h1 Bob's Off-Grid Project in NV

Here is a brief introduction to my off-grid project planned for 2010...

I have some land in Lander County, NV, which is in north-central Nevada. This is in the Shoshonee Range (mountains) and is the only house on the visible horizon. There will be a couple other houses up the street in the coming years in several areas that are collectively known as Sage Valley. This is an attempt at a solar community.

My land is in the middle of nowhere, and I intend to build a small stick-frame house starting in perhaps April or May of this year. I will probably have someone do most of the foundation and roof for me, but I will try to build the walls, interior finish, and exterior finish. The house is a very simple 20' x 30' (exterior) from CountryPlans.com. I might shrink it two feet before I start to build. I had planned on having somebody build a house and garage for me, but if I did that I would need to get a job as soon as I moved in, and I want to avoid that.

I am not sure if I can post pictures, but if I can, I will.

[[!img http://download939.mediafire.com/jn1jcwt2mfwg/o2zemmta0wi/BobValley03.jpg size="200x200" alt="Bob Valley Panorama"]]

Yup, this is your user page! It looks like you put your bio in the comment, but no problem! I'm thrilled you figured it out --- now I should be able to remember who you are.

As you can probably guess, I highly approve of living in the middle of nowhere and going cheaper so that you don't have to get a job. I'll be curious to hear how your project goes!

I bought some plans for a small cottage, and they are designed to be easy to modify and build. Here is an example of somebody who built this design: http://www.countryplans.com/cody.html

They modified the walls to be "panelized" so that it is easier for two people to erect the wall. I might do the same thing. I will modify the window size and placement, and I might eventually put stucco on the outside. One of the pictures on that link suggests that they did not add any support between the header and the top plate. The source that I have seen say to put either cripple studs up there or build the header up to the top plate.

I am not sure how I would attach the bottom of the panel to the sill plate. I want it to be secure so that it can withstand an earthquake. I'll ask the building department when I go for the review. I should also get the IBC book.

It looks pretty manageable! We built our walls in panels twice as big as the ones in the link you sent us to, and they were very easy with two people, probably manageable with one but I'm not positive...

You can build wall panels to any length, although you may waste a stud because one is necessary at the end of each panel. At age 65 I was able to erect by myself a 12 foot wall section built of 2x6 24 inches oc. Just don't put your sheathing on until the wall panel is erected. It fastens down thru the sub floor onto the outside sill with 3 1/2 inch screws or 16 penny nails with two between each stud, on on either side of the bottom plate.

I knew you'd have some input on his project. Thanks for sharing!

thx. If the 4' wide panels are really light, I'll try adding the plywood before erecting them. I fiddled with a CAD program and I now the layout of all the studs for exterior and interior walls.

You'll have to post pictures once you get started!

can you use Bacillus thuringiensis on pumpkins

Sure can. But pumpkins are very vine borer prone, just like our summer squash, so you have to be quite vigilant. I'd instead recommend growing butternut squash for a tastier squash that borers don't like as much.