1-1/2
story Alaska Cabin Here are photographs and
the story of a
rustic owner-built home in remote Prince of Wales
island
in Southeast Alaska.
Here
are Nevada Mike's photos
- Scroll down for earlier
construction photos

Starting to get that lived-in look
Our evening wear.

We are in Alaska after all!
In early January of 2011 Mike sent an email update and narrative on his experience building this house. Here's his report: John,
I really don't know where to begin with comments.
I picked a plan from Country Plans for the design and affordability.
Like most of us everything is always a stretch financially and this was
no different! I wanted a plan that used common materials and
dimensions to keep costs down and this was it. One step at a time and
my cabin came to life. Finding a lot with a low initial cost and easy
financing was first and the University of Alaska made that happen. Each
step was the total of what I had available to put into the cabin. I did
not buy the lot and imagine the cost would be X dollars. There would
have been no cabin if I imagined the total cost of construction. After
purchasing the lot, my only focus was getting building site cleared. The
focus was then the foundation and so on. I had no idea how long the
cabin would take. Each time I would begin collecting what I needed from a
variety of places. I became a fan of Craigslist! I would watch daily
and collect things such as a $50.00 wood stove and the slate remnants to
put behind it. With no timelines, costs go way down. Everything was
exciting and became part of my dream as I imagined it being used.
As construction began, the dreams developed into memories. We went from
camping on a gravel pad to a cabin over 5 years. We froze inside with a
roof over our heads but no windows or heat and tar paper on the
exterior walls. But in the morning we woke up to our dreams again. The
steaming cup of coffee quickly made us forget that we were "roughing
it." Windows and insulation WOW now we are living the high life! Pasta
and Ragu cooked over a camp stove teetering on a scrap piece of plywood
made into a makeshift kitchen counter and we may as well been at the
Ritz! I really can't express how exciting each step was for myself, my
family and friends. I have never regretted starting my Cabin. If I
were 5 years into it and had just a one room 12x16 with a simple plywood loft
and an unfinished interior, I would still be as excited as I am today.
So what is the point of all of this babbling? In the words of the Nike
marketing department, 'just do it!' I was as excited as a kid at Christmas
with just a set of plans and a dream. Now I have a cabin, a heart full
of memories and family and friends with a place they can use for life. It
was one step at a time. Make no mistake. My friends put in countless
hours of blood and sweat into this cabin. For that I will always be grateful,
and I hope they have fond memories as well. My advice to others would
be to just get started and look to the great help of the Country Plans members for
assistance.
Thanks, John, for creating Country Plans. If I had not found your site
with cabins for all of us, I very well might still be dreaming.
Mike Cowan
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Here is a recent photo of a clever bench seat/table Mike built into a section of the wraparound porch.  Below are a few snapshots of the house and life on Prince of Wales
island.

 
 There is an older forum thread and a newer thread with comments and photos of projects that have been inspired by Mike's cabin project.
Earlier photos below were taken before the
dormers and upper walls were sided.
Click HERE
to see another version of the same basic house plans (these folks did
not do the porch and have a shed dormer).
Here is an earlier report from 5/4/05
These photos and information from
Nevada_Mike building in Alaska.
6' wide dormer framed
between the
site built trusses. The trusses are doubled up 2x6s where the roof is
slanted. This provides the needed room for R-30 insulation. The second
2x6 can be put in later to reduce the lifting weight of the truss if
desired.
The plans have dormer
diagrams
for
a gable (doghouse) dormer as done here, and a small shed dormer (lower
pitch flat roof).
Truss made for the dormer. Two of
these for each dormer.
Connection of the
trusses to the
wall with blocking between
The stairway framing and bedroom
and bath behind. Mike reversed the floor plan from the standard plan
layout. Note that he has
carried the loft floor all the way over the great room and kitchen.
This area can also be left open and cathedral.
This will be a rough view to wake
up to...
Earlier
Photos of Foundation
View from the air of a
remote
site
on Prince of Wales island in Southeast Alaska. The nearest town is
Coffman Cove. The view from the site is looking over the inside passage
and when the clouds are not in the way, snow covered mountains are in
view and we sometimes see whales. For reference, Ketchikan Alaska is
across the passage to the right about 50 miles.
The concrete batch
plant is 2
hours
away. Our "grey gold' arrived wet wet wet. I don't need to tell you
that it was expensive. The locals thought I was crazy for not just
using a post and pier foundation. I will admit they are obviously
smarter than me on local building best practices.
The finished pour. It
appears
that
Mike has done a concrete footing and short stemwall with the footing
resting on a well drained gravel pad. A wood stemwall was then built on
this to enclose the crawlspace.
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