30x40 Earth Berm Passive Solar in Maine

Started by Bishopknight, October 13, 2008, 09:33:23 AM

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MaineRhino

I own two places in Oxford County, and other than the covenants placed on my properties, I have not heard of any restrictions on the # of structures that can be placed on the property.

Every town is slightly different, but many towns in this county have no formal permitting structure in place. They just want to know what it is worth so you can be taxed for it.  d*



MaineRhino


w* to Oxford County!!!


umtallguy

hmmm sounds excellent, though i may end up more down around gray due to the woman likely working in portland


Bishopknight

I think MaineRhino is right, in my whole time I never heard about really any restrictions. Granted if you build something like a condo, you may fight town hall resistance and the ire of your neighbors.

umtallguy

I think I saw your place on craigslist

Unfortunately the woman is working in Portland so we are stuck commuting from gray :( in opposite directions

no cheap land here,

Bishopknight

Just thought I would give a quick update of the bar top I installed in my house in Maine. My father and I worked on it through his business http://customnauticalart.com. He mostly does boat and yacht tables but I had an idea to do a moose image in the middle of the bar top and I think it came out great. I cut the wood slats while he cut out the moose head. Took total around 30 hours of work. My tenants LOVE it!









ChuckinVa

Really nice work ! I hadn't noticed the shortage of electrical outlets on the walls previously... ;D
ChuckinVa
Authentic Appalachian American

speedfunk


Sassy

http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

umtallguy

how square and easy to stack were the blocks? who did you buy em from?

Would you do that method again?

I am hoping to get a project of and running later this summer over in hartford ;D


Bishopknight

Hey Umtallguy,

Sorry for the long reply. I bought the block from Gagne and Son in Lewiston.

It depends on the application. If you are building a conventional house, go with the traditional poured foundation. If you are going DIY up in the mountains where concrete can't reach, then block and SBC is perfect.

Send me a PM when you post the thread of your project.

Sassy

Hey Bishopknight, you haven't posted anymore pics lately!  I really like the custom countertop - beautiful!
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

Bishopknight

Hi Sassy,

I'm now renting out the house, but I took some pic's before I rented it out. When I get a chance, I will upload a bunch of them!

Thanks,
BK

rustypacific

So do you have the details on the final cost... Initially you wrote you would publish them to encourage owner-builders, and I'd like to know if I can be encouraged  ::)

umtallguy

well I am still around and renting, in mechanic falls now at least.

looking for 5-10 acres or more around Hartford Sumner Buckfield for a reasonable price,

I am tired of wasting 8-10k a year on rent.


Greenwood

my wife and I had looked at some land in mechanic falls two years ago.  It was nice 60 acre piece for around 40k.  We went with 157 acres in greenwood instead

umtallguy

damn, have not seen any deals like that lately,

are a couple big pieces up in greenwood for sale, but over 100k which is more then I am willing to try and get a loan on.

Greenwood

look for recent transaction in greenwood, they maybe asking for over 100k but they are going for less than that.  We only paid 60k for 157 acres!

Bishopknight

#642
I can put you in touch with the family that sold me the land, they may have some more for sale.

I'd say the house cost around $50,000 to build and the land cost $22,500 in 2008. But that's because I did most myself. If I didn't put 200 hours of labor into it, it would've easily been around $78,000 which is what the town appraised the structure at incidentally.

Here are some pictures I took last summer and fall. You can see how the lawn and berm is maturing.

















------

Hey all, i'm writing this as of Dec 14th, 2020. Thought I'd provide an update. I ended up selling this property about 10 years ago and bought a house in Massachusetts. Using the knowledge I acquired, I put a 2nd story on my house mostly by myself. I also built a garage myself. This forum was instrumental in my 20's towards learning how to do things. People like Glenn and others were huge helps. I hope everyone is well and if you got this far, thanks for checking out my posts! I hope something inspired you.