My husband and I were Blessed to purchase 6.6 acres in Northern Maine with the driveway in and a flowing artesian well for $11,500 cash (including closing costs). Goose was a carpenter for 20 years and we have built our own log home in the past but we used the banks money and it was grid tied.
We love sharing our testimony of how the Lord is providing for us to build without debt. Our goal is to bring our home to livable for less then $20,000 not including the land and so far we are on track!!
We have our footings finished and our floor system and subfloor down. We are setting corner posts this weekend and door bucks and hope to have our first bundle of logs delivered next weekend!!
We are documenting our journey on our blog but wanted to share it here with you all as we have visited this forum many times as we have dreamed and planned our homestead. And if we can figure out a way to post pics we will keep the thread updated with pics of our progress..;)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/ (http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/)
In His Light and Love~ Goose and Gillian
Inserting Images into Forum Topics (http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=11663.0)
We look forward to viewing your progress
First off w* from Rick and Ellen who live in another great potato state Idaho!!
Second - I love the testimony of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in your blog. Your quote from Matthew pretty much says it all!
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26
We as well retired a mass of debt. That sort of hung on and strangled us. We 'snowballed it'. We have since retired and are building a home on our ranch here in Idaho. While not doing it totally 'debt free'. We do know how now to budget and scrimp and save and I doubt our mortgage will last very long at all once we get out of this building phase. Our mortgage is set up to very easily be paid by the the ranch itself. I can tell you that no one would loan money for a owner builder project. Yet we kept petitioning and a lending institution got ahold of us and told us another bank that was interested in us. They were impressed with how much we had saved yet it was not enough to do our build. They also were concerned that my figure that I was seeking was nowhere enough to build the house we intended to build. (A house that had been shown us one day out of the blue.) We had had another plan drawn and engineered. Then this plan fell in our laps and we knew it was the one. So we went in to this and was also shown a figure that we could do it with. I stuck with it and it has been sort of tight yet the deals came along. Our lumber yard treats us as if we are contractors or better. The guy I subbed the cement work out to hired me to help him. (I did cement years ago.) But I was out there before he arrived and out there when he left every day. Our Pastor helped frame it - or I helped him frame it. Or we worked together. He told us don't worry he would have us dried in before winter. He and I did infact did do just that. So last winter Ellen and I lived in a fifthwheel and worked on the inside. The subs we did hire have been a real good bunch to work with..... The short of it we as well feel the Lord is guiding our steps in this matter.
Rick and Ellen
Thanks Don!
@ Rick and Ellen, Bless you for sharing your story with us!! Isn't it amazing to watch the Lord work in our lives? Only through Jesus and we are in awe of Him and all He is doing in our lives everyday..
Our long term goal is to have our homestead fund our living expenses too. Very thankful we connected on here and I will search the forum to see if I can find your project so we can follow along!
Adding you all to our prayers and cant wait to hear more about your journey.. Hope you have a Blessed day!
When we have a bit of free time ;) we will set it up to share pictures.. For now we can share our blog posts so you all can see the updates! We set the corner posts today and tomorrow we will put up the door bucks.. We will have 5 exterior doors but those that we aren't budgeted to purchase right away we will stack the logs around the door bucks, temporarily frame in and add insulation. Once we are budgeted for those doors we will remove the temp framing and add our doors.
Building with cash flow as the Lord provides means we need to be a bit more creative than when we built with the banks money but we are enjoying the challenge!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/
The door bucks are finished and we are ready for logs!! We are using utility grade camp stock cedar logs from a local log home company. They aren't cut to a kit but the past couple times we built with them the savings on the logs was well worth the extra work!!
A few pics of the progress :)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/
We broke ground one month ago today so we are very thankful to be at the point now where we are ready to start stacking logs. The Lord has continued to provide the provisions and materials and we are in awe of how it is all coming together!!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/p/progress-in-pictures.html
We are going with indoor hand pumps pulling the water in from our artesian well with a grey water system and a composting toilet (all approved along with our building permit for meeting local and state codes). The original design was had done was for a limited grey water system that would be required for pressurized water. With the hand pump we will be able to go with a primitive system that will be 1/5th the size of the limited system.. Our state allows either the primitive or the limited and we are very thankful for those options!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/07/primitive-grey-water-system.html
We were able to get the logs up 4 rows high all the way around this past weekend!! Its amazing to see it all come together!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/07/stacking-logs.html
great to see that your are making steady progress.. how far north in Maine? we hope to build in the mid-coast region sometime within the next 3-5 years. living mortgage free is a wonderful ideal to shoot for.. and you are doing it the right way ( in my humble opinion :) ) jt
We are in Aroostook county (just a stones throw from Canada).. and thanks yeah we have been following Dave Ramseys plan for years so we are very thankful to be able to build our home without debt!
The mid coast area is beautiful too.. really cant go wrong anywhere in Maine. :)
This past weekend we added our window bucks.. This coming weekend we will get our second bundle of logs!! Its really coming together!!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/08/window-bucks.html
Goose and Gillian.... you are both my heroes. my wife and i will be closing on 6 acres in the next couple weeks, wife was seperated from the Air Force after 11 years in and will be staying home with our 3 kids and taking care of the house, as well as making her natural soap and body products (hopefully that business takes off lol) we have decided to build a homestead with as little debt as possible. we will have a short 2 year note on the land (couldn't find anything even half as nice as yours for 11 Grand here) (here is near wichita ks and everyone thinks land is gold here) plus due to certain county regulations we were not able to get any land that didnt have at least "some" covenants (found some that are pretty lax though so got blessed on that) still have a minimum house size 1200SQft and they require a 2 car garage attached (not sure why on that ....snobs i suppose) but other that that they are pretty easy to handle. your Blog Gives me hope that building on the land with no debt is possible (despite what all my friends and family say) can't wait to see how you all progress. i will keep you and your family in my prayers. God Bless
P.S i have read the ramsey book and would love to do it.... just have to get the wife on board..... pray the lord gives me strength and wisdom on that front lol.
thank you again for the Blog
Thanks for reaching out! We have been inspired by so many that have gone before us we really love hearing that others find our story encouraging! Praying for your journey with the house and with Ramseys process!! Neither journey is easy but both are worth it! God Bless you too and cant wait to see how the Lord works in your plans!!
Goose and Gillian,
I'm really enjoying your blog. We are also a family of six with two adopted children from Uganda. We are also building debt free. Please keep us up to date on your build. The path God has laid out for us could have never been predicted! HA!
thanks
Austin
Hi Austin, Thanks for the encouragement and we love connecting with other adoptive families :) .and congratulations on building debt free! Its and awesome journey and very true, one that we never would have imagined years ago.. Glad you are enjoying our blog and we will search for your link. We'd love to follow along!! God Bless~
We almost got to the halfway point with the logs this weekend but we are thankful to just have been able to spend time out on the homestead! Things have gotten a bit busier with the Lord leading us back into adoption, this time from China but we trust in His will and timing with it all.. Just thankful and Blessed to be on the journey~
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/08/almost-halfway-there.html
Looks good. Up Up Up!
Thanks!
We were able to finish the front wall of our home this past weekend!! We hit the two month mark from when we broke ground.. We figure working weekends we've been able to put in close to 14 days out on the land since then.. Not too bad considering Goose is really building it all on his own (the kids and I help where we can but mostly is just all our wonderful leader).. Blessed to watch it all come together and excited to get back out on the homestead next weekend!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-front-wall-is-finished.html
Awesome! Thanks for the update. I just checked the blog this morning. I must have been an hour too early!
Austin
Our pleasure Austin!!
..We are switching our moving story back to our original blog. We will keep our homestead blog up but going forward all new posts will be on our original blog:
http://ourdebtfreepath.blogspot.com/
We are also starting the process to adopt two more special needs children, this time from China. Meiling and Meadow are both two years old and both live with Down Syndrome like our adopted daughter GiGi. It will be about a year long process and Lord willing we will be submitting our dossier for them to China by the end of November (around the time that our new home is water tight).. Lots to keep in prayer and excited to see how it all falls into place!! :)
Simplification is good!
Great news about the girls from China. It is amazing what you can do when you are debt free. We aren't moving nearly as quickly as you in that direction. We are much better than where we were and we will get there but at our pace. We will include your adoption in our Black family prayers.
Austin
Thanks!! But really it has taken us many years to get here.. We started our debt free journey in 2008 and we still have a small mortgage on our current home in town of around $46k.. Once these adoptions are done and we move into our new home and sell our current one we will be completely debt free, likely in 2015, 7-8 years from the time we started really focusing on getting out of consumer debt. Worth every sacrifice and it has truly been a Blessed journey. We are very thankful for all the lessons we have learned along the way!!
And we did want to simplify by going back to our original blog but carrying everything over proved to be more work than we had time for.. lol So we will stick with our homestead blog for now. :)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/
Quote from: Goose and Gillian on September 03, 2014, 12:58:43 PM
Thanks!! But really it has taken us many years to get here..
Oh, I know. I read the blog.
Once the house is done, we will have the land, her student loan, and the tractor. The tractor and student loan should be taken care of in 16 months after move in. After that, we will just have to see where we are. I will be happy to get to that point.
Your build looks great! Always cool to see projects in New England. I'm in the lakes region of New Hampshire. I am a builder and am currently clearing a spot on 5acres to build and farm with my wife and 2 children. We only have small debt at this time, 30,000 on the land, a truck payment and my wife's student loan16,000 I think. Our plan is to build all out of pocket and have every thing else paid off when we are done in a few years. A couple questions about your project 1 It looks like your foundation is at grade and was curious how you planned to protect from frost. 2 You said that you where able to get a grey water design passed by the state. I have been trying to talk with state of NH about a grey water system with composting toilets and they have not been very receptive to the idea. Does Maine have grey water included in there codes. Thanks for sharing your project ans I wish you the best on your journey.
@ Austin, Lifting your journey out of debt in prayer!
@Josiah My cousin is a Trooper in the northern part of NH.. A beautiful state! Sounds like you guys have a great plan! As for the foundation we would have gone with a slab but with Goose getting our lumber as free waster lumber from the mill he works at doing our foundation this way was a less expensive option. Also it leaves us with enough space of a root cellar area below the kitchen..
As for frost we will go out 2-4 feet from the foundation out with insulation all around buried 6-12 inches down along with the drainage system. We used this method with a 24 x 24 addition on our current home around the daylight basement and it worked beautifully. Also our home is being build on a lot that used to be a railroad station and then a potato house. We decided to place our home on the packed gravel along the driveway as the years of potato trucks driving over it have really made it a secure spot for our home. Goose is the carpenter in the family and could give you a bit more detail if you are considering this type of foundation for your home. :)
Maine does have composting toilets and grey water systems as part of their code along with options for each. We hope to do a post on our composting toilet soon (its the only "build it yourself" toilet approved by Maine and its from Mother Earth News Magazine) but we did a post about our grey water system though http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/07/primitive-grey-water-system.html
Although our local code officers are wonderful to work with (our land is in two towns) we have spoken with some others who tend to give an opinion over the actual laws. Some may not think a composting toilet/grey water system is a good idea which is ok but we make sure we ask for links to the laws so we can know for ourselves what is legally an option (not just opinion). Not saying this is the case in your situation but just something we have come across.
Praying for your journey out of debt and for your the process of building your farm!!
We were able to some work done on the homestead this weekend! We will finish the walls next weekend and start the loft framing!
..and we are loving the cooler temps we are seeing in Maine. A beautiful time of year to be building..
God Bless~
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/homestead-update.html
Finished our walls today!!! :)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/we-have-four-walls.html
We completed the loft framing today! Really cool temps in Northern Maine right now and we are loving the weather!! Starting to feel like fall ...and bird season. ;)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/loft-framing-completed.html
Goose picked up the subfloor boards for our loft.. The mill had a bunch of 1 in thick boards they wanted to get rid of so we picked them up for $12 total :) Just like most parts of our home the loft floor will be way over built but when the lumber is free (or close to free ;) we don't complain And we wont have to worry about structural integrity, at all. lol Goose likes to say you could park a truck in the middle of the living room.. Thankfully, even with being a bit (read a lot) on the redneck side he didn't try. ;)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/loft-sheathing.html
Wow! That is a score for sure. 1" board is TOUGH!
It is! ...We are still hoping to find 2x10x16s as waste lumber for our roof system but nothing so far. Looking like the roof system will be around $1200 for framing and sheathing. Not bad but we have really enjoyed all the free (and almost free) lumber from the mill! :)
Loft subfloor is down, first rafters are up and a few logs are down on the gable end.. Thankful for a great day of progress!!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/loft-subfloor-down-and-gable-ends.html
We got the door buck in and the logs a bit over half way done on the first gable end!! Hoping to finish it up next weekend and start the other side.. Not too long before we are watertight!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/logs-going-up-on-first-gable-end.html
And we found a picture of the color of stain we would love to have on our home but cant seem to find a name for it. ??? If you take a look and have an idea of the color please let us know! :)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/we-finally-found-stain-color-we-want.html
North side gable end complete and the south side rafters in place!!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/finished-first-gable-end.html
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/setting-south-side-rafter.html
South side gable end over half way finished!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/09/south-side-gable-over-halfway-completed.html
Looking to get the roof water tight this week!! :)
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/10/roof-sheathing-and-adoption-update.html
good pick on the weatherguard
we weathered a very bad winter with a weatherguard-only roof -- it did just fine
I love the home your building. That is a wonderful part of the state. One of my sons goes to Umaine fort Kent so I have spent quite a bit of time up there. What a great place to raise a family.
Sorry we missed this.. Thanks Jim! It is beautiful up here and that is a great school. :) Honestly we cant imagine a better place to raise our family. Our community is very loving and supportive. We are truly Blessed.
With the new year coming we have been looking at our goals for 2015!! Excited for spring so we can get back out on the land and work on our homestead!
http://thefitzpatrickfamilyhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/12/homestead-plans-and-goals.html
We've set our homesteading blog to private so we can share a bit more with just friends and family but we will keep updating our debt free blog with our home building progress. ;D
Here is our recent post:
http://ourdebtfreepath.blogspot.com/2015/01/building-our-log-home-and-homesteading.html
A recent post showing a little tour of our homestead..
http://ourdebtfreepath.blogspot.com/2015/01/starting-our-homestead-from-scratch-and.html
An update to our homestead plans for 2015 :) http://ourdebtfreepath.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-homestead-plans-and-goals.html
I really like the timber frame porch pic you put up. I'm planning on something very similar. I think the posts will be set at 9' and the porch roof will have a 1' overhang. I don't want my posts getting wet all the time.
Austin
We do really like the timber frame look on the porch and the stone work is beautiful.. Like your idea on the overhang. We are going with a full length porch on the front, next year a framed in porch addition off the back and three season sun room to the south. The porches will help to protect the logs from exposure to the elements but we hadn't considered extending the porch over hangs to protect the porch itself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
After a long break over the winter and spring we are ready to start back to work on our homestead!! A couple of weeks ago we added a (free!!) new to us slider on our Southern gable end..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/05/installing-slider-in-southern-gable-end.html
Then we sanded down the back of the house and applied the log home oil. On our previous log homes we used solid stains so this was our first time with a log home oil.. We love that application process and the color is beautiful.. Truly a great product.
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/05/sanding-and-staining-our-logs.html
Today we finished sanding down the front of our home. We are using utility grade logs but truly with the cedar once we sanded it down its just as beautiful as any log home we've seen..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-difference-little-sand-paper-can.html
Hope to have pics of the front side stained by the end of the weekend. :)
BeShem Yeshua Shabbat Shalom~
The front of the logs using log home oil.. Great product!!
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/06/treating-front-of-our-log-home-with-log.html
Thanks for posting. It has been a while since I was on the website and seeing the girls home and you back to work on the homestead is a blessing.
Austin
I also appreciate your posts. I checked your blog and was reminded that you've done GAPS with the kids. They look so very happy and healthy.
@Austin.. Thanks for cking in.:) We arrived home with the girls are few weeks ago and they are doing beautifully! ..and yes we are very thankful to be back working on our homestead.. Yahwehs timing is always perfect!
@Shadow Thanks for the kind words.. Yes we do follow GAPS as a family. Children with Down Syndrome have a higher than average chance of developing Celiac disease so its been a beautiful Blessing for our youngest three girls, and our youngest son who was considered to be in the spectrum, as well as our whole family. ..Another reason we are choosing to homestead.. Growing our own food and knowing what is in it is key for our family. Thanks again for the kind words and so glad you enjoy our posts..
Back out on the homestead today! More sanding and plans that will give us a bit more privacy on the homestead..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/06/sanding-southern-gable-end.html
Its been working out that we are able to get one side sanded and treated with oil each weekend.. Three sides are done and we just have one left to go. Still loving applying the log oil over stain and really like the color, especially once it dries a bit. We went with Super Deck's log home oil in Autumn Brown. Goes on with a bit more of an orange/cedar but dries to a darker color with more brown..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/06/three-sides-down.html
Finished oiling the final side this weekend!! With rain coming in next weekend we are looking at doing some interior framing. Then onto our privacy fence, dog run and front porch before we start on fascia and soffit..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-final-side-elevated-raised-beds-and.html
Digging footings for front porch, pouring the slab for the solar composting toilet and setting boxes for the back addition (enclosed porch)! ..and a few smaller projects. : )
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/07/fourth-of-july-weekend-on-homestead.html
Footings for the front porch are done and the floor system is framed. The 8.5 ft high privacy fence along the road is started.. Working on the porch flooring, support posts and roofing this weekend and adding another section to the fence.
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/07/happenings-on-homestead.html
Installed and trimmed all the big windows. Waiting awhile until all the small ones in the gable end fit into the budget. Built and added shutters with tree cutouts and will be added the porch railing system with cutouts of bear, moose and dear this weekend. Then onto the enclosed back porch addition that will give us a mud room, bathroom ( solar composting toilet and solar shower ) and a three season porch master bedroom. Still hoping to get in before winter but its going to be close. Trusting in Yahwehs timing and just thankful for each weekend we get to work on the homestead. Shalom~
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/08/building-off-grid-in-maine-update.html
The porch railing system is done with the bear, moose and deer cutouts.. He really did a beautiful job..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/08/cabin-porch-railings-and-accident.html
Started the shingles this past weekend. We were hoping for cooler temps but we hit a warm spell, great for letting the shingles settle though. We will be working on the fascia, drip edge and shingles over the next few weeks then onto primitive grey water, indoor hand pump water system and solar composting toilet. Thankful that we are getting closer to fall temps here and with the leaves about to turn its going to be a beautiful time down on the homestead.
Shalom~
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/09/our-debt-free-off-grid-homestead-update.html
Goose was able to get the shingles up to almost the halfway mark this weekend.. Hoping to finish off the front this coming weekend and move onto either shingling the back or installing our wood stove (fall comes quickly to Northern Maine).
We don't love the door color and shingle color difference from a distance so we decided to repaint the exterior doors next weekend with a flat black paint. Excited to see how it looks..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/09/off-grid-log-home-building-update-green.html
Shalom~
Exterior doors and drip edge painted, fascia on and shingles done for the front of the house. Thankful for the cooler temps and excited to move onto the back of the house..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/09/building-our-debt-free-log-home-update.html
We are still working on the shingles but had some big new this week.. Aside from some smaller projects we will work on and cash flow over the winter our home is now fully funded.. debt free! ;D Thankful and Blessed~
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/10/huge-news.html
The outside of the house is complete so we are moving onto the interior..
Goose will be doing some videos to share a bit about our inside projects. The first is for the base of the hearth for our cook stove. Hope to share a few more videos soon!
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/10/vlogging-our-inside-projects.html
We started treating the inside walls of our log home with Raw Linseed oil.. The results on the cedar are beautiful. We will be using Hemp on our floors and one of the two on our slate and concrete countertops as a sealant. Cant beat natural oil finishes.
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/10/using-raw-linseed-flax-and-hemp-oils-on.html
The walls are beautiful!!!! You have an old gateleg table and it's beautiful.
jayceevee
sioux city, IA
Thanks Jayceevee!! Just like anything we do in our home we cant take much credit where we just researched, found others who have gone before us and emulated what they had done. We'd never seen it on cedar logs though and we love the results. ..and I had never heard that name for the table before. Thanks for the insight! I've had it for around 20 years and it was a relatives before that. We aren't bringing much for furniture into the new house but that table was too beautiful not to make the cut. ; )
We had our first snow fall of the year this past weekend so we felt it was a good time to get our cathedral ceiling insulated. :-) Goose went with raftermates and R30 craft faced. We personally don't believe in insulating the inside of our exterior walls when building log homes. To each his own but Goose has seen too many log homes up here end up with moisture issues doing it that way, no matter what new product they try. The thermal mass of the logs has always been more than enough to keep plenty warm in the log homes we have lived in and the ones Goose has built up here in Northern Maine.
Our cathedral is 18+feet and runs the length of our home. Its going to be beautiful once we get it vmatched but for now we are just thankful to have the insulating complete!
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/10/insulating-cathedral-ceiling-in-our-log.html
Shalom~
We decided to try the faux soapstone finish using chalkboard paint that is all over the internet.. We love the results!
And our Bakers Choice cook stove is installed and heating our home beautifully..
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/10/faux-soapstone-chalkboard-countertops.html
On the video be sure to ck out that fire when Goose opens the door.. Yeah I think that will work just fine. ; )
Shabbat Shalom~
Goose and Gillian
We have a good start on vmatching the cathedral ceiling, we picked up an old cast iron utility sink for the kitchen and we've started cooking in the cook stove. Its starting to look like home.
Our goal is to have the house livable before snow is here to stay.. Over the next 2 weekends we are connecting to our artesian well and installing the indoor pitcher pump over the kitchen sink. At the same time we will be hooking up to our primitive grey water system. Looking to have our solar composting toilet built within the next couple of weeks too. We likely wont move in permanently until spring but we like knowing we will have the option.
http://acountyhomestead.blogspot.com/2015/11/antique-cast-iron-sink-cook-stove.html
Shalom~