Ready to take the leap

as many others have said i say go for it. seems like a solid plan. I think i could live in a car for several months before getting sick of it so for me an Ice Castle would be more than enough. Here is one thought i have though – will living in your ice castle make you hate ice fishing in it? I dont own an ice castle and i always love spending time in friends out on the ice. I think if i lived in one full time its about the last place i would want to hang out in my free time

I have the luxury of two fish houses. The Ice Castle is my “cabin”, and my 6.5×12 Firebrand toyhualer is my ice fishing unit. It’s fully finished inside and I love it. I bought it in 2014 and enjoyed it so much I traded my 5th wheel towards the IC last October. The full spray foam and fiberglass sides make the IC bombproof no matter the temp. I was perfectly comfortable in my underwear at night when it got down to -15 actual. It was even colder with the windchill. One of my other obsessions is motorcycle camping. I’ve ridden to Alaska a few times sleeping in a two man tent for 30 days at a crack, 😂

Red Eye wrote:

You said plan was to build pole shed anyway. Might be able to get a shed builder quicker than a home builder. Set the castle up in the shed and save on your heating. Or living quarters in the shed.

That’s a good option in my opinion. Build the pole barn first. That way you at least have some storage and a bigger area to get out and do some things (during winter, rain..). And putting the camper in the barn is a nice compromise.

I just had a garage/home office built. IMO after completing this project, I would say it’s crazy to start a building project now. A garage was painful enough. I can only say a living space would be far, far worse.

It’s basically a festival of pain and agony. Lumber price runups, labor shortages, delays because of delayed delays, supply issues, shipping delays, permit delays, etc, etc, etc. None of that is going to clear up anytime soon and all it would take is a variant of COVID that is not covered by the vaccine and the whole world is right back to December 2019 and the bleep show starts again.

The market is not going to take a 2008 style dump. That situation was caused not by a housing market crash, but by a mortgage industry practice that crashed the lending industry itself. That’s not going to happen again in 2022.

The rate of housing price increases will likely slow as the FED strongly suggested yesterday that they will be raising interest rates. How much this will cool the market, if at all, is TBD. Even if rates went up a full point, which they won’t, but even if they did that all at once then rates would still be well below the long-term average. There is so much demand out there that IMO the “worst” case will be selling times revert somewhere closer to the long term average.

So balance that against the fact that yes the situation could get better or it could get worse. Personally, I would want construction on the new place within sight of move-in before I’d ever sell what I’m living in now. 2 years could EASILY turn into 3 or 4.

mark-bruzek wrote:

Most people today need a severe reality check.
2 or maybe even 1 generations before most of us would have loved such a living set up.
I see nothing wrong with your plan, if you think it will work then go for it.

Absolutely ,I think back growing up , no running water , outhouse , wood heat in a drafty minimally insulated house LOL Did not know we was poor . What got me was the out house , the old man did not dig it deep enough, so you had to use a cedar pole to break off the top off the pile so you could sit down

Here’s a question, when I sell my house and start living in my Ice Castle will I technically be “homeless”??? Or just “under-housed”???

castle-rock-clown wrote:

Here’s a question, when I sell my house and start living in my Ice Castle will I technically be “homeless”??? Or just “under-housed”???

Probably the equivalent to someone living in a trailer/trailer park?

Dang, I was hoping for homeless status to maybe get a free cup of soup, some govt cheese, and maybe some socks…just kidding, please don’t skewer me for minimizing the plight of the homeless.

Two years is only a longtime relative to your expectations. People that desire all the comforts in life would struggle. People that live by simple means wouldn’t have a problem.

I’ve built plenty of barns for people in advance of their residence. Codes and ordinances can cause grief, so verify your plan so you don’t get kicked off your land.

I would definitely get the pole barn built asap. Can always “store” the ic in there if needed, expands storage, and expands living space. Also is great for having secure storage when you do start to build your house

I think some additional things will make it more doable and easier for a long term stay.

Get a awning for the IC. Build a wood platform (patio) and have a residential refrigerator / freezer and a good gas BBQ grill.

I had some friends live in a 5th wheel in their pole barn for two years while they built and finished their house. Which is also a pole building BTW. They used the 5th wheel for sleeping mainly and watching TV. The rest of the time they had chairs and a cooking station set up like they were in a camp ground. And yes the pole barn was heated.

Clown, sell the house and get your a$$ up to gods country.I would start looking at getting the shed up and then see where your at for the house build.
I see you mentioned something about a bathroom in the shed put a stool,sink,and shower stall in it and you can make it a year or two.
Good luck and congrats on retirement.

In my 8’x40’ container I have a 2 burner camp chef stove, a 14”x14” overhead infrared steak broiler, and a 28” black stone griddle. Just outside I have a pit Oas pellet grill. I can cook semi outside year round. A dedicated cook shanty is in the plans for next year and will be moveable.

I’d do it if it were me by myself. Only thing I find somewhat difficult at our offgrid cabin is showering/cleaning in the winter. What are your plans for that? In the summer I have an outdoor propane shower that’s great and I can take a shower everyday. In winter I have a sauna building that has a water box on the side of the fireplace and it’s a pain in the ass because it takes about 3 hours for the water to get hot. Without a building for it it will be even harder. Are you close enough to town that you could get a gym membership maybe? Edit: gyms in tomahawk maybe looks like they don’t have showers

My other comment is where do you sit all day? In the winter, when you have to be inside most of the time, I don’t care how nice an Ice House is inside, it’s still not comfortable. Looking at your pictures, you have padded chairs where you’d have to sit craning your neck high to look at the TV. That’s going to get old as your only seating options for months on end. It’s one thing to sit there for a few days outing on the ice — that’s a time when you are willing to make a few sacrifices and be uncomfortable for the trip. But for full-time living?

I’d be missing my couch and recliner really quick. At least get a movable mount for the TV so you can move it down closer to eye level when watching.

queenswake wrote:

My other comment is where do you sit all day? In the winter, when you have to be inside most of the time, I don’t care how nice an Ice House is inside, it’s still not comfortable. Looking at your pictures, you have padded chairs where you’d have to sit craning your neck high to look at the TV. That’s going to get old as your only seating options for months on end. It’s one thing to sit there for a few days outing on the ice — that’s a time when you are willing to make a few sacrifices and be uncomfortable for the trip. But for full-time living?

I’d be missing my couch and recliner really quick. At least get a movable mount for the TV so you can move it down closer to eye level when watching.

Agreed. If it were me, I think they’d have to put me on suicide watch from December – February…

Those padded chairs were first iteration. I have a jackknife sofa that I lay out during the day when my queen sized bed is stowed in the up position. I can kick back fully stream he’s out and swivel the RV towards me.

I have a standup shower in the very front “v” along with a 6 gallon propane/electric hot water heater. My toilet is a zero water composting toilet. I am building an insulated box for my water tank. It will have an intank thermostically controlled water heater and the pump is also in the tank. I can fill my ice houses tank when needed. I have several 7 gallon water containers that I fill when in town. Call me a slob, but showering every day is overkill to me.

Right now I’m sitting in my 1780 sq foot home and feeling slightly anxious and out of place. The longer I stay in the IC on my 40 acres, the better and happier I feel. I might even get a dog! Anyone ever hear of a Nova Scotia tolling duck dog?

Here is what I’m falling in love with.

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castle-rock-clown wrote:

Anyone ever hear of a Nova Scotia tolling duck dog?

Yes, very cool dogs, and a lot of cool youtube videos out there on them. Supposed to be able to lure ducks in, very high energy so your 40 acres would get a lot of attention from exercising it as long as you can keep up!

I definitely won’t be able to keep up. I’m hoping that as I’m waking our trails the dog will just be working the are, but not running off. I’ve had great luck with Golden Retrievers when I was younger. I’m hoping for the same attitude and behavior just in a smaller package.

Umm…my brother in law lived in a Cabela’s wall tent on Blueberry Mountain near Grand Maira for 3 years.

This is a big rock without water, electricity. Oh did I mention it was a family of 5?
His wife started building their house while he was working his day job and he would help after work and on weekend.

Did I mention there wasn’t any electricity? They built it with hand tools.

Living in an Ice Castle would be paradise comparatively speaking I would think.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

I have a standup shower in the very front “v” along with a 6 gallon propane/electric hot water heater. My toilet is a zero water composting toilet. I am building an insulated box for my water tank. It will have an intank thermostically controlled water heater and the pump is also in the tank. I can fill my ice houses tank when needed. I have several 7 gallon water containers that I fill when in town. Call me a slob, but showering every day is overkill to me.

That’s luxury then, I didn’t know ice castles could have that.

I haven’t seen it mentioned yet but do you have a plan if for some reason something would need fixed or replaced on the ice castle that you can’t fix yourself? I don’t know of any traveling repair people for them should say the furnace go out or something else that a dealer would need to fix (warranty?)

My backup is my finished Firebrand fishouse. It’s smaller but is insulated, has a furnace, AC, propane stove and oven, wash tub with hot and cold water via on demand tankless hot water heater, tv, radio.

I’ve had it since 2014 and it having introduced me to Ice House living, made the upgrade to the new Ice Castle an easy choice. I can also always shack up for a short time with my girlfriend of over 10 years.

I’d have a hard time waiting for 2 years for a builder. Have you checked with Wausau Homes? If your looking for a modest home, you might want to check them out. We had them build our cabin over 20 years ago. I have no idea if their lead times are less than 2 years. Kind of cool having them set the house in 2 days. You’d still be at the mercy of all the other contractors to finish it, but they would have better luck lining them up then me or you. My dad was a masonary contractor so I was able to line up everything 20 years ago. I have no complaints with the job Wausau did on our cabin.

I’ve been looking at Mid Country modular homes out of Dorchester, WI. I like some of their floor plans and their build quality is top notch. There’s something to be said for building in a controlled environment. They are reasonably priced and build times are reasonable. It’s the pole barn that is backlogged. I’ve got a lot of toys and stuff to put under cover and a whole house full of furniture and stuff to store till my home gets built. This is my last hurrah and I’d rather suffer now for a short time than regret rushing something that then I’ll have to live with the rest of my days.

What brand/company are you looking at to build your post frame building? I had a 30×48 built in May. I ordered it from Northland Buildings the last week in February. Cleary was 6 weeks out and $2800 higher. Happy with the Northland. I plan to finish it myself but just got the house done. Shed is next on my to do list.

My home is in Oak Creek, WI. A city of 37k in 29 sq miles and in Milwaukee County. I went for a drive and in a 1 mile radius of my house there was one house for sale. There is vacant land, but there is also zero new home builds. In the industrial commercial areas they are building like gang busters.

Bottom line is when I sell my house I better be ready to really love living in a 180sq ft Ice Castle.

2 years in the IC no problem. I’ve had a set back 6 7 years ago. Dug myself out and I choose to live in a 32′ camper now. Its a challenge in the winter thats for sure. Water is a big factor. Carting in and disposing it. Can’t just drain it outside you’ll have an iceberg. When I shower I wet vac the tub out then dispose away from the trailer. I conserve water. I get by with 10 gallons a week and thats with a shower every day in the winter. It’s a mind set. Cleaning dishes is the worst part.8)
I also have piece of property I can build on, just haven’t started plans yet. I actually like the simplicity of my arrangement now. Its very inexpensive way to live.

Make sure there is not city/township ordinance against this. I found out the hard way on that front.

Since none of my feces or urine ends up in my wastewater tank I find it no problem to water the trees with it. I have a pump that goes on the exit of my wastewater tank with a 10 foot hose. When needed it takes just a few minutes to empty the tank launching the water into the woods. Super simple.

As far as fresh water, I have 4 7 gallon water containers. Every trip into town to get groceries or whatever I get usually 2 containers filled. Tailgate height is perfect for tipping and dumping into the ICs fresh water port.