Off-Grid Utility Room Completed

[SoVT]

…and seems to be working well.

Here are some pics.

I did 100% of the utilities myself and about 80% of everything else as well.

It’s a small 1,000 sq ft off grid home in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Elevation is just under 2,400 ft which is the max elevation one can build in Vermont.

I’m not a tradesman nor a builder. I’m a 58 year old mechanical engineer that had a very handy father that taught me a lot. I’ve always wanted to build my own off grid home and figured I wasn’t getting any younger. So I saved my money quit work and did this full time. Started out living in a nice 5th Wheel sold it and moved into the home right before winter spending the winter completing the build. It’s about 85% complete at the moment.

I want to to be completely autonomous so I did a six bottle propane manifold so I can utilize smaller bottles that I can take in to be refilled. That’s Predator 8,750 Generator that I’m currently only using in conjunction with the EG4 ChargeVerter you see mounted on the side of my battery rack.

I’m paying for things out of pocket. So I’m saving up for my PV and hope to have that in by mid Summer.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

Excellent work! You'll love being autonomous.

Pretty much the way we did it, on 40 acres in CO at 7400' ... site propane+gen, then inverter/battery-bank, and finally solar/mppt. Got to mortgage-free and off-grid. Upgraded/changed some components along the way as technology & automation improved (or a bad technology choice was belatedly discovered and kicked out) ...

 

[jimf909]

Nice work. It appears that you're building a darn fine place to live. I'm your age and also credit my dad with teaching me what's needed to live independently off-grid (even though he never was off-grid, he was just smart, clever and resourceful).

Cheers.

 

[kundip]

Awesome. You will survive a nuclear war!

 

[Hedges]

I’m paying for things out of pocket. So I’m saving up for my PV and hope to have that in by mid Summer.

Know about Santan solar, and other liquidators?
It's the only way to buy PV panels.

 

[SoVT]

Know about Santan solar, and other liquidators?
It's the only way to buy PV panels.

I just watched Will’s video on Santan. I think I will go that route.

 

[S610]

Looks great! I am your age and hoping to build a 1000 sq ft off grid home in the next year too. Seems many of us are thinking along the same lines. You are way ahead of me, my "deadline" is Nov 2024 but hope to have it much sooner.

Would love to see your floorplan and more pix. Is there another thread?

 

[Brucey]

Is that an intermediate storage tank due to a low output well? Using the instant propane hot water heater to heat radiant floors?

 

[SoVT]

Is that an intermediate storage tank due to a low output well? Using the instant propane hot water heater to heat radiant floors?

It is a 210 gallon intermediate storage tank because I have a low flow well less than 1 gallon per minute. It’s 500 foot deep crystal very good quality. I could frack it for $6K or put the intermediate tank and secondary pump for under a grand. Tank and well hole give me close 500 gallons of storage and the well has plenty of recovery time. Plus the the 240v submersible pump is rarely used only when transferring to the tank every other day or so. The smaller second pump moves the water into the house via the pressure bladder.

And yes it as Rheem Combi Boiler for domestic hot water and radiant floor heating fired by propane. The foundation is slab on grade with insulates bare concrete floors. Once the floor gets up to temp it doesn’t take much fuel to keep them warm. It’s so nice on the feet.

 

[SoVT]

Looks great! I am your age and hoping to build a 1000 sq ft off grid home in the next year too. Seems many of us are thinking along the same lines. You are way ahead of me, my "deadline" is Nov 2024 but hope to have it much sooner.

Would love to see your floorplan and more pix. Is there another thread?

I will take some fresh pics and post them soon

 

[SoVT]

I will take some fresh pics and post them soon

Looks great! I am your age and hoping to build a 1000 sq ft off grid home in the next year too. Seems many of us are thinking along the same lines. You are way ahead of me, my "deadline" is Nov 2024 but hope to have it much sooner.

Would love to see your floorplan and more pix. Is there another thread?

Here you go. The interior doors, trim, kitchen light, bed frame, headboard, night stands, TV stand, mud room bench & mirror, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, butcher block and concrete counter tops, fireplace, window seals, etc. are all made by myself here on site.

A lot of the live edge came from my Maple Trees that were cut from my property. All the timbers, siding and exterior trim came from local mom and pop sawmills. It’s a hybrid of timber framing and 2x6 walls with 2x6 T&G ceiling. She’s style 13:1 roof and really just one big open room. The double sided fireplace divides the space between bed and living space.

If you are my age as noted and really want to do the work yourself stop what you are doing ASAP and do it. There are age limits to just how much one can do by one’s self. My body feels it everyday. Especially my hands, wrist and elbows. If you have not been working in the trades your entire life then turning a screwdriver and swinging a hammer will take a total on aging joints.

 

[SoVT]

Continued…

 

[SoVT]

Here are the plans. Go build you one!

 

[Bluedog225]

Wow. Well done!

Another 58 yo here and have to agree on the need to get it done. I’m not as far along as you but trying to juggle working and building.

Wish I had access to all that wood. Looks nice.

A couple of questions. I like the propane tank manifold. Does it have a double regulator? I’ve not seen that before.

And is that pvc pipe venting a tankless water heater? That would surprise me. Or is that something else?

 

[SoVT]

Wow. Well done!

Another 58 yo here and have to agree on the need to get it done. I’m not as far along as you but trying to juggle working and building.

Wish I had access to all that wood. Looks nice.

A couple of questions. I like the propane tank manifold. Does it have a double regulator? I’ve not seen that before.

And is that pvc pipe venting a tankless water heater? That would surprise me. Or is that something else?

Thank you!

Yes there is a double regulator on the LP manifold. I think that’s pretty standard as the LP tanks could be >100 psi. The red one drops it to <12 psi and the green one drops it’s down to just a couple psi. If you have a remote tank the red one is typically installed at the tank and then you would only see the red one where the line enters the house.

Yes it is PVC. That reverse Y is available directly from Rheem. It runs the exhaust in the middle in one pipe and the intake around the exhaust pipe in a larger outer pipe. Allows for a single roof penetration. Something I was focused on with all the snow we get.

There is a setting in the Rheem configuration that you set to either CPVC to PVC. This limits the exhaust temperature some how.

Good question.

 

[Steve_S]

My On-Demand heating system uses the IPEX Concentric Vent shown below, I also use one for my Heat Recovery Ventilation system. These are used with Direct Vent LPG/NG devices/appliances.
More info here: https://ipexna.com/resources/document-repository/system-636-universal-concentric-vent-kit-ucvk/




@SoVT Love it, very similar to my place up here.... I used Live Edge eastern white cedar installed as a rainscreen system for my finish, coupled with a Cool-Roof system which works amazingly well... ie keep the house at 25C/77F when it is 38C/100F. Although I do have a thick First Protected Slab Foundation with my Radiant Heating system in it and that acts as a great temperature regulator for the screwy weather days (way too many of those in the past few years). I also have a separate power/pumphouse and more... Been 100% offgrid for few years now and just love it...

 

[SoVT]

Yup the insulated/isolated foundation is key in the cold country.

I used ICF and pink ridged board on my foundation. Zero thermal bridging.

 

[Steve_S]

Hafta say, that as a Geezer with lots of mileage... There is nothing better than the warm floor and everything being warm... no "chilly bed" or anything... It is heaven for the old creasky bones...

 

[Zwy]

Love the live edge on the boot bench seat. I need to build a new boot bench and you gave me a great idea. I will go live edge on the seat and as I have a window above the boot bench I might just use a live edge on the backboard. Thanks.

Very nice house, you deserve the praise for your hard work and end result.

 

[S610]

Wow! That looks incredible! You did that all yourself?

Absolutely love those wood beams -- very cozy! The modern bathroom/toilet and the windows are also excellent choices. Guessing that was the wife's idea? Is that stove a mass heater? Did you go with roof mounted solar panels?

I will be hiring a GC to do it all (I'm a scrawny female that can't lift more than 40 lbs). House will be in South Georgia where heat is the main concern so it is designed for passive cooling even without power. It has a closed floorplan to control the heat between rooms and the doggo traffic (ie to keep the kitchen heat out of the rest of the house in summer).