CountryPlans Forum

I bought 10 acres last month. This is a little cabin I started building 2 weeks ago. I've made lots of mistakes so far. Rob Roy says you have to build 3 houses before you get it right. I can safely agree so far :)

Johns Raabe's Little House Plans kit (https://countryplans.com/little-house.html) can make something similar to this house.

Its just an on grade gravel/block foundation for now. It drains well as its on a slight sloping area.

Next week, I will finish sheathing and hopefully start the roof.

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SDDrH63LM2I/AAAAAAAAAnc/QmHen0HAniA/s800/100_4238.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SDDrOa3LM4I/AAAAAAAAAns/BK8aA9gPH4o/s800/100_4240.JPG)

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SDDrpq3LNAI/AAAAAAAAAow/of2WrTUmbTc/s800/100_4248.JPG)

Looking good.  :) Are you going to put siding on the outside? Need more pics.

Thanks Scott,

Yup cedar shingling. Similar to what you did, I'm building a smaller house first :)

Don't forget about fire danger and insurance req's with shingles.  My mom said my sisters neighbors had to have the roof torn off as bringing up to code to replace cedar shingles with comp or something.

Doh, I didn't notice the subfolders at the pic link. Good job.

Congratulations, looks good. [cool]

Mike

Looks great Sean!  We got all of our windows at the same place, it's actually called  Sit n' Bull !   :)

We got the roof on this weekend.

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SDoDM62f_dI/AAAAAAAAAtg/axSaGrPCLww/100_4260.JPG?imgmax=800)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SENR4K2f_9I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/plFgzk4Yd5A/s800/100_4298.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SENSD62gABI/AAAAAAAAAzw/uBADRRMunFQ/s800/100_4302.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SENSPa2gAFI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/WABgqRLqf6o/s800/100_4306.JPG)

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SEyiPPHlRTI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/xhW2zMpGjSw/s800/100_4313.JPG)

Wow, you guys are moving along really fast!   Gorgeous area, wonderful work you're doing  :)

Thanks Troy, Glenn, Sassy and Scott :)

We've made some good progress lately ( and bad ). I knocked out the power last weekend for 2 hrs cutting down a tree near the entrance and broke my JD Backhoe this past weekend. But other than that, every weekends been a success because I've come back injury free! Anyways, on to the pics!

Almost finished shingling
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SHK2LAHiy8I/AAAAAAAABNc/xpP5fLoQ03Q/100_4409.JPG?imgmax=720)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SHK3OPa53_I/AAAAAAAABQM/bGS0JAJeeR0/s800/100_4433.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SHK3txbpqhI/AAAAAAAABSQ/cfk2c8rdEvg/s640/100_4450.JPG)





The biggest pain so far has been the mud and dirt not drying up enough to build the 300 ft road into the camp.

The place is looking great.

Don't feel bad about breaking things -- MY JD Backhoe is still down the hill waiting for me to put new filters on it and prime it.  I tapped on a filter to see if I could get it to drain the crap out not realizing it was glass because it was covered with dirt.  d* d*

Looking good.  Can you convience her to mud and finish as well. 

I you use stuff S*&* happens and things break. Took a little time off to mow. Well didn't happen as the regulator went out of the riding mower.  At $52 an hour LR at JohnDeer they figured it out after $330 worth and a day lost from working. Sad thing is the part was $60.

Little update here.

I hooked up my 3 solar panels last week. The other day I was getting 15 amps through my charge controller with the sun out. Each panel is rated for up to 7.8 amps , but 15 for all 3 is good. When its cloudy, I get about 2-5 amps.

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SJkezc6Ah-I/AAAAAAAABjU/q99aSGPN_9g/100_4536.JPG?imgmax=576)

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SJke26bJKrI/AAAAAAAABjc/PjHLCHQBEAk/100_4537.JPG?imgmax=576)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SJke7M3rlDI/AAAAAAAABjw/wRnpUvzJD28/100_4539.JPG?imgmax=800)

Sweet cabin and nice little solar setup.  ::)

I'll be interested in following your progress with both.

Can you give us more info about the PV panels and charge controller at your cabin? 

Also,  I looks like you have your inverter cables attached to one end of your parallel battery bank.  Connecting one of the inverter leads to the same set of cables, but at the other end of the battery bank, will help even the discharge across the battery bank.  Otherwise, the battery closest to the inverter will discharge slightly faster than the others and over time that battery will wear out sooner. 

Great little cabin BTW.

Really like your cabin - love the siding!  Very nice job   8)

Hey BK,

Great job!!  Very nice. 

Yes, please post specifics on the solar system if possible.  Looking at possibly doing the same.  ;D  Thanks!

My best,

George

Thanks everyone :)

Sure thing. First of all, I'm value oriented and budget conscious, so that affected my purchase decisions. All items are quality pieces.

I'm running 3 , Kyocera KC-130 TM solar panels mounted to a Iron Ridge TP 04 mounting kit. I'm using a 12-3 rated 50 ft extension cord to make the connection to the charge controller.

The charge controller is a Morningstar Tristar TS-45. The 45 in that name stands for the max amperage allowable. My 3 panels at max would use 22.5 amps, allowing for 3 more in the future, but I would have no problem adding 5 more because of the lower than received amperage that I get from the panels. I also have a Morningstar remote monitor adapter for the TS-45 which displays lots of cool information, like the current amount of amps generated.

The Charge controller feeds 3, AGM ( Absorbant Glass Mat ) batteries with 88 AH ( amp hrs ) each. AGP batteries are durable, can be drained down extremely low without fear of abuse and are frequently used in UPS battery backups and jet fighters. They also don't gas like Lead acid.

The batteries feed a 1500 Watt Pure sine wave AC inverter , all via 4 guage car battery wires bought from autozone. The 12-3 plug feeds the 45 amp main power panel above ( not seen ) which drives my lights and electronics.

Thanks Wire, I planned on doing that but have been slow in getting to it, mainly because I need to buy longer guage wires to stretch that far. The same with the feed from the charge controller, so it charges at uniform rates to all batteries.

The whole setup will power most everything a cabin / small house needs ( not high demand though like fridge, AC, heaters )

Anyways, on to more pictures.

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SKDXLt4nE4I/AAAAAAAABoA/-XWUlSqGmo0/s640/100_4580.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SKDXf8XQNJI/AAAAAAAABow/xWNpu1HVUKU/s640/100_4586.JPG)

Very neat little project, moving along very quickly too. 

I have a few questions if you have the time. 

The siding shingles, did you treat them or stain them?  Do you plan to seal them, if so with what? 

Also on the wall detail, just to be sure I understand your approach, its 2x4 lumber framing, 4x8 sheets of OSB, 15# tar paper, then cedar shingles?  Is that correct?  What fasteners did you use for the shingles? 

Last question, you said you used gravel on grade foundation with some concrete blocks.  With a location in Maine do you worry about ground heave? 

Hey Muldoon,

My responses are in red:

The siding shingles, did you treat them or stain them?  Do you plan to seal them, if so with what?
Neither yet, I plan to treat them with Cabot cedar stain and paint the doors, window and trim a dark green color with high quality exterior paint I bought.

Also on the wall detail, just to be sure I understand your approach, its 2x4 lumber framing, 4x8 sheets of OSB, 15# tar paper, then cedar shingles?  Is that correct?  What fasteners did you use for the shingles?
Yes, thats correct. I used galvanized 1 1/4" brads with a ryobi One brad nailer.

Last question, you said you used gravel on grade foundation with some concrete blocks.  With a location in Maine do you worry about ground heave?
I do worry a little about it but its on a sloping hill with good drainage. I also wanted the ability to move the entire house in the future and have less footprint on the land.

I want to caution you on your cables supplying your inverter.  4 gauge copper is good for about 70 to 95 amps depending on the insulation.  Your 1500 watt output inverter could draw 160 amps (1500 watts/11 volts/0.85 eff).  Possibly more if it has surge capacity.  You can limit your AC usage, but if you don't have a fuse or breaker sized for 4ga cable on the DC side, a bigger AC load or inverter fault could majorly overload your DC wiring and possibly start a fire. 

I just got done wiring my 2000 watt Prosine inverter and I have it hooked up with 4/0 cables and a 250A DC breaker.  I used high flex marine grade DC cables and still had a time wrestling the close to 1" diameter cables around.  I want to use some 12V for pumps and LED lights, other wise I could have went with a higher DC voltage to reduce the size of the cables.  I got a new AirPax/Xantrex 250A breaker for $35 on Ebay and think I got a good deal for the custom marine grade 4/0 cables to connect 4 GC2 batteries through a breaker to the inverter for $140.

Jerry

You can get pretty good deals on high amp DC rated breakers at  www.solarseller.com

Thanks Jerry and Don!

I'll look into it this weekend.

- Sean

A note regarding the super flex large diameter cables. Not all connecting lugs are approved for this finely stranded type of cable. I'm not sure of any real difference between the UL approved and the non-approved. It likely doesn't make any difference unless the installation is going to be inspected.

On the same subject battery cables are not UL approved and will cause a red tag inspection, if applicable. Ditto welding cable unless it carries the correct UL approval.The inspector does look for this.

And since I'm picking at "problem areas" that will fail an inspected DC installation... red is not an approved color for + cables/wires, black is not approved as a negative line. Black is approved for positive while white is the norm for the negative or neutral line. Red would be okay as a third wire. These are the same rules as applied to AC circuits.

Note this is aimed at those who will face inspection or those who want to go by the book. I doubt that any problems will arise from using battery cables, unless they are undersized for the loads imposed. However, I have seen photos of failed fine strand wire connections when used with standard crimp connectors.  ???  But then I have used copper pipe or tubing crushed in a press with no failures to date.   ;D

UL is required for residential or commercial buildings. A marine or other high quality cable may actually be able to meet UL testing; but it may not have been submitted for testing. The manufacturer has to pay for the testing.

One last thing and I promise I'll go. You may have seen electrical components such as circuit breakers that are marked as Underwriter Registered (It's a U with a backwards R symbol). These are not the same as UL approval. UR components can be approved when submitted as a part of a unit submitted for testing. That is, XYZ Inverters may use a UR breaker in a package they manufacture, but you or I are not supposed to incorporate that same UR device in something we put together ourselves. Once again, only a concern if inspections are required (and if the inspector is eagle-eyed).

...and anal retentive.   

While you are right, Don, this just illustrates the ridiculousness of the laws, rules, regulations made to be sure you buy from corporations who have paid the ridiculous fees posed by the good ol boy system and its method of making sure you buy from the corporations who grease the palms of the tax agencies, testing agencies, inspection departments  etc.

I was always taught at the truck repair shop that a good soldered connection cant be beat, but have heard some who say crimped is better. 

I also know that the crushed or hammer flattened cooper over the wire and drilled works great.  Yup - no approval for the money grubbing idiots.

If anyone thinks I am too hard on them, I know of two recently inspected, passed and burned down houses -one was electrical for sure.  Funny -- the county doesn't seem to be making good on their inspection guarantee - neither do Underighters, UL, UBC, Fire Code or anyone else associated with the Good Ol Boy (GOB) profit, revenue and taxation system.

Quote from: glenn kangiser on August 20, 2008, 01:29:59 PM
I was always taught at the truck repair shop that a good soldered connection cant be beat, but have heard some who say crimped is better. 

Depends.  ;D

A criticism of soldered battery and inverter cables I've heard has to do with the solder itself. Solder has a higher resistance than copper. Soldering places the solder between the copper strands and the copper lugs/connectors resulting in a higher resistance connection than a properly crimped connection. I don't really know how that stacks up in the real world, though. This may be getting to the point of being anally technically correct.  ???

I also believe it also depends on the solderer and sometimes the cable size. Large cables as used for battery and inverter connections are more difficult to get a good solid solder joint. Sometimes the cable connector appears to be soldered okay, but the joint is "cold" at the inner strands. Sometimes when a user solders large cables they also burn the heck out of the insulation.

As far as the "rule book" goes, soldered connections are not UL listed. It may be horse$hit, but if your system is going to be inspected, MTL must meet all the NEC rules; then those are the rules that must be dealt with. 

I know the set screw type lugs are not supposed to be used with super flex cable because the screw will cut the finer wires in super flex.  The joint also has a tendency to loosen over time and possibly causes heating.  Leading to the picture below.

(http://www.nmsu.edu/~tdi/PV=NEC_HTML/gif-figures/FigureK-2.gif)

I have my inverter and battery case (A plastic pickup truck tool box with a vent) on a cart that ties the 120Vac to the cabin with a twist lock plug.  I'm going to roll it under the landing of my stairs.  I do use red for positive, black for negative and yellow for series interconnects.  No inspectors to call me on my color scheme, but if they come around I can roll the battery cart out of the cabin and tell them the twist lock is for the genset.  :)

I guess with the soldered connections you would have to consider that contact is 100 percent where other connections will likely be less -  - an ohm meter may tell -- crimped connections are more likely to corrode over time - still I'm only throwing ut ideas - not solving or recommending anything - ohm meter may tell.

I noticed loss of contact in my corroded crimped truck battery terminals along with acid intrusion - that could not happen on a soldered terminal.

I agree with mountaindon's assertion that I should use black/white for pos/neg.

Fortunately for me, we have no electrical inspections here. My rudimentary power center would probably fail any inspection for one code related reason or another.  I am certainly no expert in this arena but I have tried to follow the guidelines in the books I've read as closely as possible :)

Sean,

Can you summarize the changes you made from the PM design?
- Are you leaving any ventilation space in the roof?
- What is the ceiling height in the loft? 

My family (mother, brother and I) acquired 80 acres of desert mountain property in Idaho.  I had settled on something about this size for my wife and I for about the first five years until we can afford to build a more permanent home.

We won't have indoor plumbing except for a hand pump sink.  I'll build a loft for my teenage son but leave the lower level open with bed, kitchen counter and table.  After we build a larger cabin this will become my utility shed.

Thanks!

Hi Mike,

Sure, I changed the walls from 6' to 8' tall. I also did them 16" OC instead of 24". There is 8 ft of ventilation space in the loft with styrofoam vent tubing installed prior to the insulation. The ceiling height is 5' give or take. If I could do it again, I would have balloon framed it instead of using trusses , dropping the bottom floor down to 6' or using 10' 2x4's for the walls so I gained a 7' 2nd floor. Its still good enough for a bed up there but there will be little head room.

Heres some recent pics from Sept/Oct:

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SOmVqlhZbHI/AAAAAAAACQE/Lvmvm9xUUjk/s640/100_4717.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SOmVqZ1AZNI/AAAAAAAACNU/oxcF2aWoGH0/s800/100_4716.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SOmWOqg1aZI/AAAAAAAACOw/4Xd2piJcVDQ/s800/100_4730.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SOmWd0271VI/AAAAAAAACPg/7W58mNDJp6Y/s800/100_4735.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SOmWePSxAlI/AAAAAAAACPs/bnWF5r6jMCQ/s800/100_4736.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/seanjgildea/SQU_em6A77I/AAAAAAAACZ0/PtslE3t_BjQ/s640/100_4789.JPG)

Thanks Sean,


A do everything first structure takes a lot of planning and sweating the little details.  It will be at least 5 years before we have both of the kids on their own and can think about a larger structure.

I recently stumbled on this site and found it very helpful.  http://coyotecottage.com (http://coyotecottage.com)

Looking forward to more pictures as you progress.  Thanks for sharing!

Michael...

BK-  I am watching your house go up, but I wanted to ask if you could post any interior updated shots of the small place.

Thanks

Quote from: MikeOnBike on October 29, 2008, 05:12:20 PM
Thanks Sean,


A do everything first structure takes a lot of planning and sweating the little details.  It will be at least 5 years before we have both of the kids on their own and can think about a larger structure.

Just curious as to why you would build larger "after" the kids are on their own.  Nice job there.  I would like to suggest to you, that when you finish the cabinets underneath the sink, to build actual cabinet boxes.  Sometimes, with framing like this for the cabinets, it is very tempting to just put in a shelf, and put on doors and face frames.  Using the sheetrock wall, and the subfloor as the bottom however, can lead to bad conditions inside the "cabinets" in a short amount of time.  For some reason, dirt and dust seems to be almost cultivated by these surfaces.  Pests can get in more readily as well.  I speak from experience on this one, as I ended up building new cabinets in a rental that we had that had this situation.  The cabinets were only about 15 or fewer years old.  Might be just a temporary construction in yours though.  Box seats with storage are nice too, good job.

Jens,

The short answer is money.  I have a daughter in college and a son starting in '09.  My daughter has a toddler that my wife daycares for free so my wife can't work outside the home.  We are trying to get the kids through school without much loan debt for them or us.

My mother is going to build on the same 80 acres in 2009.  That will give the extended family a beachhead and place to stay.  I hope to build a small cabin shell like BK's and then continue the finish work over several years.  Once the kid expense has diminished we plan to build a larger cabin ~700sqft. and use the smaller one for guests, storage, shop, etc.

Sure, here are some more pics from different angles. If some of these are repeats, I apologize. The cabin looks small because the door is 36" wide.

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SOmWOP1k1YI/AAAAAAAACQc/0RwkiDz7RJw/s576/100_4728.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SOmWO823o2I/AAAAAAAACQg/JgDZK3x3hgc/s576/100_4731.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SOmWdVtWL2I/AAAAAAAACPQ/8LobRJfoDFM/s720/100_4733.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SOmWduDcd9I/AAAAAAAACPY/FydKP3kpIwk/s720/100_4734.JPG)

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SOmWd0271VI/AAAAAAAACPg/IX5jPpB-iS4/s720/100_4735.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SQU_eufXJoI/AAAAAAAACZ8/mdb3YlgaBag/s576/100_4790.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SQU_e5yQheI/AAAAAAAACaE/QUrwM17ChZc/s576/100_4791.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SKDXfgs0l6I/AAAAAAAABoo/RzaKg8SWvEo/s720/100_4585.JPG)

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SJkePT0b4lI/AAAAAAAABhk/sJRCW1HQRqs/s720/100_4521.JPG)

Also Soomb,

Here are pictures of someone elses 12x16 cabin just like mine. I took the bench idea from these. They kind of put mine to shame but hopefully they give people some inspiration. The main point is that 12x16 is a decent size for 1 person. Had I seen these pics beforehand I probably would have designed mine like this.

NOTE: ONLY FIREFOX CAN DISPLAY THESE PICTURES FOR SOME ODD REASON

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYLyidJI/AAAAAAAADaI/zmyKxkNT6BY/cabinpic1.JPG)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYLyidJI/AAAAAAAADaI/zmyKxkNT6BY/cabinpic1.JPG (http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYLyidJI/AAAAAAAADaI/zmyKxkNT6BY/cabinpic1.JPG)


(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYc4jT8I/AAAAAAAADaQ/_PVlrN-Z92E/cabinpic2.JPG)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYc4jT8I/AAAAAAAADaQ/_PVlrN-Z92E/cabinpic2.JPG (http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYc4jT8I/AAAAAAAADaQ/_PVlrN-Z92E/cabinpic2.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYU8yKjI/AAAAAAAADaY/1o5uJ_Iiq-Q/cabinpic3.JPG)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYU8yKjI/AAAAAAAADaY/1o5uJ_Iiq-Q/cabinpic3.JPG (http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYU8yKjI/AAAAAAAADaY/1o5uJ_Iiq-Q/cabinpic3.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYYhCNfI/AAAAAAAADag/DI5Tk6I4lTI/cabinpic4.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAY_0WK-I/AAAAAAAADao/R0YunirUu1g/cabinpic5.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAezLMDDI/AAAAAAAADaw/a-Bx9X0ujWs/cabinpic6.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAfNtRaMI/AAAAAAAADa4/1AvifowRIR8/cabinpic7.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAfcAIiwI/AAAAAAAADbA/WgbdG07P8ds/cabinpic8.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAfrmBskI/AAAAAAAADbI/Rv_-05chB2I/cabinpic9.JPG)

Yeah...wasn't quite thinking of the 12x16 footprint when I asked that question.  Just read "build bigger after I kick the kids out on their rears".  My wife and I would be fine in that size after the kids are gone, IMO, but she, and many others would disagree!  700 square feet is big enough to still be adequitely small (does that make sense outside of my mind?) for a couple.

BK- Thanks for the pics.  The second post was pic free.  I look forward to watching your projects.

There is something strange going on with the images in reply #36. They do not display.  I don't see why not.  ???  Very strange; if I copy the url from between the images tags I can view them in a separate tab. Then as long as I have those tabs open the images appear in the post. As soon as I close the image tabs they go "poof".  ??? ???

Thats odd MountainDon,

Well I noticed theres a camera icon in the bottom corner so someone must have fixed them, so my thanks goes out to that person :)

BK - Nice work!  Built-ins really help get the most out of a small space. 

On the photos you posted of the cabin just like yours, I couldn't see a heat source or a fridge.  I also noticed that it had a bathroom. When I followed your link to the plans from PM, it came up as some kind of garden shed.  Is this the same plan?  Thanks. 

-- Pritch

Well, BK, it is odd for sure, because those images still do not appear in reply #36. Not on any of our computers.

I've looked at the code in that message, copied it and posted in trial messages, one at a time, and they don't come up....    And I don't see a camera icon anywhere in that #36   ???

It does the same in Firefox and IE7.



Anyone else see them or anyone else just see the text and an empty space?

Here's what I get...

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/oddsnends2/oddity.jpg)

I don't see it in the post either.  I copied the link to another window and it will sometimes show but about half the time Google gives me a '404 not found.  I think the problem is with Google.

Hi Pritch,

Yes! Its the garden shed  ;D

Theres a little stove/heater between the kitchen and bathroom but I couldn't find a fridge at all. Odd.

MountainDon,

Its got to be google or explorer. It will work no problem in firefox but not in IE. Very odd. I tried a few things but nothing worked. Hmmm

yes, bizarre. 

edited because what I was trying didnt work. 

BK the only thiing I get is the border of where the print should be and a red "X" in a small box in the upper left corner. 

What's even stranger is that different folks are seeing different things... like John's outline and red X.

Are those in a different album than the pictures in the post above it, reply #35?  If try putting one of the mystery photos in a new and different folder and do a trial post for the rest of us to see. Or not. Or put one in the folder where reply #35's photos are. Temporary as an experiment, if you feel like it.

I finally got them to copy/paste utilizing properties in IE7.

Great little cabin! Some good ideas.

Thanks,
Mike

Looking back at reply #36 here's what I now see...

(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/oddsnends2/oddityagain.jpg)

...and the urls don't work     d* d*   I give up   ???

I would say Picasa does not like our forum - I copied the URL. copied the pic and put it into Photobucket and I think it is here. hmm

(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/cabinpic1.jpg)

I thought of that, but there were too many pictures.  ::) ::) :-[ :-[

MountainDon,

I moved one of those cabin pics to the directory where all my house pics are. it worked the first time in IE7. Then after refreshing the page, it wouldn't work anymore.

Thankfully this doesn't happen with the pictures I take. Oh well we tried.

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUkAYYhCNfI/AAAAAAAADag/DI5Tk6I4lTI/cabinpic4.JPG)

Odd. ???  So maybe it's those particular image files? If you are of a real curious mind on this, here's what I'd do to satisfy my curiosity. I'd open the image in an editor, make some very slight change, like increase the size a small amount, then save it under a new name, upload it and try inserting in an image. I know that doesn't seem to make any logical sense but I did once have a series of pictures that my computer could not open and doing that made a difference. Or just leave sleeping horses lie there and forget about it.

Still no luck.

Heres the new pic, resized to 80% of original, uploaded to a new spot in the gallery and renamed with a different name and a lowercase .jpg extension.

Note: I can get the pic and the previous one to show in IE7 if I right click > show picture. So im stumped now.

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SUqSfmnSnHI/AAAAAAAADbU/hMjYCTVlHSc/cabinpic-new.jpg)

 d* d*

Nuts.  Let's move on to something else.   ;D

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic1.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic2.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic3.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic4.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic5.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic6.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic7.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic8.JPG)

(http://www.loopy.org/bench-cabin/cabinpic9.JPG)

muldoon's a hero!   :D

Worth the wait! That place is nice.

BK I can't figure out why you are building again.  The shed is real sharp.

I have seen some of the sites block multiple showings to other sites - they don't allow leaching asd they want all of the photo sales, advertising views etc.    They stop the pix after the first or second one.  Yahoo used to do that  until they quit hosting pix altogether.

    This place is VERY nice!!!  You did a great job and you have a good eye for what looks good.  Thanks for sharing. This is what makes this forum as good as it is.  When I get further along in my project I will post my pictures but unfortunately I don't move as fast as others.   d*

Thanks
Mark

I agree, it's real sharp.

My ISP gives me 5 mb of space for pics or whatever. I guess others don't have this?

Are the pictures you posted really of a 12x16 cabin?  great setup if it is... that would make the interior about 15x11 w/ 2x6 framing...  so great use of space.

I am inspired!!!!!  Excellent work!

Why would you ever need any more than that? that little home looks cozy and well planned out...Dare I demand: more pictures? ;D

Amazing Job bk [cool]

Hey guys,

I'm assuming all the raving compliments are for the latest pics of someone elses cabin I posted. Hearing all the compliments makes me glad I posted them ( as inspiration for others) even though they are not mine. Otherwise you guys would never have seen them more than likely. I just feel that the person did such a good job on it that people here would appreciate the layout and time he put into it. Plus it kind of fit with the size of mine and the whole idea of posting my pics is to inspire others.

FYI: Those pics of the 12x16 were actually from ebay, he was selling that cabin for around $11,000 last spring. It was actually on a wheeled trailer. There is a wheel bay in the bathroom if you look.

Anyways, I hope that clears that up.

I am thinking about changing my entire 12x16 cabin completely next year to be more of a "hotel cabin" rather than to the one most recently mentioned.  Reason being is that no one wants to sleep in the loft. The idea sounds ok at first, but then try to tell your parents to climb a ladder! So I figure, eliminate the kitchen, move the front door where it is now to the opposite side where the kitchen window is and keep the bathroom as it currently is. Then remove the bench I made and put a queen bed in that large space there. Lastly remove the loft over the new bed area to make it more roomy. Then I'd have a "hotel" style guest cabin :)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SVBZF31XnkI/AAAAAAAADek/XoEpebiRMiI/Cabin%20Side.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SVBZFcCxxsI/AAAAAAAADeE/0OCdvgkjIZA/s640/110_1035.jpg)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SVBZFqIgIxI/AAAAAAAADeM/G-Z7i7ONc9w/s640/110_1036.jpg)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RurR-jJH_sI/SVBZFgLq2rI/AAAAAAAADeU/ier_t-o89RM/s640/112_1209.jpg)

Quote from: Bishopknight on December 22, 2008, 10:27:56 PM
.... Reason being is that no one wants to sleep in the loft. The idea sounds ok at first, but then try to tell your parents to climb a ladder!

Precisely, and one of the reasons we did not include a loft in our cabin design; except we're the parents.  ;D  For my money, ladders are for work, not for accessing where I sleep.

I'm young and hope to sleep in a loft, so when I get older it will be normal for me. What am I saying, I'll never be normal.  ;D

I was looking at this and trying to figure out where to put in a murphy bed.  I had seen one once that had a fold down kitchen table part which made alot of sense for a small space. 

I saw that table bed as well and wrote down the name of the company, Inova.  Their website is http://www.inovallc.com/ 

I believe this will be a pretty expensive option, however, they and other companies also market a floor mount wall bed mechanism and you can build your own.  Good idea for a small space.

What a great link! Thanks for finding that!

Since my ceilings are 8ft I could probably integrate that into my floorplan as long as I remove a window. 3/4" plywood & piano hinges, then a nice sheet of laminate for the table top. It would be great if the chairs could become nightstands! You can get those aluminum pole handles from Ikea , a set is $10. The end of the table can use shelf brackets.

(http://www.inovallc.com/images/pop_table.jpg)

(http://www.inovallc.com/images/pop_bed.jpg)

That bed is sweet!  Wouldn't be too hard to build either.  The chairs could just have a flat back on them, and hinge forward.  Should have a lock of some sort to keep them from accidentally folding though.

A friend of mine got this for his girls for Christmas.  http://www.kiddietoys.com/kidkraft-light-blue-retro-play-kitchen-w-frig-p-1844.html

If it were enlarged a bit, but used small appliances, it could make a usable small space kitchen.  I envision a cutting board that fits over the sink, and then can be flipped to sit over the burners on runners that give it some drainage into the sink, then it is a drainboard.  Use a large toaster oven instead of an oven, and a two burner cooktop. 

I would like to build one of these, just have no reason to.  No money either, but no reason!

LOL Jens.

That would be cool. Good idea on the seats.

I found some website that sells parts for making your own murphy bed. http://www.wallbed.com/
It looks like a complete total rip off. They want $299 for this???... I bet I could buy make shift parts at Lowes for less than $75

(http://www.wallbed.com/images/kit_included.jpg)

(http://www.wallbed.com/images/cab2.gif)

Great creative space saving ideas at work here. That C.A.B. Inc is funny and the store looks expensive. Building/designing your own will be so much nicer for sure.
Jens, maybe draw up plans for you space saving kitchen idea and sell them online.  ;)

What if you could hinge the chairs at the front of the seat so that the seat and back flips then slides back.

Dog, not a bad idea!

Sketched up an idea for the end table/chair.  Has a drawer in it too.

(https://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/hobbiest/furniture%20and%20cabinets/chairtable.jpg)

(https://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/hobbiest/furniture%20and%20cabinets/chairtablefolded.jpg)

I might even make up a few just for us.  We can always use extra chairs that just "appear" out of nowhere!

Your welcome! Glad I could help. I don't get to do that often  ;)

Quote from: alcowboy on December 31, 2008, 02:38:51 PM
What if you could hinge the chairs at the front of the seat so that the seat and back flips then slides back.

Not quite sure what you mean by this.  Could you elaborate?  I like the idea of things that hinge and slide, it's hell to design and build, but sweet once together.

I was thinking about the above chair, and thinking I might make a prototyped out of 1/2" ply, with a padded seat, and maybe backrest too.

 ???

Ok, using your design as a guide. Where you have placed the drawer (front of seat) I thought possibly putting a sliding hinge point so the seat and back would flip forward. Once forward the seat (upside down and the back actually acting as legs) would slide back so that you would have a table top formed by the bottom of the seat.

Any updates? How is your cabin looking now? I really like your design I just started a cabin/shed of a similar size.

please come back!

Hi Solar Burrito,

No updates lately. Its now become a shed to my larger 30x40 earth berm house which is sticky'd on the main page.  But Grace and I expect to go back and finish it eventually. Its just not a priority now.

Thanks,
BK

Oh ok, I didn't know it was becoming a shed. Makes sense you're not updating since you're busy with a bigger project  d*

I'll check out the new one.

I've been thinking about the design of this cabin and going back, if I could change a few things, here they are. First of all, I'd design it with the expectation of adding a bedroom sometime later in the future. That way I can avoid re-routing wires or windows or siding.

Also, when I built mine, I did 8 ft walls with triangle trusses. I messed up because I was following free shed plans I found online. Of course now, I'd do it differently if i could do it again, I'd buy one of Johns plans which had 10 ft walls with a ridge beam/rafters and balloon framing platform at around the 6-7' range. That way I'd have two floors with plenty of head room on each. But a greenhorn like I was back then was intimidated by doing ridge beams and rafters and I also didn't fully think balloon framing would be strong enough, I was wrong.

Also, I'd extend the roof over a 8x12 deck portion and make a (screened ) porch. So actually it would be a 24x12 first deck.  I'd stick with 2x4 framing on a small house like this. Its incredibly easy to heat and 2x6 walls eat quite a bit more room I feel than in a larger house.

Lastly, I would put insulation in the floor, prior to laying the 3/4" advantech ply. Its a huge pain to put it in on your back in the mud, trust me.

On a side note:

John Raabe has incorporated expandability in his houses, which I love. If you're trying to save a few bucks on plans, it can come back to bite you because of all the time and effort to redo things you didn't think of. You're better off going with a proven plan that is expandable and makes the best use of the square footage you're creating. If I were going to build a house in the future again, I'd either go with one of johns plans or have my gf's father (a 25 yr architect) custom design one for her and I. But 2 yrs ago, you couldnt tell me that, call it whatever you like, I've learned now.