Small cabins

[Seldom Seen Smith]

I found this site and figured a few people here might find it useful. The website and all the info on it is free. Lots of good info on building an off the grid cabin. This guy build an 8'x12' cabin for around $1,200 dollars. This is a doable squat, or shelter for anyone to build and coming up with $1200 dollars isn't that hard.
If you come to my waystation you will be staying in a similar type shelter once I get it built.

Small Cabin - Plan, Build and Enjoy your Small Cabin

This is copied from the website.

A complete 'do-it-yourself' guide on how to plan, build and enjoy your small cabin -- in simple terms

This web site is a collection of personal experience and useful resources I have found when building my own small cabin in the wilderness.

Small Cabin Property Cleared It will be useful for people who want to do the same - to build a small cabin on their own - so they will have a quiet retreat or hideaway spot to enjoy their weekend or vacation.

We love outdoors. We had many camping and nature exploration trips, trail hiking, and just short visits to the nature conservation areas and wilderness parks.
Building a small cabin in the wilderness was really a natural extension of our outdoor pursuits.

When I started to build my small cabin I searched for various bits of information, but could not find a one concise, clear and complete guide on how to build a small cabin or a small cottage using my own skills and resources. This web site aims to be such guide.

Small Cabin Wall Construction I do not promote any cabin building kit, material supplier, construction business or service provider, but I will mention particular things I used.
I built my small cabin from scratch, using materials easily available from local building material suppliers, and without any special skills or training. But I did my research homework!

My main objectives when building a small cabin were: Small Cabin Structure

* Easy to build yourself - no special skill required
* Use of easily available building materials
* Low cost
* Simplicity of cabin design and structure
* Short construction time
* No building permit required (optional).
* To have a feel of great outdoor living and wilderness experience.

On this site you can find information on how to build a small cabin and other related matters: Small Cabin Ready View Image

* Selecting the right property
* Preparing and clearing site
* Building material selection
* Building cabin structure:
o Foundation
o Flooring
o Walls
o Doors and windows
o Roof
o Interior finishing and design
* Building additional structures, to feel more like at home:
o Outdoor summer kitchen
o Storage and firewood sheds
o Outhouse/toilet
o Veranda / resting area
o Outdoor Shower
o ...etc.
* Off-grid living
o off-grid power and water supply, small cabin heating options review
* Small cabin living / enjoying great outdoors
* Picture gallery
* Safety tips
* Discuss your own project with others like you - ask questions, share experience, and post pictures of your own cabin!

 

[Angela]

Thanks for putting that up, I love to look at that kind of stuff and also those places that sell prefab sheds. Something like those are what I think would be my dream home for a homebase someday up in the woods. You might want to put this over in the links section as well.

 

[Seldom Seen Smith]

Build this Cozy Cabin

This is a very good and detailed article by mother earth news about building a small cabin too. You can build a slightly larger cabin with a sleeping loft, and porch for a mere 4,000 dollars. You could still cut costs if you wanted.

 

[dirtyfacedan]

When I stay near Portland (in the bush near Battleground Washington actually) I stay in a friends small cabin. Here's a pic of the inside, I'll get a pic of the outside when I'm there next month.

 

[Rise 609]

Thats a sweet cabin with a nice wood burning stove. I'm planning on building something similar to this in Vermont this fall. I'm probobly going to build a small 2nd floor loft in it though since it is much warmer at a higher level then ground level inside a cabin.

 

[dirty_rotten_squatter]

SWEET! this looks like a doable two-man project to me!

 

[Bendixontherails]

I rented a ryder truck and drug this up into the woods. it's my winter camp in KY.

 

[Seldom Seen Smith]

I really don't know why more people don't build these. They take up almost no space, anyone can do it, and its relatively inexpensive. In the winter and you have the stove burning there is no place that is warmer. If you don't own any land try and find someone that will let you build it on there property. If you come to people with a good idea for an off the grid cabin you'd be surprised at how many people wouldn't mind you building it on there land.

 

[KEVIlgeNius]

keep it under 100 sq feet and you don't legally need a permit, coupled with a prospector's licence... ideal

 

[Seldom Seen Smith]

Anyone with a truck should build a tumbleweed house and then you can travel with your cabin.

Also anyone ever think about buying a used shipping container and building a house? Or using pallets to build a house? A used shipping container will run ya' about 1,000-3,000 dollars but get one or two, and your set. With this 'green movement' picking up steam people having been doing this. In some countries they have entire apartment complexes built out of old shipping containers.
And pallets are cheap and most companies are just willing to give them away. If not you can acquire them cheaply if you just look around enough.

 

[Adonis]

I love the tumbleweed homes, in fact so much that I keep looking for ways I could market and build my own variations here in Canada.

 

[Rise 609]

Me and a buddy of mine are thinking about putting on a treehouse building seminar in VT around October. I'm looking for people who have previous evperience with this or any rope trying skills to let me know.

 

[Arapala]

Thats awesome! I want to make myself one of those someday. Get a woodburning sove and your set! Thats so rad!

 

[babbyz]

this is awesome, done and done!

 

[Wotan]

Here are a whole bunch of small cabin links.

Tiny House Blog - Small House Living

Tiny House Design

Living off the grid in a simple cabin - full time!

blog « Eco House Film – Ecological House in Sweden

 

[Gypsybones]

I always wanted to buy a used barge and make a house boat.

it would be a nice sized place, multi floored, the only problem is a propulsion system.

 

[Mor]

Stick framed cabins are quick and easy... but how about something like this:

A Low Impact Woodland Home ?

 

[sleep]

double post

 

[sleep]

Building with pallets is really easy when I was a kid we made a club house out of pallets and scrap wood it looked really nice and lasted a really long time my dad just knocked it down recently and it was still in great shape.

Examples of pallet building.

http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletWoodShed/

Tumbleweed type house built from pallets.

Tiny Free House

 

[Wotan]

Here's a pretty cool couple who have been cabin living off grid for years. Lot's of info on everything you need to know about off grid living.

Simple Appropriate Technologies