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Breaking down the costs.

We recently had a dowser come to the homestead. It was amazing! She used ChannelLock pliers to find the water. We both tried the pliers and had no luck but we were able to use her copper rods (like our bent coat hangers) and it worked great for us. She found water at the highest point on our property and it seems to run along there. Then, she held a branch over the spot and it bobbed 12 times. Each time it bobs, its supposed to represent 3 feet of depth. According to the alder branch and our dowser, we have water at about 36 feet. For DEC approval, we would need to dig to 40 feet. Hopefully that is still good.

The potential of having running water got us very excited. I (Jane) have been living without running water for about 7 years now. Its about the same for Eli. Running to the outhouse is a nusiance sometimes but was is more of a bother is bathing. Most people don't have to think about where to take a shower when planning out their day or week. The concept of just stepping into a shower right here at home when we are feeling dirty and tired is a very compelling one. Not to mention the whole issue of hauling water from town and  dumping buckets of dirty dish water. So, once we got the good news about a water source, we got inspired to plan out a way to make this a reality.

It quickly became apparent though, that this was one more project that will have to stay on the back burner as we just have too many things to finish in order to move in before winter comes.

We have a list of goals and expenses on our wall in the cabin to help us plan out what our upcoming goals are and what the anticiapted cost is for those goals.

Project costs


Upstairs insulation $2,500

Upstairs sheetrock, mudding and taping $1,000

Upstairs Painting $200

Finish crawl space with gravel, insulation and skirting $3,000

Carpeting upstairs $600

Get a queen size bed $1500

Finish the woodstove surround $100

Finish the stairs and railing $200

Composting toilet    $400

Total $9,300

Other costs beyond this

Having a well drilled and pump installed     at least $3,000

Installing a leach field  for gray water    about $500

Building an addition for a bathroom   $?

Siding $?


I am also taking classes to get my Masters Degree in Special Education.  Getting financial aide for college is helping us with our house building. But, sad to say, it doesn't look like running water is going to be an option for a little while longer. Maybe next year. That said, there is a link above for you to be able to make a donation  to us to help us with our dream. If you can't afford to make a donation, please feel free to click some ads and browse for a while. That earns us a little $ too.

Thanks!