So you want to live off the grid but you don’t have a lot of money to spend? Welcome to the club of millions of folks who dream of making the move to live off the grid but don’t have the cash to build their dream cabin. Well, here’s a guy who did it, on a smaller scale. Lamar Alexander built a simple solar powered off grid cabin on his own land for about $2000. You heard that right. That’s not a typo. He built the cabin for $2000. It’s not a mansion, it’s not big, only about 200 square feet, but it’s really all you need to live off the grid. He built his cabin himself to save money on labor.
Watch the video here:
Here’s an Excerpt from Lamar’s page with a link to his ebook he has for sale detailing how to do it yourself:
“The cabin can be built from all new materials for under $2000 (not including windows and doors) and is designed for additions on 3 sides. Plans for additions and complete material lists are included in the ebook. You will get a complete 355 page Ebook guide with step-by-step directions for building the cabin including material list and detailed instructions for installing solar and wind power. ULTIMATE OFF-GRID GUIDE
Plans included:
1- How to build a 14×14 cabin for under $2000
2- How to install solar and wind power
3- How to build a solar composting toilet
4- How to drill a water well and harvest rain water
5- How to find cheap homesteading land
6- How to build an outdoor wood furnace install a wood stove
7- How to install propane appliances
8- How to build cabin additions for more room
9- How to make a living from your homestead
10- How to build a wood heated pallet hot tub
11- How to raise a garden and build simple animal pens
12- How to keep your cabin secure and safe
Plus you get many valuable links to other sources of information, supplies and many videos.
SOURCE: SimpleSolarHomesteading
Can you build a cabin like this today with todays prices on lumber and materials?
Well, probably not for $2000. But there are bare-bones portable buildings and cabins that are prebuilt that you can purchase for a very inexpensive price ($5k, which is fairly reasonable) considering inflation and cost of living right now is so high. Land prices are also going up, so if you’re going to get some off grid land, it’s a good idea to make your purchase as soon as you possibly can.
IMAGE SOURCE: Martin Portable Buildings
Check Your Local Building Codes & Zoning Before You Start
You will have to check with your local city planning commission for local building codes and restrictions to see if it’s possible to put a small cabin or portable building on your land. I would advise not purchasing the land if you cannot place a portable building or build your own cabin on your land as that kind of defeats the purpose of trying to move off the grid. A lot of jurisdiction will not allow your to place a “shed” on vacant land until you build a dwelling first. So make sure you check with the local city planners office and learn more about what your local building codes and zoning restrictions will and will not allow.
Another option?
Shipping containers. They’re inexpensive ($2500-$3500 on average for a 40′ container) and can easily be turned into off grid homes.
The point is you can build an off grid cabin for a lot less money than you’d expect.
And, if you choose the right land for your off grid homestead you can use the resources on that land to build your log cabin. Use hand tools and do most of the labor yourself and save even more money.
Homesteaders are creative and resilient folks who like to work with their hands. Building your of off grid cabin is the dream of about every off gridder I know. Everyone has this dream to build the perfect off grid cabin.
The question is, what do you want to do and are your going to do it?
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