Machka 

That would be the way to do the floors, but there are so many other things on our list that I don't see us uprooting the flooring in the next few months.

We're about 2/3 of the way through the insulating project now. We worked on it together last night. I've got this photo and 3 others in that set about the progress over the past few days:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7619719051119/ (see the last 4 photos in the set)

wahoonc

I know the feeling...I have building projects at home that will have to wait until after I die to get finished You will gain more from the ceiling insulation, do the floors in the warm season. Also getting gravel and vapor barrier down should help with your drainage issues.

I am glad to see you are making progress, if were to try something like that around here the building inspector or social services would shut us down.

Aaron

Machka 

I've just been set free from the hospital where I stayed for 2 weeks with a rather nasty case of DVT. While I was in hospital, Rowan was very busy!! He had a surprise for me when he brought me home .....


This is what the bedroom area of our cabin looked like when I first arrived ...



Here's what Rowan did to our cabin while I was away.






And I must say, it does feel warmer in here now that the walls have been finished, and draft holes blocked, and now that the ceiling has all it's insulation in it so the warm air can be down here where I am, rather than up in the rafters.

ndbiker

There are whole communities of people living car free and off the grid entirely. They are called the Amish. It's alot easier to live off the grid if you free yourself from the necessity of living a modern lifestyle. I have determined the lifestyle I wish to live and am currently deciding what resources I can put forth to live that lifestyle with the least energy. Some come close (see Ed Bagley Jr. and Bill Nye) to living with a net zero energy usage although I believe the grid is their backup system. Given their economic resources they have obviously prioritized their lives in a way that allows them to provide nearly all their energy needs themselves. The beauty of providing your own energy is that you are free from having others control your decisions. The government can't tax your energy and change your behavior, the energy companies can't raise your rates and change your behavior. You are free to use your resources in the way you see fit. Living car free it seems to me would have similar benefits once you resigned yourself to such limitations.

Platy

I'm interested in urban homesteading, which is not as ambitious as total off the grid living, but it goes in the same direction of trying to live a more self reliant life style. Lately I've been hanging out at the Everything-DIY forum:

https://www.everything-diy.com/cgi-bi...i?action=forum

If you're interested in tapping into the kind of technology used in old order Mennonite enclaves, that site has information resources and knowledgeable people. However, the focus of the forum is more general than that.

Mahatma Zombie

Please visit this link and read everything if you haven't already. It's absolutely wonderful (if your into this kind of stuff )!

https://www.omick.net/

Cheers,

Nycycle

I tried to live "Off the Grid" once, my boss drove up into the mountains and found me sleeping, started yelling at me to go to work, no matter how many times I told him I quit, so I went back one more year, then I married this credit card lover and she has ran me into debt so far the only off or on the grid I will ever see if I do it in another country where the banks can't find me.