Vince’s not so tiny home

Vince took a page from LaMar Alexander’s book and videos and built his own semi-small house, by most standards this is a small home,  measuring in at: 640 sq ft, 2 floors 16X16, attic 8X16 at a total cost of around $3500. His property, 7 acres was $5500, he was able to pay that off over the winter and spent the following summer saving his money to put into building his cabin. Much like we did, he was able to find sources of free materials. With the help of his family and friends he was able to get his cabin in the dry in about 2 months, he still has the inside and finish work to do, but I’d say he has done a very good job and will have a wonderful and debt free place to live when it’s completed.

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In Novemeber 2013 I bought 7 acres of raw land for $5,500. Over the winter while I was living and working in the city I was able to pay off the land and I spent the summer saving all my extra money. I drove up to my property with camping gear, a shotgun, and $4,000 which was my budget. So far I have been quite successful. My uncle, my cousin, my brother, my dad, my neighbor, and my best friend volunteered their labor and took turns helping me out on weekends. I salvaged the lumber, doors and windows. The rest was bought at retail. The build took 2 months to get to this point.

After I made this video I bought a woodstove w/stovepipe & fittings and insulation for the cabin, altogether costing about $800. I also got a propane gas range kitchen stove like-new off craigslist for free. I plan on doing a composting toilet and rainwater harvesting system with a gravity feed for the indoor sinks/shower and a driven point well for backup.

Shout out to LaMar Alexander over at www.simplesolarhomesteading.com. His book really gave me the confidence that a project like this would be possible on a very small budget. I hope I can be another example for people who want this lifestyle, or want to build their own small home but are still building up the confidence to do it. Start with what you can afford and build from there.

“Don’t tell me how to think, don’t tell me how to talk. Don’t lay your trip on me, ’cause you don’t walk my walk; I am my own man…” – LaMar Alexander