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This amount of money is not realistic even when you put it into an inflation calculator. For example, Walden built his cabin for $28 in the 1850's, which is abo

This amount of money is not realistic even when you put it into an inflation calculator. For example, Walden built his cabin for $28 in the 1850's, which is about $900 today and clearly not enough to build a cabin with today's dollars even scrapping like he did.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
notahacker 11y ago
This person claims to have a viable plan to build a replica of Thoreau's Walden cabin for under $1k. http://www.instructables.com/id/Thoreau-Off-Grid-Cabin-Design-Under-900/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Thoreau-Off-Grid-Cabin-Desig... Sure, inflation and purchasing power parity calculations don't always work between very different societies, but if you replace that indicative £1000 sum with "sufficient to ensure you can rent enough land to put a teepee on and buy some of the basic foodstuffs you can't hunt/forage any more" which is what Paine argued civilization had cost the average person, it doesn't start to look like an adequate welfare replacement.
- my5thaccount 11y ago
  Cool, that person's math an mine are the same! :) He does say, "That price does not include windows, door, insulation or interior furnishings. In place of a brick fireplace I have recommended a recycled steel barrel stove and stove kit from Vogelzang that would be more efficient." Those things he is excluding will easily double the price. A wood stove costs thousands, maybe hundreds used. 8 sqft of insulation is $50. Windows are $200 each. A door the same or more. And also, 10'x15' isn't really viable for a home, even for one person, much less a family that wants a shower in the bathroom. We also have building codes now that require a functional kitchen and bathroom which add significantly to the price of a livable structure the government won't tear down. I think bare minimum costs to build a livable structure today, would be in the $50,000 range and the mortgage on that would be $300 per month, which would fit within my proposed living stipend of $2,000 per month per family of 4.
  - eanzenberg 11y ago
    Uhm... The point being is a Thoreau cabin =/= modern cabin which passes code.
  - dilemma 11y ago
    Wood burning stoves used in homes in developing countries are the number one cause of disease and death. To suggest that countries downgrade from electricity to this is absurd, would cost lives, and billions in increased medical expenses.
    - my5thaccount 11y ago
      Modern wood stoves are sealed to the inside and have vents to pull air in from outside the house via vacuum created by the heat pushing the air out through a vent to the outside as well. You'll easily pay $800 for one of these stoves, used -- in the summer. Which is why I was saying that you can just use an inflation calculator to figure out how much things cost today relative to yesterday. We have better technology, more building codes to follow, and more things to buy. Life does cost more today than it did back then, more than inflation can account for.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

notahacker 11y ago

This person claims to have a viable plan to build a replica of Thoreau's Walden cabin for under $1k. http://www.instructables.com/id/Thoreau-Off-Grid-Cabin-Design-Under-900/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Thoreau-Off-Grid-Cabin-Desig... Sure, inflation and purchasing power parity calculations don't always work between very different societies, but if you replace that indicative £1000 sum with "sufficient to ensure you can rent enough land to put a teepee on and buy some of the basic foodstuffs you can't hunt/forage any more" which is what Paine argued civilization had cost the average person, it doesn't start to look like an adequate welfare replacement.

my5thaccount 11y ago
Cool, that person's math an mine are the same! :) He does say, "That price does not include windows, door, insulation or interior furnishings. In place of a brick fireplace I have recommended a recycled steel barrel stove and stove kit from Vogelzang that would be more efficient." Those things he is excluding will easily double the price. A wood stove costs thousands, maybe hundreds used. 8 sqft of insulation is $50. Windows are $200 each. A door the same or more. And also, 10'x15' isn't really viable for a home, even for one person, much less a family that wants a shower in the bathroom. We also have building codes now that require a functional kitchen and bathroom which add significantly to the price of a livable structure the government won't tear down. I think bare minimum costs to build a livable structure today, would be in the $50,000 range and the mortgage on that would be $300 per month, which would fit within my proposed living stipend of $2,000 per month per family of 4.
- eanzenberg 11y ago
  Uhm... The point being is a Thoreau cabin =/= modern cabin which passes code.
- dilemma 11y ago
  Wood burning stoves used in homes in developing countries are the number one cause of disease and death. To suggest that countries downgrade from electricity to this is absurd, would cost lives, and billions in increased medical expenses.
  - my5thaccount 11y ago
    Modern wood stoves are sealed to the inside and have vents to pull air in from outside the house via vacuum created by the heat pushing the air out through a vent to the outside as well. You'll easily pay $800 for one of these stoves, used -- in the summer. Which is why I was saying that you can just use an inflation calculator to figure out how much things cost today relative to yesterday. We have better technology, more building codes to follow, and more things to buy. Life does cost more today than it did back then, more than inflation can account for.