Cheap, Fast, Small Off Grid Structures

Hello All,

I have a 10 acre property in central Oregon (30 miles East of Bend, OR). Most build on blocks for several reasons, but mainly the ground is filled with lava rock, so difficult to dig deep and there is a moratorium on building permits with foundations till further notice. Good insulation is needed for cold winters due to 4,100 feet in elevation. I have been looking into timber framed straw or hay bale structures since I am surround by alfalfa farmers. I would like to complete before this 2016 Winter and will be looking into building other structures using earthbags and adobe next Spring.

10ft x 20ft or (200sf2) structure (no limit on height) is the largest I can build with out a permit. Any detailed blueprints and/or floor plans will be greatly appreciated. If anyone lives around central Oregon please contact me if desired. Indoor toilet and shower plans are not required, but helpful.

Thank you all for your time,

-Kasper

Don't use hay.  It must be straw.  Straw is, chemically, pretty  much the same thing as wood.  Almost pure cellulose, and fairly resistant to mold, rot and vermin if you keep it dry.  Very stable and inert, which is what we want.

Hay on the other hand is vegetative matter with a lot of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins and other nutrients. That's why we feed it to animals on purpose.  It willl rot and it wwill mold and little critters love to live in it and eat it.

Don't use hay.

While not the most exciting option, the quickest least expensive would likely be a used travel trailer. Then adding insulation around it or putting up a garage (even the tent style) and insulating the garage. I had wanted to go the yurt route originally, but found it just was a lot more money and just for the shell, you still needed to fit it out with everything. A trailer however is a self contained unit, pretty much everything you need all ready and set up at the start. Add in some solar and or wind to power it, a water system to feed water to it, a composting toilet to not deal with black water, and a grey water system and your pretty much good to go.

This is the route I am going with my new land. And while not a permanent housing solution, it will get me by for a few years while I start to build my house.

Later when you have a permanent structure you can sell off the trailer, or convert it into guest housing, or an office, etc.. So it is a structure you can possible recoup your investment at least partially.

Devin Lavign wrote:While not the most exciting option, the quickest least expensive would likely be a used travel trailer. Then adding insulation around it or putting up a garage (even the tent style) and insulating the garage.

I got a 34ft RV, and that was the original plan, but there are a few spots in the road toward the property that the RV can not get through. I keep making trips back and forth in my Jeep to find a better route but no luck so far.

Maybe it would be cheaper to fix the road so you can get the RV into your property.  If you can pull the RV with your jeep it might be able to just fallow the jeep.

You definitely don't want to build a house with alfalfa as the deer would have it eaten before you could get a roof on.  Deer love alfalfa.