Off grid and all the family have their own space

Nothing like a small 8x12 for all you need.

Hi folks,

I'm looking for advice on how to track down the owners of a piece of property; it's not very big (maybe a few acres) and has a cabin on it.

It's in the state of Michigan. I know the last name of the family who lived on the property a few decades ago (when the grandparents or great-grandparents were young adults). I know the location of the property, though I'm not sure that I can get the exact address off-hand. Property is located sort of within what is now a state forest, and should have a small easement of some sort (unpaved, not maintained) road to access it off of the main highway. It's in a group of a few families who have lived out there for a few generations, so people are usually friendly/see each other around on occasion when visits overlap. Our understanding is that no one from this family has been there for quite a long time - decades - but I'm not 100% certain of that. Of course, the original family members that owned the land are certainly deceased by now (would be over 90+), and the neighborhood lore is that their children/grandchildren moved out of state, but that could be wrong too.

I'm not totally stupid, but I've found myself totally stumped on how we could find the current owners. It's not urgent at all, but I've had it in the back of my mind to try to do, and I was wondering if folks could point me in the right direction. Thanks!

Hello! I am US based

I’m researching and planning on hopefully buying property to build a cabin on. However I’m stuck on where would be a good location to suit my wants. As it would be as off grid as possible, here are my key wants.

1. Wooded mountainy or hilly terrain
2. Mild to warmer climate, but with cold snowy winters
3. I wouldn’t mind a preexisting cabin, but if the area is completely unimproved that’d be fine too
4. Id like proximity to lake/river areas for hiking on public land.
5. $15-$20k for at least half an acre of undeveloped land or rural land with electric and water hookup

Just had a ridiculous idea come to me while I was sitting in my car with sun blasting through the windshield on a cold day. Has it been done/would it be possible to build an off grid tiny home on a lazy susan/spinning platform in order to rotate the home for seasonal conditions? Aiming the largest picture window at the sun in the winter, angling for prevailing cross breeze in the summer. Fun logistical engineering though experiment to play around with.

I just bought a new property in the Pacific North West. This will be a property we use part time (a few times a month) for now, but ideally get to 100% living there in the next few years, it is 100% off grid. There is a 2500 gallon cistern w/a 1300 sqft metal roof for collection. It is a charged / wet system, which mainly travels underground. That said, it is not all under ground, and while I was told it is below the frost line, I think due to earth settling / shifting some of it is not. During the Fall / Winter / Spring we have pretty constant drizzle, and during the winter we can expect it to dip below freezing occasionally (5 - 10 times a season for 3 - 5 day stretches) - but not terribly often.

Current Sketch showing a "top (birds eye) view" of the system and "front view", if you were looking at it and there was no dirt.

I am thinking about installing a first flush system at the lowest point before it enters the cistern in an effort to convert this wet system into a dry system. Primary reasons for this would be:

1. Not have water just sitting there between rains
2. Reduce Freeze Risk during potential freezes

Is this worth it or am I making something out of nothing?

Hello, we are from Europe, completely off-grid. We have Pylontech lithium ion energy storage battery system and three pylontech batteries, model FH9637M (each of them has a power of 3,552 kWh). Is there any other way besides solar panels to charge those batteries? Perhaps generator? It's almost winter time and there's nearly no sun, so now we have almost no electricity.

Looking for a direct vent LP heater to put in a 8'x12' storage shed. Only need to maintain 50 degrees or so through winter in northern MN. Shed is insulated well including vapor barrier. Need to keep my batteries, inverter, and a few other things from freezing. Any suggestions?

This is a project I’ve been slowly working on since 2017. Located in South Central Pennsylvania along the Conewago Creek. About 1.7 acres, mainly hill/ridge with the cabin tucked up on the hill. It also has about 150 feet of creek frontage. Heat source is wood. Has its own well. I’m slowly working towards getting it off the electrical grid. Lots of ambient string lights. No mortgage. Less financial obligations lead to more freedom, both in time and money. 10/10, would recommend. Plus owls hang out on the porch.

Hi,

Is anyone using surface water for running water at their off grid cabin? I planning to install a 1/2 HP shallow well pump near the edge of the pump to use it the cabin. Not for drinking but for flushing toilet and running a shower. All plumbing from pond to cabin would be above ground and winterized before frost.

Looking for any advice and guidance from the group. Picture for attention.

Curious as to what internet provider off grid folks use ? I will soon be in a location that's very hard even for cell phone service , thank you .

Has anyone successfully built and used a rocket mass heater at their cabin? I've looked a little into these, but I'm concerned that almost all sources I've found appear to center around one person or group trying to commercialise the concept. As far as I know, this would be a DIY venture, and I'm not sure a fireplace in a cabin is something I'd like to take on as a completely DIY project.

Suddenly winter. I hope the snowpack is better this year and makes the creeks strong after the thaw.

Not sure if this is allowed but wanted to share with everyone that amazon is having 60% off their ecoflo2 battery. Reg 1000 on sale for 400.

https://a.co/d/5kaRCbp

Hello, if I were to purchase my own mobile/modular home and place it on land.. would a generator be my best bet for electricity? By electricity I mean mini-fridge, plug-in heaters, and a double burner hot plate. Not needed for anything else. Could I turn the generator on/off whenever the above items are in use? Thanks in advance for any info, I am new to this. ❤️

Looking into an incinerator toilet to replace my current black water disposal system in my trailer. Furnace and water heater in the same area are gas powered. A wall separates them from the toilet… but biggest issue is that there is very poor electric in the bathroom. Is there one that runs purely off of natural gas for cabins have little to no electricity?

I'm trying to find a copy - or at least a cover photo - of a book I borrowed from someone back in probably 1970. It was about building small, board cabins, using post foundations, nailed, plywood box-beams, plywood-and joist floor boxes, vertical board-and-batten walls. It was written, I think, by an architect-turned-builder, and had a lot of nice, architecty, hand drawings by the author. It was my guide to building a 8'x12' board cabin that I lived in in the Maine woods, through the winter I turned 18, and also set me on a path that eventually led me to a career in structural engineering that I just retired from after some 40 years of practice.

Does this book sound at all familiar to anyone? It was probably published in the late 1960s, or maybe in 1970, but not later than that. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever owned my own copy, and I don't remember either the actual title or the author's name.

(Note: it was NOT "Your Cabin in the Woods" by Conrad E. Meinecke, which pops up in internet searches. Although that also looks like a good book. Just not the one I'm nostalgic for.)

UPDATE: I found someone offline who recognized it. It was "Your Engineered House" by Rex Roberts, 1964. There was an updated version published in 1987, revised by a guy named Charlie Wing. The friend who remembered this turned out to have actually worked on the book. (He must have been pretty young at the time; he's not THAT much older than me.) He recommended his own book, though, published in 1978 - "Designing and Building Your Own House, Your Own Way", by Sam Clark - also the author of an excellent book: "Your Motion-Minded Kitchen". Anyway, Sam says his book used the same design techniques, but fixed some of the math. Just in case anybody's interested, lol.

Hi,

I'm planning to purchase land next to a lake, and I am looking at a simple solution to pump and filter water from the lake to my house.

I'm quite new to this so my first question is, where do I start?

Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/DU27JDrfzRsxCZ5h/?mibextid=11tuMg

I own a foundation company and among other things we lift and level buildings.

We lift a few rtm, mobile homes and cabins every year .

Here is a link to my insta

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCnW4WfAHm1/?igsh=ZngzMWlsYWpxMXNv

Feel free to reach out with any questions.