Urban Conversion

  • Home
  • Watch
    • Season 1
    • Season 2
    • Season 3
  • Production Partners
  • About
  • Shop
  • The Farm

SUSTAINABLE HOUSING | Mark Squibb | Free Home

Experts

3 Apr

Urban ConversionMark Squibb | Free Home

June 11, 2012, our dream log cabin in the Rocky Mountains, turned to ash.  In a shell-shocked attempt at levity, I announced that my family was  Home Free.  It felt weird.  On one hand I did feel free – of a huge mortgage, and a network of artifacts that connected me to my past.  On the other my wife, me and three young boys, would be home-less the day after the temporary housing insurance ran out.

My quest became to say those shocked words backwards – Free Home.  I wanted a nice place for our family to live, without having to pay pesky bankers, or anyone else to live.  The size of our housing and food budgets – that grew with the kids –  clarified why wine had become increasingly important over the past few years, and why it felt like my wife and I had to work way too hard to keep up.

As mother nature wiped our physical slate clean and insurance cleared the mortgage – we transformed the memory of those artifacts into a 75 page list and traded that list for another insurance check.  That check was far too small to build a new house – at least the same way everyone else did.

I spent my whole life inventing stuff, so the clean slate could be like a gift.  Besides I had a mountain of dead trees, dirt – and God bless – craigslist.

Somewhere along the way the adventure became a super-creative and fun process with new friends.  We re-invented refrigeration, heating, doors, concrete, and more.  After a lot of nudging, and 400 blown-away tourists I decided to share designs, and call it open-source building.  The  new stuff is on http://ultracrib.com.

Articles written by Mark Squibb:
The Solar Doubler, September 2015

Related

Tweet
Pin1
Share
1 Shares
« HOME GROWN GREEN | Lori Fuqua Gregory
Backyard Farming Episode Preview »
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

New! Take Farming Courses with Gina

Start your own sustainable garden with Gina's online courses

Browse Courses

Our Farm

Visit our farms to tour our gardens, or learn more about our wedding and CSA flowers, or take courses!

Visit SheGrows

Shop

Farm Shop
Courses
Farm Experiences

Learn Entrepreneurship with Rodman

Join the Millions of People Discovering Their Untapped Potential! Be a part of the Evolution Revolution with personal and professional growth strategies.

Take a Course

Media

RODMAN & GINA'S BIOS
SCHEDULED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
BOOK RODMAN AND/OR GINA
MEDIA KIT
CONTACT US

About Us
The Farm & SheGrows
GoRodman.com
Contact Urban Conversion

Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
© 2022 Urban Conversion