse is reflective parabolic trough about 6’ wide running east to west, which focuses light to an 8” diameter black aluminum pipe. This concentrator heats air passing through this pipe. The air is moved to deposit the heat in a bed of washed gravel in the basement where it is stored for future use. Rock is very dense so can store a lot of energy in a small volume. Energy density is a combination of specific heat capacity and density. Smaller rocks will provide a denser energy storage and will absorb and release heat faster but will be more difficult to move air through. Perhaps 3” stones make a good balance. Air is used to collect heat as it has a low specific heat capacity thus easily heats to a high temperature. It is also easy to move around with fans and does not have problems like water such as: boiling, freezing, or leaking and damaging the house. Rock is a good storage medium as it also does not freeze, boil, or leak and can be safely heated to a higher temperature than water. Higher temperatures enable denser heat storage and faster heat transfers. PV solar panels on the roof charge batteries which power a heat pump which collects heat from this heated air into a hot water tank for the house hot water use. The roof of the house is a single slope shed type angled north, made to radiate heat to the theoretically at -273C sky. This cooling can also be transferred to a gravel ‘cool sink’ to be used for cooling the house. Walls consist of two sets of 2x4 stud walls with a 3.5” space between, thus 10.5” thick and R36.75 insulated with rock wool. The studs can be staggered to reduce the already minimal thermal bridging. The insulation batts in the space are placed perpendicular to the batts in the framed walls. An air barrier is installed on the outside of the outer 2x4 wall followed by 1x4 horizontal strapping to which vertical siding is attached. This creates an air gap between the air barrier and the siding which significantly reduces conductive heat transfer through the wall. Since the speed of heat conduction is directly proportional to the difference in temperature, if it is -40C outside, the temperature in the air gap may be about -20C thus reducing the effective temperature difference of the wall and consequent heat transfer by 30%. This air gap attempts to effect sheltering the house within a house, for the low cost of some 1x4s. If in a predominantly cold climate, a vapour barrier is installed on the outside of the inner 2x4 frame wall to enable the wiring to be done without penetrating the vapour barrier. This greatly reduces convective heat loss and makes wiring faster and less expensive.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Very interesting ideas here! Thanks for sharing J!

[@wadeschaefer1384]

Check out Esh buildings in Kentucky and Tennessee they make double wide shed shells. That you can turn into a house.

[@PANTTERA1959]

Barndominium or Log Cabin. I like Rammed Earth but in Pennsylvania may not work there.

[@chelseawilhite]

Metal worker's daughter and the carpenter's son... you are Romeo and Juliet... who actually survived and had kids and lived happily ever after.

[@susan304]

How about the Dome style? I would be interested in a dome home

[@lastroseofsummer1]

We looked into a lot of these options too! You're winning me over to pole barn. I heard strawbales shouldn't be put against lots of metal bc of condensation.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Yes, straw bale and mitigating moisture is really important

[@christianjacques1635]

First off, let me tell you that I adore both of you. I love watching you, love listening to you. sometimes the cheesy puns get a little bit much, but whatever…. take the good with the bad, lol. my point to coming and making a comment is this…..You just bought a huge property, you’re going to build a house or structure of some sort! Why don’t you just mill your own (FREE) wood and/or make a log cabin as large or as small as you like. Yes certain things will need to be purchased but you have almost everything you need right there. I know that your wife doesn’t wanna cut down trees but your going to use milled lumber anyway. Might as well be yours. You guys could get the family together and plant trees to replace what you harvest for the house. Hell plant twice as many. The trees would be remembered for a lifetime and you can love and nurture the new ones. Just saying!!! The answer is right in front of you

[@christianjacques1635]

I’m never commenting before I finish a video again. Sorry

[@Homesteadyshow]

😂 it was a good comment though! Except for the part about the cheesy puns. They’re awesome. 🤣

[@82saw3]

😋 Great choice.

[@allnaturalhomesteaders]

Hey guys question @askhomesteady Why don't you look into 3D printed House? It's around 5 grand for the house itself and it's insulated and made from concrete! So it's completely hurricane and tornado proof. It's a cheaper option then regular house building. Also with you guys being influencers, you could probably get a company to sponsor your house build, since it's a fairly new invention. Seriously check into 3D printer buildings, up in a day! Also earth ship houses are another inexpensive option, the house provides for itself! It has its own water, food, and everything to provide for your needs,. And it's made from all recycled materials. Just a suggestion of course.

[@ladonnawoodley5279]

Have you seen the home Brooke and Jason built at Cog Hill Farm? Theirs looks like a farm house.

[@taliandzelda5006]

I want a tshirt... "Sit to Squat"

[@Homesteadyshow]

😂😂😂

[@CTR6067]

In MN pole barn conversions are called a “shouse.”

[@fionaworrell4535]

Most people get a cob builder to come with volunteers to do that part..they self finance by running the build as a course.

[@nickieburgess6223]

Have y'all seen The Fit Farmer? He and his family live in a yurt!! You should check them out if you haven't!! Still love watching your journey!! Can't wait to see the fishing in your pond!! Lol

[@jeffsanderson2737]

Hi from Louisiana

[@janelgraves651]

These houses around my area (Missouri) are called Shouse.

[@melissatress7260]

Howdy from Texas!!!

[@dhansonranch]

That was a very informative podcast. And although I know this comment is coming a year after the fact, I feel I need to make it. I am not against a natural built home at all. And for sure the environmental footprint is something to consider - it is something I keep in mind a lot. To each their own. With that in mind, I find it interesting that moving an older abandoned home into the property was not mentioned. A lot of times they can be gotten for free or pennies on the dollar....A lot of times, in the smaller towns, they are just standing there rotting away. I know I have a 30 X 30 storey and 1/2 that I got for free and it only cost me just the moving. Coupled with that, reusing building materials can be a huge financial savings and definitely reduces the environmental footprint. Granted, renovations can cost, but so can a new build. Couple that with using the clay on your property to make bricks to use in the house or whatever, you could have a beautiful home for a fraction of the cost utilizing some of these techniques. I will also add that you could build a walk out basement to set the home on. I just seen one on another channel that needs some work in NC - a two storey that would be more than you need - they are thinking of bulldozing. But I am also thinking you could find one way closer too. Pole barns can be a very quick, effective way to build a home but essentially, you are building a home within a building to live in....thus increasing your costs. It would be nice for a shop though to work on projects and to make into a barn....but it could be done later. At the end of the day, one does what they think is right for them. It may not be perfect, but it will certainly be your home!

[@zoecrowhurst9177]

Of course, My kids will probably want to walk the other way when they see old farm houses in the north east😂

[@awomen1072]

Add a wooden yurt ,best of both worlds . insulation like traditional homes.

[@tealkerberus748]

On top of a hill with forest down the sides in every direction? Well, cast in place concrete rainwater tanks survive bushfire, so if that were me I'd build my house out of cast-in-place concrete, with a big bushfire shelter in the basement.

[@donnamoore4494]

I can just keep going. I saw a styrofoam home. They put rebar and pour cement into the walls. But you can do all kinds of styles

[@faithamundson9883]

We have a 14x40 we live in Alaska. I have 300 chickens ducks and turkeys, 6 horses, 30 dairy goats, meat goats, quail, 50 meat rabbits currently, 100 meat chickens 5 cats 4 dogs, and a giant fish tank. I love our tiny home. My biggest complaint is no room for freezers. We built a shop as well. I don’t think I’ll have another big house ever.

[@Homesteadyshow]

Yes! Freezer space is def on our list of things we need

[@samhalsey5051]

One guy said he used many cords of wood, but he probably had an old inefficient stove for his straw bail

[@jeffsanderson2737]

One video I heard you talk about Tom to build a slab

[@CynBrown]

This will be awesome to watch. I noticed you didnt mention Quonset Hut Home. Was that not considered?

[@Homesteadyshow]

Not heard of them! Looking at them now! Thanks Cyndi for sharing!