/diy/ - Do It Yourself

How do these dug out turf roof cabins work? Wouldn't the roots of the grass destroy the roof over time? Wouldn't the wooden walls cave in after they've become structurally compromised from rot?

Any homesteaders here that make do without any kind of electricity? Looking for some advice on whether or not it would be feasible to have plumbing without it.

I've saved up for a few years and finally have the money to build my home on the 70 acres of timberland in the UP I bought a few years back. Ideally, I would like to live completely without electricity, as I've never really cared for television or electric lighting. I intend to do all of my cooking and heating with a combination hearth/oven. However, the one thing I simply can't live without (and which I'm worried I need electricity for) is indoor plumbing. I enjoy sitting on the toilet in the morning with my cup of coffee or drawing a hot bath far too much to spend the rest of my life without it.

I've tried coming up with some solutions, but truth be told I am not a plumber so I'm not really sure if it's feasible. My current idea is that I could set up a cistern (for greywater only, drinking water will come from a well) up the hills a way on a tower, giving me about 50-60 feet above where I would like to have my bathroom. I'm also looking into installing a wood-fired water heater either separately outdoors or somehow using the flue gases from the chimney to heat it. Would a gravity-fed plumbing system have enough pressure to go through the water heater and still be able to pipe into the bathtub/toilet (and from there into a septic tank)?

Thanks in advance, I'm really trying to avoid installing any kind of electricity because the second I give in and install solar, it becomes a lot harder to justify not having other modern conveniences like a television, lights, air conditioning, washer/dryer, etc.