Tours
Man shows how he lives tucked away and off the grid in a cabin he built on his own
Could you live like this?
Ma Fatima Garcia
06.10.22

Sometimes, you just wake up one day and realize that you want to do something.

You finally realize what you want to do, and no matter how hard and impossible, you are still determined to complete this project.

This happened when a Canadian filmmaker decided he wanted to build a home in the middle of the forest – from scratch.

Take note, he didn’t have any experience with building a house, let alone an off-grid home in the middle of an unnamed forest.

Lucky for this filmmaker, he has supportive friends.

They all helped him check the location, and it was beautiful.

However, they faced the reality that building a home in a remote forest will not be easy.

First, they needed to transport the materials, which they solved with the use of a material elevator.

The building of the entire home took three years.

You need to have a lot of patience to be there and help. It wasn’t easy because they had to transport materials using a 4-wheeler and carry them by hand.

According to the owner, he spent 65,000 CAD on the completion of his dream home.

He and his girlfriend have been living in this beautiful home since 2018, and they love it.

Their home is 18×22 feet and there is a 20 feet tall wall and a back wall of 12 feet. The house has 2 lofts, the first one they use as a living room, and the other as the bedroom.

Their stove is in the middle part of the house so it disperses the heat evenly. They cook using propane that costs 10 CAD, and that lasts for three months.

The filmmaker admitted he didn’t like composting toilets, so he had a full toilet outside, and a bath inside. They have a mechanical room where they keep their treatment water system, water heater, and their batteries for the solar panels.

One challenge of being off-grid is power.

They have Internet service, a full fridge, and a 1,300-watt solar system that they installed. They have connected four 550-amp-per-hour deep-cycle batteries.

As a backup, they also have a generator.

Another challenge is that there was no well in the area that he chose, so he had three 1,000-liter tanks in his home.

They collect rainwater for future use.

What about when it’s winter?

Aside from their wood-burning stove that warms his home, they also made sure that the house had thick insulation. They could stay warm and cozy inside during the cold months.

Since he has an Instagram account and YouTube Channel, many people had the chance to ask the filmmaker why did he choose to live in a remote location?

“My father always complained about having a mortgage, all my life. So, if therer was something that I really didn’t want, it was a mortgage,” he said in his interview with Exploring Alternatives.

He added he appreciates being close to nature, having the chance to see plants and trees grow, learning how to conserve your resources, and going back to the basics.

With his girlfriend, these two can live in a peaceful home, free from mortgage while enjoying the beauty of nature.

Watch the beautiful house tour and don’t forget to follow the Canadian Castaway here.

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