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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 11:46
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Same as everyone else, I've been around here just never started my own page.
My wife and I bought three acres in Central WI last October. It is all wooded and hasn't been touched in decades it seems. Plenty of deer and turkeys on site. No Water, electricity is at the road but I am not a customer (no hookup at this point).
We have slowly been clearing a trail to get from the road to our campground. From there we have been tenting it every time we go, just cleaning up the immediate area and making it somewhat inhabitable. We will need to clear a ton of dead trees/brush before much can be accomplished.
In the future (5-10 years maybe) we plan on building a nice cabin, kind of a second home type getaway so we can someday have our 'county living' but maintain our close proximity to our jobs with our current house. Our land is 55 miles from our front door so it isn't a hassle at all to get to.
At this point we have started the following projects;
Sand point well - 21' down, no water. Talked to a neighbor finally and was informed water was around 68'. Thanks USGS website (14-18' suggestion...). Now we will harvest rainwater.
We built a small metal shed to store our tools and equipment in.
We built a 4' fire pit.
This last weekend we got started on the composting toilet bathhouse/outdoor shower area.
Just wanted to say hi and mention that the site has already been a huge source of knowledge and a big inspiration for us.
This 'easy living' is a ton of work...
Photos
outhouse/shower
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camp area
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new pit and hammock
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shower with gate open
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rayyy
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 12:15
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Welcome greg.This is a lot of work but a lot of fun too.The slow but steady progress is so rewarding.Good stuff for the whole family.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 13:59
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Welcome Gregjman. Your outhouse shower is AMAZING!!!! I also love the fire pit. It is huge!!
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 14:17
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Great looking camp.
Looking forward to watching your build.
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 18:48
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Thanks. The bathhouse took about 2 1/2 days. Still need to finish the inside. The shower works great with solar bags. Once we get rainwater hooked up ill figure out something different I think.
We had different plans for the pit but I saw the four foot rings at the place I got my gravel from so we snatched one up. We have big stuff to burn.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 22:16
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Hey gregjman.... We are in central Wisconsin too! Near Coloma... We put down a standpoint last fall as well thinking (USGA) that water was only 22' down...NOT, we hit water at 38 ft instead! What a joke that was! In a week we are having an 80' well drilled! We have been in the area for 18 yrs. love your outy and shower combo! Can't wait to see more!
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 22:24
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 hey, just wanted to say welcome! Great looking start there!
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OwenChristensen
Member
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# Posted: 28 May 2013 01:34
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Yes, Hi. any questions just ask, but I see you're on the right track.
Ain't it great?
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 28 May 2013 07:35
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Thanks everyone.
Quoting: Sustainusfarm Hey gregjman.... We are in central Wisconsin too! Near Coloma
Very familiar with the area, my buddy has a cottage on Tuttle just west of there so we've been hunting the area for about 13 years. It was time for me to find my own small piece. We're a little more east just north of our 'states rock'.
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 28 May 2013 08:54
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Welcome Gregjman- we are so happy u joined us.love your shower and outhouse.our shower is some tarp wrapped around three trees with plywood to stand on.hee hee.good job.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 28 May 2013 10:39
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Got it!  . Lol
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 22 Jun 2013 19:02
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Just ran up to the land for the day to finish up the rainwater collection off the bathhouse roof. Supposed to be pretty wet all next week so hopefully it fills up by the 4th weekend for some camping.
I need to finish the barrels off with some fence panels or lattice so it doesn't look so tacky.
Stopped by the quarry in town on the way back. Pretty neat place for swimming and relaxing. Attached a photo of that as well. It's about two minutes from our place.
Rain collection
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Granite quarry nearby
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Rain barrel frame
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naturelover66
Member
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# Posted: 22 Jun 2013 19:51
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Hi there!! Beautiful property...love ur bath house and hammock !!
Looking forward to seeing all u will do there !!
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Dillio187
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jun 2013 07:49
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with all the rain we've been getting here in MN (seems like it's storming daily) your barrels should be full to the brim by the 4th!
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jun 2013 11:00
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Isn't that the truth!
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old old buddy
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jun 2013 18:24
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Gregjman
I just wanted to welcome you also....just a little late. I love the property and especially the quarry. How deep is it?
Sounds like you have a good plan for your project and have accomplished quite a bit already. I'm willing to bet you don't make it 5-10 years before you build a cabin. You seem to like it too much
We started painting the cabin over a month ago and everything else going on in our lives has kept us from finishing it. Another two days will do it...it's just finding the time.
Anyway.....enjoy your camp....looks great!
Old Old Buddy
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jun 2013 19:00 - Edited by: Gregjman
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I want to say its in the 60-80' range. Not entirely sure.
Yeah I'm sure we'll get ahead of ourselves too but there are a few large projects (garage) to finish at home first.
Now that we have some amenities at the land we can spend our time clearing out the decades of debris and fallen trees.
We have the land now and that was the biggest step.. I'm sure many can agree with that.
Thanks for all the well wishes.
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Purplerules
Member
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# Posted: 23 Jun 2013 22:24
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Want to add my welcome and I also look forward to many picutres and stories of your build. I really love the fire pit, might have to duplicate the idea as we have yet to build our fire pit.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jun 2013 13:17
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we were at the quarry yesterday too!!
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2013 08:23
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Well we haven't built anything new yet just been trying to clean up a lot of dead trees. If anyone has any standing half dead pine trees I have found that if you dig the roots before cutting them down you can in most cases just push the tree over stump and all if you use the leverage from the tree. Probably old news to most. Just thought I'd share the tip.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2013 22:34
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Great tip! I'll try that!
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 8 Sep 2013 23:37
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Well we got some finishing touches on the bathhouse taken care of this weekend. Put fence panels around the water tanks and sealed and painted the soffit. Hopefully those will keep the rest of the moths out.
We had my wife's sisters family up and got to have our nephews have their first camping experience at our land. All went well.
Finished water collection
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Finished bathhouse
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 10:31
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Very nice!! Good work
I'm glad you had a good trip with family...making memories for those boys.
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 13:47
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The boys liked it. They literally have no trees at their house in the city. They like the trails we have been cutting.
It has been interesting for me to see other people "cope" with the composting toilet and rainwater. It's no state park camping and it is hike in only but so far all visitors have been impressed and our off grid amenities have all been well received.
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 14:32
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That is great.....be careful not to make it too comfortable for your guest...you'll have the whole world wanting to go to the cabin with you!!! LOL
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2013 21:23
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Been thinking over our future plans for a cabin and a thought came to mind. There is a 1.5 acre parcel that adjoins ours and on it sits and ugly dilapidated mobile home and garage.
The property apparently was foreclosed on about 7-10 years ago. Just did a tax search on it and they say land value is 8800 and improvements are 10k.
I walked around the place last weekend and investigated. Findings:
Electric service to building
Some type of well housing in the back (couldn't access)
Septic cover in front -concrete cover appears rather new
The buildings have to be razed. It got me thinking that if I were to be able to pick it up for a steal I would then have my utilities in place for my future cabin and an addition 1.5 acres.
I'm perked conventional for my own septic if that time comes so I have a rough idea on that cost as well as other utilities. The way I look at it is anything under 15k would make it worth it for those reasons alone however all utilities would need to be functional.
Any thoughts on how/if looking into this idea?
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adakseabee
Member
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2013 22:13
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If you can afford it, go for it! Having water, septic, and electricity will should save you in the long run. Did your tax search reveal the current owner? If not, go to the taxing authority and find out who it is and make an offer. The extra 1.5 acres will add to your comfort zone. I know. Our first purchase was 5 acres which did not seem enough. We added another 6.6 adjacent acres to it and now I feel like I have room to breathe.
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Sustainusfarm
Member
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2013 09:48
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Hey gregjman, I'm a realtor in the area...let me know if you need anything ! Be glad to help a fellow cabineer!
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2013 13:40
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Thanks for the offer. I actually called the county last week and they said the current owner is current on taxes and they own it free and clear. They gave me a contact address for them so maybe I'll write them a letter and see what the 'mood' is.
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Gregjman
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 17:37
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Alright, kind of going crazy not doing anything this winter (besides ice fishing). Really trying to plan out the building season this year.
I'm not totally sick of tenting it yet but I have had enough experiences in the rain last year where I know I need something more. I don't want a camper because I think it would look tacky and the money could be better spent elsewhere.
I think I've ruled out a shed cabin for a couple different reasons. It may still go that way but I don't want to move it when we actually build a real place.
At this point I think I have talked myself into a treehouse. I like the idea of hiding something in the trees and I think the challenge and uniqueness of the project would be awesome.
I'm talking about using proper hardware to build this thing (TABs and brackets) so it's probably not going to be cheaper than a shed.
I haven't really seen anyone on here go this route. If so, any advise? Things to consider other than the obvious (correct tree choice/placement)?
My brain is doing more work than my hands this winter and that usually leads to crazy ideas.
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