We quit our jobs to build a cabin • Hacker News Board

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#41

Post by krn » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:23 PM UTC

julienchastang wrote: post #24

ghaff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably tons of places in the rural West. Note this was only a 1/4 acre and off-grid.

The rural American Midwest can also be quite inexpensive. Of course, you have to put up with harsh winters, hot and humid summers, poor secondary education, living 3 hours away from the nearest natural grocer (though maybe you can raise your own chickens and grow organic food) and conservative politics. I do find the bucolic landscapes and slower pace of life appealing at some level, however.

> and conservative politics

A European here. Does such a thing as a liberal rural state exist in the US? Could Colorado be considered as such?

Edit: I forgot about Vermont, which looks and sounds[1] a lot like Northern Europe to me.

But can rural lifestyle and liberal politics be combined with warmer climate in the US?

Maybe rural California?

Edit 2: After reading all the responses, it seems that I should be looking for liberal rural counties rather than states.

[1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=nKcUOUYzDXA

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#42

Post by kyleblarson » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:23 PM UTC

bwb wrote: post #35

TimSchumann wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. I feel personally attacked. Really though, I wonder how many things are on my 'Someday Maybe' list, that really I should just make more money to accomplish and/or find a youtube subscription that satisfies the urge to tinker on a particular topic.

I think you are being funny :), but just wanted to chime in and say I think what he is saying is that he didn't enjoy it, so he would rather do something he likes and pay someone to do what he does not :).

That's definitely true, but I also realized that the quality of construction would never be close to the level it could be if I used a contractor. I'm a stickler for quality so it would have driven me crazy. I did somewhat enjoy the electrical work and have done some more of that on our house. If I can partially retire any time soon I'd love to apprentice with a master electrician and do some work on my own. There has been a huge building boom in our valley the last couple of years and most of the contractors and trades are booked out to 2022 for big jobs.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#43

Post by crooked-v » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:23 PM UTC

petargyurov wrote: post #22

nekochanwork wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I built a tiny house on wheels. My house totaled about $55K, due to my preference for premium materials and contracting out work that I did not feel comfortable doing myself (e.g. wiring a 50amp power box). My house was built to be on grid and could be parked in any trailer park. I could connect to city power, water, natural gas, and sewage. Off-grid homes are more expensive due to the need to install solar panels, d…

> I could connect to city power, water, natural gas, and sewage How?

Through hookups built into the side of the tiny house.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#44

Post by R0b0t1 » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:24 PM UTC

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #30

carabiner wrote: post #3

It ended up costing ~$50k (not counting labor) and took a year to build, and they sold it for $115k. The cabin looks phenomenal. I wonder how a tinyhome would compare in cost and features?

I don't really get the tiny home fixation some people have. If it's a move towards minimalism, fine, but I don't think it's a practical cost cutting measure if we're talking about rural properties. The reason I say this most of the costs in rural homes have little to do with house size. My septic, well, electricity, tractor + attachments, mower, etc. and the piles of tools I need are all fixed costs that have little…

There's a lot of "tiny houses" that technically don't qualify as an accommodation in various ways, like not having a foundation.

What you're currently seeing is the evolution of the movement to be more photogenic. The OG tiny homes were a (successful) attempt at running around laws about home construction in previously extremely rural areas that now have zealous code enforcement. If it's not technically a house you save a load of money not just in taxes but also permit, inspection, utility, and insurance costs. As a bonus sometimes you can move your living space.

There are often plots of land for sale that will fit just under an RV and may or may not have utilities running to them. The kind of person to buy a lot like that, maybe $1000 total, was the person originally looking at building a tiny house.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#45

Post by brandonscott » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

eternalban wrote: post #13

carabiner wrote: post #3

It ended up costing ~$50k (not counting labor) and took a year to build, and they sold it for $115k. The cabin looks phenomenal. I wonder how a tinyhome would compare in cost and features?

Your Q reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House . The client, Pope, had challenged the famous architect, who to date had built mansions for the super wealthy, to design an affordable house for the everyday American: "Dear Mr. Wright, There are certain things a man wants during life, and of life. Material things and things of the spirit. The writer has one fervent wish that includes both. It is a house c…

Usonia! 99% Invisible did an excellent episode about this:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/usonia-1/

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#46

Post by Skunkleton » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #40

kyleblarson wrote: post #11

I purchased land in the North Cascades area (Methow Valley, about 3 hours Northeast of Index where these guys built) in 2007 with the intention of building a weekend home myself. I prepped the property myself and ran the main power. It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My wife a…

I find the opposite. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I try to only pay for labor when it's low/medium skill labor paired with a capital investment I don't want to make (e.g. getting new tires on my car and an alignment) or when I'm paying for a member of a professional club for their reputation and club membership (e.g. a lawyer or realtor)

There are lots of pros out there who don't know what they are doing. That is true in all fields. Still, I'm certain that there is someone for hire that can outperform an amateur. Even if the final product is good in either case, there are other considerations like time investment (hours and calendar), and opportunity costs.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#47

Post by bfostbfostbfost » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:26 PM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #40

kyleblarson wrote: post #11

I purchased land in the North Cascades area (Methow Valley, about 3 hours Northeast of Index where these guys built) in 2007 with the intention of building a weekend home myself. I prepped the property myself and ran the main power. It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My wife a…

I find the opposite. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I try to only pay for labor when it's low/medium skill labor paired with a capital investment I don't want to make (e.g. getting new tires on my car and an alignment) or when I'm paying for a member of a professional club for their reputation and club membership (e.g. a lawyer or realtor)

For renovations I try to do as much work as possible, eg tile removal/replacement, backer board removal/replacement....let the plumber come in to a clean and prepped worksite for a valve sweat....he’s in and out ASAP, I’ve saved budget from just throwing money at a GP contractor to do everything, and I get to do the non-expert stuff myself.

But I think that the schmo vs pro divide is real when you get to electrical, plumbing etc. HE’S the pro, and I’m the Schmo. As my favorite interviewer says.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#48

Post by RobRivera » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:26 PM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #9

wolco wrote: post #6

They got the property for 3,000 and sold for 115,000 (with cabin) Where can you buy so low for so much land?

You can easily get cheap empty land in the American West so long as it's farther from the nearest city than your average Javascript crapping baboon is willing to drive with his family in the car for a weekend getaway and the parcel is too small for any commercial use. The east coast is similar but all the numbers are smaller and the baboons shit under-performing pharmaceuticals and financial products instead of Javas…

Yea this story rings true with my data points. I do want a farm and may throw monopoly money at something that is somewhat baselined

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#49

Post by ramraj07 » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:27 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #5

Those guys don't have a building problem. They have a drinking problem.

Please read the article first. They might have started out on a whim woefully underprepared but they stood up to the challenge, quite literally gave it everything they got, and have walked away wiser men knowing what they want to do with their lives. Nothing but respect.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#50

Post by MikeTheGreat » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 6:27 PM UTC

TimSchumann wrote: post #18

kyleblarson wrote: post #11

I purchased land in the North Cascades area (Methow Valley, about 3 hours Northeast of Index where these guys built) in 2007 with the intention of building a weekend home myself. I prepped the property myself and ran the main power. It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My wife a…

> It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. I feel personally attacked. Really though, I wonder how many things are on my 'Someday Maybe' list, that really I should just make more money to accomplish and/or find a youtube subscription that satisfies the urge to tinker on a particular topic.

> find a youtube subscription that satisfies the urge to tinker on a particular topic.

I think my life got measurably better when I pivoted from "I want to do this myself" towards "It's just as satisfying to watch someone else do this".

Downhill extreme mountain biking is really cool. And fun to watch. And expensive. And requires much more physical fitness than I've got. And dangerous (esp. given my physical fitness :). )