small rustic cabin

I don't know if they are still available, but I had a book when younger called "Firefox". There was a whole series, and they had one on building a cabin the old way...very cool stuff. Gene
 
Early surveyors and miners built wintering shelters with little manpower and materials. I've seen the remains of later ones (boat nails) in the BC interior and I've read about them, but I have yet to find anything concrete on the construction, no pun intended. I think it would fit well here, so I'll describe it as best I can. It would also work well in Liam's geography and some of the techniques might be adapted to a rustic cabin if harvesting, seasoning, and working logs isn't an option.

It takes a few decent-sized trees (12") but the rest are fine as poles only a few inches' diameter. Dig in some 12" trees like fenceposts - these will serve as studs. Everything seems to have been laid out in increments of about 6', probably just a full reach with both arms as a measurement. The huts are about 6' wide and the posts are the same distance apart. On the outside there were pole of a couple inches diameter, secured to the posts horizontally, like siding. Same thing on the inside, with the space between filled with earth, snow, etc. The ones I've actually seen were too far gone to tell for sure. The roof was a 'shed roof' with similar timbers as the studs used for rafters and more poles across the top. It was covered with earth, moss, or sod I expect. Again, the only thing standing at the time I saw them was the few bottom feet of wall. There would need to be some sort of waterproof barrier between the poles and the thatching - boughs maybe ?

If I had to guess, I'd say it was a European interpretation of native pit houses they saw locally, where the R value of dirt is relied on. Where I grew up there's a site that's been kept quiet to preserve it: there are the remains of at least a dozen pit houses in a camp. It looks like they were used as storehouses or smokehouses as well. FWIW, natives here built the pit houses to avoid spending the winter in tents.
 
I may have finally received some inspiration to go make a good living for myself....

Now, anyone know where I can purchase 20 acres of land with one view over open ocean, one into white-capped mountains, where the sun is out year-round for more than 8 hours a day, that has float-plane access, and costs under $5G ;)?
 
There is a log cabin not far from where I grew up made of stacked firewood. Basically cut firewood stacked and chincked together to form the four walls. This sort of construction method looks like it would be very simple and cheap, and this particular cabin has been around as long as can remember (>30 years).
 
An old friend of mine built a yurt on a patch of land his family owns. I don't know how much he spent, but it couldn't have been much, partly due to the simplicity of the design, and partly due to the fact that he's a king scrounger.

If you've ever seen a yurt, they're almost like a tent. I've heard of nicer, more permanent versions, but the one my friend did was pretty simple and easy to break down if necessary.
 
Here is a rather rustic reindeer herders log cabin I stubmled upon while working in the field in Norway a couple of years ago. This had dates carved inside going back a hundred years.

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I spent some time in the log cabin museum in Oslo where entire villages had been moved to preserve examples of regional styles of log cabin construction, there was a log stave church there built in the year 1200! The Norwegians really know their craft and if I was going to build a log cabin I would do a bit of research and build it in the Norwegian style.

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Gunknifenut, the book series you are talking about is the Foxfire series, I think there are 16 books in the series I have about six. book one, contains details on log cabin building. all of the books contain a lot of info on self sufficient living & mountain ways.
 
Another option is a semi-permanent tent such as the Weatherhaven . I have spent the better part of the last 15 years living in one of these. They are a pretty good deal considering what you get; a structure that will withstand almost any type of weather and a life span of 15-20 years. It's been a while since I bought one, but you can get a 16'x16' tent for about $8000. The tents are usually built up on a plywood floor. The 16'x16' model is about 8' high at the centre so plenty of room. This model can very comfortably house four men. They have the option of an insulation package, and have a chimney hole for a wood or oil stove.

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Not the greatest photo, but you can see the orange and white tents are weatherhavens, this particular camp was in Greenland and the Weatherhavens were left up all winter without any problem
 
Here's a couple pics of one my Dad built back in the 70s on 100ac that we have in PA.It's frame construction,it was all used lumber from an old building that we tore down on our farm.It's held up well,been vandalized a couple times,but it's been rebuilt and is pretty comfortable.It has a wood burner for heat and is wired,all you have to do is start the generator and plug it in.2 of my nieces husbands are taking care of it at present,they have been doing some remodeling so the girls will use it more.If I were building one myself,I think I would go with the log idea,it isn't hard to find books about building primitive log cabins,the Foxfire books mentioned are very good but there are a host of others,I have another one that my ex mother in law got me for Christmas a long time ago that gives step by step instruction.One of the nice things about logs is that there isn't as many places for critters to set up shop as there is in framed walls.
 

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This is also a dream of mine, and I see myself accomplishing it in the future as I am only 20 and working towards it. I wanna get some land and than put a Teepee up on it where I can stay on weekends as I build a nice little cabin no larger than like 15' by 15' with a loft maybe. Im gonna start buying some books about how to build these kinds of structures, and hopefully a few years after I graduate college I can buy some land, I don't have any college debt so it shouldent be too long. I'm gonna start planning and learning now though.
 
Nsaglibene said:
This is also a dream of mine, and I see myself accomplishing it in the future as I am only 20 and working towards it. I wanna get some land and than put a Teepee up on it where I can stay on weekends as I build a nice little cabin no larger than like 15' by 15' with a loft maybe. Im gonna start buying some books about how to build these kinds of structures, and hopefully a few years after I graduate college I can buy some land, I don't have any college debt so it shouldent be too long. I'm gonna start planning and learning now though.
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I'm in a similar boat. Where are you planning on buying?
 
There is this link selling plans for tiny houses. Not that you necessarily would buy them, but they give some nice ideas for a handy person to start with.
 
i had first thought of building a hay-bail house. however after hearing about the building codes and inspections it was off. that is another one of my goals for this. the reason there is no electric and water is that i do not want to involve the local building inspectors. i just want a nice small shack with no trouble from the local government.
 
Chuck, may I make a few suggestions? First, use plywood and boards and make it easy on yourself. Skip the log and mud chink idea altogether. Nice and rustic, but a pain in the tail in several respects.

Insulate it well, perhaps with sheets of styrofoam at least one inch thick, two inches in the ceiling. Use flame retardant styrofoam if possible. Dying of the fumes if it catches fire is a real bitch.

Someone else has suggested you buy and truck in a pre-cut "kit" to build a utility building from one of the building materials stores. Good idea, too. Then insulate it and make other improvements. Put it on a good foundation!

Use pressure treated wood for all parts below the floor.

Give your roof a good pitch so it sheds water well and lasts longer. Use a double layer of roofing felt (AKA tar paper) under the shingles. If you use rolled roofing, a simple and economical idea, it helps to use roof cement (like tar in a can) to seal down the edges as you lay it down. Be sure to use galvanized nails, hot dipped (in molten zinc) as opposed to electroplated if you can get them. Sheet steel roofing in its various forms makes an excellent roof, even the older galvanized steel in corrugated or 5-V configuration. In that case use galvanized nails with a synthetic washer under the head.

Forget about building an A-frame cabin. Its simple, but its only other advantage lies in its ability to shed massive amounts of snow. Unless you add in dormers to your design, and that gets complicated for most folks, you have two completely blind sides that you cannot see out from. That's not good! My wife and I lived in a small (680 sq. ft.) A-frame house with full utilities for some 25 years, so I do know what I'm talking about.
 
My friend just bought a small piece of land and built his own house on it. Its pretty cool about 16ft by 24ft with a loft. He bought the plans from the internet, not sure whish site, and it had a bill of materials and all the blueprints needed. Pretty sweet deal. Its a nice little house and built well can be certified because its built from certified plans. All that being said I think it would be much easier and cheaper to get one of those prebuilt jobbers from lowes/home depot. You can add in water, heater and insulation later. My friends dream was to build his own and I respect that so if it is yours to then by all means build your own. I figure i could buy the house and build my own porch/patio.
 
.The firefox series is still availiable - and growing. It is a great series of book. It began in the North georgia mountains by a professor challenging his kids to find and record stories from the old timers in the mountains. the results are amazing, informative books about how our ancestors managed everyday life without modern technology. It would definately have something about building a log cabin.
 
I went with one of these. they are fairly close to you and the kits are really easy to build. Mine is 20x24 feet with a 12" porch. I put it on piers using Sono tubes and cement.
Dawn and the people there are great to work with and can make any changes to the design you want.
http://www.merrimacloghomes.com/
Have fun and be safe whatever you do.
Terry
 
shecky said:
An old friend of mine built a yurt on a patch of land his family owns. I don't know how much he spent, but it couldn't have been much, partly due to the simplicity of the design, and partly due to the fact that he's a king scrounger.

If you've ever seen a yurt, they're almost like a tent. I've heard of nicer, more permanent versions, but the one my friend did was pretty simple and easy to break down if necessary.
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they aint cheap any more....even a tiny one is around $3000 and up.

:(
 
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