A neighbor of mine is converting a dilapidated 14 wide mobile home into a greenhouse by gutting the unit and installing floor to ceiling windows down the entire south face and four skylights in the ceiling. Figures between use of window quilts and the central furnace still in it, temp control will be no problem and it still has all the water lines for irrigation. Using vinyl flooring for a water resistant floor. He believes he may be able to build these in cold zones for about $3k and sell them in the 5 to 7K range at the rate of about 2 a month.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Answers

The potential of used mobile homes is neverending!! When we first moved to Maine 26 yrs. ago, three of us lived in an 8x30 ft. mobile home (trailer) for two years then converted it to a calf shed/hay shed. I now wish we'd thought about a greenhouse possibilty. Around here the slogan "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" is very well-practised. Many used mobile homes are converted into workshops or craft stores!! A fellow drag racing friend of ours keeps his car in an old mobile home :-)!!

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Ieven thought of a "H" shaped three pieice mobile home after seeing his project. Imagine two single wides connected with a deal like this. Plenty of space for kids or guests. Plenty of bathrooms and a 70 foot solarian for passive heat. It could be assembled for less than 25,000 dollars with used MHs. Talk about a prefab homestead.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Another possibility for "recycling" is old railroad cars. We have some folks living in one not too far from us.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Not reading this. Nope. Not doing it. Will not go looking at junk mobile home down at neighbors. Won't. Won't, won't, won't do it.

Hmmm - combo greenhouse, chicken house, rabbit condo...hmmm...

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

Wow. Great idea. Jay, you always seem to have the most ingenious ones! Not much else you can do with those old mobiles, anyway. I like the idea of the heater already installed....!

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2002

I cant take credit for this one. I'm JAFO on this. Its all Jims' doin'. Course I am taking notes :>) It could also heat your house with passive solar and it would be a nice place for a winter patio table.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002

Use of sliding glass patio doors would maximize the pane area and give easy venting abilities in the event of too high an inside temp.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002

Sounds cool........many areas in Minnesota don't allow mobile homes, however, especially ol ratty lookin ones. They have laws for everything here. Where they are allowed, they have to abide by so many codes I doubt if it would be any cheaper than just building a greenhouse?

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002

Jay - you and your ideas!! Borrowed or not, I still enjoy seeing what all you come up with. We're working on some plans now for when Hubs retires - sometime after Jessie gets out of school. He'll be handling the "farm" type work - and we'll increase the critter population, and probably the garden as well; to provide for our own personal needs, but we are looking at some income producing ideas as well. Besides operating a small shop for race bikes and quads, we're thinking about doing small scale farming for all these city slickers who've moved out here on to 5 or 10 acre lots in our neck of the woods. I hear lots of them complaining that they can't find anyone to mow, plow, plant or harvest their small plots; and we've got a bunch of older, small equipment (mostly 4 row) already on hand. We're also moving away from grain rotations and putting part of our ground in hay - it'll be baled in small, square bales, the better to sell it to the smaller operations who don't have the equipment to move the large bales, or the number of stock to make efficient use of a large bale. We'll also offer delivery of the hay - with my new/old farm truck! Got a few more ideas percolating - guess we've got a while to get them all figured out!

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002

Those sound like VERY good ideas, Polly!

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2002

Polly, You got some kickin' ideas there.

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2002

I forgot to mention that we're considering doing the Bed & Breakfast thing too - we've got two bedrooms with a bath between them on the main floor of the house that would be good for families or two separate guests. Since Pop has his room/sitting room/bath upstairs; and we have another bedroom/living room/bath/kitchen in the basement; we would have plenty of room. We'd only accept people on the nights that I'm not scheduled to work; and by reservation only. With some paths cut through the timber and chipped for walking trails, a bench here and there, markers on some of the trees and all the birds we already have here locally; I could advertise online as a birdwatcher's paradise. Or whatever.

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2002