I am desperately trying to find others in the state of Florida who have been able to build and live in a non-electric home. The building codes seem very stringent, but I think there are exceptions sometimes made. Our local building inspector is not being very helpful.

~Anne

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), August 01, 2001

Answers

Response to Non-electric in Florida?

Welcome to beautiful sunny over regulated Florida; my family has been here since 1838, and in 52 years I have watched it get worse every time a chance came up. Your options are thin, maybe build a barn-shaped ag structure and later convert it on the sly; that is if your neighbors don't find out. The people here are from many different places, maybe one in 25 was born here near my age and they do not stick together like in other states.

The county officals fly serviliance planes and photograph rural areas to detect the light rays off of marajuna, these same photographs are then checked to see if any new buildings or illegal water source useage show up.

Another option is to build with solar electric systems in place, no one says you have to use them!

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), August 01, 2001.

Response to Non-electric in Florida?

Or have a small genny, who says you have to run it?

-- (perry@ofuzzy1.com), August 01, 2001.

Response to Non-electric in Florida?

Mitch is not exaggerating. They have a zoning law gestapo down there! Tried to put up a pvc shadehouse in an ag zoned area. Told me that I had to have 5 copies of blueprints from a licensed architect. I stated that the thing would cost me less than $100. to build and $500 to $1,000. to get the architect to do the blueprints.

Sorry...it has to be to code!

-- Stephanie Nosacek (pospossum@earthlink.net), August 02, 2001.

I have lived in Florida my entire life. My grandparents lived on the FL/GA border. Sometimes on this side of the river, sometimes on the other side. They lived in a shotgun house. We want to build a dogtrot house. We are considering the possibility of crossing the border into AL, where the laws are supposedly less stringent. But we will be giving up our automobile in favor of horse and buggy, and I would not be able to visit my mom as much.

There is property adjacent to my mom's place that I want to buy. It is reasonably priced and on the hard road. We would have the option of farming my mom's place, which would also help her because she suffers when the current leasers spray all their chemicals! One day I would inherit her property, and we would have the whole thing! So you can see why I want to find a way to stay in Florida if I can.

Thanks for any information you can give!

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), August 02, 2001.

I don't know anything about Floriduh's zoning laws, but I do know that the building codes require hardly any insulation (duh!).

Interestingly enough, Floriduh has one of the best alternative energy rebates in the country. They will pay you $4 per watt of Photovoltaics that you install.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), August 02, 2001.