It's just a start

Hello and welcome to my Blog - Off The Grid Ireland

I decided to create this Blog to document our progress and the story of how my wife and myself have started and are developing our off grid experience in Ireland. Off grid living is notting new in Ireland of course as rural electricity only came to Ireland between 1946 and 1979. But for us we are creating an escape from the 'Rat Race' that is modern Dublin.

A bit of our back ground story

Our off grid story started with a dream we both shared, A cabin in the woods by a lake.
We have been marred just 2 years now but we have been together over 7 years.
My wife is an Accountant and I am a Digital Marketing expert. But our current jobs do not reflect our skills outside the office. I myself am an DIY enthusiast with a lot of experience in DIY, I can do carpentry, tiling, flooring, painting, plumbing and wiring (never do mains wiring unless you are qualified) and many other skills all quite useful for going off the grid in Ireland.
We currently live in Dublin but we are both from Kilkenny originally.

The Dream Comes True

As we always dreamt of the cabin in the woods by the lake we never though we would ever have it (in Ireland anyway). If you are reading this Blog and you are from Ireland you will know that land prices are very high in Ireland and land by a lake which has a wood too very very rarely comes to market and if it does, you would need to win the lotto to buy it. 

As we dreamt I would browse the two biggest property websites in Ireland (www.daft.ie and www.myhome.ie) every other day, checking out farm land and sites for sale by or near a lake using the keyword 'lake' and within a two hour drive of Dublin city (a very narrow search criteria). I found sites and land available but none that would fulfil the dream for us.

But one day I found it (kind of) and it all moved very quickly from there. 2.5 acres, half an acre on the lake and the other 2 acres across the road (a very narrow country road) and just a one hour 45 minute drive from Dublin city. The added bonus, the lake connected to the river Shannon, the largest river in Ireland. Of course, as the lake connected to a very large river this meant flooding. So I did a little research on the site and the surrounding area, looking at flood maps and land levels etc. And from my research I discovered the highest flood level recorded covered half of the half acer by the lake itself but never reached the road level or the 2 acres across the road. All this done the day I discover the listing on the property website Daft. There was one more thing missing though, the woods. But that didn't put me off.

That evening back home with my wife I showed her what I discovered, the potential dream plot of land. The price was very good, there was even full planning permission for a 4 bedroom house on the land but again no wood. That didn't deter us as we could plant our own trees and grow our own forest, plus the surrounding area was covered in woodlands.

The next day we went to the bank and applied for a loan, that was approved within 24 hours and we made our offer on the land the very day the loan was approved. Our offer was accepted!

And it turned out the land owner was an old German gentleman would didn't live in Ireland but had bought over 100 acres years earlier in the area and he was now selling all his land as he could no longer travel back to Ireland to enjoy the land and scenery. 

Our land

Start Building The Dream

We now had the land, it's time to start building the dream. We decided straight away that we would only plant Native Irish Trees (https://treecouncil.ie/tree-advice/native-species/). We started planting trees straight away as we were lucky that my father had a number of trees in pots ready for planting (all native trees). And after we had planted all the trees my father gave us I ordered trees from www.hedging.ie where we bought our trees from as little as €1 each for 4 foot saplings and €20 for 10 foot trees, Adrian the owner was very helpful and gave great advice he also delivered the trees for free.  

So thats were we are now, still planting (November 2019).

Getting prepared to go 'Off The Grid'

What We Plan To Build

We want to build a wooden cabin 25 square metres (270 square foot) wooden cabin that we can use all year round both summer and winter for weekends and weekly beaks from the 'Rat Race'.

After some research and looking at a number of suppliers in Ireland we decided to go with 'Cabins 4 U' www.cabins4u.ie. Cabins 4 U offer flat packed cabins that you build yourself. 

The cabin we selected is called 'Model 11'. Wall thickness is 44 millimetres logs with a 100 millimetre space for insulation and another wall of 44 millimetre logs. So the total wall thickness will be 188 millimetres (recommended log wall thickness without insulation is 70 millimetres).

The cabin we selected will cost €5970.10 flat packed and without wall and roof insulation. 

The insulation we selected to use in the walls and roof is 80 millimetre 'Ballytherm Cavity Wall Insulation' which is €47.72 per sheet (8 foot by 4 foot) at www.build4less.ie. This insulation size leaves breathing space for the wood (this is very important).

*Please note our 'Off Grid Cabin' is for weekend and short term use and not for permanent residency.

The cabin we plan to build

  

My Off The Grid Essentials

As part of my normal day to day, market research is a norm so I am not afraid of a little research.
Our cabin is going to be off the grid so I felt the best way to active this in modern Ireland is by looking at what is in Ireland that functions off the grid.
Caravans (mobile homes, camper vans) and boats is what I thought of, so that's where I began my research and I came up with the list of essentials we need below for our cabin.
I've decided to go with 12volt lighting, with an inverter for a single 240volt socket and a log burning stove for heat. All the items on my list below have a link to where I purchased them.
*Please note our Off Grid Cabin is for weekend and short term use and not for permanent residency

1. 200w Solar panel kit: €117.13 each shipped from Spain in under 2 weeks and bought from here: Click Here  (I may need a number of these depending on what extra power is needed) 

2. Deep cell battery (leisure battery): €289.99 (was €450, currently on sale) 

Available here: Click Here 

3. Inverter (converts 12volts to 240volts): €58.95 for a 500w inverter. Available here: Click Here

4. Portable toilet: €99 Available here: Click Here 

5. Cooker and Oven: €483.43 Available here: Click Here

6. Log burning stove: €250 Available here: Click Here

7. Gas (propane) powered Shower: €210 Available here: Click Here

8. Gas (propane) full tank: €127 Available here: Click Here 

Living Off The Grid - Full Time

The 3 Books You'll Need

I've 3 books in my collection that I would recommend to anyone that may want to live the off the grid lifestyle. These 3 books have everything you need to know for going off grid, from survival through to being an established "Off Grider".

Although not all aspects of these book maybe of use for you, some aspects will be very useful.

Book number 1: The SAS Escape, Evasion & Survival Manual by Barry Davies BEM.

This book is no longer in print but it is the godfather of a lot of other survival manuals. You may find it secondhand on Amazon or eBay.

This book covers a lot including the following; Capture, Escape, Survival, First Aid for survival, Water, Survival Shelters. Fire, Plants from the wild, Meat from the wild, Food from water, A survival diet, Navigation, Search and rescue, Survival at sea and Self-Defence.

Book number 2: Reader's Digest DIY Manual by Reader's Digest.

Available in all good book stores and online.

This book cover every aspect of DIY you will ever need off grid including building, plumbing, wiring and general maintenance of your property.

Book number 3: The New Complete Book Of Self-Sufficiency, The classic guide for realist and dreamers by John Seymour.

Available in all good book stores and online.

This is the book you need to be completely self-sufficient when you go off the grid, it covers the following; The meaning of self-sufficiency, Food from the garden, Food from animals, Food from the fields, Food from the wild, In the dairy, In the kitchen, Brewing & wine making, Energy & waste and Crafts & Skills.