14 X 24 Central VA Cabin

[georgevacabin]

Hello All,

I'm counting down with excitement and a little anxiety to breaking ground a week from today for a 14x24 cabin on ~ 46 acres.  The property is a 5 hr drive from my home and will be used in the Spring and Summer for family gatherings and the Fall for hunting season.  Pictures of the site are here http://picasaweb.google.com/vacabin .  
 
I am a total novice at building.  I have been reviewing the Little House Plans for about a month now (Thanks John) and hope I have everything right in my head.  I have eight guys that are going to give me two days to kick this off.  I hope to have the foundation holes dug, gravel/piers in, and beams up (like this http://www.coyotecottage.com/cabin/cabinconstruction/foundation.htm ) prior to their arrival so that we can start right away with the floor joist.  My goal is to get the exterior up and weather-tight for the winter.  Hopefully this is not too ambitious.    

The cabin will have no electricity or plumbing.  I plan on a wood stove for heat and an outhouse (using the compost system described in Humanure.).  Cooking will be done on an outdoor grill.  The interior will be completed over time.

Of course I want to keep my cost as low as possible.  I currently have a nice exterior door and six windows that were donated.  Saves me some $$ right off the bat.

Thanks for all the support given and graciously received on this forum.  Looking forward to banging that first nail!!

George

[glenn kangiser]

Looking forward to seeing updates.

[MikeG]

George...how goes it?  You making progress?
MikeG

[georgevacabin]

Hello All,

What an initial experience.  Lots, and lots of rookie mistakes.  Here is a link to some photos.  http://picasaweb.google.com/vacabin . 

We ended up only working a solid day.  Mainly, because Home Depot screwed up the delivery and I ended up making several trips for materials - an hour away!

All in all, we got the floor frame completed.  For a bunch of rookies, I guess that was pretty good.  I will head back down in the Spring to finish the floor and start on the walls. 

Looking back, the group had fun hanging out.  I also learned an a lot.  The plans are great (when you follow them  )!

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like you guys had great fun.  Good job.

[Sassy]

Wow, looks of great helpers - good progress!

[Redoverfarm]

George

Not to be nosey but in what vicinity of Central Va are you located. I live on the Va line near Hot Springs. In fact the cabin that I am building is on the Va line(National Forrest) Got the view and don't have to pay for it.

[georgevacabin]

Hey Red,

Not a problem.  I'm just outside of Farmville in Prospect.

Due to family obligations, as of now I will only have one shot (no pun intended  ) to get out hunting this season.  So I will be on site again opening day of firearms season.  I don't think I'll have time to work on the cabin.

So you are building in Hot Springs.  Where are you in the process?  Have you broken ground?  Near completion? What size cabin are you building?

[Redoverfarm]

George

I am not familiar with farmville or Prospect.  I had once lived in Charlestown,WV near Winchester Va and northern Va.  I shop in Roanoke Va occasionally.  

No my cabin is in WV at the Virginia line near Hot Springs (18 miles away) It is 32 miles north of White Sulphur Springs ( Greenbrier Resort $$$$). I am 35 miles fron Snowshoe Skie Resort. Th closest town is Marlinton, WV and then Lewisburg WV.

I don't know what the deer population is at your site but when I came home last evening there was 26 grazing in my field in front of the house.

If you want to check out my cabin then look for "Alternative Energy" on the board. Don was good enough to post my pictures for me. This is a work in progress.

Good Luck with your project.

[Redoverfarm]

George

I know about where you are at now. I think I went through or close to Farmville on Rt 460 going to the beach one time on the way to Richmond. If I remember it is sort of a rural area.

[georgevacabin]

Hey Red,

Yes, although Farmville continues to grow substantially, the area around Farmville is very rural.  I don't want to jinx myself but this is why I don't think I will have a problem building under the radar.  Especially since I'm not doing the electricity, septic tank, etc.

The deer population is pretty good in this area.  I always bag two or three a season - enough to fill up my freezer and give some to friends.  The challenge is that the area is heavily wooded so bringing them out can sometimes be a real workout.

I took a look at your place.  Very, very nice!

[glenn kangiser]

More power to you, georgevacabin.  Great to see someone building in harmony with the rights intended for us by the founding fathers.  Pursuit of happiness with no harm to others -- except for a few of those large rodents called deer.

[MikeG]

George!!!! That's great progress, despite the problems with HD.
Great pics, too...looks like it was a worthwhile trip!

I'm excited for you...I hope to get mine going soon...get my 12 x 16 delivered and add to it and finish it off.....if we quit spending money I might get it ordered within a few weeks...then look forward to some hunting and cabin finishing Nov/Dec/Jan.

I'll be up that way (hopefully) several times during this time period.
Feel free to contact me here...or work e-mail...MGlendon@vbgov.com

I'm with the Va Beach Police 33+ years...so if you need a reputable guy ( man, I got references) to check on your place, my little place up there can't be 30 miles away...
MikeG

[georgevacabin]

Hey Glenn - Thanks for the support!  


Hey Mike G!  Thanks!  It was a fun trip.  Now that the floor framing is done I'm going to try to finish it and do the walls solo.  After that I'll see if I can recruit the guys again for the roof.  We'll see how it goes.

Good luck on that "quit spending money" thing.    This is an ongoing discussion between my wife and I!  

Thanks for your offer.  I'll contact you at the address given to see if we can connect.  Since this will be an abbreviated hunting season for me I could use the help in bagging a few "large rodents."

[glenn kangiser]

I came to the conclusion that they were large rodents when I had to fence everything - garden - flowers - anything I didn't want eaten, with 7 foot high fence.  They were even on top of my house.

We are overrun with deer as is the entire area.  There are always 2 to 10 or so in sight here on the mountain if you drive for a mile down the hill.  

[MountainDon]

A bunch of those rodents crapped right beside the gazebo since we were up in mountains last. My neighbor got a 3 x 3 on my road last Thursady.

[glenn kangiser]

I look at a live deer as a form of fresh meat storage.

[georgevacabin]

Hello All!

Checking back in.  I hope that this post finds you all doing well. 

I'm heading back down the first weekend of next month to continue work on my little hut in the woods.  I hope to finish the flooring and frame the walls.  The materials are on site this time around so I'm hoping it will be a smoother weekend.   I'm sure that I'll have more than a few framing questions so I will post again soon. 

In the meantime, I've posted a few pictures from hunting season.  If interested they are at http://picasaweb.google.com/vacabin.  Got a couple of nice size rodents    

Thanks ahead of time and glad you guys are here!
 

[BiggKidd]

Hi George,

  I see we are going to be neighbors. We have just started clearing in Lunenburg for our future home. Nice looking place you have there. I have been in prospect a few times, a friends father lived there. Good doing on the cabin and during hunting season. I missed this season trying to put all my pennys together for the new land.

I hope this miserable rain stops so you can get some work done.

Larry 

[glenn kangiser]

Welcome back George.  That's the way I like to see those rodents.  We have dogs here now so the vermin aren't as bad, but they can be a real pain.  Looks like you have a good crew there.

[georgevacabin]

Hi Larry,

Yep, you are fairly close.  I've actually gone through Keysville a few times.  Good luck with your place.  I'm sure it will be a wonderful adventure.

Speaking of adventures, we are heading down this weekend to start framing walls.  I'm bringing my 5 year old son along on this trip.  Both he and I are excited.  I'll post pictures soon.

Take care!

[BiggKidd]

Hi George,

You all have fun & we will pray for the rain to give us a break this weekend. Hope you get lots done.

Larry

[MikeG]

George...did you make it to the cabin site the first weekend of May?  How'd it go?

I've decided to order my 12 x 16 from Wilke's Lakes Sheds in Prospect (going tomorrow to do so)...and get all the construction/finishing project I need from the porch and wiring for generator and interior finish....I just don't have time to build the thing myself. Might stop by the property in Cumberland Co. and double check access clearing and site clearing for the structure...should be minimal.

Hope things are working out for you.
MikeG

[georgevacabin]

Hi Mike,

Yep.  Went down in May.  More camping and hanging out than work.  Here are some shots - http://picasaweb.google.com/vacabin.  We did get two walls finished.  Heading back down in Sept. and Oct. to put some more time in.  From the start we planned on this being a longer term project.

So did you order from Wilke's?  I pass by Wilke's when ever I'm in the area.  Very tempting . . .  .  Please post pics if you have them.  Good luck.

To the Gang:  I realized on this trip down that we never secured the platform.  We lost our square and did not have time to correct it prior to taking off.  I plan to address this on my next trip down in Sept.  Any tips on squaring a 14 x 24 would be greatly appreciated.  It's level - no worries there.

Thanks and I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

[glenn kangiser]

Log chains and binders or come along to the long corners should be able to pull it back and hold it until you get it secured.

If the decking is nailed down I don't think there is much hope of moving it though.