Transporting a house!

Hi there,
We are in the process of buying and getting council permits etc to transport a house onto my parents farm by the sea, from which we will subdivide. Currently living on a 5 acre block with my fiance, my 3 children, 2 step-children on weekends, a dog, 2 cats and a few chooks. I have been doing a lot of research and have learnt a lot the last month!!! I am very interested in off-grid power and am looking at a system for about 20-25k, but we may need to fork out for a transformer to meet council criteria to subdivide (12-14k) so may supplement that with solar panels if we have to pay for the transformer. I am very keen on buying a homewood heritage stove to cook, warm and heat the water. I have been looking at house plans etc for the last 5 years and it was just so expensive for a new build on top of already high connection expenses (septic, power, sub-division, accessway)! All going well, the aim is to transport the house, renovate and put an extension on, sell the 5 acre block we have and a rental property and be mortgage free by 40!!! Big dreams, but so far my sums are looking good! Also need to mention that the man is a builder and through renovating two houses, I am handy as labourer, painter, wheelbarrow wheeler, research and project manager...I would love to hear from anyone else that has been through this process and am happy to share our experiences as we go along There is so much useful information on here!

trikke - not been through this but from up this way, it seems you are going about this back to front as in you get subdivision consent first. Regardless - good on you for doing your homework about what you want to do and chasing the dream.

I have not done this but know that for many people the LSB dream is fairly short term (being blunt!) and if like me you do stay on your property for 22 years and reap the rewards of capital gain, then all well and good BUT in those 22 years, we lived on the smell of an oil rag to enable out children as a first priority.

You say that a new build is too expensive but have you considered a partial build that is designed to be added onto as you require the space (given that bloke is a builder) and in that way, you can design everything up front to enable your wiring, plumbing etc to allow for future advances i.e. solar power, wetback heating or even gas heating? Ensure your septic etc is positioned outside your designed extention etc.

Solar power is massively expensive when the outlay will take you years to recoup as opposed to the cost of power. Personally, I don't consider power that expensive when we look at other outgoings we wear every week from internet to medical insurance, to travel costs etc.

Having lived in an older house, I know I now want a new build with insulation, double glazing etc. No intention to burst your bubble and after 5 years of research, I know I couldn't but sometimes we get stuck on a road and just maybe there is some lateral thinking still to be done. Regardless, my heart is with your dreams and all the best to you and your family. Rural living rocks and I am so jealous that you will be near a beach!!!!!!!

I would seriously question the Council's insistence on the transformer if you are planning to install an alternative power supply. This is such an expensive waste and that money could be put towards a better off grid system. I would tell them that the alternative power system provides the service they are wanting the transformer to provide.

We thought about doing this but due to failure to sell our house we are now extending this one. I would love to hear how it goes for you, best of luck

I've done this - move a house onto our land. Not actually our own house, but we put a wee state house on for my mum and dad.
We actually found it to be a great experience.
Because we had enough land at the time we only had to apply for building consent for a second dwelling and this certainly made it all a bit easier than resource consent.
My advice would be to be on the lookout for a decent condition house - there are some really poor old souls out there. The one we got was a small 52m2 one with 2 bedrooms. It was small enough to come on one piece. Friends of ours put on a huge Kauri villa - it came in 3 pieces and is now stunning.

I had great fun doing it up. Obviously we got plumbers to put in the septic tank and electrician for the electrics - but I did the rest myself.

Good luck with it all

In or just out of Riverton (Southland) you should get plenty of wind, so installing a wind turbine might be economical. But if you want to sell any extra electricity that is generated, you will need to be connected to the grid.

Hi,
Thanks for the replies!
We have got a house and it is really sound, 145m2 and not too much needs done on the inside, only one room with scrim, so the house side is looking great, with the extension and putting in insulation in the existing part, we will have a huge house and would have had a huge mortgage if we built the same size new, even if we built it ourselves there is loss of income to consider. The house we live in now is the same age (1950's) as the one we are shifting and over the years we have renovated and added double glazing and insulation and know that an "older" house can be improved to be warm, especially if it is positioned right. Application for building consent in now and all looking positive. I have a bit more research to do but feel confident that whether we go grid tied or stand alone for power we will make it work - watch this space! lol. I am a farm girl and going back to the family farm (home), so excited that my kids will be close to their grandparents (and the beach) and we will be creating our garden space and helping on the farm. I guess what it came down to is we don't need to be in a new/flashy house and an older recycled one with improvements such as good heating and insulation suits us down to the ground.
Today is very windy, I think if we had a connected wind turbine we could supply heaps of power back to the grid!!!

According to this map of wind resources in NZ you might be only borderline feasible for a wind turbine for power generation. It is really only feasible for sites with more than about 5m/s average wind speed. Check whether your site has local features which might make it more suitable.

ok that's interesting about the wind! The system I have looked at is solar plus battery bank plus back up generator.

We have moved house onto bare land and done all the rest wounldn't do it again as now too old:rolleyes: but at same age as last time would [] only thing was when we did it power went passed the gate had to pay if we didn't connect anyway [!] But put an old coal range (no other cooker) in which does water,cooking and heats house up then a log burner, still a work in progress as we have had many lifestyle changes. Go for it [^] all the best

Thanks Sod, we are pretty close to getting the final tick from the council and hopefully house is on the move in 3 weeks or so... I have researched all the options and at this stage this way is a lot better financially, we picked up house very cheap! We have the plans to alter the inside but are not moving any walls, just adding a few, working with what we have already and then adding a living/lounge area to the North. So far so good Yep there will be a bit of work but we are used to that as have been renovating one house or another for the last 5 years, the plan is that this will be the last and then relax and enjoy life a bit more! I am not sure re: power yet but we probably in the same position as you were and have to pay for the power connection anyway! I have a bit of time so might challenge the council if we decide we really definitely want to go off grid.
Thanks for your input

trikkee - well done to you and hubby and family. Seriously, I always go into threads with the potential negatives (in my mind) just in case someone you are answering hadn't clicked to the issues they may be facing. But not you guys - enjoy when you are finished LOL and all the best with your build and future.

We're on the move!!! All consents/permits issued through the councils involved: Invercargill and Southland. House extension and alterations drawn up with the architect. So far our budget of $50k on piles (before extension) is bang on!!! House will be moved in two parts in the next fortnight. Didi I am a very positive person but I do do my homework, I think of the potential pitfalls and ask a million questions to as many people I have talked to everyone in the council and they have been fantastic, they all know me when I call now lol... I have had great advice and we are making sure we follow all the rules to make sure nothing comes up later. Anyone else thinking of doing it my advice is to do your homework and make sure you get a good house!!! Getting excited now Oh and we are putting in an autoflow septic system (worm based) that is a first for southland district council but they are impressed with it, it will cost the same as a standard septic system but is more ecological.

That's such good news. You will need to keep us up to date on happenings you do realize!!!?[^]

Great to hear now the real fun begins as each step goes along, take lots of photos before and after and please show us so we can enjoy too We have photos of everything and loved it all. Am very excited for you. Keeping positive is the only way to go