A FILM-maker quit his £500-a-month houseshare to live for free in a static caravan.
Using YouTube videos for inspiration, Benn Berkeley, 38, transformed the derelict 44ft shack into a cosy log cabin.
Benn Berkeley transformed a run-down static caravan into a quirky log cabin[/caption]
He transformed the shack himself using YouTube videos for inspiration[/caption]
He had to rip the walls out after discovering an issue with damp[/caption]
Despite having to rip all of the walls out after discovering it was riddled with damp, Benn now says that he’s created his dream home.
The 38-year-old lost all his work prospects as a freelance film-maker in 2020 due to the pandemic.
At the time, he was living in a house share spending £500-a-month on rent but realised he wanted a different lifestyle.
In August 2020, his brother took over a farm which had a static caravan on and asked Benn if he wanted it.
Benn leaped at the opportunity despite admitting it was a “fixer-upper” and started working on gutting out the caravan in September 2020.
After four months, he had transformed it into a off-grid cabin complete with a log burner.
Benn said he did everything apart from the electrics and plumbing himself after learning everything on YouTube.
Benn, from St Ives, Cornwall, said: “It wasn’t pre-planned, it was forced out of Covid.
He said: “When Covid happened, I lost all my work. It was a mix of having nothing to do and the opportunity to do up this static home.
“I had zero experience in building and DIY but there was an opportunity to do it up and live in it so I jumped in head first.
“Everything we learned was through YouTube, it was a really amazing and empowering experience,” he added
Benn spent £10,000 on the renovation – a fraction of the price of buying a property in the area.
Proudly speaking of his work, he said: “I completely gutted the place out.
“It is 44ft by 10ft. We had to support one of the walls as it was caving in – the first job was to make it safe.
“We changed the windows and then we realised there was a damp issue so we ripped all of the walls out – it was a completely open space.
“From there we had free reign to do what we wanted, originally it was two bedrooms with a bathroom and kitchen.
It is a very simple lifestyle which I think we have lost.
Benn Berkeley
“All of that went, we now have a double bedroom, bathroom, corridor and open plan living and kitchen space.”
Since moving into the cabin, Benn has made the place off-grid.
He heats his home with a log burner, uses gas bottles for his oven and his electricity comes from solar panels on the farm.
He said: “It is a very simple lifestyle which I think we have lost.
“There is an element of simplicity when you are living a life like this.
“I can govern myself a lot more, I am not pressed into working a certain amount of hours a week as I know my outgoings each month.”
The renovation cost him £10,000 and he now lives entirely off-grid[/caption]
The mobile home before Benn got to work[/caption]
The cabin is on his brother’s farm in St Ives, Cornwall[/caption]
It has a log burner and runs off gas bottles[/caption]
Other than plumbing and electrics, he did all the work himself[/caption]
