Building a Simple Barn

An owner built 12x18 cabin and storage shed in Justin, Texas, raised on a post and pier foundation and built from the Little House Plans Kit.

foundation and floor joist layout of a 12x18 cabin on a post and pier foundation — Above is a picture of the foundation and floor joist layout. You can see we were able to use the post and pier foundation using locally available precast pavers sitting on a gravel footing with precast deck blocks supporting the 4x4 posts under the beam.

Greetings from Mike Nyikos in Justin, Texas.

Here are some progress pictures of my 12 x 18 Cabin/Storage Shed I’d like to share with countryplans.com readers. I live in Texas and was needing some storage space so I decided to build the 12 x 18 cabin from the Little House Plans Kit. I plan on building the larger (14’x24’) cabin up in Canada in a few years but wanted to get an idea of what to expect.

Framing the walls and roof

framing the wall studs on the floor deck of a 12x18 cabin — Here I’m framing up the wall studs on the floor deck. Opposite me the first wall is up and braced.

wall and roof framing with the center ridge board on a 12x18 cabin

Here are two photos of the walls and roof framing. You can see we did the center ridge board supporting both rafters and then clipped the bottom of the rafters to the top plate of the wall with hurricane clips. For a larger structure we would either install loft joists or collar ties to keep the walls from wanting to spread.

roof framing on a 12x18 owner built cabin

Roof sheathing and buttoning up for winter

roof sheathing on a 12x18 cabin with front and rear overhangs — Here we are putting on the roof sheathing. We extended the roof for a front and rear overhang with what framers call ladders. It is nice to have friends when you get to this stage of the work. Nail guns and scaffolding also helps.

the steep 12/12 roof pitch on the 12x18 cabin

roof jacks and scaffolding on the steep roof of the 12x18 cabin

Everyone has fun with the steep roof! From Mike: “Boy that 12/12 roof was tricky but with the help of some roof jacks and the scaffold it worked out OK.” And, as Paul McCartney used to say, “We get by with a little help from our friends.”

the 12x18 cabin closed in and ready for winter

exterior of the 12x18 cabin nearing completion

Here we are out of the weather and ready to button up for the winter.

completed exterior of the 12x18 owner built cabin and storage shed

Where to go from here

Visit the CountryPlans home page.
Browse the Owner Builder Gallery for stories of other projects.
Ask general questions about building cabins and small houses in our forum.