Plan D

The bus is on the lot!

It cost us $850 to get it here, and they broke an axle doing it, but it's here! The first thing we noticed when we got inside the bus a week or so after we towed it here was that it wasn't nearly as hot as we thought it would be, even sitting in full sun. The cross breeze coming in from the windows kept it pretty tolerable inside. Being painted white helped, I'm sure.

We did a bunch of planting while waiting for the rain to come, and when it did we took brushes and rags and soap and started scrubbing on the top of the bus. It was covered in tree sap and algae from being under the trees in the woods for so long, but it was coming off pretty easily. We didn't finish cleaning it that day because it's planting season and we had a lot to do. We'll work on it during the rainy days. Then we'll paint it - cuz it really needs it!

But on the sunny days we plan to start working on the bump out. It won't be attached to the bus as originally thought because there's a 2ft space between the bus and the grassy area, so we'll cantilever the roof out to cover at least the south half of the bus, so that the rain hitting the north half of the bus will roll off the north side, and the cantilevered roof will catch the water on the south side and add to the collection tanks.

We've reconsidered adding the water from the drain to the greywater trench. It's too risky letting the driveway water hit the greywater because vehicles are so toxic - especially old ones. So we'll fill that drainage ditch with mulch inoculated with King Stropharia mushrooms to clean up any runoff from the driveway. Fortunately it still ends several feet before the grey water treatment area.

So as soon as we got the bus parked, the zoning inspector came by to take a look. I'm guessing we've got a Mrs Kravitz in the neighborhood who couldn't wait to let him know something was up.

He asked if we'd planned to stay in it, and we said yes. He said if we did, we were only allowed to stay in it for 3 months then we had to not stay in it for a month before we could stay in it again. He said he had to check to be sure, but we may even have to move it after that 3 months.

I could see that being the case in a public park but not on private land. Turned out later he checked with the county prosecutor and no such law existed.

Some time later the zoning inspector got a complaint, probably from that same neighbor, that we had a disabled vehicle on the property and a bunch of junk in the yard. We were told that we couldn't have a disabled vehicle in a residential area for more than 2 weeks unless it was kept in a building, like a pole building or garage. The problem with that was that the front of the bus was less than 40ft from the road. No permanent structures are permitted less than 40ft from the road. So the solution of building a pole barn around it would require asking for a variance.

That's when I asked for a 3rd time for a copy of the zoning ordinances. He printed one out for me on his home printer and stapled them all together for me for $10. 

Upon discussing the matter the next visit I explained that the 'junk' the neighbor was talking about was a bed frame we were using as a trellis for out cucamelons and that people use them in trendy areas of the city all the time. I've even seen a bed frame used as a gate in Olde Towne East in Columbus. He was willing to let that go. But he asked if I'd like to come to a town meeting of the zoning committee and I agreed.

I was the first to be able to bring up my concern at the meeting. I explained how we were building a food forest and were planning to fix up and live in the bus while building our house. I told them if they wanted to go ahead and send me the formal charge in the mail I'd be happy to appeal it, which involved them posting something in the local paper (for which I'd be charged $10) and having a meeting with whomever in the township had anything to say about it, and they'd make their decision after that.

Some weeks later I received a phone call from the zoning inspector stating concern that I might not have enough room to put in a septic system and still build a house and a garden in the only level ground on the lot. We were beginning to think we weren't wanted here. I'll cover my plans to deal with that subject in a later post.

I'm posting all this here because these are the hurdles that occur when trying an alternate lifestyle. The laws are on the books for a reason. The trick is to understand first the spirit of the law, keep your cool, and just ask how to go about obeying the rules and still being able to do what we want to do. To us, the bus isn't a vehicle. It is being repurposed for a 'tiny home'. People do the same thing with shipping containers and train cabooses. I have a bedframe in my garden - doesn't mean I sleep there. So I'm ready to take it to court if need be.

That was all in June of 2019. Fast forward to June of 2020 and we have yet to be formally charged with any violation. So we don't plan to move the bus off the property or further into the lot. There's too little room to maneuver and we want to keep the east-west orientation to maximize solar gain for the attached greenhouse. 

So plans to work on the bus have resumed. The plan now is to set 2ft long PVC pipes in cement in the ground beyond the 40ft mark, then bolt PVC pipes to it for a frame and stretch plastic across that frame - opaque on top and clear on the south wall - and attach the other end of the frame to the bus to secure it on the north side. So now the greenhouse won't be a permanent structure and neither will the bus.

We've been going down to the property on weekends and painting. We've been raising Andrea's grandson since November so with the coronavirus pandemic daycare had been closed for a couple months. They just reopened last month so we've had more time. I finished adding the blue earlier this week, after painting the roof white last weekend while Andrea painted inside.

It's looking much better, we think.

Building Plan C

So originally we'd planned on building a small house before we move to Soulstice Homestead, then thought, since we had the 4 grandkids to bring with us, perhaps we should start big.

Starting big has always been advised against by every homesteader ever to write a book or blog or host a podcast. Dealing with various family crises this year has pushed us into the direction of the current plan - plan C - which now seems much more practical and do-able.

Andrea had an old 1975 International Schoolbus that had been parked in storage for years from a previous life in the New Mexico Mountains. It had been converted to an RV, with wiring and a sink and lots of storage area and beds. We don't know if it runs but we had it towed to our current rental and it's been here for a few years. When her son and daughter, their significant others and children all moved in with us at the same time (12 bodies in one house) we decided it was time to clean up the bus, tow it to Soulstice Homestead, and set up our first living space.

We figure if mom is now home with the grandkids, we can set up a quick place to stay so we can spend several days on the land at a time, as well as get away from the pure chaos that has taken over our current home.

We have an electrician lined up to look at the wiring and make sure it's sound. We've been cleaning it up on the inside and outside getting it ready to paint - since we have water here, but no rain catching system set up there yet. Much easier to paint when you have water  access. The bus is wiped down and swept out (picture left is the 'before' version).
We have a roll of Geotex to lay out on the strip of property where the bus will rest. We're digging out the area a foot or so deep so we can level it off, roll out the Geotex, dump gravel on it, then tow the bus down.

The plan is to park it so the front faces east, leaving the door open to the south, where we'll build a free-standing greenhouse as an extension of the living space and an outdoor kitchen/food prep area. The extension will be right above where we started the grey water trench , so the sinks will drain off to that easily. If we strawbale off the bottom of the bus it should help seal it off from the cold in winter.
To heat the bus this fall and winter, a rocket mass heater can go in the extension greenhouse and the exhaust can be piped off under the length of the bus and out the back so the heat rises from the heated cob through the metal floor of the bus, turning that temperature-conducting floor problem into an asset.

Our solar panels can go on top the bus, shading the roof from the hot sun, which will give some relief from the heat of summer, but we'll need more tricks than that to stay cool. A cob wall of plastic bottles with the bottoms cut off to create the venturi effect all along the upwind side of the extension could cool things off a bit. Some retractable blinds could help too, along with climbing vines with big leaves, like grape vines, all along the roof of the extension.

The 275 gallon water tanks will line the back of the bus, also covered in strawbales to keep out cold and sun. We believe we can fit 5 along the length of the bus, which should be more than enough. The other 6 can be used behind the pallet house and the animal sheds when we build them - all to the north to stay out of the sun.A solar pump will do for moving the water into the bus as needed.

 Reaching this solution has many benefits.

• We're keeping a lot of material (which is the bus) out of the landfills by turning it into a home.
• Being licensed as an RV means we can likely get away with using a composting toilet.
• It's already built and nearly ready to move in.
• It is weather resistant (aside from tornados).
• We're still paying off the land (til 2020), so if we somehow lose the land, the bus can move with us.
• The bus can be moved to more convenient parts of the land if needed - it's not necessarily a permanent structure.

I plan to move into the bus as soon as it gets towed to Soulstice Homestead, driving to our current rental to take care of the animals until I can build shelters for them at the Homestead. Andrea works in town and will likely spend some nights in the bus and some in town until more conveniences can be added to the bus to make the commute more feasible.
We've had a lot of things blocking our way to living on our Homestead, but persistence and adapting to change are our allies on this journey.

update 3/21/2019

We've been digging a level bus pad to park the bus, though we've taken a break after my recent toe surgery. The gravel is laid out, though, and we're hoping by spring to have the bus towed down. 

Since the bus hasn't been started in 20+ years we went online, found a Youtube channel and figured out how to unlock the airbreaks, so instead of paying $1500+ to tow it on a flatbed we can tow it with a wrecker for $580. 

showing the original gravel pile and Geotex

The digging was by hand - maddock and shovel -- and sometimes my bare hands. 12ft x 50ft and in some places 2ft deep. One man job. I learned a lot about digging during that job. One thing is that if you're patient and don't try to rush, it's a lot easier than it looks. I'm 60 years old (at the time of this writing) and weigh 128lbs. I didn't keep track of how many hours I put in, but I managed to finish it in a few weeks on and off, a few days a week.

Here are a few more images of the dig.

Tracking runoff after a rain to make sure
no puddles will form under the gravel

Drain pipe leading to the greywater swale

As it progresses we'll continue to add to this post.