Colorado Cabin 16x24 with loft

[Dberry]

Hi everyone!

This is my first post here.  I've been reading all the posts and wanted to get some advice/opinions on a cabin plan I've been toying with.  It's 16 x 24 with a 12/12 pitch roof and a loft sleeping area.  This will become the guest house once our main house is built someday.  I wanted to build something simple so we could get out on our land relatively quickly.  Hopefully the picture will attach correctly.  If not it's at ://users.adelphia.net/~dberry42/16x24cabin.JPG

Also below on Mother Earth News I found a wilderness cabin and thought it was pretty clever the way they built the trusses although I confess I'm having trouble seeing how the trusses work without wracking.  If anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate them.  If nothing else it's a neat cabin.  The link to this one is:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1977_March_April/We_Built_Our_Cabin_in_Just_Five_Days_for__1_000

Thanks in advance and for all the neat projects you all are working on!  I'm retiring this year and have been really enjoying reading about all the DIY homebuilding and look forward to starting my own soon.

Dan

[Jimmy_Cason]

I think that $1000 cabin would be closer to $9,000-$10,000 today  
And, It took me 5 days to dig the holes for the posts and mix concrete.
Better get some helpers.
I like your layout.  Very Comfortable..

[Dberry]

I have been doing the materials estimate my cabin.  So far I'm up to $6200, but I think you are right and it will end up being roughly $10,000.  I have discarded the idea of using the mother earth plans, but I still think it's a pretty clever plan overall.

I've been working on the plans in turbocad and they are here if anyone is interested.
http://users.adelphia.net/~dberry42/cabin.pdf

If anyone would like, I can put the actual plans on my server when I'm done if you want to build something similar.

I've given up on punch for anything except quick and dirty stuff.  It's ok for what it does, but for actually building something, it has severe limitations.

Regards

[nandajor]

Hello.  I thought it was just me, with "Punch".  It does have limitations, but then, so do I.   We did build our last house from a plan drawn with Punch! But, going from pencil drawings on manilla paper to that, was a big step up for us.  WHERE, in Colorado? if you don't mind me asking.  We are marking off the days, like a convict in the slammer, waiting to take off up there to look for land.  We are finally down to about 3 wks.  Good luck with your cabin. Nanda & John R.

[Dberry]

Hello.  I thought it was just me, with "Punch".  It does have limitations, but then, so do I.   We did build our last house from a plan drawn with Punch! But, going from pencil drawings on manilla paper to that, was a big step up for us.  WHERE, in Colorado? if you don't mind me asking.  We are marking off the days, like a convict in the slammer, waiting to take off up there to look for land.  We are finally down to about 3 wks.  Good luck with your cabin. Nanda & John R.

That's too funny!  We're crossing off the days too.  90 duty days left in the military...   The property is about an hour west of Colorado Springs in the Rockies.  We bought the land about 5 years ago when we were first stationed here.  It's 20 acres with our own modest mountain top.  It has power and an artesian well.

Land in Colorado can be pretty inexpensive the further you go from a big city.  Are you thinking of the mountains or the plains side?  We picked CO for the climate...  not too hot, not too cold and about 9 months of beautiful weather every year.  I'm not sure where you are coming from, but getting used to the altitude here can take a month to 3 months.  When we first got here just going upstairs would leave us winded.

Good luck on your search!  

[nandajor]

Gosh, sounds beautiful.  We are pretty set on looking in the Southern area, West of Walsenburg and Trinidad.  It does seem like there is some affordable land there.  We have researched and quickly learned that you need to be very careful not to get surprises about the cost of utilities.  We live in East Texas and the summers are just sticky HOT, so we are definitely after the mild summer. Got too many ties here, family etc., to be able to live there, year around. However, we could travel back and forth through the summer season. That's about the closest milder climate, mountainous area to us.  Who knows, as years go by, maybe there more. We have our small cabin plans, lots of internet research materials, maps, etc....we will be on our way soon.  We did hit one little snag.  The unexpected possibility of selling our home and 5 acres, here.  We hadn't really planned on that.  IF that does happen, we would have to get out, find a temporary place or property that would allow us to live in our fifth wheel, while building.  Because, fools that we are, we never buy something already built, we seem to think that we have to build it, to suit our needs and budget.  That would throw us into two building projects at once and we are old!  Oh well, live is just an adventure, huh?  We'll be thinking of you, in the high country.  Nanda & John

[Dberry]

I know all about Texas.  When we left last year, our electric bill during the summer was $400-500 a month.  It was crazy seeing that much money go to keep cool and it was only going up every year.

We looked at buying a used 5th wheeler to live in during construction of the main house, but since we're planning to build without a mortgage, it may take 3 years to build the big house.  That's a long time in a small place with a wife and teenage daughter... and heaven forbid the inlaws in such a small space.

And good luck finding a trailer that is cheap and doesn't need a ton of work just to make it livable.   I looked on ebay for trailers but didn't see anything particularly attractive for the price we would be willing to pay for one.  The nice trailers where all big $$.

Then we thought about a cabin...  nice cozy...  can live in it for a couple years and be right on the property to build the main house and when we are done, we've got a super guest cottage that allows friends and family to visit and still have a little bit of privacy too.  The price for a small cabin and a semi-decent 5th wheeler are comparable and when all is said and done, you've got a house that will appreciate vs. the 5th wheeler that won't.

I understand wanting to build your own vs. paying someone to do it.  If I had to estimate what it would cost a builder to make my cabin it would probably be $30,000 or more.  I used the online estimator program someone on this site linked and came up with $52,000.  If my estimates are correct, that means I can build it myself and save a small fortune.  Seems like a pretty easy choice.  

Once we settled on a cabin, we looked on the net for plans.  16x24...  how hard could it be to find one?  Well we found hundreds...  the ones on this site look very nice too, but we didn't find exactly what we wanted to match how we live so we resorted to designing our own.  If I wasn't having fun with the process, they would be pretty expensive plans considering the time I've put into it.  It's a mental thing, but getting the ideas on paper and getting the materials estimates makes it real and we're both getting excited about the process.

Regards,
Dan

[nandajor]

Hi again, Dan.  Yep, that is exactly the way we operate. Must be the old military mentality. John was in the Marine Reserves, right out of High School, when we first got married.  We have always drawn our own plans, starting with the "1977 Log House" that I posted on this site earlier.  We study, look at houses and plans, shop hard for materials and do most of the work ourselves.  For one thing, plans never exactly fit your needs, you always have to adjust. Such as, we don't mind small houses, actually like them. But, we like them as open as possible.  I hate it, when folks take a small floorplan and seem determined to have three bedrooms and a formal dining room, so every space is like a closet. Of course, to each his own.  The main thing is for a place to have the things that really fit your lifestyle.  Sounds like you know old Texas, alright.  God, I love this place...you know, "when I die, just send me on to Texas".  However, I don't love the summers.  I'll be watching for updates on your progress. Nanda

[Dberry]

I've been working on my cabin plans.  I've posted a link to the material's estimate since I've seen so many posts on this site about how much does it cost for a cabin.  My totals are about $18,000 with modest materials and a few upgrades.  I've also priced a lower version with salvage windows, doors and appliances from ebay.  If you're a good scrounger, you can knock the total down to about $12,000.  I was surprised at how much it came to and I haven't finished.  There's probably another $1,000 in odd's and ends I haven't priced yet.  It's broken out by foundation, walls, loft, roof, electrical, plumbing etc.  So you can get an idea of what each stage of the construction costs.

Anyrate, maybe this will help others who were in the same boat I was.

http://users.adelphia.net/~dberry42/cabin.xls

Regards
Dan

[jraabe]

Dan:

You have a nice layout there and it's a pretty workable small house plan.

A couple suggestions, mostly safety related:
• you might consider a second door at the rear end of the kitchen. Always a good idea to have two ways to get out.
• in a similar vein, make sure the windows in the gable end bedrooms are egress rated - and you might want to have throw out escape ladders in case of fire blocking the steep stair.

[Dberry]

Thanks for the tips!  

I was at the store looking at windows and my initial thought was that they were big enough to get me and mine out in an emergency.  After some research, I'll have to reconsider.  The code requires that a fully geared fire fighter be able to enter.  While we aren't subject to codes except for septic, I appreciate that many codes are there for a reason and are from the painful school of hard knocks.  I'll look at making them larger.  Maybe some sort of trellis could be attractive and act as a functional emergency ladder.

The 2nd door in the kitchen is also a natural... the layout begs it and if I add a no-freeze type outdoor shower head near there, it's a no-brainer.  I'll incorporate that as well.

I appreciate the advice!  Making mistakes on paper makes me happy!  

Regards,
Dan