Free long term tiny house/skoolie/RV/van parking and utilities in exchange for carpentry work outside of Asheville, NC

View from the middle of the property looking up toward Hemphill Bald, lots of garden space!

We have a 1.9 acre piece of property that is 30 miles west of Asheville, NC, known for its vibrant art and music scene, unique restaurants, locally owned shops and of course, the breweries! The property is also 11 miles from historic downtown Waynesville and 10 miles from Maggie Valley, just on the other side of the mountain from the Cataloochee Ski Area, and close to hiking trails, waterfalls, Lake Junaluska and the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains. The 11.5 mile Hemphill Bald Loop with its sweeping views is right at the top of our mountain.

The property has a rushing creek and an abundant spring with a 250 gallon spring box for drinking water. There are mature apple trees and grape vines. It is mostly gently sloping and flat in some areas. There is a 100 year old 700 square foot house on the property that will be my art studio, and it needs some repairs to make it usable. Most of the original interior materials are still there, including heart pine floors. We have a tiny house on wheels, and we will be placing a second 12×12 tiny cabin on the property which will need to be finished, including insulation, walls, ceiling and floors.

The creek on the property

We are looking for a carpenter with references and photos of their work. If you built your own tiny house, you are our ideal person. We would like someone that is skilled in and enjoys using recycled materials, such as pallet wood and old barn wood.

Some examples of the work we need completed are:

Bear proof compost and garbage bins

Flooring, walls and ceiling of 12×12 cabin

Enclosure for outdoor shower

Garden border fencing & raised garden beds

Main house renovation – fix floor and wall damage

Building a tiny off grid A frame cabin with upcycled materials by the creek

And we would love help with other non-carpentry things, such as gardening and help with planting the orchard

We are offering free tiny house parking, spring water and electric, and we are open to discussing the number of hours per month worked in exchange for this. If I charged $400 a month for parking plus water and electric, that would be 16 hours a month or 4 hours a week at $25 per hour. You can do the hours on the weekends, or whenever you wish, so as not to interfere with a job or school. There may be periods of time where you are doing no work at all due to lack of funds or supplies or nothing to do! If you like to garden, you can have your own garden space, and/or we would be happy to share fruit and veggies with you (once we have some!). Bonus if you have gardening, farming, tractor, permaculture, solar/alternative energy, aquaculture or natural building skills!

Singles, couples, roomies, children and well behaved (translation, will not eat my chickens!) pets and farm animals of any kind are welcome.

EDIT: I found someone, but it didn’t work out. I am open to discussing this option again, so if you are interested feel free to contact me. Thanks!