Saturday, May 31, 2008

Jumping through Hoops

Russell over at logcabinhomestead.net sent this over to me. It represents the hoops I will need to jump through to make a home. I just hope I get through it without too many problems.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Single quote that summarizes state of USA

A blogger called MichiganFarmer has quoted "Our totalitarian government has, by stealthy encroachment, taken our basic rights away and is forcing us to buy them back as privileges, permits, and licenses. This is not freedom.". Lets break this down.

Source - Dictionary.com

totalitarianism, a modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens. A totalitarian government seeks to control not only all economic and political matters but the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population, erasing the distinction between state and society. The citizen's duty to the state becomes the primary concern of the community, and the goal of the state is the replacement of existing society with a perfect society.

Encroachment is a term which implies "advance beyond proper limits"

Human rights refers to "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to work, and the right to education.


Permit may refer to:

*License
*Work permit
*Learner's permit
*Permit to travel
*Construction permit
*Home Return Permit
*One-way Permit


Does any of this sound like a free society? - What happened to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? We all need shelter, water and food and even these basic rights have been violated.

Shelter - Need building permit + Ton of fees

Food - development permit for over an acre of land in California + requires water, hunting licenses and fishing licenses.

Water - illegal to drill a well in California for your own needs without using a C-57 licensed driller specializing costing you about $6000-20,000.

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I thought that this is the one exact sentence that shows us the state of our country and it's distance from the founders. Jefferson believed that the people would have to occasionally rise up and wash out the government and start over.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Each day that goes by with the government is becoming more cradle to grave, anti free-market and anti-capitalist. The people want the government to allow us to have our own energy independence. The people are sending a clear message to the politicians and they are not listening. It's time to continue the Revolution Ron Paul started. Government is too big, too costly and is strangling it's working class by the neck to support a welfare state. Something will change in time. I have personally lost faith in our system, it's politicians and activist judges. It is no longer functioning to it's original purpose. I can only trust that God is putting us through this turmoil to bring us a reformer.

To the liberals - YOU cannot put enough solar panels on your car to make it function- plus the power to charge batteries has to come from somewhere- either more solar or wind power.

WE NEED DOMESTIC OIL RIGHT NOW. There is a gap between technologies that may be viable and the available infrastructure such as the state with hydrogen. Live in reality - most liberals would rather see our internal destruction with our economy before we drill more oil on our lands and make more refineries.

Little house on the prarie cabin

Here is a picture of the Little House on the Prarie cabin as a model. I found this at www.pioneerontheprarie.com site in the multimedia section as a link. My wife loved this series as a girl, however I mainly watched the Waltons. I too enjoy LHOTP series- a little dramatic, but still good.

I want to build something like this that looks like an old barn, and would meet my basic needs. A timber frame inside and could be re-used as a barn without much work at all when I go to build another house someday on the parcel (when and if I can afford it).

Here is a picture.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Frontier Talk and the Industrial Revolution vs. Agrarian movement

So what was the original american frontier? It was considered the area between urbanized areas and wilderness. Many regard the original American frontier as a place where true freedom existed as westernization occured across this county, and those living in it had to be resourceful and promoted a spirit of self-reliance.

This blog "New American Frontier" is named for this because these freedoms and openness are now somewhat limited- but we must strive to still keep a spirit of independence and self-reliance alive. We are told that we cannot take care of ourselves outside of consumerism and our governments ( both federal and state ).

There is no reason we still cannot be self-reliant and live with less crap in our lives. I read an article recently about consumerism right before the stock market crash in the late 20's. Basically, most people lived an agrarian lifestyle where they met nearly all of their own needs by their land. During the 1830's and up to the 1920's people still produced most of what they needed themselves. The 1920's was a huge time for advertising success in business, and people starting buying. They never stopped. Today, consumerism is at an all time high, and so is our national debt. Most people don't have any sort of savings. Retirement for most in my generation (30 years old) looks bleak. Social Security isn't going to be there either. That's one reason I wanted to purchase my own land and attempt to live on it, good or bad.

In 2003, people now spend 75% more on their mortgages than they did 30 years ago in the 70's based on the same income and what it would buy. The state and local governments want to strap us with more fees to build something than what it costs to build with our own hands and labor, or they want to fine us. This is really a tax. The greed of government knows no bounds.

America's real problems today are core problems that will never be fixed overnight. We need people to spend less, and tell their kids that they can't have everything at wal-mart. I think that people need to re-evaluate themselves, their spending, and where it will lead. The agrarian lifestyle starts to look pretty good as gas prices, food and cost of living is increasing by the day- especially oil.

We have pretty much parked our 1996 diesel suburban at this point except for towing (3/4 ton). We're now driving my 1/2 ton pickup extra cab and squeezing the kids to it instead for $4.00 per gallon gas and 19 mpg vs. 15 mpg at 5.10 per gallon here in California.

I found a spring!

I finally realized something after doing some more research on my property- I have a spring.

It appears that I have a natural high groundwater spring on the western portion of my property, about 1200' away from where I want to build. This spring occurs naturally and still has groundwater at about 5-6' from where I found an old monitoring well. During the winter months it creates a second small swale that runs for 3-6 months.

Supposedly there was an original hand-dug well on my parcel as shown from an old septic report where the windmill was located. I found a pile of rocks, but not a well. Too much land to just easily find it when you have 48 acres. I thought maybe looking at an old satellite photo might clear it up, but I can't see the windmill.

In California, you cannot legally drill your own well without a C-57 license. I am going to have a professional well drilled, but I am thinking about developing this natural spring some 1200' away from where I want to build for cattle grazing since it should just require a pump down the hole and maybe a bit of backhoe work to clean it out. It is about 40-50' lower in elevation and it eminates from my property as shown from the contours. Might be a valuable resource.

I originally wanted to drill my own well under an 'owner-builder' method but there were court cases that I found online where these wells could never be permitted and even the state was going after those doing this. I only need to drill about 20-30' max to get plenty of water. Even still, the cheapest driller including casing for a 100' well was about $6,000 not including the pump or permit ($235). If you are in California, you are pretty much screwed with this work. The well drillers have cornered the market and you are out of luck for a legal well. I don't see a problem however you drilling other wells on your property once you have one permitted... It would be difficult for both the assessors and environmental health to figure it out.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Solar looks more attractive in terms of property taxes

Solar starts to look really good. I found a place online that sells solar panels that don't qualify for PG&E rebates (BP solar brand new 70 watt panels) for $2.84 per watt. You can build a 5800 watt system for less than $16,000 not including the batteries or inverters. With 5 hours of average sunlight you would get about 25-30kwh of electricity produced per day. Currently I use about 14 KW per day in my house. When I run the swamp cooler this increases by 2-3KWH per day.

One thing most of you may not know is that in California solar panels cannot be taxed on your property, so this saves you versus a PG&E hookup. The assessor came out and re-assessed my neighbors property once power was hooked up at $25,000. 1% of that pear year is going to cost him about $250 in taxes or $20 per month. Over the long run, a 10 year investment alone in solar with the $20-$22 per month in tax savings equals $2500. Over 30 years the system in terms of taxes pays for itself at about 50% ($7500). For many like me the cost of not having to drag telephone poles down my property line, permits, trenching make solar worth it. PG&E will not assist you in financing. When I started this proess, power was supposed to cost me about $12,500 to hook up including the transformer. After a site visit and formal quote, that price doubled.

Basically I can build about a 9kw system for the price of PG&E hookup; -plus no tax disadvantages, or issues about where I build my home, less trenching, etc. Additionally, there are companies who will now finance solar panels in a lease at 12-14% with a $1 buyout at the end of the term.

I am also fortunate enough to have great wind around 8-10mph year round; so wind power will supplement my power in the roughest of times during the winter. Those of you looking at spending lots of money with PG&E should seriously look at solar and wind. In terms of a monthly cash-flow position, you are looking to save $100-$200 per month in utility bills alone which pays for your $20-$25k solar power system versus paying for hookup + monthly service.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Russell's Cabin


I have been talking over E-mail to a very nice gentlemen named Russell out in the North East. He has built a beautiful cabin as shown from the picture here, and has been helpful in me making a decision about what to build. Here is a picture of his gorgeous 16x20 cabin. His blog as is at http://logcabinhomestead.blogspot.com . He built the cabin some 10+ years ago and has lived in it for several months at a time with his 3 kids. They also rent it out. on the weekends. http://www.logcabinhomestead.net

Russell told me that the total cost to construct the cabin for everything except power, road work, etc was around $20,000. He said he could have saved thousands if he would have had someone mill the lumber on-site or work with a logger. Notice the comp roof on the house alone will run several thousands, versus a DIY metal roof. The comp is more attractive and will have a better insulation value than metal. Currently, metal roofing is about $2.33 per linear foot for a 26" wide piece.

Overall Russell has about 40K into the project when including hooking up power and road work. I can empathize with these costs as my power hookup alone with PG&E is looking at around $22-$25k even with PG&E discounts.

Russell's blog features daily updates on critters, substructures and gas price talk. A great place to visit if you are a conservative Christian.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

30' Pacific Yurt

I owned a 30' Pacific Yurt a short time ago. I thought it would be a great idea, and the price was right- $10,000 including the deck. I ended up selling the Yurt due to some financial pressures, and the fact that the high winds in our area would make Yurt living fairly uncomfortable. However, I can't say enough good things about the Yurt. My wife and I took one down in a day with the person selling the yurt, and stacked it on a car trailer. Building any other structure besides a mobile home would be difficult or even tearing it down. The yurt had 7' sidewalls. I made a template of the 2x4's and center ring to build one down the road. Ideally, if the panelized yurt option was less expensive, I would have gone this route. It really seems to be the only route that would feel like a real house with real windows.

If you are thinking about getting one, make sure you like camping. That's what it feels like inside a Yurt, kind of a camping/jungle safari feeling inside one. The pricing new is about $15,000 plus the deck, which will set you back another $4-$5k. Definitely craigslist one if you can. I sold my Yurt pretty quick, but probably had over 30 phone calls that past month from others wanting to buy it w/o even looking at it. The person who purchased it was off-grid with a 120 acre parcel and a seasonal stream for water in calaveras county.

Below: the yurt completely dissasembled in my garage.



You will need to use a transit to get your deck level. In terms of yurt manufacturers, pacific yurt is great for a camping yurt. I personally love the designs over at www.greenlivingsystems.com out of Grass Valley. The 36' version they sell is panelized and can meet certain building codes - even here in the environmental nut state of California. They start at about $25k for an 18', and $50k for a 36' Yurt with about 1000 square feet. You can build one yourself for about $10k. www.smilingwoodsyurts.com also has a panelized yurt that's affordable in a kit.

Pictures of the Tractor


This is an older 1960 John Deere 440 Industrial Backhoe. It has been a good tool thus far for getting my septic system started. I can't complain, the tractor has been running good so far this year. I found this on craigslist, like about everything else I now own. I plan on finishing the leach field, power lines and water lines using this. Since I have a cobbly-loam with great drainage, a ditch-witch isn't an option because of the rocks.

First post


This is the first post of the New American Frontier blog. I want to talk about homesteading and share ideas, pictures for living a self-sustainable lifestyle. I will also talk about how the state of California won't let you drill your own well, and want to nickel and dime you for everything imaginable and how I want the government out of my life. If you are planning on moving to California, stay where you are.

I have been studying Cabin plans, wooden panelized yurts, etc and hope to put some plans online including BOM (Bill of Materials) to be completely self-sustainable off the grid.

Attached is a picture of my 48 acre parcel in North Chico. Power is about 900' from my property line, but PG&E wants $25,000 to hook it up! Solar hookup for a complete 6000 watt system is less than the PG&E hookup cost. This land is part of the last original untouched frontier in Northern California between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the coastal mountain range. My land is about 1 mile from the base of the Sierra Mountains.

The New American Frontier is about the current homesteading movement. Obviously, land is no longer free, nor are we under our current government. The 1863 homestead act gave a person the right to own free and clear any 160 acre parcel of land as long as they lived on the parcel and built at least a minimum of a 10x12 cabin with one window. Today's governement wants to take you to court for building without permits. With the current housing crisis, most people are having a difficult time getting a construction loan to start building a house. This is why I am most likely going to build a cabin or yurt to live in with my three kids. The New American Frontier is about utilizing current technologies - not just solar to make economic living also comfortable living. Enough for now, I hope you enjoy the blog over time.