25 x 30 LOG CABIN

[felineman]

OK the plan, 25 x 30 with 8/12 or 10/12 gable roof, Insulated attic. All logs are 12 x 12 square cut, Metal roof with rain water collection. Foundation is 5 feet deep and is rubble trench over weeping tile to drain pit with sump pump, rubble trench is dry stacked slab stone to 12" above grade with the 12" above grade in a gabion cage. Gabion cages are those wire mesh cages you see at every railway bridge and road crossing. Bottom log will be secured to gabion cage by threaded rod and a welded metal plate under gabion cage. Logs will have sill gasket between them and will have threaded rod not more then 10 feet apart holding wall from bottom to top together.

Power will be provided by Solar panels equal to 2KW per day and backup battery equaling 3 days reserve. Insta hot tankless water heater will provide hot water. Fridge freezer and Hot water will be powered by propane in the name of 3 100 LBS tanks. There is no permits required as this property is Fly,boat or off-road access only, but I want it to be built better then code.

This is being built in Northern Ontario about 1 hr south east of James Bay or Hudson Bay. Closest town is Moosenee and has no road access with the rest of Ontario, only rail or logging road service, that being at least a 10 hour drive. I plan to move everything in spring by rail then by 4 x 4 or tractor to property. The property is just over 2010 acres with water mineral and tree rights and has been in my family since the early 1800's. It will never be sold or subdivided and taxes are paid from a trust fund that won't run out till long after my great grandkids are old and grey.  This is only for one person and later I will build a bunk house with kitchenette.

I need advice on foundations NEVER gonna get cement truck onto property or enough sand to mix own. Floor layout NOT gonna make it bigger, might make interior walls 6". Plumbing for subzero weather, it gets down to -50 with windchill. Tools I have tractor with bucket and 3 point forklift,quad,snow mobile,canoe and a small 1/2 ton pickup that I am driving up the logging road. I will also be bringing a 32' RV trailer to live in while I build this cabin.

Advice on bandsaw lumbermills and chiansaw lumber mills would be greatly appreciated IE..... cut times blade changes and sharpening. Property has pine,spruce and birch trees mostly. I will build this cabin out of green wood. Also looking for ideas on thickness planers GAS if anyone has any ideas. I'm not rich or even well off so this all has to be done almost for free from salvaged materials. Not scared of work I've done log home buildings before and have 28 years in construction business.  I don't plan on leaving till 2016 spring so plenty of time to work out the best way to build this.

I am using Chief Architect X6 is anyone wants the master file for this send me a message. I don't care if you post paint,cad or even a snapshot of your napkin ideas BUT I want your ideas. I also have to figure out how to make cabinets without the complete wood shop. Everything either has to be manual or gas powered. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you all the details that are important in my design.














EDIT:  I modified the links so the images would show without needing to click on the url.  felineman you can see what I changed if you click on the modify button at right top of the posted message. Ialso introduced a few paragraphs, hope you don't mind all that.  -MD

[rick91351]

Up here we have guys with band sawmills and circle sawmills.  I have used product from both.  One of the circle sawmills is a smaller one I actually like it better.  Replaceable teeth ease of sharpening.  I do not know the make.  I have given logs to the kid that runs it and traded some.  He is a great mechanic and fixer as well. I would like to see him get a good start up here I can ask him the brand and forward it to you.  The big circle sawmill up here I have used stuff from it the most and works great.  But it is sure not as nice and band sawn materials.  Has a tendency to wonder a little in the big to huge knots.  Wink!!  Band sawn is a lot better especially if you are going to be plaining anything.  But everyone I know that runs them a lot and put hours and hours on their mills.  They are all crying about bands and sharpening. But then they have to cry about something!!

To me, the chainsaw mills just are not all that great.  A lot slower and use up a lot of time on motors that will have to be gone through.

If you can not get enough materials hauled for concrete.  Have you priced the bagged mix?  Not post mix but regular bagged concrete mix. Rent or buy or make a nice sized cement mixer and it would go pretty quickly.

Looking forward to seeing your project take shape....     

 

   

[felineman]

Sorry ZERO cement is going to be used only going 12 inches above grade with gabion caged dry stacked stone, works for railways tracks and car bridges so why not cabin. Would like to know more on circular blade mills, how often do you have to sharpen? max size of cut? need at least a 12 x 12 cut but like the fact that I can do dimensional lumber very fast. From what I gather you need to change and sharpen bandsaw and chainsaw blades way too often to get any real work done and with limited budget I can't afford to buy a whole bunch of blades. BTW I forgot to mention if you have any floor plan ideas all plumbing MUST use a common wall and NOT be located on outside wall.

[JohnC]

Wow! What a neat build and in such a remote location! I can't help you on the sawmill, I will leave that to others with more knowledge. Just a thought on the interior, along the 30' dimension can you shorten the bath and mudroom 1' each to give you a 2' wider living area. Also, shorten the width 1' on the bath and mudroom to make the kitchen area wider.

[felineman]

Utility room needs to be as big as possible due to batteries washer electrical freezer and pressure tank, I want all that stuff indoors due to extreme cold in winter. I might rearrange rooms to get a better layout but doubt I'll get any better then I have. Porch is the issue I want one but want it sheltered from the north and west winds. Was playing with idea of 30 x 30 but not sure if its too much room as well as the extra material needed. I see plenty of people with 20 x 30 and yet have more then enough room but i can't seem to get that room with 25 x 30. Might be the 12 x 12 exterior walls but I want the R value. 

[Jager]

Hey, glad you came over to the site. I suggested it as had a lot more ideas and builds that I believe will help you.

I think the biggest problem you are running into is layout, as you don't have an effective use of space in multiple places. There are several better ways of doing things. I played with my architecture program last night (should of saved a screen shot) and was able to make a nice living quarters that fit a queen bed, full washroom, kitchen and a tiny living room in a small space (16x16).

Tonight I will play around with a floor plan for you that I think would function better and would give you much more room and utilize the same footprint, and nearly the same material.

My biggest suggestions are to ditch the deck as shown, making that a part of the house, put a covered deck on the front (you would need to mill extra floor boards, etc but minimal extra, and can be done after the house is built). Also, the next biggest thing is to rearrange the layout to maximize living space.

Biggest question is about heat, I assume you plan on using a wood stove?

[felineman]

Yes woodstove heat, I'd like to keep the covered porch I think its something that will not only be useful but makes the cabin look distinctive. I'm not one for open decks or enclosed porches. I'm gonna remove interior walls and try placing furniture that way maybe I can come up with something better. I see plenty of 20 x 30 cabins on forums that seem to have better layouts.

[felineman]

OK think I've done the best I can without changing overall size but did take 2 feet out of porch. What do you think?

http://s16.postimg.org/4qfykzxlh/new_floor_plan.jpg

[felineman]

OK here what I got so far......

http://s11.postimg.org/48poftxo3/cabin_30x30.png

http://s4.postimg.org/nj4xjfjbh/kitchen_view.png

http://postimg.org/image/3z72g43xn/

http://s4.postimg.org/qccds24r1/foundation.png

Changes? this is only for 1 person but could handle a couple easy IMO.