This is the story of Jesse, who built his own off-grid cabin from reclaimed materials as a teenager—and still lives there today with his partner Jayne. What started as a solo project has evolved into a full homestead compound complete with a screen house, sauna, and outdoor pizza oven.
Their journey demonstrates how a tiny cabin can grow and adapt over time, and how two people can successfully share a small off-grid space.
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The Complete Off-Grid Setup: Cabin, Sauna and Screen House
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Organized Interior for Two People
When Jayne joined Jesse in the cabin, she brought organizational skills that transformed the space. Living as a couple in a tiny cabin requires intentional systems for keeping everything in its place.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Kitchen-Focused Main Cabin
The main cabin dedicates most of its space to the kitchen—a practical choice for off-grid living where cooking from scratch is a daily activity. By expanding living space into separate outbuildings, Jesse freed up the cabin interior for its most essential function.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Upgraded Outdoor Pizza Oven
The outdoor oven has evolved over the years, becoming a central feature of their outdoor cooking setup. Building outdoor cooking infrastructure allows them to keep heat out of the cabin during warmer months while expanding their culinary options.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Bug-Free Screen House for Outdoor Living
The screen house provides protected outdoor living space—essential in areas with significant insect pressure. This simple structure dramatically expands their usable living area without the complexity of a fully enclosed building.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
The Original Build: Starting as a Teenager
Jesse began this project as a 17-year-old living in a tent, teaching himself to build using reclaimed materials. The cabin was constructed piece by piece, learning as he went.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Cabin Construction with Reclaimed Materials
The construction process relied heavily on salvaged and reclaimed materials, keeping costs minimal while developing valuable building skills.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Screen House Exterior View
The screen house structure from the outside, showing how multiple small buildings create a homestead compound rather than a single large structure.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
DIY Sauna Building
The wood-fired sauna is another addition to the homestead—a popular feature among off-grid builders that provides both relaxation and a way to stay clean without extensive plumbing infrastructure.
Images via FLORB/YouTube
Video Tour
Watch the full tour from FLORB to see Jesse and Jayne’s complete off-grid homestead:
Design Details
- Builder: Jesse (started at age 17)
- Current Residents: Jesse and Jayne
- Primary Structure: Reclaimed materials cabin
- Outbuildings: Screen house, sauna, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven
- Lifestyle: Off-grid
- Building Approach: Self-taught, using salvaged materials
What This Homestead Teaches Us
Jesse and Jayne’s evolving homestead offers valuable lessons for anyone interested in off-grid living:
- Start small, expand over time — Beginning with a basic cabin allowed Jesse to learn building skills before tackling more complex structures
- Multiple small buildings can work better than one large one — Separating functions (sleeping/cooking, outdoor living, bathing) into different structures simplifies each build and provides flexibility
- Tiny living can adapt to couples — With intentional organization and expanded outdoor space, a cabin built for one can accommodate two
- Screen houses extend living space affordably — A simple screened structure provides bug-free outdoor living without the complexity of a fully enclosed building
- Outdoor cooking infrastructure adds value — Pizza ovens and outdoor kitchens keep heat out of the cabin while expanding culinary possibilities
- Saunas serve multiple purposes off-grid — Beyond relaxation, wood-fired saunas provide a bathing solution that doesn’t require extensive plumbing
- Reclaimed materials keep costs low — Building with salvaged materials allowed a teenager to create a home with minimal budget
- Youth is no barrier to building — Starting as a 17-year-old, Jesse proves that determination and willingness to learn matter more than formal training
Learn More
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Alex
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was the outside bake oven prefab or home built?
Home built, it’s among the information provided in the video tour…
What’s the function/purpose of the screen house? And no, I don’t watch the videos because I have a hearing loss.
Most youtube videos do have the option to enable CC so you can read what they’re saying, you can even leave it on by default the same as autoplay, which it’s right next to along with the settings button…
Anyway, it’s a summer guest-tent house. They used to have a Yurt but found that hard to maintain and this sheds snow better. While having more natural light, still provides shelter for friends and guest who stay over, especially during bug season, provides good view of the surrounding forest, and she also uses it as her yoga studio.
Except for the panels and little solar setup, they made it themselves with reclaimed and wood they milled themselves, the same as most of the structures on the property…
wondering what their water source is and what they do to earn $ – rustic living at its finest!
Off-grid, so they have a hand pump well, nearby stream, and rain barrels they use during the warmer months. While they don’t specifically say but it appear they have various jobs, and she did mention working for an organic farmer in one of their posts. Along with milling lumber, making maple syrup, cranberry harvesting, and general gardening… So they likely do some bartering with others in the area…
I’m 57 , I’ve wanted to do exactly what they’re doing since I was a teenager. I knew it would work just fine . The issue I have with most of these folks is the lack of gainful employment. You need health insurance, an emergency fund , a retirement fund and other essentials. I wanted to live this way as a means to avoid becoming a slave to the system rather than a means to avoid participating altogether. Work hard a few years ,live cheap and be a free man the rest of my life . With a ton of cash working for me behind the curtain. All I ever got was discouraging remarks to the idea . I never have taken the leap to make it happen. However, my five year old townhouse is paid for, I’m debt free, have an emergency fund , health and life insurance and a sizable retirement account. I made it happen, just took the other trail .
Darrell, wait no longer. You have all it takes to get away and enjoy the rest of your life in the way you want. My husband and I retired at 59 when so many said that we were too young to retire. Three years later Jerry was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (2 years later and he is doing great). You have a great opportunity to do what you want so don’t wait.
Git to goin’ now. Hear? ?
Wow! I had forgotten it was like post and beam construction. Pretty cool! It’s nice to be able to build whatever you need and live off the land a bit. I know it’s hard sometimes, but living through the winter gets you to spring, right?
First, is that a real live buck with a beauty of a rack behind and to the right of the sauna?
Love everything about the home, outdoor room (which looks like it could withstand an earthquake and tornado all at once), and sauna. The home looks so cozy and rustic.