back to the yurt idea

[kalakoa]

The other thing I've been idly wondering: has anyone managed to get a yurt through the "new, improved" building codes?

Liberal use of concrete might be the only way to make the required "tsunami safe room"...

[Susan]

Geez Julie you are brave. Maybe I am just not living right but the thought of putting an offer in without seeing the inside would make me faint. Keep us posted on how this works out. There is a house back up for sale in OLE. Sold for 75K in 2011. Now asking 139K. I remember the listing the first time and really wanted to look at it. Didn't because of the particular location on Pohaku.

I have friends looking for property in OLE. Were you planning on selling your lot?

[unknownjulie]

Aloha Susan, It is sometimes a fine line between "brave and stupid"- so we'll see what happens! Hopefully it's a good house! I am going to hang on the orchidland lot. I'm pretty much thinking it will be a minifarm at this point. I need to be growing food to feed the kids.

[kalakoa]

Again, seriously, not picking nits...

A farm project that requires a "commute from home" could easily cost more than it's worth, even with "ideal conditions" (eg, the farm is fully fenced, doesn't suffer pig damage or ag theft, etc).

I'm barely able to keep up with my farm despite living thereon -- I just don't have an extra hour or two to drive back and forth to another project.

(Anyone wondering "well then how do you have time to post here", good question, it happens that the PW presence is part of a research initiative, or I wouldn't have time for that either.)

[unknownjulie]

Lucky for me, there is a large grey bitbull that patrols the road in front of my land. Hence no pigs. I am only planting things that dont require much cultivation- so, it will only be once a week or thereabouts- that I go there to harvest. NO worries. It shall be called a "farm" -but whether it actually is a "farm" is in the eye of the beholder!

[Carey]

If you are merely looking for farm storage, on a lot you will not be present at much of the week...most likely an easily cut open structure may not be your best investment... but I am sure you have a way to secure it...

A concrete stem wall will require much more effort as rebar is required, even in concrete "tile" block construction....and a lot of it...granted the rebar makes a block wall 'truck proof' as we found out when one bounced off our block wall...with only a couple of chips in the top blocks... but this is not a 'low cost' way of getting a wall & raising up a yurt...if you want to comply with county requirements...

[kalakoa]

Exactly: the entire plan seems "fraught with peril"...

I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure that commuting to a farm is negative ROI unless the crops are high-value and/or "your time is free" (and you get free transportation), and that doesn't even begin to count the tax implications (which go far, far beyond the extra few hundred bucks in County property tax).

[Oregon Woodsmoke]

If all you need is farm storage, forget the yurt and buy a shipping container. Add a really solid padlock and it would take a very determined thief to get into it to steal your stuff.

[unknownjulie]

For housing I like the yurt idea because it is mostly termite proof- but also portable- if the lava comes. Two big considerations here. If you built the bottem out of ferrocement- it should also be earthquakeproof. For storage, yes, agreed- shipping container it may be. When I started the thread, I had no idea that I was going to go and buy a house within one day. The tenants in the house have not even been notified yet that their house is sold. (or possibly even for sale). They have a disconnected phone, and have the wrong house number on the exterior of the house. It looks to me like multiple people/families could be living there with dogs. They have been there for 10 yrs with no termite treatments or maintanance that I know of. This should be very interesting once I get inside and see what I bought!

[unknownjulie]

I dont look at agriculture in terms of monetary ROI because I dont think a small person can ever really make money (I know some do, but I dont expect to). IT's the conglomerates that get the "farm subsidies" that are the money makers. My ROI involves- relaxation, change of scenery, something to hand down to the kids, and some organic food. I'm not sure how this could ever be considered, "fraught with peril".