Building your homestead from scratch can seem like a huge undertaking to many people. For most people, buying a new property to turn into a homestead seems like the most straightforward method to get started. After all, building a property is a lot of work and requires the utmost in time and dedication.
It can be satisfying to start and finish your own project, even if you are not the one solely responsible for the construction. Unfortunately, most people simply do not have the time for something like building a homestead from scratch.
But that does not mean it is impossible to do so. In this article, we are going to talk about how you can make starting a homestead much more accessible.
1. Make sure you have a place to stay near your site.
One of the biggest issues with building your homestead is that you will need a location to sleep in while you wait for construction to finish. If you are like most people, then your current home might be far away from the site where you will be building your homestead.
Michelle Doornbosch explains that one way to get around this is to have a camping site nearby, but this might be uncomfortable for a lot of people. Another idea is to first build a temporary shelter with all the amenities you need. Make sure it is far enough from your planned site so that it does not interfere with construction.
2. Consider working with local builders and designers.
Designing and building your home is going to take a lot of work, experience, and skill. While it is admirable that you want to do it from scratch, it is far more practical to hire contractors such as custom home builders to give you a hand.
For when you find you have more precise needs than a building team allows, you should make sure you have the specialized services you need on hand, as well. A construction team leader may well have their own contacts, but doing your research into teams like concrete supplies can ensure you get the supplies and services you need. Scanning the market yourself can help you save some of the costs, too.
This will allow you to maintain most of the personalization and decision making, but you will have experts around to guide you on the best decisions to make with your build.
3. Separate your tasks by property and house.
There are two important things to consider when building a homestead; the property and the house. The house involves everything within the house itself, and the property involves everything external such as crops, gardens, barns, and so on.
You should try to split your responsibilities by property and house so that you know where you should be focusing your efforts next. This prevents you from having a half-finished exterior or interior and helps you to finish the tasks that you’ve started before moving on to the next.
4. Start with the barebones.
One way to speed up the process of starting your homestead while building your homestead is to look at abandoned or old farmhouses and buildings that no longer serve a purpose. These locations will have ideal conditions for growing crops and they offer a good framework for you to build on.
While you might need to renovate large parts of the farmhouse for it to be usable, it is a great way to get started since it involves less work on your part. I would highly suggest examining the property thoroughly before you make a purchase decision so you know how much work will be involved.
Final Thoughts on Building Your Homestead
Building your homestead can be a very rewarding experience, however, there is some thought and planning that must go into the process. You can absolutely do it yourself or you can hire the help of professionals. Take your time, stay close to your homestead while it is being built, and stay actively involved.
Have you built your homestead or are you in the process of building your homestead? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comments below.