Logistics of living on-site

[MushCreek]

I wasn't sure where to put this thread. I wanted to share my observations about living on a semi-off-grid building site for the last three months. With input from others, maybe this could be a helpful 'sticky' for others contemplating such a move.

A preface- I'm 58 years old, and quit my job to spend a year (or more) building our home on rural property in upstate South Carolina. I had originally planned to do much of the work myself, but, well, more about that later. I started out in a pop-up camper, and have since moved into the space and luxury of the barn, which is weather-tight and nearly complete.

Here, in no particular order, are some of my observations:

Shelter- You need a place to live. Maybe as a younger man, I could have made do with a tent, but as I've gotten older, the thought of sleeping on the ground after a day of hard physical work is no longer attractive. The camper was cheap and works well in moderate weather. On nights in the 30's, the glaring weakness of this set-up is the the camper quickly matches the outdoor temperature. Camping for fun and adventure is one thing, but when you face a long day of work, you had better get a good night's sleep, every night. If all you have is a tent, get busy building a shed big enough to sleep in- you can knock one out in a week as long as it doesn't need to be fancy.

Water- I can't imagine trying to get by without a reliable water source. From mixing concrete to simply washing up, water is a daily necessity. Water is very heavy, and must be kept in a container, so hauling it in would be a hardship. We were lucky enough to get property with city water- a real luxury, and considerably cheaper than a well- at least at first.

Power- By this, I mean primarily electricity. Again, life is surprisingly harder without it. We really are spoiled by modern conveniences. I have a generator, and used it until my temporary power was brought in. Hauling gasoline is no easier than hauling water, and considerably more expensive. The noise and fumes from the genny are no picnic, either. Cordless tools make life much easier if you have a place to charge them. For me, the biggest challenge of not having electricity was refrigeration. It turns out that much of what we eat needs refrigeration. Without it, you have to procure and cook food nearly every day. All of this effort takes away from the main goal of building. I lived out of a cooler for the first month, and it was a pain. I averaged a bag of ice a day, which adds up, not to mention the driving to GET the ice every day. My first purchase after getting my power in was a small refrigerator.

Security- It would make many of you laugh to watch a city slicker like me suddenly living in the woods, alone. I admit it- I'm afraid of the dark, or more specifically, the things I can't see in the dark. There are bear, coyote, and feral dogs out there, not to mention the two-legged varmints that are probably more of a threat. Shortly after I started camping, I was told about a guy who shot two people, and was still at large- in my area! Having left my .357 at home (Why did I do that?) I was armed only with hand tools. Other security issues are things like secure storage for tools and building supplies. It was a pain working out of my van, having to unload and load it every single day. I quickly built a shed to eliminate the problem.

Comfort- Not to repeat myself, but you need a certain level of creature comfort, at least at my age. I can work in the heat pretty well, but it's hard to sleep on hot nights. The cold caught me by surprise. Sure, I could keep warm with enough clothes and a sleeping bag, but that doesn't get the cabin built. Rain also slows progress, and you need to have gear to cover stuff that shouldn't get wet. Plan ahead for this- it WILL happen. I can see now that not much work is going to get done this winter- it's simply too cold a lot of days.

Health- You have to take good care of yourself, particularly if you are alone. Safety, comfort, and nutrition are all vital to keeping you on the job every day. It's easy to get lazy about what you eat, but you need to eat properly and well to tackle the physical work of building. Take your vitamins. See your doctor. Buy and use the proper safety gear EVERY time. Don't forget bug spray, sun block, and a decent first aid kit.

Hygiene- Ya gotta poop- every day, if you're lucky. I started out with a chemical toilet- a mistake. It was no fun using it and emptying it. I then built a sawdust toilet (old Splinter) which worked much better. There are some good books out there on composting sawdust toilets. You do still need to have a good (and legal) place to empty it. Sawdust toilets are cheap and easy, and arguably 'greener' than many alternatives, although public health officials tend to really freak out over the idea. I know people got by without bathing for many thousands of years, but I find a good shower to be therapeutic, and helps keep you on good terms with visitors. I bought a cheap solar shower which worked OK, weather permitting. They don't work on rainy days, and poorly on cold days. I built a shower stall out of PVC pipe, and put a plastic mortar trough to catch the water. It took up too much room in the camper, so I set it up in the shed I built. After 3 months, I have a full bathroom in my barn- ahhh- civilization! It turns out they make small 110 V. water heaters, so I bought a 12 gallon one. Laundry is an expensive proposition. When did coin laundromats get so expensive? I tried washing clothes in a tub, which took a lot of water and time. For now, I stockpile lots of quarters and head into town periodically with a big batch of VERY dirty laundry.

Transportation- You need a way to get yourself, your tools, and your building supplies to the site reliably. Being out in the country, I suddenly realized the cost of running to get stuff. I now think of trips in terms of gallons of gas and dollars. A round trip to the nearest lumber yard is two gallons of gas, or about $7, not to mention an hour of lost time. Unless your budget is extremely tight, buy extras of everything for your build. There's nothing more frustrating than being one fifty cent fitting short of finishing. If you save the receipt, most places will take the surplus back, at least for store credit.

Communication- This is the age of communication, and its a little disorienting to suddenly be cut off. I have good cell phone coverage at my property, a plus. I have no internet, and rarely get on line anymore. It's therapeutic to go into town and associate with people once in a while. Someone should know where you are, and touch base regularly, both for safety and sanity.

Entertainment- It seems silly to say, but the nights get rather long. In the winter months, usable daylight is short, and there are a lot of crummy days to fill. I read a lot of books, and I finally broke down and bought a cheap TV. The computer is good, too. I do a lot of designing and writing when I have time on my hands. I find a radio somehow makes it seem less lonely.

This is just a start- one person's first observations about living on-site. I'm sure I forgot things that I'll add later. I'm sure many of you have had different experiences. Maybe we can build on this to help others prepare?

[Texas Tornado]

Jay thank you for posting this!!!

[archimedes]

Interesting post.  Thanks for sharing.

I was wondering how you were doing.

looking forward to seeing pics   

[NM_Shooter]

This is a great post.  Well thought out and very candid. 

I had to chuckle when I read the "afraid of things in the dark" post.  I have to admit, it is a long walk to my outhouse at night when things are howling just in the timberline    and I won't let my ladies go out by themselves. 

[Gary O]

What a great read!
Been there.
Gonna be there some more.
Enjoy the adventure, MushCreek!

Can't wait to read more

Keep a fire

[alex trent]

Great post and very good observations.

I relate from my part time out in the boonies building in Nicaragua..still not ready for full time living on site there, but some of what you say applies, and it is right on.

Get your 357 there...if for nothing else than peace of mind and prep for the absolute worst.  Also, a can of pepper spray, bear size. I keep a Zulu spear on a six foot shaft and it is a wonderful thing to have at hand.

A hot shower is the best comfort after a cold or hot days work. And lots of ways to hook up a simple one..even solar will do.

A decent cot is great.

I think maybe the most important are a couple of speed dial numbers in the cell phone for when you really need help. to people who are close enough to come to your aid, or at the least, call the locals to come for you.

Keep us posted.

[firefox]

Very good posts here.

Alex beat me to it regarding cell phone. It might be a good
idea to also find out who would respond to a 911 call, and then go there and leave
detailed info as to where you are located and access roads available, there width and condition. Bring the EMS folks some donuts or something like that.

Have a stash of MREs in your shed. (Meals Ready to Eat). You should be able to locate a source for them.

Have at least one field dressing on your belt or in a pocket. The kind with a pad in the middle and enough cloth to wrap around your body and tie. It's light and small enough so that it should never bother you.

One of those small chem lights to go with the phone or on your belt.

Any more than those three items and you take the risk of saying " to 'ell with it, it's too much trouble" and end up with nothing.

Bruce

[alex trent]

And one more thing..

A bottle of good whatever it is you drink, so at the end of the day you can just sit back, relax and marvel at being alone and doing all this in the crazy world we live in.  I am not a survivalist at all, but nice to know you can.

[MushCreek]

I found a cheap blow-up mattress to be very comfortable. My doctor says I have 'osteo-arthritis', to put a name on it. I find it very hard to find a sleeping position that doesn't hurt just enough to interrupt my sleep. As for the bottle, I find a small glass (only one) of red wine to be a good reward and relaxant at the end of the day.

I have great neighbors a couple hundred yards away. They are very nice, and periodically show up with a hot meal for me. The local fire department/EMS is about 2 miles. I should probably invite the guys over for a BBQ or something so they know how to get there should the need ever arise.

[Gary O]

 Jay
Some of your pennings seems you're writing about me.
Got back/hip/knee pain 24/7
Goes with 62 I s'pose
Goes better with a few shots of single malt.
Blow up mattress?
You're a better man than I

Kept a journal of our cabin build

Excerpt;

Late September/fall arrives
During the week we found a futon sofa (saves room in the day) for $25 on Craig's list.
This was a 'must' purchase as the double high air mattress was really no better than the undulating single high one.
Yes, we were going to rise to meet the day like most humans, not (as was our custom) roll out and crawl to the nearest wall. As a matter of fact, the last event that helped sway us toward a more bed like structure consisted of the little woman getting her head stuck between the wall and the mattress as she tried to do her customary roll off, arms flailing, one leg up in the air, struggling to free herself, sending waves of tidal motion thru my torso, causing me to scream like a little school girl. It seems that when rolling off, her posterior remained on the mattress, trapped in the swale. After what seemed like several minutes of her struggle, I did a power roll to save myself, ending up on all fours.
Glancing over at my panic filled thrashing woman, I pointed and began to laugh uncontrollably. She didn't seem to find the humor......breakfast was cold that morning.........

[considerations]

This is great!..been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt..Don't forget the Aleve! 

"I had to chuckle when I read the "afraid of things in the dark" post.  I have to admit, it is a long walk to my outhouse at night when things are howling just in the timberline and I won't let my ladies go out by themselves."

NM Shooter - I have to laugh as well. Being 30 miles from a state prison serviced by only one road (mine) gives me greater cause for pause than the usual critters in the woods.  That being said, I take steps to have the advantage should there be an unplanned encounter of any type. 

Encourage your ladies to learn to shoot, it might come in handy, even if its just a full night's sleep.

[TheWire]

Great post.  We often are so gung-ho to start building that we forget the basics need to live during the the build.  This thread should be a part of the cabin building learning process.

[rick91351]

Great read and great practical advise.  When I am alone and working up at the ranch, maybe because we do not have cell phone coverage up there.  Maybe it is because I just do not want to take any more chances than I have to.   I am very mindful of safety issues.  When you are in the safety zone with yourself, be it from staying hydrated and nourished  to wearing chaps when chain sawing.  Being safe spills over to those around you. 

About saw chaps,  Pinecone and Mountain Don wrote something about wearing them.  Thanks guys!!!  It got me thinking and I got started wearing them this year.  I nicked mine already.  I had never cut or nicked myself in all the years on the end of a chain saw.  This year I did.  My new pair of chaps, a new pair!!!  It might just have been the added bulk.  But never mind that, it just went to show me how close that bar is from time to time.  It woke me up.  Once again thanks to Mountain Don and Pinecone.         
   

[Native_NM]

This is great topic, and very well presented.  Thank you for taking the time to present it so thoroughly. 

This is now standard in our field kits.  Our techs and engineers work in remote areas, often hours from critical care.  You can survive a snake bite, broken bone, or many other injuries for hours.  You bleed to death in minutes.

I now carry it in my truck's first aid kit.  If you are working alone, especially with tools, this is cheap insurance:

http://www.quikclot.com/home.aspx

[Gingerbreadman]

Having left my .357 at home (Why did I do that?) I was armed only with hand tools.

In almost any state, you can walk into a gun store or pawn shop and walk out the same day with a 12 gauge shotgun and some buckshot for under $200.That is not something you want to carry around all day, but it would be a great thing to have inside once the sun goes down.

[texasgun]

Great read I am in a similar situation when I am at my ranch the nearest neighbor is 3 miles and it really is uphill ( mine is river land in a valley) the dark is really differnt when you are alone and you know you are 3 miles from another human or you atl east hope you are. Something to think about when working alone GLOVES a couple of days ago I was using the my miter saw doing some repative cuts I hit the blade with my hand while it was still going (a first after using these tools for years). I bought some gloves at lowes kinda of like mechanic gloves not heavy but good protection aginst splinters and they saved me from a nasty possibly serious cut.

[texasgun]

Oops almost forgot wouldnt even consider being without my firearm.

[MountainDon]

I have been called 'different' at times.   

I like being at our mountain cabin or camped someplace in the boonies like "middle of nowhere, UT" and knowing I'm likely the only human for some distance.

[Bill Houghton]

MushCreek, great advice in general for these uncertain times.  We have seen longer power outages than ever before.  This is motivating us to spend time thinking about "back up" systems to cover heat, water, food, power.  Not survivalist type thinking but surviving situations that seem to be cropping up more often.  I would add spending 20 minutes to an hour daily to assure that YOU can move.  If the intruder is at the door, the shotgun is on the wall and you are stuck flailing on the floor, unable to get up... well you get the picture.  The stats for an average American is to spend our final 17 years disabled!  A great book to start: Younger Next Year by  Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD.  I am not associated with the authors or publishers.  I have just regained a lot of pain free movement over the last three years (age 54) and can't imagine living without it now.  My work output has gone way up due to being stronger and more flexible.

[MushCreek]

I spent a fair amount of time getting in shape before starting this endeavor. Flexibility and core strength are more important at my age than brute strength. I find yoga to be a good, gentle way to improve both. Also- a light warm-up, followed by stretching out makes the day go better. People always do that before a work-out, but when building, just dive in with no warm-up whatsoever.

I'm going to do another report on tools and equipment, if there's any interest.

[rick91351]

--------------------------------------trim--------------------------------------------------------------------
The stats for an average American is to spend our final 17 years disabled!  A great book to start: Younger Next Year by  Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD.  I am not associated with the authors or publishers.  I have just regained a lot of pain free movement over the last three years (age 54) and can't imagine living without it now.  My work output has gone way up due to being stronger and more flexible.

Thanks Bill will drop that on to my Kindle.

I spent a fair amount of time getting in shape before starting this endeavor. Flexibility and core strength are more important at my age than brute strength. I find yoga to be a good, gentle way to improve both. Also- a light warm-up, followed by stretching out makes the day go better. People always do that before a work-out, but when building, just dive in with no warm-up whatsoever.

I'm going to do another report on tools and equipment, if there's any interest.

Please do MushCreek!  I think this is one of the best most important topics to find its way on to this forum!

[Squirl]

Great post.  I have had a very similar experience, granted only for a few weeks at a time.  I only had a few differences.

Power- I use hand tools for smaller jobs.  Hand tools, such as a saw and a drill, are very cheap.  I realize I spend as much time measuring than anything else.  Starting up a generator, dealing with the time cost of the gas and the noise changes the equation on many things.  I have one of those cheap 100 watt plug in inverters.  Those 60 min. daily drives to pick up ice, gas, water, lumber, food, etc. I can charge my cell phone, a cordless drill, and laptop.  I am in a much different climate so keeping ice and cooler was only a problem during daylight hours in August.  Propane supplanted much of that for cooking and heating water for a shower.

Security – This had been taken care of by the beginning post of shelter.  Just add dead bolt to that.  The first few nights when I was building the shed, I was staying in a tent.  I heard a rustling of the leaves around my head outside the tent.  It startled the daylights out of me.  I turned on my red led head lamp and grabbed my hatchet.  It turned out it was a frog hopping through the forest.  I calmed down a little after that.  It took a few weeks to get used to the different sounds of the forest. 

Communication – Cell phone booster and smart phone.  The cell booster has been an excellent purchase so far.  One of the more valuable that I made.  I have gone from no bars to 5 bars with 3G coverage.  As much as we envision the solitude, human beings are social creatures.  Without a little human contact you will go insane.  When reading the Dick Proenneke journals, I was surprised how much time he spent writing about looking forward to the airplane pilot, and how happy he was when the pilot was there.

Entertainment – Radio makes my day go easier, especially talk radio.  With a smart phone I read CP forums too.

Thank you for sharing.

[OlJarhead]

Great post!  I can totally relate!

In my case it's only weekends (usually 3 days) but in the beginning it was tough at times.  Our weather could drop to TEN degrees at night and the Tent Trailer worked ok in that environment but took some prep work (like insulating the walls and 0 degree sleeping bags) to stay warm.  For the most part I limited my stays in cold weather as much as possible.

I found using the 'Luggable Lou' was really tough in the coldest weather as it wasn't something we kept in the Tent Trailer but in our old camper which became 'the bathroom'.  We used the stove to warm the place (a no no really) before use in cold weather.  Dumping as an issue in the coldest weather as you couldn't just dig a deep 'cat hole' to get rid of waist.

Installing our composting toilet was so awesome I just can't say enough how great it was!

Now that we can stay in the cabin life is so much the better!  But I agree that at night in the winter months there is less to do then most people are used to -- I too read a lot during those times.

One thing I can't stress enough is the use of a good camper trailer!  Ours has a fridge, stove, heat and power (lights etc) and that made a lot of difference.

Anyway, excellent post!  Keep it up.
Erik

[TheWire]

If working alone, having a phone on your person, in case you are incapacitated is important.  Also you may want to establish a once or twice a day check in with someone who can send help if they don't hear from you.

[considerations]

"Also you may want to establish a once or twice a day check in with someone who can send help if they don't hear from you."

I do this. It evolved over time, but every morning at the same time, I call my mother.  Ok, sounds weird at first, but we are 30 miles apart, she is 82, and I live with a lot of power tools  .  If we don't hear from each other by 10AM we both have contact info for multiple neighbors/friends that can come over to see what is happening.

So, yes, I'm checking up on her, but clearly the benefit is mutual.