Inexpensive Retreats

It seems like there are quite a few of us who simply don't have the resources to go out and buy full blow retreat. I've been trying to think of a way around the most expensive parts of this for a while now. With enough patience and research it looks like it's possible to pick up remote land for $1k an acre or less.

So my question is, has any looked into any of the renewable building techniques as a method of building their own cabin/retreat? I've done some research on strawbale and cob, but I've really been impressed with earthbag building. Seems amazingly cheap, modular, fireproof, termite proof, easy to heat, and (considering you're left with 1-2 ft thick rock walls) extremely secure.

Thoughts? Anyone else pursued this line of thought? Anything I'm missing (other then the fact that I just sort of glossed over the hours of manual labor involved [ROFL2])?

A guy I know lives on a mesa in southern colorado, and lives in a hogan that he built. pretty dang cool. totally off of the grid. Definitely not easy to get there, but really puts you out in the middle of nowhere. Made me and my lady think about getting some land eventually and doing something similar and just having a cool place you can go every once and a while to decompress

A few picts of his setup here: http://medicinewheelmesas.com/photo_album.html

Here's a pic i took of it

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_F2jad0jf5kc/TJ...oodtrip_16.png

I looked into that idea awhile back. Most places won't allow a structure without sewer,electric, etc. and code enforcements. A simple structure was affordable but to develop everything else was astronomical. I suppose you could try and get out in the middle of nowhere and try to build something but I don't know if that's what your after. I know there's folks who have done it and kept under the radar but they're living very primitively.

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Originally Posted by ghettodub

A guy I know lives on a mesa in southern colorado, and lives in a hogan that he built. pretty dang cool. totally off of the grid. Definitely not easy to get there, but really puts you out in the middle of nowhere. Made me and my lady think about getting some land eventually and doing something similar and just having a cool place you can go every once and a while to decompress

A few picts of his setup here: http://medicinewheelmesas.com/photo_album.html

Here's a pic i took of it

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_F2jad0jf5kc/TJ...oodtrip_16.png

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Wow -that's just too cool. Thanks for pics.

Very cool! Personally I'm looking for land up in park county or up in wyoming just to have a place to be able to vacation, hunt and retreat too. Power is too far away from where I'm looking, so I'd be off grid anyway. I'm still trying to figure out what would be required in terms of building codes.

If you put it up fast enough, and it is remote enough, maybe you can just ignore the building codes. ;)

I've got almost 13 acres in a remote area... nothing there but forest and a small clearing right now. It was a bit more than the $1000/acre figure, but not much. It borders a BLM Wilderness Study area, so there is literally nothing but open wilderness on that side.

1st issue is a well- the county won't approve any building permits unless you either have a well or a letter from a well driller saying they can't get you water... having water is a good thing, so at some point I'll try to get a well drilled.

2nd is the POA (which they have considered disbanding due to "lack of interest" among other things). They have minimum building standards- not sure how cheap you could build and adhere to them... not sure on county standards

There is the idea of like a time-share/co-op method.. if you're not looking to use it more than 4 weeks a year, it's sitting vacant for the other 11 months.. if someone had an LLC that owned the property, and Officers/members of the LLC bought in by investing/building on the property, and all Officers/members had access- just have to work out scheduling, etc.. 12 people each investing $5k would pool $60k, enough for well, septic, and probably a basic structure- but solar/wind system could blow the budget quick

Lot's of people years ago were building houses out of tires, soda cans, foam and other materials - Taos New Mexico. Might be some information on the web about the structures down there.

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Originally Posted by ShooterJM

I'm still trying to figure out what would be required in terms of building codes.

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Depending on the square footage, a building permit may not be needed. Here in Clear Creek County, under 200sq ft, a building permit is not required.

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Originally Posted by offgrid

Depending on the square footage, a building permit may not be needed. Here in Clear Creek County, under 200sq ft, a building permit is not required.

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Yeah, our "retreat" in CCC is just one of the large Wooden Tuff shed like structures. It's got a stove, loft, outhouse in back, fire pit. All we need is a well, and we'd be set. That will be an endeavor for the future.