Cabin decisions

[BPKHunter]

Wife and I bought some land in Cascade, Id 2 years ago.

We owned a cabin for some time but sold it 10 years ago and are deciding if we should build again. We bought and did not built the first.

We enjoy using our 26' camper, and since it's mostly just the two of us now, we debate on the extra efforts of maintaining the second home(68mi from primary residence), and of course the expense and hassle of building.

We have found some cabin plans we like, as there are a ton of pre-built plans to review online, but I am very leery of the "kit" cabins. Other problem is that while the RE market has rebounded in most primary markets, I think our cabin area like many is so secondary that local good builders/tradesman are hard to find so you have to pay extra for travel and delivery.

Anyway, I guess I thought a site like this might have a few guys who have been through the effort of building a second home for hunting/fishing/camping and have some opinions.

This is the plan we like http://www.cabinkit.com/ckchicory.htm

 

[Gator]

That one is nice, But if you don't have a huge family that are using it, you might want to go smaller size(easier to build,easier to heat, easier to maintain,easier to sell) ETC ETC.

Try pioneerloghomekits.com Utah base company.
The kits are marked and pretty easy to put up with a couple of guys that have construction knowledge and a Skidloader(Bobcat with tracks) with a boom.

I'm looking into build a cabin in the near future.
Keep in touch would love to see how it goes for you.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]

 

[mulecreek]

My father, brother and I bought 10 ac. several years ago and have been building a cabin on it for the last 5 years. Ours is much smaller than what you are looking at. All we wanted was a place to spend weekends, and use as a base camp for hunting. I live the closest and my family spends just about every weekend there during the summer and early fall. Here are a few things we planned for that worked very well.

1) Don't skimp on the foundation. If its in an area that gets a lot of snow get the place up off the ground. We used a local contractor that specializes in foundations. He did a great job. It is probably over built for the size of the cabin but we did end up with a nice crawl space below that helps with plumbing and electrical as well as keeping the place dry in spring runoff.

2) We went with traditional 2x6 walls and then sided with half logs. Looks good, not as cool as real logs but much easier to build, run electrical and plumbing. And no settling issues.

3) Install a ceiling fan if you have vaulted ceilings. We have 8' walls and a roof with a 12:12 pitch. There is a loft over about 1/3 with the rest open to the ceiling. It looks nice and makes the place seem bigger but it takes a lot of time to heat up and by the time the main floor is heated the loft space is boiling hot. The ceiling fan running in reverse pulls the hot air from the ceiling and pushes it back down. The whole place heats up faster and cools down the loft area.

4) Install a lot of large windows. Makes a small place feel bigger and lets in all that light.

Here are a few things we learned the hard way.

1) The coils of pex tubing are a pain in the butt to work with. I did all the plumbing and electrical. I used Pex for the first time. I bought the coils and it made the job take twice as long as it should have. It also created a bunch of low spots for water to freeze during hunting season. I ended up ripping it out and just used the sticks of pex. Much easier and faster. I could see how the coils would be better for a larger place but for a cabin our size the sticks are the way to go.

2) Insulate the floor very well. Since we have a crawl space I had lots of room to install the plumbing but all that open space created a great place for cold air to collect. After I fixed the plumbing issues we insulated the floor joists and it makes a world of difference.

3) If you will be off grid and want to use a generator, don't waste your money on the cheap generic brand generators. We went through the first one quickly. After some repairs it finally crapped out. I borrowed another cheap one from a friend and it gave us fits. I finally wised up and bought a Honda. Now I can enjoy my weekends and don't have to f with a generator.

 

[sageadvice]

I've been plumbing peoples vacation cabins for the past thirty years. Some are as small as 500 sq ft and others, link, my biggest job to date, have an elevator and 7 master bedrooms, everything top quality and with the highest end fixtures.

I'll just throw out this: A lot of people get so wrapped up in their dream vacation home, to get it all done and the way that they envisioned it, completely takes away the enjoyment of being where they are, why they wanted to be there in the first place, and into a never ending pain in the rear. Many folks i've worked for, never did get done before they passed.

Good luck with your project!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[Zeke]

Sage is right.
Make it more about the location than the new structure... then do whatever turns your crank.
Cabins are fun (I have one) but my favorite thing is a travel trailer and an unknown dirt road. I love to explore!
Zeke

 

[elkassassin]

Hey mulecreek?

How'd you like that PEX?






We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

 

[hank4elk]

I had one in the Sierras for years.Great old small place.
I hunted or fished mornings and worked on it during the day,for a long time.
Even made the furniture.

It paid for a small ranch in NM. Now I'm building again...hah.

NO PEX allowed....

 

[elkassassin]

>I had one in the Sierras
>for years.Great old small place.
>
>I hunted or fished mornings and
>worked on it during the
>day,for a long time.
>Even made the furniture.
>
>It paid for a small ranch
>in NM. Now I'm building
>again...hah.
>
>NO PEX allowed....





Hey Hank!

Make sure & get you a 1000' Roll of PEX!

LMAO!




We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

 

[mulecreek]

So whats the inside joke with pex? I thought it was simple other than the rolls kicked my butt. I have had no trouble with the crimps or the pipe in 5 years. Should I be expecting trouble at some point? Or is it just looked down upon by the pros?

I also agree with keeping the place small. If you dont then you just end up with two houses and twice the trouble.

 

[elkassassin]

Hey mulecreek!

I just have to Laugh!

Got a Friend that Built his Own House & I ran the DWV for him!

He decided He could handle the PEX water lines!

Of course Our Local Supplier sold him the Big Rolls of PEX!

He decided to Run 3/4" to every Fixture,lol!

Said He thought it was perty neat stuff until he started through about the 5th Joist!

He was trying to do it alone The the Curve of the Coiled Pipe put a lot of Drag through the Joists!

All 3/4" on top of that,lol!

The PEX has actually held up perty well!

(((Don't let NUNYA see I said that,LOL!)))

I'm a Copper Hand of many years!

This PEX Loops & Droops & is UGLY!

People started a Rumor many years ago saying PEX won't Break/Burst when it freezes!

That's Bullsshhitt!





We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

 

[WVHUNTER]

Log cabins are popular all over the country but they are usually a lot more expensive per square foot than conventional stick built buildings.

The log cabin kits don't include foundation, wiring, plumbing, construction, appliances, cabinets, lighting. They are usually just a shell. If the kit is $85,000 I would be surprised if you could complete it for less than twice that.

There are usually a lot more contractors around that do conventional construction than log cabins so they might be more competitive. You can go to a site like E-Plans and look at conventional A-Frame/ cabins.

It appears you want something nice and are willing to pay the price but for inexpensive hunting/fishing cabins a lot of people are going to metal buildings. You can get a 1,000 sq ft metal building with a couple of doors and a couple of windows erected for $10,000 to $15,000 and another $10,000 to $15,000 to finish the inside. It certainly wouldn't be anything fancy but would be comfortable.

 

[hank4elk]

I built a few log places over the years...a pain to run plumbing/elec. ,etc...

I do use pex at times for repairs,but you have to have a way to soften it up to be able to work those coils...sharkbites are great too ,it's all pricey. And it does freeze/crack too.

 

[Gator]

I do steel cabins,with a upstairs in them. The kit is about $25,000 for a Gable barn style.
I'm fixing to do a log one now.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]

 

[BPKHunter]

I decided a few years ago, no log cabin. Almost bought one and in the research phase, not only did I find issues, I found that they are a pain to maintain. Owning and and a second home is enough work. My goal is to enjoy my time hunting, fishing, relaxing with family.

We have some CC&R restrictions as well. Min size between 1200-1500 depending on how many floors.

I have 3 son's and the hope of course is do enjoy it with them and our future grandchildren, so 2bd and a loft sounds about right.

We have 6.5 acres, but are only 60miles of paved road from our primary residence, and 10 miles from gas/groceries. I have good fishing within a mile, a resident elk herd, and lots of room to hike(getting in shape for hunting) and lakes for water sports if kids want that later on.

I'd like to build the cabin(stick framed), with a basic detached 2 car shelter(also CC&R requirement, but good for boat, quad, etc), with excavation, well, septic, and power for $160k. Only cost over that would be UTV, boat, and furniture. I think reality would be closer to $200k. I'm not contractor, but I could probably do some framing and some finish work the my father in law's oversight and a couple of my boys hep.

 

[fireball77]

Ok so don't get me wrong but it seems as if you already had your mind made up, and that this post is just a look at me thread.

Personally I think log cabin is the better route, vs the stick frame.