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We quit our jobs to build a cabin

outsideonline.com

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271–280 of 402 posts

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#271

Post by dmoy »

lowdose wrote: post #85
MikeTheGreat wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

You underestimate your bodies strength. There are people of 98 years that do a full triathlon, so there is no excuse for you not to able to do that. You can do anything when you put your 10k hours in, but not on the first try. If mountain biking is your dream buy a Trek with electric motor in it. They can give you extra lift till you accelerate to 75 km/hour with a dongle of $120. Instant pro biking experience withou…

> Navy Seals talk about that being tired is just an emotion like feeling happy.

BUD/S has like a 25% pass rate, of people who are even allowed to try.

Not saying that a navy seal can't just decide to not be tired anymore, but for the rest of us mere mortals....

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#272

Post by hourislate »

Spooky23 wrote: post #177
atourgates wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have the opportunity (and can find contractors willing to work with you), picking out parts of a project to DIY is a good way to build skills, and save $$s. We're building a shop. I've contracted most of the build out, but found that I could save $20,000+ by DIY'ing the radiant heat portion myself. Took about a days worth of planning and research, another to lay down the pipe before the floor was poured, and a…

It’s funny how when you’re young you it’s hard to learn about these types of things. My wife went to school with a guy who didn’t like college. He took a summer job on a road crew, learned how to use an excavator and got hooked. Dropped out, saved up, and bought a used dump truck, which basically made him. Started out hauling stuff and then got into water/sewer work and excavation. He’s up to about 20 trucks a decade…

Have a buddy who got a Finance Degree. Was hired into a large financial/invest firm in a great position and salary. 1 -2 years and couldn't take it, quit to go drywall with his two older brothers.

When he quit his job the parents wept. He was the first kid to go/finish University in the family.

It went from 3 guys hanging board to a 40-50 million construction company in 2 decades.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#273

Post by blaser-waffle »

bialpio wrote: post #245
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…

The problem I have with "professionals" in Seattle area is that you pay a lot, and then you have to either have them come back every day to fix all the little things, or just give up and fix them yourself. It is emotionally draining that it's so costly and yet still done in a half-assed way. I may have been unlucky with the contractors, but on the other hand, it's not in their incentive to spend more time on somethin…

> it's not in their incentive to spend more time on something if they can get away with doing the job less meticulously...

This is every job ever. Wait until you see the quality of code that runs big backend systems...

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#275

Post by jonpurdy »

MikeTheGreat wrote: post #50
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.

> 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…

I felt this way about dirt and enduro motorcycling. Went back to regular street riding after a few seasons of enduro. Despite being the slowest guy in the forest, I’d still low-speed crash a couple of times per day and end up replacing small parts on my bike which can really add up. Not to mention the level of physical endurance required to efficiently deal with rocks and bumps and hills. I watch enduro riders on YouTube instead.

It did make me a way better street rider though!

Also glad to have read this article. Was thinking (more like daydreaming) of building a Korean Hanok one day but it seems unrealistic without a lot of professional help.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#276

Post by blaser-waffle »

agumonkey wrote: post #268
tornato7 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting my house remodeled I realized that the contractors do probably 50x as much math as I do on a daily basis, and I'm the one with a math degree. Go figure.

You did trig fights ? ps: school should make kids build more stuff, you get real use case for a lot of mathematical thinking out of cute stuff hands on.

I agree, but 1) that's expensive, and 2) more shop class means more kids accidentally nailing their hands to things.

Source: my brother nailed his hand to something in middle school. He's got a Ph.D now, for the record.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#277

Post by dotsam »

marktangotango wrote: post #219
huntilio wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's nothing left to worship, so you're seeing a confluence of 2 forms of modern worship: a return to nature / primitive living (where we can imagine away the distractions of modern living), and worship of the self / fame, where we create these myths of ourselves and tell that story / get a bunch of people to be interested. I suspect neither one is very fulfilling, but I understand the impulse (especially the firs…

One need only cite Emerson and Thoreau to see this has in fact been going on for quite some time.

“Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, by the seashore, in the mountains; and you too are wont to desire such things very much. But this is a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in your power whenever you choose to retire within yourself.” Marcus Aurelius, ~1800 years ago

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#278

Post by ryandrake »

kube-system wrote: post #27
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?

There's a lot of land this cheap in places where there are no utilities and/or access to the property. landwatch.com has 5,734 listings for properties in the US priced for less than $3,000 right now.

Yea, I've been looking for off-grid land to build my bug-out cabin for the zombie apocalypse, and there's always a reason for parcels that are really big and cheap. Access: Is it boxed in by other property without a way to actually get to it? Wastewater: No septic? Why? Will the parcel pass a perc test? If there's a system, is it big enough to support the size structure you're planning to build? Water: No well? Why? Probably a reason. How deep is the aquifer? Is it seasonal? Usability: Is the parcel entirely on steep hillside or maybe it's one big marsh? Probably other things I'm not thinking about. Every one of these things is a risk with a price tag.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#279

Post by iijj »

grimgrin wrote: post #157
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…

In 2007 how did you go about Finding land to buy? Today, would you know of options that are better than just seeing what is available on Zillow and the like? Maybe there are drastic differences in the various online services and some are much better to use than others I wonder what I'm not finding because it isn't listed on Zillow

If it is a rural area, drive around or use google maps to find empty land you are interested in, then look it up on the county tax site. If it hasn't changed hands in the last 20-30 years, call the owner.

People who've owned empty, vacant land for decades tend to have either inherited it or are long term real estate investors. Frequently they will have tried to sell it in the past and not gotten enough interest.

Obviously, doesn't work everywhere. Higher demand areas are going to be completely different.

But it worked for us when we decided to move to the boonies.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#280

Post by Shebanator »

markkanof wrote: post #170
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Building one structure is a series of low skill tasks. Building many structures (or any given sub-specialty, e.g. plumbing) on a predetermined schedule and budget and making money doing it without charging so much money that you get undercut out of business is what requires skill. For N=1 you rarely have to be a pro to do it right.

Not really sure why you are being downvoted. My own experience aligns with what you are describing. For most residential work a homeowner can do a solid job as long as you are handy and willing to spend a little time familiarizing yourself with building codes and the appropriate techniques. Being a professional means being able to estimate accurately, meet those estimates, manage multiple jobs, etc. If timeline isn't…

And yet there is me, having to go to Home Depot 3 times for a simple job, and still managing to mess it up.
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