Want to build care taker house

[warren5421]

I want to build a care takers house as at 76 caring for the livestock is getting hard. Anyone build using 2x6 or 8 studs? I want a 12” thick concrete floor with pacs tubing, solar, and all controls and battery’s in a separate attached building. Two bedroom, free rent for help. Wife said not worth it but she isn’t taking care of the animals. We both have long lived parents so should hit 90’s. What say wage or build.

[georgerkahn]

Not to rain on your parade, so to speak, but the concept of your plans sounds awesome! However -- MY plans for a small tertiary building at camp, as well as to replace the Harbor Freight nailed on "front door" (just a tarp) to a shed there have been most-depressingly squnched (technical term) by the present costs of building materials which give new meaning to "ridiculous"!
In my rural area, a great plurality of farmers purchase and set up pre-owned (:)) house trailers. These are oft' on the market at prices quite significantly less than that of building anything. You still may/will need the source of water; your solar power; and, of course, liquid waste -- but these are "given" costs regardless of what you may elect to do.
A secondary advantage to a house trailer is mucho reduced property taxation (at least where I reside) as opposed to a built in place structure...And... in the future, it is a lot easier to again sell the mobile home than be stuck with/move/??? a building.
Just a couple of pennies worth of thought -- BEST wishes whatever you do!
geo

[farmbif]

when we had help on the vegetable farm the help stayed in converted wooden brooder houses. nothing special but they had coal and then oil fueled furnaces for cold weather and big shade trees to tame summer heat. the guys were always happy to shoot rabbits and other critters for fun and food.
on the fish farm we had a couple old mobile homes where help would stay. no one ever complained.
12" concrete floor, I'm guessing that's what you do for pacs tubing, whatever that is. most codes ive ever dealt with call for concrete floor to be 4"-6"
I once built a workshop with 2x6 studs it was overkill but the lumber was free and that's what I had. the house was built with 2x4's

[dverna]

Why keep livestock? Especially at 76.

[Ickisrulz]

Building walls with 2x6s vs 2x4s is so that you will have thicker insulation. When I was on a construction crew back in the 1980's (upstate NY) we never built a home with 2x4 exterior walls.

[Handloader109]

You are looking at spending $200k or more even in a low cost area. Are the animals bringing in that much over say 3 or 4 years? If not, like has been said, buy Used trailer or sell off the herd to a size you can deal with or entirely. At 76, I'd not want to be dealing with any, but can they pay for the help and the help's dwelling.

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[lightman]

Our last house had 6" studs in the outside walls and 1" Urethene under the brick. Our utilities were less than most of the neighbors. Not familiar with a 12" floor and pacs tubing. Like the others have said, I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money at 76.

Good Luck with your choice.

[MaryB]

Think he means Pex tubing... in floor heat...

[lavenatti]

Offer to let someone park their own trailer on your property in exchange for help.

[Winger Ed.]

At 76, I'd be more inclined to lease the land, or at least most of it to someone else for running livestock.

You won't make as much as if you tended it all yourself, but it's a lot less work, expense,
and you can't beat the schedule of work hours.

[Bmi48219]

Beyond what others have said about your ability or desire to farm in your late 70’s three letters to consider:
IRS
They are always refining ways to get into your pocket. That will only get worse. If you continue as planned, wages paid for help is a lot easier to quantify and deduct than housing, room & board etc. also it’s easier to fire or let someone go than to evict them.
The cost to build versus the value of a structure to a buyer when you or your heirs decide to sell the property doesn't usually measure up. Similarly used mobile homes decay and depreciate. Sometimes getting rid of them can mean paying to remove.
Good luck with whatever you and your spouse decide to do.

[rancher1913]

what you are wanting to build is a castle and would be great if you were to live there, hired hand, not so much. the cost will be exorbitated and you will probably never recoup your investment. I was in the same boat as you, needing help to keep the place up but finding somebody you could trust to run expensive equipment was hard.

we opted to sell the cows and lease the farm ground and pasture, we net the same income but dont have to do any work we dont want to. our gross income is down but since we dont have to buy fencing or feed our net income is the same. we still have the cows and enjoy them but if they get out, we call the new owner of them. it has taken a lot of stress off of us. it was a hard decision after having my own heard for 25 years but i get the best of both worlds now.

[Misery-Whip]

Dont build anything. Put in an RV spot, or check the mobile home dealers around, sometimes they have orders that are canceled, or a model home they need to unload. If you do build, think 2 bedroom or less so you dont get sub-letting.

Building a 2nd home on the land will make the property harder to sell, being too expensive for most folks. If my kids dont want my land when im older, im going to sell it to a young family. Its young people country anyway. (Mountain-ish)

Besides think of your property taxes of a second home...

[HWooldridge]

I want to build a care takers house as at 76 caring for the livestock is getting hard. Anyone build using 2x6 or 8 studs? I want a 12” thick concrete floor with pacs tubing, solar, and all controls and battery’s in a separate attached building. Two bedroom, free rent for help. Wife said not worth it but she isn’t taking care of the animals. We both have long lived parents so should hit 90’s. What say wage or build.

Metal is generally cheaper these days. I’m not sure why you need a 12” slab but that’s your decision. If I was building it for you, I’d use 8” girts (purlins) for the wall and pipe for the posts/columns. Weld everything together and use R panel for the roofing - with 6” or 8” joists. Open cell spray foam then paint for fire protection. You didn’t mention footprint but the $200K estimate above is probably not far off.

[725]

Steel quonset hut go up fast and can be made to any size required. Concrete pad with whatever that thing you mentioned and a quonset takes just days to fully erect. Once you get the shell (suggest wind turbine vents on the roof - amazingly, they don't leak - to control humidity) up, all your building will be inside and weather won't affect it. You can build a whatever size structure inside and never worry about exterior siding or roof work. Just put some chicken wire on the outside of your framing so the insulation doesn't fall down. In as much as your "house" is inside the shell, 2x4 lumber and associated insulation will be plenty. Cost of 2x4's vs 2x6 will be better. Check 'em out. Pretty cheap way to get a good structure that will last.

[Geezer in NH]

Think Modular, factory-built, site put together. Building codes will have to be followed. Also need well and septic to code.

I am 70 and would pass on wanting cattle as an investment let alone hiring someone and providing housing.

[rancher1913]

Think Modular, factory-built, site put together. Building codes will have to be followed. Also need well and septic to code.

I am 70 and would pass on wanting cattle as an investment let alone hiring someone and providing housing.

sometimes you just got to be a cowboy to understand, like i said, it was a very hard decision to sell our cows and if we had not been able to sell them to the same guy who leases our place thereby keeping them around (we raised every momma we had from a baby) we probably would have kept trying to get by i can fully understand the op's plight

[country gent]

The Pole buildings have came a long ways in the uses and things. A wicks or morton building finished and insulated might answer your needs. They go up quick and easy are good looking and very use able.

[bedbugbilly]

There comes a time when things change in life. We had a 550 acre family farm. At one point, we had to decide that it was time to stop milking the herd, sell the cows and strictly crop the tillable acreage. At that point, it was no longer a chore to keep the literally 10 miles of fencing up - a constant headache, not to mention expense. Eventually we went to leasing the tillable acreage and it gave enough to cover the property taxes.

You don't really go too deep into your circumstances, and that is fine. But I ask the same question about "why are you keeping the livestock?" If you can no longer take care of it, what are you going to do if you can't find help - as in a tenant? You might think you will live into your 90s in excellent health, but that can change in a heartbeat. Do you have kids that will step up to the plate if you lose your help or have health issues?

My Dad loved the farm and the livestock, but he also realized that age . . . and health changes things. I'm 70 and glad to be done with it all - sold the property and no longer have all the work or all the worries. It was a hard decision, no argument about it, but my wife and I can now do some things when and if we want to. But the next thing is if something happens to you, what about your wife? Does she want to worry about livestock if you are gone and she is in her 80s? Not being harsh, but just remember, it isn't just about what "you" want . . . . consider ALL scenarios and how if you are out of the picture, how it will affect those who are left behind.

Good luck to ALL of your family in whatever you do.

[warren5421]

I raise horses and up to 6 beef for my own use. Have most if not all the wood as I was going to put up another wood barn. I have sold off all but 10 horses so don’t need the new barn. Most od the digging I can do, foundation septic tank and leach field

[10x]

Why keep livestock? Especially at 76.

If one likes having livestock and can afford a hand to help keep them, why not?
We should enjoy our retirement.

Consider also
Livestock and a garden can be considered food when the grocery store shelves are empty.
Russia is at war with Ukraine. Most guess that Ukraine supplies 1/3 of the food needed in the European Economic union.
When they can not get food from Ukraine the food will have to come from other places, places where we get our food. At prices that us commoners may not be able to afford.

There are many here in Northern Alberta who have chickens and sell eggs to supplement their incomes. Some sell baked goods at farmers markets, some sell fresh garden vegetables - it helps them survive.

Not to mention fresh eggs, home milk, and garden vegetables are incredibly tasty

[Rapier]

I was going to build an in-law house on the farm, quite similar to what you are planning, but the BIL died of a heart attack, between building the house pad and installing the slab. So have been to this rodeo.
I pre-planned the driveway, the water, the power, the premises backup generator, so I planned providing all things to all the buildings. Takes a good bit of pre planning. I do have the plans for the house.
Get two scales, and engineer scale and an architect scale, a formable straight edge for the driveway. Lay everything out to scale.
I had two travel trailers while I was building, got rid of the first right off, then when I finished, the second was sold and gone. No trailers or shacks on the property. I am not a slum developer.
If built correctly, the small house is also a guest house/mother in-law house and improves the property value, does not in anyway detract.

[gwpercle]

We did a study a few years ago ... I was professional building designer and Structural Engineering business owner ... when the 2X6 and 2X8 walls were getting popular . Now this applied to Louisiana ... we don't have bad winters but summers are hot humid and long .. I thank the good Lord for Central Air Conditioning every day !
The bottom line is the added cost of lumber from studs and door and window trim ... all sills jambs and heads have to be adapted from 2X4 construction to 2X6 or 2X8 ...special order items or custom build on site ... You don't save enough in HVAC bills to cover the cost in your lifetime .
It is better to use improved insulation ... Ty-Vek insulated house wrap , 3/4" closed cell foam insul . sheathing board and sprayed in Cellulose Insulation in walls , ceiling joist and between roof rafters .
Sprayed Cellulose is not expensive , recycled from othe cellulose products and has a high R-Factor . Spray on a thickness to meet the requirements in your area... see local bldg. codes .
A tight house , with well sprayed in cellulose insulation , all windows triple insulated , insulated doors and a High Effiency HVAC system will get you the best value for you cost .
Gary

[MaryB]

When I built my garage I had it specified to be livable if needed. 8" insulation in the walls(it is a pole garage so posts set the wall thickness), R50 attic insulation, overhead door is R24... last winter I never heated it and it maintained 28 degrees all winter. If my house would burn/be damaged by wind/etc all I have to do is add interior partition walls to the garage and I can live in half of it(small apartment sized space, just me so doable!) and still have room for the car/tools in the other half. I would put electric in floor heat in the apartment space with a nice vinyl "wood" floor over it. Outer walls are steel liner panel inside so already finished out...

Pic is during construction so ignore the mess!

https://i.imgur.com/1UwfrFQ.jpg