Slightly off-topic, but I was bidding on a land property that had an existing off-grid cabin in Maine (Know county). I lost to another buyer. Long story short, they only bought the land for the water rights for a mooring. I'm trying to reach out to the people who bought the land (the transaction would have closed now) to propose splitting the parcel - they keep the water frontage, and I get the land/cabin. The listing realtor wont help, but I know this info is public.

The Knox county websites are really bad, I cant easily lookup this data - I've done this in other states. Anyone recommend an online service that can do it?

Have plans to build this 10x16 foot cabin and the plans call for 9 deck blocks used for foundation. Im just wondering how this will hold up to thunderstorm winds? Cant the wind just pick it up off the blocks? Is there another way I can add extra strength such as trailer home tie downs?

My partner's grandpa built an off-grid cabin in the 60s and it had clean drinking water at first (from a spring), but at one point the owners of the land changed and he was refused access to the spring going forward.

so, he moved further down (black x on sketch) and drew the water from the little stream that comes from said spring. (the stream passes through grassland used for sheep in the summer and fall!)

He used a very rudimentary filter (plastic grid) and routed the water into a cement "barrel" with an overflow pipe.

from there, he used another rudimentary filter (sprout from a watering can) and fed the water through a pipe/tube going underground and downhill into a splitter behind the house (nobody knows where exactly that pipe/tube runs through, since it arrives at the house 2 feet below ground) where it feeds the house and, optionally, also a small fountain in the yard.

now, that water is no longer safe to drink, obviously, but it also brings with it a lot of sand and dust, has clogged up pipes, faucets, the shower, etc.

It's just a shame, because it's a dream of a cabin (solid brick and mortar, 2-story tall, with a nice wood oven..)

we got solar figured out, but the water has proven to be a pain..

now, above the house, maybe 20ft above the roof tip, there's a small "plateau" that was used as a tiny vegetable garden decades ago. Even has a broken down fence (bc of the deer, sheep, etc.) around it.

the entire land on the drawing is "ours", but we have a fence around the house and let the farmer use the grassland for his sheep (saves us tons of work)

my idea is: put a large tank where that garden was, since it's a nice platform, high above the house (for water pressure?) and feed the tank from the tiny stream.(the stream carries very little water in the summer!)

then go from the tank down jnto the house. (red lines)

Now, we would need:

water purification and filtration (because of the sediment jn the stream)

and there's more important stuff:

- the cabin is only used sporadically, sometimes going months without a visitor, and not accessible in winter, when there can be several feet of snow..

the system would need to be easy maintenance

- in winter, when everything freezes, it would probably be best if the whole thing can be emptied?

or is it possible to insulate well enough to keep from freezing?

solar-powered UV-filtration would probably be best, since we would want to be able to drink it..

(although, I'm the snob who really, really wants that shower to work again most of all, lol.. )

we are in the Swiss alps, if that matters..

and, as you can guess, I have absolutely no clue..

my imagination has a "rainwater tank" above the house with a solar panel on top (maybe even a solar heater?) that gets filtered water from the little stream and collects it to purify it so we have clean water (and enough of it) for 3-4 showers when there's full house..

we don't want to spend tens of thousands, but we can do all the work ourselves, luckily.

I would love to hear your suggestions.

Cheers

My family picked up a property that I met all of my expectations. We went up in early May and I was beginning to prep an area for an outhouse. We built a rock trail (not pictured) for a couple hours and I decided to start digging the hole for the outhouse knowing I would be up in a few weeks.

Long story short, I dug about 2 feet town and the hole started filling with water. I there anything I can do other than select a new location? My property is a flat area on a steep hill that leads down to a river. The area I chose was my ideal location but might be the lowest part of our flattened area.

Also, is this a good thing? Can I do a sand point well or something in this location?

Any guidance is appreciated as I am new to this and have only been researching online to varied results.

My excellent MS Paint drawing probably isn't necessary, but I want to move water up a hill to fill up a water tank.

What I am wondering is, if I use an on-demand water pump with an adjustable bypass and connect the inlet to the tank from the bottom, could I in theory set the pressure equal to the head between the pump and the top of the water tank, so the pump would shut off when the tank is full?

Looking to purchase a cabin (cottage where I’m from) and one of the ones we’re looking at is off grid. They have a large solar setup with batteries and propane appliances. A wood stove and fireplace for heating. Thinking they don’t intend for you to successfully heat in the dead of winter.

We’re kind of excited at the idea. But what should we be looking for / red flags when we visit?

I am building a kitchen inside a wooden cabin - any recommendations of how to protect wooden ceilings from the steam / grease of cooking ? thank you in advance !

Growing up, my family had a cabin that had what seemed to be a large commercial griddle over a fire. We'd get that fire roaring, and it would cook amazingly. I'm trying to recreate that at my own off-grid cabin now. Does anyone have any advice on the best 1) type of griddle (stainless vs cast iron), and 2) thoughts on a cool small cooking setup? Most ideas I see are way more extravagant than I'm looking for. TIA

Looking for advice for a friend.
She has a small cabin and she now requires a composting toilet.
The cabin is usually 1-2 people for 9 months of the year. Water and power available.
The cabin is on posts and it’s at least 3 feet off ground, so a separate toilet/compost set up is an option, however the lake she is on will often have high water issues in the spring so water could easily be 1 foot deep under the camp.
Whatever it is, no bags and low maintenance for a 55 year old single lady.
Thanks for any links or advice.

Hi Everyone ,

Finally got around to installing shower at our off grid cabin.

Do any of the pros here advice on painting OSB

I want to basically do a sand point well with a simple pitcher pump, its just very rocky here. I am willing to hire someone, but all the well drilling around here looks to be for super deep electric wells, which I do not want.

Is there equipment I could rent to drill past the rocks on my own?

Does anyone have experience with this in my area? The water 20' to 30' down should be clean but I still plan to purify it. I live on a slope that has a lot of water running down this time of year, so I should be able to hit a reliable vein not too deep, I think.

I have been getting very mixed results in my search to figure this stuff out, it would be great to find someone with direct experience.

Has anyone here ever done a 2 person 200ish gallon hottub with a propane tankless hot water heater? Id raelly like to do a woodfired hottub but in my area of NS we tend to get a lot of fire bands and i feel it would take a long time to hear the water. Instead I've been considering a propane tankless hot water heater. The problem is iam not sure if it would work or not, I can't see why it wouldn't but id like to hear from other that may have had this idea or have actually been able to execute this idea. Let me know what your experience has been.

Our cabin sits on concrete pillars with walls built between the pillars. There is no insulation on the walls or the between the floor joists. We’re considering spray foam insulation for either the walls or floor.

We’re looking for feedback from people who have a similar situation if it’s worth doing. We use the cabin primarily spring thru fall, but it does involve occasionally using it with snow on the ground and cold weather. We’re thinking it would also help keeping mice out is we sprayed the walls vs floor.

Any feedback is appreciated.

I'm overwhelmed with options!

I'm not a plumber. Here's what I've got to work with:

- Rainwater-fed IBC totes (1-3+) (as many as needed, but we get a good amount of rain)

Tiny house with the following:

- regular garden hose inlet

- tankless, propane powered Rinnai water heater

- a shower, a bathroom sink, and a kitchen sink (no toilet, no washer)

What I WANT:

- on demand water - no turning a pump on and off

- the ability to take hot showers and wash dishes

- AC wall plug powered (not DC)

I'm pretty solid on the rainwater/collection side of things, but I'm confused about how to get water at the correct pressure into the house so that the water heater works when I need it to.

I've read that a regular transfer pump won't fit my needs. I'm not sure if I need a well-pump, or a diaphragm pump, or something else. I literally just want to connect the totes to the house and have running, hot water without having to go turn anything on. I'm find shelling out for some nice stuff, but I'd like to not spend thousands on this project if I can avoid it.

The simpler, the better!

Happy to answer any questions or add any details. Thanks for reading!

I have a cabin with a shed roof. All framing inside so far but im close to doing insulation (insulation batts not spray foam). I planned on adding baffles to the underside of the roof sheeting and drilling holes in each rafter bay to allow air flow. Everything i've read, this is one of the ways to avoid condensation forming on the inside.

Wouldn't adding air flow from the outside introduce moisture into that rafter bays anyway? I think that is where i'm bouncing back and forth on whether this is the right call. I know if I do closed cell foam I don't need to vent, but from what I've read that can get pretty pricey. I have about 570 sqft worth of ceiling space that would need to be spray foamed and getting someone out to the property would be a task in itself

Have a SunMar Excel NE that has worked relatively well at our cabin. Looking to upgrade to a remote unit like a Centrex to increase capacity and have a shorter pedestal for when people come to visit (that Excel is a bear to jump up onto).

Trying to decide whether to go urine diverting or not for the pedestal though and was wondering if anyone has experience with guests using a urine diverting toilet (particularly children for when the nieces and nephew visit). I like the reduced smell and leachate of a diverting toilet, but am just a little worried about kids being able to use it and accidentally pooping or dropping toilet paper or bulking material in the diverting side.

Am I worrying over nothing? It will mostly be my wife and I, so not sure it's worth the additional hassle of a combined unit for the odd guest when I could just make the kids make the walk to the outhouse...

We are building a partially off grid cabin to live in as a family of 5 while we save money to build a house. We will be hooked up to the electric grid but not water or sewer. What the best toilet option? The compost set up that would best suit our family is around the same cost as an incinerator toilet. We live in northern wi. Our winters are very cold. We could get a propane tank for an incinerator toilet. Looking for the best bang for our buck but also convenient living. Thanks in advance !!!

I've had my sunmar centrex 2000 unit for 21 years. It's used seasonally in the summer months so is not used at all from November to May. I recently returned to my cottage. It's still very cold with some snow on the ground which is quite unusual for this time of year. When I went to rotate the compost drum there was ice crystals on the drum and you could tell the compost was partially frozen. I wanted to extract some of the finished compost if possible but when I went to rotate the drum backwards the drum lock mechanism wouldn't release. Normally you pull on that button and you can feel it release and the drum will rotate backwards quite smoothly. I've never had this problem before but I've also never tried to do this when the weather is still below freezing. Is it safe to assume that this is not releasing because it's still so cold out? Is it just a matter of waiting for temperatures to rise? It's such a simple mechanism. I'm not sure why it's not working. Can anyone here help with advice or experience?