12’x30’ Off Grid Shed to House w/ EPIC Greenhouse Additions - You’ll Fall in Love!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ย. 2023
- UPDATE! Shed to house Conversion Video Tour…
It has been 2 years since we last posted a tour of our off grid DIY shed to house conversion here on our 16-acre homestead in Middle-Georgia… and on December 2, 2023, it will be our 12th anniversary living in our home.
12 years ago, we sold our belongs and left our big city lives in Miami, Florida (John) and London, England (Fin) to pursue our dream of a simpler, more eco-friendly, and self-sustainable off-grid lifestyle. It has been a of hard work, sweat, and blood (seriously, John has broken two ribs, an ankle, and been cut many times), but it has all been worth it carving out our definition of what we call our little slice of heaven.
We’ve learned a lot and have grown so much over these past 12 years… both as a couple and as individuals.
Solar energy, rainwater harvesting, solar thermal heating, implementing earth-ship technologies in our greenhouse-bathroom & greenhouse-kitchen additions, humanure composting, creating biogas for cooking fuel & a nutrient liquid fertilizer, and so much more.
Tankless Water Heater: precisiontemp.com/products/rv...
Derksen Portable Buildings - derksenbuildings.com/
HomeBiogas - www.homebiogas.com/ref/2/
Solar system, EcoFlow - www.ecoflow.com/us/
Berkey Filters - www.berkeyfilters.com/
TV Stand - a.co/d/5AUyHL5
We leased 81 acres during our first 3 years for $1,200 annually and purchased our first 3.16 acres in 2015 for $5,000… we then move our shed to home conversion from the leased land to our purchased land. Over the years we’ve kept buying adjacent land and in 2019 we purchased the last of our current 16 acres.
By buying raw and land-locked land we have saved so much money by clearing and developing our land ourselves. We toted in water every week by filling 5-gallon jugs at a boat ramp and we utilized two generators for months until we built our first small capacity solar system, which we added to over time and used for over 10 years until we upgraded in 2023 to our current EcoFlow system. For almost a decade we used composting toilets and practiced humanure composting, until we upgraded to a HomeBiogas Digester to process our sewage and create both a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer and a scent-free, odorless, clean biogas for 2-4 hours a day of cooking fuel. (More details on all these applications coming in an upcoming video.)
We purchased our Derksen Portable Buildings 12’x’30’ empty shed shell for $6,500 and spent a grand total of $6,000 for our original shed-to-home conversion. Over the years we added decks to all four sides of our home, in 2019 we added our greenhouse-bathroom for $1,500 and in 2023 we added our greenhouse-kitchen for $6,000.
Always buying used & repursued materials, utilizing salvaged/recycled/upcycled construction materials, and scoring dumpster dived items have saved us so much money! DIY’ng and doing everything ourselves has aways been a BIG money saver too!
For income, we currently have 8 short-term rental getaways on our homestead consisting of 3 tiny houses on wheels (we just received a 4th tiny house on wheels we will be making available soon), 2 geodesic domes, 1 yurt, a skoolie (short-bus conversion), and a 16’ bell tent on a raised platform. We have organized 29 tiny house festivals around the country and our 30th festival is coming up December 18-19, 2023, in Gainesville, Florida. We are also invited speakers and emcees at events and festivals around the country.
For years we have been running an animal rescue sanctuary here on our homestead… we have 6 goats, 2 pigs, 30 chickens, 4 ducks, 10 quails, 4 spayed/neutered dogs, and 31 spayed/neutered cats. (These numbers change regularly.)
Growing our own food in all our various gardens satisfies Fin’s vegetarian needs & John’s side dishes, having fresh eggs (chicken, duck & quail) is always wonderful, and having all our fruit trees (peaches, apples, nectarines, figs, plums, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, olives, mulberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, muscadines, passion fruit & more) are such a treat to pick and enjoy.
Never let anyone tell you or discourage you from accomplishing your dreams… especially yourself. Go for it! We’re proof you don’t need to be a trust-fund baby, have generational wealth, or need a bunch of money in the bank to accomplish this type of lifestyle… nor do you need great carpenter or tool skills (Fin’s idea of a screwdriver when we first started out was a butter knife).
All you need is belief in yourself, a partner (if you have one) who is on the same page as you & on board, the ability to tune out any negative noise from others, and a true desire to GO FOR IT!
We wish everyone great success and the same happiness we have been blessed with during these past 12 years in all your goals and endeavors. - John & Fin - บันเทิง
I just got a shed and it will be delivered in less then 2 weeks.. so im looking for ideas ..and i love all of yours .. thank you for posting this video
Thank you so much for watching and congratulations on your upcoming shed adventure! Best wished for your success conversion.
I'm so sorry for intruding on your comment like this I'm just fascinated with the fact that you can buy a house and it's delivered to you is really amazing I live in West Africa a country in the West Coast called the Gambia and have been planning to build a house for the past who knows when it is getting more expensive by the day I just wish they I have similar opportunities to just buying a ready-made carben house for the meantime at least at a very minimal cost it is really exciting to see people own homes at least it's a sign of liberation. Is it possible for me to know the cost of such a?
I love the closet with the laundry snd out of the bedroom
So beautiful! This is my DREAM! Just need to find a piece of land 😭 and finances to rent and or purchase! Good luck everyone! ❤❤
This is my favorite ..im so close days away from finding out if i get a piece of land wish me luck !!! Im so close
Thank you so much😊 Congrats on your new land 😻
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Love the cats and chandeliers
Thank you so much very 😊 Fin def loves finding chandeliers… and we both love all our rescue babies 🐈
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Really love the look of the inside of the cabin. Great work!
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I would LOVE to build our off grid home using a shed and then expanding on it with a greenhouse kitchen and bathroom - I am a plant freak and your set-up would allow me to have all of my plant friends in our house!! Thank you for sharing - your home is very inspiring!
Thank you so for watching our video. Best wishes for your shed to home journey… with the greenhouses we hope we don’t have to keep moving our plants between indoor outdoor again during the winter. 🌱
I wanna cry when i see your orange tabby just lost both of my cats my orange Tabby was very recent i have no cats right now 1st time in my life
Fin, the chandeliers are fabulous!
You’re so sweet! Thank you so much 😊 I’m a total sucker when it comes to chandeliers! 💡
What a amazing place, just beautiful.
Wow! Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I love it ❤️
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Your place is beautiful!
Love your great findings! I love to live that way! It’s the most satisfaction in turning something into something beautiful!!!
IKR? ☺️ Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I LOVE this! Beautiful! So very unique and very inspiring. Thanks for posting, I would love to see more of what you are doing! Mahalo!
Thank you so much for the love! Please stay tuned! 😀
🤩🙌🏽🤍🙏🏽🏡Love this soo much, great commentary and beautiful homestead! Sharing!
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
You’ve e done a great job! You must live in a very warm dry climate, without tons of snakes and insects like roaches and crawling things!!! We could NEVER do this in the South East!!!
Thank you 👍🏽👍
We’re above the Georgia Gnat Line so swirling and swarming bugs typically aren’t an issue.
For mosquitoes and other flying bugs we have bat houses, certain plants (citronella, lemon grass, basil, mint, thyme & others), larvae eating fish in our ponds, constantly moving water in our ponds, making sure we don’t have any still/stagnant water in containers anywhere outside, our chicken free-range during the day, and some other techniques for keeping the bug population at bay and reducing the opportunity for them coming into our cabin such as a circulating fans (we prefer our Vornado fans) & ThermaCells for keeping the bug population at bay and reducing the opportunity for them coming into our cabin, and John makes his amazing citronella oil lamps out of old fancy bottles he finds at the dump… but of course our biggest pest control technique are our CATS! 😸🐈🐈⬛😸👍🏽👍
During the 12 years we’ve been living in our cabin we have not had anything near like the pests we had in and around our houses in Miami and London. 🙏🏽🙏
I am in Canada and I wish our winters weren't QUITE so cold so that I could have a bathroom like yours! My dream bathroom! That said, I also have no running water, so I don't even have a bathroom, really! I love seeing other folks living simply. So many people have no idea how rewarding it is, even though, as you say, it requires more work. It also requires a lot less money and income, is better for the planet, and keeps us fit! I've subscribed, and look forward to watching more of your videos. Happy Homesteading!
Thank you so very much for your kind and supportive comment 😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Planning on selling my 2000sqft house and doing something just like this. I LOVE your setup. Minus the solar and rainwater collection… not sure if I can manage without power and a well as a family of 4 haha keep up the videos! I’d like to see more
Thank you so very much😻 Wishing you success and happiness with your upcoming adventures 👍👍🏽😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Your home is beautiful
Wow! Thank you so very much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Beautiful home ,love everything,thanks for the tour really enjoyed it
Thank you so much for watching 🥰
I love the kitchen!
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I’ve been following you both on Instagram and it only occurred to me to search for you on TH-cam!😅
I hope that you will continue to post videos of your days and chores needed to maintain your homestead. I really hope to have something similar to your home one day! All the best to you both.💜✨🙏
Hi there, thank you so much for finding us here. We’re glad you did! That was a great suggestion on the daily chores. We’ll get work on it now. Thank you so much again for your support! Happy holidays 🎉
Love your home and additions from the last tour ❤
Thank you so very much😊… and thank you for following along with our journey 😻
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Plan to do this😊
Awesome! We can’t wait see what you create for yourself! 😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Love the lockers. I’m always on the hunt for some…
We love those lockers. We got out of Facebook Marketplace.
I LOVE your homestead! Beautiful! Sustainable! Conscious living. 💕
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Just found you both tonight and absolutely my favorite channel on TH-cam!
You are personable and brilliant making it all work and Fin, a great camera person and much funnier than you show! Lol
I just retired and plan to sell my home and move to Oregon. I hope to make your lifestyle as a template to live the rest of my years. Thank you both for sharing your journey! ❤
Awwwww… Thank you so very much for your kind words😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Wow this is amazing 😻
Thank you so very much😻😻
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I haven't seen a video on how you guys wash clothes. Would love to know about that 🖤
Oh… we have a small washing machine on the deck outside our greenhouse-bathroom… also, over in the community house we have for guests & visitors we have a full laundry room. 👍👍🏽😊
I love all of it
Thank you so much 😊
You guys are an inspiration!!
Wow! Thank you so very much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Such a beautiful home. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment!
Just Subbed🤗 Love your content,Blessings💞
Starting my journey and looking forward to the finish line💯
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing! Best of luck with your shed journey!! Let us know how it’s going😀
@@Belovedcabin, Will do🤗
you're both seem like such sweet people 🩷☹️ so glad i came across your channel, it gave me so many cool ideas
Thank you so much😊 We’re glad you came across us too😻
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I am so inspired by yalls home. It's like everything I want to build for my wife and I. I really appreciate all the content you post. I adore the greenhouse bathroom!!! ❤❤❤ I am definitely going to keep in mind your design when we build our own
Thank you so much for the sweet comment. Best wishes for your dream home build. 😀
I love that you have so many critters around. I currently only have twelve cats, two dogs, and two cows. I miss having goats, chickens, and pigs. I think off-grid would be a bit too much work for my health and energy levels though. The FB Marketplace in my area doesn't have nearly as many offerings as you seem to have found. When good stuff comes up there's a high chance its stolen (at least in my area). It's still very cool to see what is possible.
Thank you so much😊 Yes, we have to be quick to find the deals online… fortunately, out here when something is posted it’s typically items that have been in families for a long time🥰
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Y’all have inspired us!! Would you be willing to talk a little about your foundation? We want to do something similar ASAP so we can escape the rat race 😊
Thank you so much😊 We started out with our shed-to-house conversion leveled on blocks and secured to ground with hurricane anchors. We eventually built our deck around d all fours sides, which is attached to our cabin and it’s also concreted into the ground👍😊😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
I am in the UK, and this cabin of yours would be my dream place. i love growing my own veg...and love to make own furniture, jewellery, sew my own clothes. But am living in the country in my parents house (i do have a house in london i rent out) but everyone on the street at my parents house are doing it up make it fancy. i don't care for fancy, i just want something cosy, sustainable...handmade and even rough at the seams. i guess when my parents pass i would love to move away to more land and have a cabin like yours
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us here. We’re glad you watched our video. Wishes you the best with your dream cabin… sending you big hugs from across the Atlantic! 😀
I love your set up, it's beautiful ❤️ . I want a sun kitchen? I live in TX, winters can be unpredictable I am wondering how to work this design into our shed to home build. Would I need to heat this room as if it's a green house???? Any suggestions would be great. TIA and happy homesteading
Thank you so much ☺️
One of the reasons we intentionally chose to live in AG Zone 8a here in Middle-Georgia 🇺🇸 is due to this area typically having mild winters… and we love the year around growing seasons… in fact we haven’t seen snow here in years and the last time it did snow it melted within hours. (Fun Fact: The average annual snow fall in our area is less than 1” a year.)
We also have inside our 304sqft Beloved Cabin a full-house solar thermal heater and a Dutch West high-efficiency catalytic converter wood burning stove that is rated for an 800sqft house… plus our greenhouse-kitchen & greenhouse-bathroom warms themselves during the day during winter when all the leaves drop and the sun naturally warms the inside and we close all the vents (this is why we built our greenhouse-kitchen and greenhouse-bathroom on the south side of our cabin).
Also, on extremely cold nights (1 or 2 night a year) we have indoor propane heaters for the greenhouse additions to keep plants healthy.
We also replaced the cheap single pane shed windows that came with the original shed shell with double-pane/high-efficiency Anderson & Pella windows we found used/secondhand for either free or super cheap☺️👍👍🏽… and all the additional windows we’ve added are also double-pane/high-efficiency Anderson & Pella windows we found used/secondhand for either free or super cheap☺️👍👍🏽
Inside our cabin, we installed R-13 insulation in the walls & covered with drywall; and we used foam insulation on the ceiling & covered with painted .25” plywood. (We insulated the ceiling between the rafters because we want to see the rafters as part of our design and to add a little more head clearance up in the lofts between the rafters.) 👍 👍🏽
After over 12+ years, we really enjoy the temps and environment we have both inside and around our homestead throughout the year🥰
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Great video, I live in Jax Florida and know how hot it gets in the area. How do you deal with the hot weather on the homestead?
Thank you 😊 Great question 👍👍🏽
One of the reasons we chose to leave Florida and live in AG Zone 8a here in Middle-Georgia 🇺🇸 is due to this area typically/usually having mild summers…
During the summer, we have the air circulation vents open on both ends, as well as the air vents running full length under soffit. We also have great shade from the tree canopy & live on a 19K surface-acre lake with 347 miles of shoreline that constantly produces cool breezes.
Inside our cabin, we have also have 9KBtu AC unit🥶, but we rarely use it. (In fact, we haven’t used it for all the of 2023.)
We installed R-13 insulation in the walls & covered with drywall; we used foam insulation on the ceiling & covered with painted .25” plywood. (We insulated the ceiling between the rafters because we want to see the rafters as part of our design and to add a little more head clearance up in the lofts between the rafters.) 👍
After 12 years, we really enjoy the temps, lack of humidity/moisture inside, and the environment we have been able to create both in our home and around our homestead throughout the year.🥰
- Fin & John -
🙏🏽+🙏=❤️
Thanks for the in detail reply. I'm also following you on Facebook. @@Belovedcabin
Looked up your solar system and was really impressed. Saw there's a possibility of financing the purchase not sure i could qualify, but the price a month would be about as much as my utility bill on a mobile home. I think the ability to be off grid and have it paid off in 5 years would be a better investment. Do you have any suggestions when it comes to the solar system if new to it? I'm going to be binging your channel in the upcoming months so I'm hoping for some content just about solar tbh.
My husband and I are doing something very similar for our retirement. Could you go more in depth on how your greenhouse kitchen and bath are in winter. We live in the deep south to, but we do get cold in winter sometimes down to 0 degrees. Thanks so much!!!
One of the reasons we chose to live in AG Zone 8a here in Middle-Georgia 🇺🇸 is due to this area’s typically having mild summers & winters and year-round growing seasons… in fact we haven’t seen snow here in years and the last time it did snow it melted within hours. (Fun Fact: The average annual snow fall in our area is less than 1” a year.)
We also have inside our 304sqft Beloved Cabin a full-house solar thermal heater and a Dutch West high-efficiency catalytic converter wood burning stove that is rated for an 800sqft house… plus our greenhouse-kitchen & greenhouse-bathroom warms themselves during the day during winter when all the leaves drop and the sun naturally warms the inside and we close all the vents (this is why we built our greenhouse-kitchen and greenhouse-bathroom on the south side of our cabin).
During our summers, we have the air circulation vents open on both ends, as well as the air vents running full length under soffit. We also have an amazing shade from tree canopy and live on a 19K surface-acre lake with 347 miles of shoreline that constantly produces cool breezes.
Inside our cabin, we have also have 9KBtu AC unit, but we rarely use it. We used R-13 insulation in the walls & covered with drywall; we used foam insulation on the ceiling & covered with painted .25” plywood. (We insulated the ceiling between the rafters because we want to see the rafters as part of our design and to add a little more head clearance up in the lofts between the rafters.) 👍
After 12 years, we really enjoy the temps and environment we have both inside and around our homestead throughout the year.🥰
- Fin & John -
🙏🏽+🙏=❤️
@@Belovedcabin Thanks so much for the response!
Question is in terms of investment of like the kitchen area ! Is that investment worth what the investment is on your home on value I’m just wondering? This is prettier than any regular house to me !
Great question… we built our home as our final retirement home… we aren’t really interested in the investment aspect, but since we’ve invested/paid so little over these past 12+ years to create everything out here, we’re sure there will be something for our cats when we’re gone👍👍🏽😊😻
Do you have plans for greenhouse?
No we don’t… John plans and creates everything he builds in his head… I tell him what I want and how I want it to look and then he builds it. ☺️👍🏽
I have a question for you that toilet that you just showed. Do you have to carry the poop out in a tray or does it fall into a system outside?
Great question👍👍🏽
Our Homebiogas System also has their BioToilet attachment, which flushes directly into the system. There is a “sink” on the outside system where we can dump in kitchen scraps and other organic materials manually.
Here’s a link to their web site…
www.homebiogas.com/ref/2/
Thank you for your question👍👍🏽
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Did you ever insulate under the floors?
We insulated under our cabin with batts between the skids & framing that are held with insulation support wires. 👍👍🏽😊
💗😘👍
Thank you 💗💗😘😘👍👍🏽
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Can I build my tiny home without a sanitary permit if I don’t plan to do plumbing? There’s showed and bathrooms about 1 min away from our parcel..
Thank you for your question👍👍🏽 It really depends on your location and local codes/ordinances. Every state has their regulations, which are typically superseded by county codes, and county codes are typically superseded by city codes. Wishing you great success in your build and tiny lifestyle adventures☺️
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Do you think its completely feasible to achieve an off grid tiny home on raw land you dont own yet within a year?
Speaking only for ourselves, we started out completely off-grid on day 1 and we started out leading land we did not own… so for us the answer your question would be, Yes.”
Thank you so much for your question… wishing you great success on your journey 😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
Do you have to get any permits for anything? 🤔
We had inspections for electrical and for our foundation. Because we have short-term vacation rentals here on our homestead, we are required to have annual inspections from our local fire dept, health dept, and code enforcement👍👍🏽
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
How do you go about doing this legally in Ga?
Great question..👍👍🏽😊 There are
Many areas throughout Georgia wheee this can be done… it’s not the state, but the county and city where the codes & ordinances… states codes are typically superseded by county codes and county codes typically superseded by city codes… check out our videos about codes and learning how to determine what allowed in your area😊👍😊
Thank you so much😊
- John & Fin -
🙏+🙏🏽=❤️
How can I find this type of toilet?
HI Susan… thank you for your question. We have the @Homebiogas1 BioToilet… their web site is www.homebiogas.com/ref/2/
👍👍🏽😊
Not me waiting on that part 2
I am
So does the bio gas smell? :-)
A great question there! You can’t really smell the biogas…(thank goodness!!) 😁
Have address?
We are located in Middle-Georgia 🇺🇸 about 1.5 hours outside of Atlanta in AG Zone 8a 👍👍🏽😊
I thought off-grid did not have the address.
@@blackarmouredbeast1989We get mail and deliveries out here 👍👍🏽😊