Homesteading has become a popular alternative lifestyle all across the united states, as families began to migrate out of the larger cities and spread out into rural America, many of those families coming from the inner city wanted a healthier environment to raise a family in, as well as to be more self-sufficient and rely on governments and outside the industry as little as possible. Groups of families have homesteaded this fertile land for centuries and every generation has groups passing on that torch. Homesteading is much more than having a few chickens and a garden, however, you have to start somewhere so don’t be embarrassed if that’s all you are starting with. Every successful homestead is built with necessity and ease of use in mind. The goal is to grow your own food use sustainable energy to whatever extent you feel necessary, most homesteaders have some type of animals, cows, chickens, goats, alpaca, pigs, you name it and you are likely to run across it on a homestead, not to mention the native wildlife that can be a resource as well as native plants, homesteaders typically immerse themselves in the local ecology to develop ways to be more self-sustainable, less reliant on 3rd parties and learn how to better adapt to the environment.
Buildmax has a couple of plans that could be turned into the ultimate homestead. The plan that pops into my head first is the BM5550 because of how much space the barndominium provides. When homesteading you can never have too much storage space. The BM5550 will allow you to plan for the future in ways other barndominiums just fall short, you can use the rooms for anything you like, with the kind of space a Barndominium like the BM5550 has you could have an amazing state of the art indoor hydroponic garden and have vegetables available to you as a resource year-round. Having room to store your equipment is important not only from an organizational perspective but also for the longevity of the tools and equipment, things last longer when they are properly stored; this also gives you the luxury of always knowing where that tool is and not having to dig through a pile of tools and extension cords only to find the drill bit you’re looking for is missing out of the box. Everyone has experienced this at some point in their adult life.
Every homestead is going to be different depending on the extent of modifications needed to get your plans to the point where they reflect the vision that you have for your homestead barndominium. Most modern homesteads take full advantage of solar energy; solar panels can be adapted to any barndominium, no matter the size or modifications required to the house plans. Solar panels are typically mounted up high to get the most use out of the sunlight. This is why it’s popular to mount solar panels on the roof of your home, as long as your roof pitch will allow for access in such a way that general maintenance can be undertaken. The roof is ideal for mounting solar panels. Solar panels can also be mounted on the ground if you don’t like them mounted on your home, usually placed on a small rise or hillside, and can easily be manipulated & manually adjusted to capture as much daytime sunlight as possible. Having an area to store batteries is another factor when considering solar as an energy source. The batteries can take up some space and be pretty heavy. Generac Powercell and Tesla Powerwall have developed solutions that mount on the side of your wall and store energy in batteries pods within the mounted unit and are becoming increasingly popular for modern homesteading applications.
Animals are a large part of many modern homesteads, chickens are by far the most popular, almost every homestead will have a chicken coop, this can add to the overall theme as well as provide you with eggs putting you that much closer to being completely self-sufficient. A chicken coop can be a fantastic weekend D.I.Y project our personal chicken coop took a couple of days to erect and another to finish, but it has proven to be the single most reliable supplier of food to our kitchen once the chickens started laying. We honestly had to start giving away our eggs because we had so many, which is a great problem to have. Sheep and goats can be nice. I’ve never personally had any goats, but I do have plenty of friends who raise goats and they are pretty adorable but can be somewhat temperamental at times and they can eat ALOT! Another animal I’ve noticed popping up on homesteads across the country is Alpaca. I know they use alpaca fur for many clothing applications, so there may be a financial benefit to owning an alpaca aside from the aesthetic benefits of having a handful of extremely cute furry animals roaming your homestead.
A homestead can be many different things depending on your needs, the size of your family you are hoping to support with your homestead, and cost as in what is your budget to get your homestead underway. With budgets tight and prices in the stores at an all-time high, it’s easy to understand why a new family would choose to move out of the city and build their dream homestead barndominium in a more rural setting. Odds are, the school system will be more hands-on and student-focused than many of the inner-city school systems tend to be. Not all, there are some exceptions. Job opportunities are more scarce in rural communities, but with a larger portion of the population working remotely anymore, many families can work from home and tend to their ever-growing homestead. The maintenance on a homestead is a full-time job in itself. The general upkeep and feeding of the animals are enough to keep a person busy most days, not to count those unexpected fixes and projects that pop up on a weekly basis that also eat up your time. Running a barndominium homestead takes dedication and a passion for self-reliance if you have what it takes to build and operate a homestead and that’s the direction you and your family are headed. I urge you to take a minute to explore the barndominium house plans Buildmax offers for your homestead application; you may see something you can’t live without.
