Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office • Hacker News Board

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#61

Post by Syonyk » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

choeger wrote: post #52

Shouldn't you also insulate the floor? If you did that, how did you retrofit insulation there?

I didn't have the floor insulated my first winter, and, yes, it was quite chilly in there (keeping my feet warm was very hard).

It wasn't done by the time the original post went up, but the following year, I added more insulation, including some insulation under the floor. A local company used an open cell foam insulation designed to have a low curing pressure (so it wouldn't pop the floor up). I also improved the insulation on the eyebrow windows.

https://www.sevarg.net/2017/12/24/solar-shed-part-17-more-in...

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#62

Post by coconutoctopus » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 5:05 PM UTC

Where do people go living offgrid like this? I'm in Los Angeles and will probably never afford a house here due to the high cost, maybe a townhouse some day. Anyone has suggestion for good states or cities that will be good for building your own houses? I've never been out of California really and most of my friends are in CA as well.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#63

Post by madaxe_again » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

fransje wrote: post #56

madaxe_again wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, that’s restrictive. I can build up to 100m2 here, external area, up to three stories, no permits or inspections. Can vouch that roofing is hard damn work - but perfectly possible to do solo - our roof is tiny, only 70m2, but still took me about ten days from ceiling boards to tiles on. It would have been a lot easier with a helper.

In which country did you settle? 100m2 is already quite a building surface. Is it a maximum per land plot or per building btw?

Portugal, in a very depopulated rural area. Per building. There are some restrictions around use (can’t be a permanent residence without a permit). So far we’ve only put up a single 45m2 cabin, but have plans for a few bits and bobs, spread over ~10ha. Building out our own power and water grids, vermiculture sewage treatment where needed. Their attitude is “it’s your land, you do what you want”.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#64

Post by fransje » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #63

fransje wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In which country did you settle? 100m2 is already quite a building surface. Is it a maximum per land plot or per building btw?

Portugal, in a very depopulated rural area. Per building. There are some restrictions around use (can’t be a permanent residence without a permit). So far we’ve only put up a single 45m2 cabin, but have plans for a few bits and bobs, spread over ~10ha. Building out our own power and water grids, vermiculture sewage treatment where needed. Their attitude is “it’s your land, you do what you want”.

Time to start learning Portuguese then.. Here in France anything above 5m2 needs to be declared (plus taxed), and anything above 20m2 needs a permit.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#65

Post by rubylark » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 7:26 PM UTC

coconutoctopus wrote: post #62

Where do people go living offgrid like this? I'm in Los Angeles and will probably never afford a house here due to the high cost, maybe a townhouse some day. Anyone has suggestion for good states or cities that will be good for building your own houses? I've never been out of California really and most of my friends are in CA as well.

Pretty much anywhere in the Midwest is builder and home-buyer friendly, with the caveat that the further you are from a city, the easier and cheaper it is. Anecdotal stories I've heard put IA, ND, SD, WI, MI, MN, IN, NE and KS at about the same level for suburban to rural housing (though this depends on the size and popularity of the closest city). It is typically cheaper (not including maintenance costs) to buy an old house than to build your own. You can buy an old 2000 sqft house for under $200k within commuting distance of the Twin Cities but building a similar house on an empty lot will likely cost more than twice that and have a 10-20 min longer commute.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#66

Post by conductr » Tue, Oct 05, 2021, 7:37 PM UTC

Aspos wrote: post #14

I've spent far more while arranging for space at home, and the resulting workspace is not as great. I wish there was such a Shed-as-a-Service in a bikable distance from my home. Seriously, I believe there is some demand for local, tiny offices for remote workers.

The challenge with tiny structures is usually building codes. Also, in a city setting, the cost of the dirt is likely going to mean you wouldn’t like the daily rate very much even if someone built it.

That said, I’m developing some work/live spaces that is a new zoning concept for my local municipality. They’ve essentially addressed some of the limitations regarding multiple structures, how far apart the need to be, parking, sanitation, etc to make it a bit more feasible. This was really progressive for the town to come up with and something I’ve been looking to do for a long time.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#67

Post by matthewfcarlson » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC

Aspos wrote: post #14

I've spent far more while arranging for space at home, and the resulting workspace is not as great. I wish there was such a Shed-as-a-Service in a bikable distance from my home. Seriously, I believe there is some demand for local, tiny offices for remote workers.

I pitched this to some coworkers. Remote Work Cabins I believe was what I called them. I think the idea was that they were in the woods and you got a little cabin with a fiber optic internet connection and a communal common area where lunch was served (dutch oven type cooking). Trails would run around the property for runners or hikers to enjoy a stroll. That was the pitch anyway- I think getting woods close to any sort of urban or suburban centers is harder.

Re: Solar Shed Summary: My Off Grid Office

#68

Post by matthewfcarlson » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 1:27 PM UTC

Aspos wrote: post #14

I've spent far more while arranging for space at home, and the resulting workspace is not as great. I wish there was such a Shed-as-a-Service in a bikable distance from my home. Seriously, I believe there is some demand for local, tiny offices for remote workers.

A trend I've noticed in my area (north Austin) is taking old houses and converting them into small co-working spaces. I've seen a few of them but I feel like for the cost, you could quickly build a shed.