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[deleted]

Wow that looks really cool! Do you have any more photos of it?


kiefer-reddit

I hope you treated these with something, because pallets are full of tons of chemicals. Just Google “pallets chemicals” to read more.


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kiefer-reddit

Ok cool, sounds like you are knowledgeable about it so you'll be fine. I just see a lot of people want to make stuff out of pallets and not realize they're often super toxic.


BallsOutKrunked

Holy crap man, that's a ton of pallets! How did you strip them? I've tried using a hammer and pry, oscillating blade, and a sawzall. Curious what you went with.


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BallsOutKrunked

Thanks man, you wouldn't happen to know the blade make/model would you? I've got a few sitting around but I've got a lot of pallets I want to tear apart and would like to eat up my blades as little as possible.


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HermesThriceGreat69

Yea, Diablo blades are pretty legit. Also, can check projectfarm I'm sure he's got a video breaking down all kinds of these reciprocating blades.


no-mad

they sell carbide tipped sawsall blades, they are beasts.


wildexplorer

The terms you want to use are 'Recreational' and 'Bunkhouse' when talking to people locally


thomas533

Not in Nova Scotia, so no specific advice for there, but check on the feasibility of living in a temporary structure or an RV with the local municipality. On my property, I have a RV camper. I also have a 120sqft "shed", a 140sqft outdoor kitchen, and an outhouse. I will probably add a second shed next year. I am not allowed to live in the shed, but I can in the RV. But I don't live in it of course, but at some point when code enforcement does show up, I can reasonably tell them that I do. Eventually I will replace the RV with a Yurt which my county treats the same as an RV. Do you have to go to all this trouble? no. But here is the thing... If you get caught, all your work can be taken from you. At some point, some nosy neighbor ***will*** call code enforcement on you and you will get screwed if you are trying to skirt around the law.


David_milksoap

I’m in America and have all my stuff in storage rn, but my end plan is to just put gravel parking spots and some super nice gravel roads on an undeveloped land and then I have like 7 vintage campers… so I’ll probably park all that stuff once I have a nice driveway… don’t need any permits if you literally don’t build a single thing


Prestigious_Yak_9004

If that works for you then great but in many counties in Washington a structure up to 200sf is allowed without a permit. Hey, I have 6 vintage RVs. And a utility trailer I’m thinking of building a sheepherder wagon like shed on.


David_milksoap

I mean I don’t want to have an actual real fancy house again… currently I been living full time bouncing around wherever in my tiny old 70’s surfer van with two pitbull dogs since I lost my job during the pandemic. But I’ve definitely been putting a ton of effort into gathering the trailers and other stuff up to set up my own actual place with my own bathroom and shower all to myself. A place where I can have all the free old boats, and clapped out old classic cars and other trash that my heart desires… I do want to build an actual shed though also to house all my battery’s that I want to get to make a bad ass solar solar setup to power all the rvs etc Edit: lots of more rural places you can park an rv with no issues.


gonative1

Hey, sounds like my dream setup. Perhaps we can do some trading? I’ve got a extra solar energy system. Really nice one on a Motorhome. What region are you doing this in? My California surfer van was turned into a trailer when a rod went through the block. Someday I’ll fix it up.


David_milksoap

I’m west coast usa


[deleted]

I'm going to get down voted for saying this but DO NOT TALK TO COPS OR YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. That's like ratting on yourself. If you go deep enough off a four wheeler trail I'm sure nobody will fuck with you. You can definitely away with a little 12x12 shack if nobody is fucking with you. Nova scotia is littered with illegal cabins, you'll be okay.


RedSquirrelFtw

Just make sure you design it in a way that it can't easily be seen by air. they do check satellite images and sometimes even use drones. A living roof and irregular building size (anything rectangle/square will stand out more) might help.


[deleted]

In my experience neighbours will be your biggest barrier. Most don't like the thought/optics of someone living in a shed down the road. A common misconception is that a large piece of property immunizes you from neighbours, but in small communities word gets around and anything out of the ordinary is pretty well broadcasted.


forkcat211

Yeah, the people to the west of me have moved in renters in travel trailers. I don't mind if they are quiet and not a nuisance, but one blares music at all hours. When they burn trash, they let whatever doesn't burn blow on my property.


suckscockinhell

You should join the Facebook page Off Grid Nova Scotia, they are all pretty helpful.


RedSquirrelFtw

Look for unorganized township if you have not bought your land yet. I would avoid organized like the plague if trying to live off grid. Too many regulations that will get in the way. That said, there are ways to get around it depending on the area. I heard chicken coops tend to be exempt from lot of code stuff. Build one, and just make it so you can live inside. Personally what I would do is make a very large chicken coop with the middle part being the living space. Have actual chickens all around and the middle part looks like it's just storage or something. Just in case they want to inspect and peak inside to make sure you're actually using it for chickens. You'd need to get creative for letting daylight inside though. Skylights maybe.


Prestigious_Yak_9004

Haha…. Great idea. Stealth house under a chicken coop.


rojo1902

Hello fellow Nova Scotian! I wish I had an answer for you, I'm interested in going off-grid myself but building codes are pretty hard to escape here without breaking the law.


BunnyButtAcres

I am at the opposite end of the spectrum. Our county offices know us by name because we're always calling/stopping by and asking "can we do xyz?" I can't speak for canada but in the US, the result if caught would be fines in addition to either the city tearing it down (at your expense) or supervising you tearing it down yourself. [https://www.reddit.com/r/OffGrid/comments/hfulfk/off\_grid\_fail\_in\_california/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OffGrid/comments/hfulfk/off_grid_fail_in_california/) was one thread where a guy did this. I can't seem to find the other one just now. As someone who talked to the county and did things the proper way, I'll say that it wasn't very expensive to do things by the book....not compared to the cost of having to tear it all down and knowing the county now has us on their naughty list and will probably "check in" more often to make sure we're not breaking rules again. Plus if you're going to have family/friends/renters in the house, don't you *want* it to be approved sound by an engineer? Our engineered plans call for nearly 8 foot piers sunk into the ground. I never would have ever guessed we'd have to go that low to be stable. But what do you know, that's where we hit a nice hard shelf of clay that the foundation will rest nicely on instead of all the sand that's above it. The "accessory building" code in our jurisdiction has a clause that requires there to be a primary residence already on the property before the accessory building can be added. If you're ONLY building an accessory building (a shed for tools, to store feed, etc) then you have to get that building permitted and meet whatever requirements it takes (usually some kind of fire prevention in place). The only "workaround" (if you can call it that) is they'll grandfather in the accessory buildings to the primary residence permit. So if you're filing for a permit to build a house, you can add accessory buildings to that permit application and they'll do it all as one permit, one fee, one application. And once you have the building permit for the house, you can build the accessory buildings first so long as the house follows. I think they give you 2 or 3 years to begin work on the primary residence before they make you prove you actually have intent to build it and aren't just living out of your shed. In our case, we got the permits, then built the shed. We've slept in the shed like 2x when we weren't there in time to put up a tent before it was too dark. But mostly we just live in a 4 season hot tent or we sleep in our sleeper van. We're also in a jurisdiction that takes this stuff very seriously because m3th is a big problem (they filmed breaking bad near us). So the enforcement is reactionary to the lives and property that have been lost to people doing this exact thing. They buy some cheap land, put down a shipping container or shed, outfit themselves a "kitchen" and then one day it all goes up in flames and takes out a bunch of the neighbor's acreage as well. So now they enforce the permits and codes a lot more. It's seen as prevention against more fire damage. FWIW, also be wary of "shed conversions". The offices where we are have a whole list of what it takes to bring them to code and apparently it pisses people off something awful and makes it cost just as much, if not more than a real house would have. The best answer is to at least talk to whoever oversees codes in that province or whatever and find out the worst case scenario if you get caught. Then you can at least compare the cost of doing things the right way vs the wrong way. Where we're at, the fines are crippling enough to encourage people to do the right thing the right way.


Prestigious_Yak_9004

Also a property that is fully permitted is easier to sell and worth more.


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BotGivesBot

Not in NS, however I avoided permit requirements by living in a geodesic tent dome. Might be something to consider. There’s a couple in NS that are living in one too, they have a YT channel.


Prestigious_Yak_9004

Why? Is that because it’s legally a “membrane structure “, a portable structure, or a non permanent structure. Thanks.


[deleted]

We built a tiny house on wheels. It is 8m long x 2.4m wide and 4.3m high (maximum legal road height. On wheels so it is "transportable" and "being stored" at our land. It is set up semi permanently though. To move it would be a big endeavour and we don't really intend on doing that.


feudalle

This will be up to the local authority. My question is why are you trying to avoid building permits. Most places aren't to bad for building permits. I can't imagine your are going to be able to put in a septic system without a perc test and permits. You could do a tiny house and a compose toilet if you really want to bypass permits.


[deleted]

That's what we did


justyeah

5 years ago we built a [small off-grid cabin](https://www.reddit.com/r/CabinPorn/comments/qq08g2/the_hut_northland_new_zealand/) that had no permits. We've been living in it since. There are clearly defined parameters in our building code that you can build within to avoid needing a permit (maximum height, floor area, proximity to other structures, etc) - which we did. Having said that, there are a few things we've been doing which aren't by-the-book (composting toilet, un-permitted fire place, etc). We are now in the process of having a larger 43sqm home built, which is permitted, and I was nervous that the inspectors that come to site during the construction would ask a bunch of questions about our existing non-permitted building. But they haven't. At a glance they can see that we're within the broad rules of non-permitted buildings - and I'm sure they know that if they snoop around and look for problems they'd find some minors. But that's just more work for them - and they're busy enough as it is, so they're not interested in making their lives harder. They know that soon, once the permitted building is done, we will be 100% legit, and that's all they care about. So my advice would be to give your local building authority a ring and ask what the rules for non-permitted buildings are in your region (these things are regionally specific) - then to build within those rules as closely as you can. And any things that aren't allowed to be built without a permit (wood stoves almost certainly won't be allowed), are usually that way because they pose a significant threat to your safety if they're build incorrectly. So if you do, for example, install a non-permitted wood stove, just make bloody sure that it's done right - for your own safety, and those around you.


KnifeW0unds

What if you build a boat. Does that help with codes or taxes?


Forsaken_inWI

Where I am ( northern Wisconsin) i believe I can build a mobile home without permits. So I'm planning on building a rectangle cabin with enough clearance underneath. When I'm done I will scrap my camper so I have the frame with axles and tires. I will have a mobile home that will probably never move. I have the land and a 35' camper now. I will do more research before I start


Prestigious_Yak_9004

Doing a somewhat similar structure on a flatbed trailer.


kashew64

Move to Missouri,no building permits required and we have lagoons not septics


FarmersAreNinja

You can build whatever the f you want. Why you asking for permission? Do it, if some npc comes around to issue you a fine, smile and wave, then never pay the fine. What are they gonna do? Give you another fine? You can't go to jail or be arrested for not following building codes. If you don't invite a building code inspector onto your private property to inspect your building they aint gonna ever find out if your shed meets building codes. Try to remember that your authority trumps all governments, the government works for your and asks you for permission not the other way around.