10x12 Retreat Cabin

MikeOnBike · April 12, 2011, 09:29:06 PM

Quote from: Net_Eng on April 12, 2011, 09:53:03 AM
Why Change the from 14' to 12'?

We have a 200sqft. rule in our county.

This is just a temporary cabin. It really is a storage/tool shed with sleeping accommodations. In a couple of years we will have something similar to the 20x30 cabin at this site. We didn't want to spend any more than necessary on the shed. It did turn out to be expensive though. We are in range fire country and have no fire dept. We went with fiber-cement siding and a metal roof and door. At some point I need to close in the space under the shed to prevent flammables from torching it from underneath.

I also took into consideration the 4ft. standard materials size as Squirl did. So it was a matter of economic use of materials and not building any larger than necessary for the intended use.

I plan to build a 10x14 at another site on this property this summer. I'm going slightly larger because my wife and I don't want a loft. It too will be a temporary cabin but it will probably be about 5yrs before we build our main cabin so I'm more focused on comfort. I wanted room for a chair or two in addition to the bed so I'm going with the extra length. The other shed will look like the drawing below and I'll start a separate build thread when it gets underway hopefully in May if the dang snow will melt. We still have at least 18" and then there will be a week or two of 'mud'.

Pritch · April 14, 2011, 03:15:47 AM

That size would really benefit from a Murphy Bed. It would give you a lot more usable space when you aren't sleeping.

April 14, 2011, 12:27:03 PM

That's what I was thinking

There's a link on the referral thread that has a lot of murphy beds - quite ingenious but I'm sure very expensive...

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10394.0

MikeOnBike · April 14, 2011, 12:43:58 PM

Quote from: Pritch on April 14, 2011, 03:15:47 AM
That size would really benefit from a Murphy Bed. It would give you a lot more usable space when you aren't sleeping.

We have considered that. As Sassy mentions some of the solutions are expensive. For this season I'm just going to put the mattress on a plywood frame. We may find that a non-movable bed makes a good couch. After we build the main cabin and the shed becomes more of a shed/shop/storage then I'll probably make the bed so it can be folded onto the wall so we can use it for guests.

The snowpack is down to 18" so hopefully we can get into camp the first of May. It has been a wet winter for us.

grandmasplayhouse · April 14, 2011, 02:46:08 PM

Your have a really nice spot and cute mini cabin. Our little retreat is really small too. We just purchased a futon for sleeping. They make them better than the old college dorm kind that used to be around. The 8 inch interspring matteress was comportable this past weekend.

June 10, 2011, 10:44:32 PM

It finally dried out enough to get into our place. We have had lots of water this year. We have received 5" of rain since the snow melted 6 weeks ago. That is a huge amount for us. The pond is full, the overflow is running with plenty of water and the spring is flowing well too.

The shed survived the winter and looks fine. Maybe something chewed on the door jamb but that was it.

I only had one day this last weekend. The first step was to unload the shed. Out came the chairs, fencing supplies and lumber. I wired the shed for 110v with an outlet on each wall, a light under the loft and a 3-way light and outlet in the loft.

We insulated about 2/3 of the first floor and put 3/8" paneling on the bottom back and east side of the first floor.

More rain coming.

rick91351 · June 11, 2011, 02:52:21 AM

Great to see things looking so good over there. I was wondering how things wintered and how you were doing. My wife said she read that the Owyhees were in places showing something like 400% of normal for moisture? Is that right? Over across the valley on the other mountain range we so far are a wimpy 150% of normal. Like you say more rain on the way.

Are you going to do solar or a generator or both or??? If I remember right you picked up a H/F solar kit last year when they went on like super sale? I will drop you a PM if I ever get time.

MikeOnBike · July 29, 2011, 03:21:57 PM

Eventually we will have the solar panels parked next to the shed. The electrics will be inside the shed and the battery farm will be in a vented box behind the shed. Short term we have a 4.5kw genset that we can use. I'm going to put a pigtail on the shed so I can plug it into the genset when needed. It will evolve to solar from there.

I'm headed back up this weekend to put the stairs in place and measure out the next shed project. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10977

MikeOnBike · August 14, 2011, 03:19:23 PM

We have stairs! It took 11 months after the deck was completed but wives, mothers and grandchildren are all very pleased that I finally finished them. Still need to finish painting.

August 14, 2011, 04:06:40 PM

Nicely done, Mike.
Always inspiring to watch your progress.
I know you are enjoying the stays.

Gary O'

MountainDon · August 14, 2011, 04:48:19 PM

Looking nice Mike. Mothers might like a handrail. Not to rain on your parade but I was surprised at how many folks, younger than myself even, seemed shaky/wary about mounting the stairs when I first built ours.

I'm planning a bunkehouse as our next stage.

MikeOnBike · August 14, 2011, 07:32:32 PM

Quote from: MountainDon on August 14, 2011, 04:48:19 PM
Looking nice Mike. Mothers might like a handrail. Not to rain on your parade but I was surprised at how many folks, younger than myself even, seemed shaky/wary about mounting the stairs when I first built ours.

I'm planning a bunkhouse as our next stage.

Ha, I got the handrail comment almost the moment I finished the steps!

Looking forward to your bunkhouse build. Are you going to start this season? You have what, three months to get it closed in for the winter?

MountainDon · August 14, 2011, 07:42:43 PM

Yes, I think I may start next weekend; at least by Labor day weekend. That will be a weekend that will live up to it's name.

OlJarhead · August 14, 2011, 09:23:42 PM

GReat thread

August 18, 2011, 05:32:11 PM

Quote from: OlJarhead on August 14, 2011, 09:23:42 PM
GReat thread

Thanks! I have enjoyed following your thread too. You've given me several ideas on utilities. The most recent is to use solar for a refrigerator. I had automatically thought of using a propane fridge because I grew up with that in the cow camps of my youth.

I've started another shed, unfortunately a bit late in the year. Most of my energy and focus for the rest of the season is now focused here:
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10977.0

MikeOnBike · May 21, 2012, 11:48:44 AM

The fencing is started 'again'. My brother and I made it up last weekend and started clearing trees for the fence. He has been living and working at 6000ft. for the last couple of years and I have been living and sitting behind a desk at 2500ft. so I stayed pretty winded stacking the limbs in brush piles while he ran the chain saw.

In about 3 weeks we hope to have it finished on three sides. That will be one mile of fence. There is a BLM drift fence on the south side and we are going to leverage that for a year or so before we replace it.

We joke that all the topsoil on our place will fit into one wheelbarrow so driving the 350 t-posts is going to be a real challenge.

MikeOnBike · December 20, 2012, 10:33:40 PM

In early Oct. we made the last trip to the mtn. and finished the trim and paint on both sheds. Finally, I hope, the wasps and moths will be sealed out. This shed had a terrible problem. Some trips we would arrive and there would be hundreds of wasps. We were gone overseas until late Nov. and there has been either too much mud or snow since then to make another trip.

I have a lot of winter projects for the shed to keep me busy. Shelves, solar panel rack, flooring, table, loft ladder and much more. Happy holidays to everyone!

OlJarhead · December 20, 2012, 10:53:10 PM

Just checking in -- good to see progress!

Huge29 · January 04, 2013, 04:04:13 AM

Very fun! The emerald green of the pond is amazing! Similar to Emerald Lake in BC I saw this summer just out of Skagway, AK.

MikeOnBike · January 07, 2013, 01:57:08 PM

Quote from: Huge29 on January 04, 2013, 04:04:13 AM
Very fun! The emerald green of the pond is amazing! Similar to Emerald Lake in BC I saw this summer just out of Skagway, AK.

I remember that lake! I took a motorcycle trip in 2000 from Idaho up into Alaska and then back to Skagway where we caught the ferry back to Bellingham, WA and then rode home.

Our silt does settle out after awhile, or probably more correctly, the cows get into it and turn it to muddy water. I really hope to get the fence finished this year. I only have a little over a half mile to build but it is steep and rocky.

March 15, 2013, 01:37:46 PM

Nice cabin! I'm building a similar sized cabin with a loft in California and had a few questions. It looks like you didn't use rafter ties on the areas above the loft. I've read a few threads where Don has mentioned that there could be issues with the rafters putting excess pressure on the outside walls if rafter ties are not used. Is your cabin holding up okay and have you seen any signs of sagging or wall spread?

Thanks,
GP

MikeOnBike · March 15, 2013, 02:30:34 PM

Quote from: GP on March 15, 2013, 01:37:46 PM
I've read a few threads where Don has mentioned that there could be issues with the rafters putting excess pressure on the outside walls if rafter ties are not used.

GP,

We didn't use rafter ties per se. We also didn't use a ridge beam. That would have worked and we could have used a header over the loft window to spread that load. In our case the loft joists that support the floor of the loft also prevent the walls from spreading. They are kind of like rafter ties but just installed really low. Actual rafter ties or collar ties would get in the way when using such a small loft. We had three feet of snow pack the first year but I'm not sure much of it stayed on the roof. The loft joists and rafters are 2x6 16"OC. There are no signs of spreading or sagging.

If you have snowpack like this guy you will probably need to do something different than we did.
http://www.mvr1.com/timberframing/timberframe6.html

GP · March 15, 2013, 02:45:19 PM

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to do the same layout as you have for the loft and loft joists and just wanted to make sure that everything was holding up. Luckily I don't have to deal with snow issues here in my part of California.

GP

cholland · March 15, 2013, 09:32:55 PM

How did the fencing go? About half of my property is lava cap. I used rock jacks at the corners and mortared largish rocks around some of the posts that I couldn't really get a bite into the ground with.
Still need to replace about a 1/2 mile before it will hold anything.
My neighbor used a rock drill and put two inch holes in the ground then set the t-posts with a little ready mix.
I think I'm going to try that next time. Seems a little easier.

MikeOnBike · July 22, 2013, 12:21:46 AM

My daughter and family have begun to use the cabin on a regular basis. I was 'informed' that the 4x10 'loading dock' just wasn't cutting it. With it's small size and no railing, young children and an elder dog were in serious danger. I had been 'told'.

I was about to build a shower extension to the deck on the upper place, my cabin, and it is going to be about the same size as the 'loading dock' so we decided to move the loading dock up the hill and build a new 6x10 deck. My daughter would have liked bigger but that was all I could do without pouring new piers and even at that smaller size it took a bite out of the wallet. All that would be reused here is the two piers and the beam between them.

We attached a new ledger board to the cabin since the joists were now 2x6 and lowered the beam over the piers to maintain level. The decking is Evergrain (Trex) like the loading dock and we added composite railing, horse no climb wire to corral kids and dogs and a pergola to hold up the greenhouse cloth. With a little planning the stairs bolted back on in their original place.

The view is excellent and it is a really great place to have a family breakfast or enjoy a cold one in the evening.