Spices, anything dry (oats, flours, seeds.....) have not suffered at all over the many winters our cabin has gone through winters unheated. Olive oil turns solid in the cold but turns liquid again when warmed with no discernable harm.

OlJarHead - just wanted to thank you for your videos - they are well done and very informative.  

I'm new to the terminology, so please bear with me.

Including the porch on two sides of the house, my total dimensions are 24'x24'. The house itself is 16x20. I am planning on a pier and beam foundation. The county I am in is completely unrestricted (no building codes/zones/permits/building department/etc). There's not a single red light in the whole county and much of the population is Plain (Amish/Mennonite), just to give context.

Frost line is 10-12" and state code says we should have a minimum 12" deep footing for the piers. I was going to go 24" down, 6" compact gravel of some kind, and then 18" Sonotube cement footing. I was planning on doing double 2x8 beams (aka 4x8 beams) and doing 2x8 joists every 16" oc.

I am trying to figure out how many piers I need. I was thinking about doing 4 rows of 4 (16 total distributed evenly), 4 rows of 5, or 5 rows of 5.


Am I wildly off here or is this okay? Thank you! 

I am framing the 1 story right now which is based on the same footprint.

It was about 4500 to do my crawlspace foundation (6" CMU 4 high, fully grouted, plus footing, excavated to 12").  Including renting a backhoe.

The framing I'm looking at about $15k all in, plus another 12-15k or so for roofing/sheathing/windows.  I think maybe you have similar subfloor unless you do a slab.  I spent about $4k on my subfloor including select structural floor joists for the called out 2x12x20'.

I anticipate finishing the shell for under 40k including the plumbing from the house to the septic system.  Utilities cost me another ~35k including a septic system, power extension 1/5 mile, DIY power run 300 ft from property line, temp power for construction, running water and temp spigot a few hundred feet to the property line.

Have a general question about building an off grid 3 season cabin that will remain uninhabited (without power) over winter.  It would be vacant from December through March and the temps can get down to 15 below... 

What can you leave in it that will survive the temp drops and temp fluctuations ?  Will food items like spices and powdered drinks be ok -- or maybe people have figured out unique ways of storing things over the winter so they don't have to bring it back each spring.

Any info. or tips appreciated.

Afternoon all!

OK, I'm about to embark on a D-Log shed build that I plan to make somewhere between 8x10 to 10x12 and make 'non permanent'.  By this I mean the shed will be small enough to not meet permitting requirements and will not be on a foundation.

My plan is to set two logs flattened on two sides leaving at least an 8 inch flat face, on pavers/rocks/cinder blocks (not sure what I will do yet) and then build 5 or 5 1/2" D-Log walls on top of those logs which will leave a 2 1/2" 'ledger' (or at least a ledge) on the remaining flat surface (since the logs will have an 8 inch flat face and the D-Logs will be no more than 5 to 5 1/2 inches as I plan to use the worst of the logs I have already milled and just flatten them out) which would allow me to build my floor inside the 1st course of wall logs, sitting on the 'skid' logs.

My thought is that I won't move the 'cabin/shed' anyway so using the skid logs as a ledger to mount fix the floor on top of (leaving me a span of 10' so I'll use 8" floor joists most likely).

As I build up the course of logs I'll mark the door and windows (windows will not be put in the structure until/unless I convert to a bedroom cabin) and not screw the logs together in those location.

I plan to use 9" Oly log screws and place them at 24" intervals as well as at the ends.

I'll be using the Butt and Pass method of building and will use purlins to make the roof.  I can mill 1.5" 6" ceiling planks and probably make them into T&G for sheathing the ceiling then place 30lbs felt on top of those and I'll likely then affix two layers of R10 foam on them, then a layer of sheathing, more felt and then roofing (metal) to finish off an R20 roof with open purlins running the length inside with exposed 6" plank ceiling.

For the porch I'll extend the purlins 4 feet to the from and 2 or 3 feet to the rear (so if 12 foot in length I'll need 18-20 foot purlins) and use D-Log cut offs for the gables.

My main contemplation at this point is the non-foundation.  I think using pavers is probably the best option and setting them every 4 feet or even 6 feet should work.  Once level the area has good drainage so I'm not overly concerned about movement and with a 24" eve/overhang on the sides I should protect the logs well.

I figured I'd burn the logs before placing as the 'skid' foundation log and then use base plate seal foam between log courses to help seal up gaps and of course, finish it with chinking.

Any thoughts?  Concerns?  Suggestions?
Thanks!
Erik

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Quote from: Motovista on May 12, 2024, 05:51:26 PMThat's a link to a site where they try to get you to pay $300 for the plans. I find it hard to believe any legitimate company would do that. Do you have any information about getting the plans that doesn't involve paying someone $300 for them?
I really can't believe these are so hard to find.

I would also do my best to try to find them for free, but I am confused that you find it hard to believe that a company would try to make money?  Its only $300, unfortunately not much in todays world....

Anyway, my only thought on how to get them for free beyond the internet is maybe a library?  Good luck..

I'm looking at a 2-acre lot that I'd like to build on. I do not need a big home on it now and can afford more house only in a few years. How can I design and construct a small home now and later add an extension that looks built-in versus bolted-on and doesn't reinvent the wheel or need rework costs?

For more context: the land cannot be subdivided. A large home would be comparable to the neighbors' and make the most of the lot. Its private location is unique and rare for the prestigious area. I'd love to live there even if it's in a small basic home for now that I can expand over time.

Usually with additions, homeowners have to work around the limitations of their existing building. Here, I'll have the luxury to build the original home in a way that is best to extend in the future.
All I need now are 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living area with a kitchenette and a driveway. In the future, I'd like to add more space - i.e. additional bedrooms and baths, large kitchen, decks, solar panels, water filtration system, home automation, a garage, gym, mudroom, pool, landscaping, master suite with sauna and steam shower.

Do I build a small 2-story home now and add to the sides and back of it later? Or is it better to build a single floor now and extend it up later?

I assume I'd have to design the entire large home now, get a permit just for the small home, and get another permit for the extensions later, when ready to add them.

Any other ideas and thoughts on how to approach it - for example, what must be done now and would be difficult to add later, how should I "phase" this, if this is even a good idea?

Appreciate any input you have, including examples of such scalable homes and what has or has not worked from what you've seen!

Quote from: rothbard on May 08, 2024, 02:20:30 PMhttps://www.countryplans.com/bolt-house.html

That's a link to a site where they try to get you to pay $300 for the plans. I find it hard to believe any legitimate company would do that. Do you have any information about getting the plans that doesn't involve paying someone $300 for them?
I really can't believe these are so hard to find.