E-Mail 'Building Or Purchasing Your New Country Property - Part 2, by S.T.' To A Friend

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9 Comments

  1. RE: shelving. Don’t overlook restaurant-style wire rack shelving. It’s available in a wide range of shelf sizes and support pole heights, shelves spacing is adjustable in 1-inch increment, and holds a lot of weight per shelf. New, it’s expensive, but when a restaurant goes out of business fixtures can often be purchased very cheaply.

    Pro tip: Pay attention to what floor is under the shelves, and put doubled 2X6 or 2X8 supports as “extended feet” under the bottom pairs of the corner poles to spread the load on the floor. It’s not at all hard to load a 48X18 unit with 6 shelves with 1200 pounds of 5 gallon water bottles.

  4. Pass on the compost toilet. If your septic held up for the fifteen years just continue to treat it right and you’ll be fine. After having lived with a high quality composter there was no single better upgrade then the day the septic went in. I would use an outhouse before I went back to a compost toilet. If you do happen to do it though the urinal will be a detriment to the composter as it needs the liquids to break down the solids. Good luck. I’ve enjoyed the read.

  5. Urine ought not be mixed in a composter… too much ammonia. if you require liquid, use a little (un-chlorinated) water to get the humidity right.

  6. A comment on “with each year, you will be a year older. At some point in time, you may need handicap features in the home.”
    Seven years ago my wife was in an accident breaking her lower back and is now a paraplegic, so it is not just aging you should think about. We had to modify our house with ramps and a roll-in shower. We have also had to modify some doorways so she can get her wheelchair thru them.
    If you are planning on staying in your home for the rest of your life, consider wide door openings (i.e. 36″) and create a complete living space on one accessible floor. Even lower counter tops so you can cook from a wheelchair.

  7. Thanks for the article I’ve enjoyed it. My sister is currently moving just down the road from our father in middle Tennessee. She purchased an old home a quarter mile or so down the road. The house is a complete re-do on the inside and will take time and a lot of what you are mentioning is similar to what she’ll be doing. The man that built this house lived a self-subsistence lifestyle who hunted and grew his own food, canned a lot of things and did this while taking care of his paraplegic daughter. Myself, being raised in the hills of Tennessee thought everyone waved in passing. It wasn’t until we moved away that I learned differently. Oh and as you’ve likely found out by now, dinner is the main meal of the day and can be at lunch time. It isn’t always in the evening. Just mentioning it in case you are invited over for Sunday dinner. Thanks again for the article.

  9. Just a comment on walk-in bathtubs- years ago, I worked at a retirement community and one of our residents had one installed. Seemed like a great idea, until the drain clogged. If you have trouble stepping over a normal tub, you won’t be stepping over these. Can’t open the door, you’ll just dump 60 gallons on your floor. She had to pull the “call for help” cord and wrap herself in a shower curtain while we cleared the drain. So keep that in mind. At least keep a plunger within reach.

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