Looking Into Building Small Cabin-Total Newbie

[busymammaof3]

I am a young mother of 3. Separating from my husband. Seriously thinking of moving to Arkansas...to live near my grandparents (on their wooded property near Paragould).

My grandfather has already built their house and is helping my uncle start his "shed" right now. I am seriously thinking about doing the same. My husband receives about $650.00's each month from VA..which I plan to use. My grandfather has his own saw mill. They use the wood from the trees on their property and more than likely, it would be myself (helped my father demo & remodel many a home over the years), my grandfather and possibly my husband (once or twice-since he would be working with my father over 400 miles away).

Any advice, tips, suggestions would be wonderful.

I am not needing anything fancy. Just very functional. Needs to be wired, have plumbing, etc. It needs to accomodate one adult and 3 children (not for recreation as much as for basic living).

About how long would it take to build something like I am describing, ball park figure?

[John Raabe]

The task you are considering is not an easy one. It will be more complex than you think at first. But, it can be done and has been clearly outlined in several of the owner-builder stories in the Gallery.

Here is [highlight]ONE[/highlight]

Here is [highlight]TWO[/highlight]

Finally, check out Heather's House. Built by a 17 year old girl who saved her own money and worked alone and with friends. Her proud mother reports, "(Heather) is out working with a carpenter today....being paid to put up drywall for someone else. Thanks to her experience building her own house, she has gotten jobs from $10-$22/hour doing carpentry. Now she has been asked to talk about her experience building her house at a women in the trades conference. She will also teach folks how to build a picnic table at the conference. The house building has been a huge boost to Heather's self-esteem.....and it has been opening a bunch of doors."

There are also many clever people on this forum who will help you! Best wishes on the project.

[busymammaof3]

Thank you! I submittedmy post shortly after joining the forum. afterwards I spent the past 30 minutes reading posts. LOADS of informative stuff on here! And lots of helpful individuals. I'm happy I came across you guys! I have hesitated the thought of doing this many times...since I have helped tear down and rebuild homes...many times as my father went from one project to another (which we lived in half the time LOL). I tellyou what, it is a big boost of self-esteem for a woman...to learn these types of skills. Right now mine mainly consist of demo ... LOL ... putting up sheetrock, taping/floating. But I have witnessed more times than I can count the hours of labor, sweat, blood, tears and money that is put into building any living space. I will look at the links in your reply. Thanks Again!
Erin

[busymammaof3]

I became so enthralled by Heather, her passions, projects, and way of life...that I have been at my desk ever since your reply to my post! LOL I have saved half a dozen pages of their website, as well. Many sources of information which my grandparents may find they can relate to our can use for their already country way of living.

Thanks for the reference. It was much more interesting to me than you probably would have thought.
Being raised in both country and city life...now with children and settling down...homesteading is something I am so eager to begin. I have always had a decant taste of it (since my grandparents have always lived on their own wooded land, built their own houses out of their own wood, had a wood burning stove, chickens, and more).

This was a great read...especially considering I am currently sick with a stomach big...and too weak to do much.

OK, I got way off subject. Hope that's ok on here!

Thanks Anyway!
Erin

[glenn kangiser]

Welcome to the forum, Erin.  We tend to wander off topic here once in a while ourselves-- or more like we tend to stay on topic once in a while.

The main thing we like to do is answer the question of the topic as well as we can then we start wandering.  If one doesn't get answered as well as wanted ask again.

[Joe Mann]

You might want to consider what I recommend because it's the easiest, fastest and least expensive way to build a house I've seen and I've been designing them for 35 years and used this rigid frame concept recently to design a comfortable 3 bed/2bath at about 900 sq feet and another with 4bed/2bath at 1164 sq ft, but you can have a one or two bedroom such as is found at the below ubild.com website.  They sell the complete plan set for about $10!!! That's right, ten dollars.  It's "plan 370" I think.  I've seen several of these dwellings around the country over the years.  It's called the "rigid frame cabin" and you can build it as long or short as you want and place interior walls in it as you please.   The plans are still sold by U-Bild.  Call them at 1-800-82ubild or visit site at ubild.com -- at the site, search "cabin" and (ignore the A frames) and you might also google "rigid frame cabin" and read some of the sites that are found, especially good article at www.spokesmanreview.com/home/projects/story.asp?ID172441.  I just bought by second set of plans last month. The one featured in the articles The concept evolved from the Army Corps of Engineers for quick, inexpensive living quarter and office buildings and was refined by the U.S. Dept of Forestry.  The cabin fetured in the article is unfinished on the inside, but you can divide the inside space into various room, drywall them, a/c and heat and so on as you would a any house.  Best of all, because the cabin goes up so fast and inexpensively, you can live in it while you finish the inside if your building department allows.  And, the structure was designed so people inexperienced with construction would be able to finish it.  Because you have family members in the area with some knowledge of these things, it may be just what you need.

[travcojim]

On the Rigid Frame plans, is it possible to modify them to add windows along the side walls?  

[Joe Mann]

If you want to add windows to the sidewall of the Rigid Frame plan, I would install windows between the frame studs instead of bothering to re-engineer the wall to accept a window of wider size.  So if code requires studs no less than 24" o.c., I'd order windows that will fit the remaining rough opening....a little tight if your studs are 16" o.c., but I'd enlarge the window width to my taste by putting two or three windows side-by-side without disturbing/cutting through the studs that form the exterior side walls of the Rigid Frame.   Such an installation requires no weight bearing header as is needed when a window requires studs to be sacrificed for the window installation. I don't recall the sizes of side windows on rigid frames that I've seen.  An engineer would be able to tell you if/how the rigid frame stud wall can be re-worked to safely allow a stud to be removed to make way for a wider window, but I wouldn't go that way.  I'm not an engineer....just a dreamer.

[Joe Mann]

A better alternative to the Rigid Frame Cabin idea I posted earlier may be a simpler, cheaper version of  the "Truss Framed House" (google it that way or find it fully described in its "pure" form with diagrams (if you register at the site -- also free) at www.freepatentsonline.com).  I think of the Truss Framed House as an updated and more conventional version of the Rigid Frame dwelling.  I say updated because of the patent date and because it omits the need to use triangular ply gussets that flare out from the wall studs to mate with roof the overhanging roof rafter, producing a more conventional profile for residential neighborhoods.  Note: the construction concept is patented but the use of the patent by anyone is free based on what I've read.

 For the Truss Framed House, you have a roof truss which incorporates the top of two exterior wall studs, left and right under/near the ends of the bottom chord of the roof truss , and the bottom of the exterior wall studs incorporated into a left and right ends of a floor truss so as to produce a truss on the building site that lifts into place and is accompanied by duplicate trusses lifted and spaced on center per code.  

I would simplify (and reduce the cost) by using a 2x10 or 2x12 as the floor truss and nail, screw, glue  the studs flat on to each end of the 2x so that there's much more surface-to-surface gripping power.  I'd avoid the cost of integrating the stud as part of the roof truss and buy the simple gable roof trusses, then use lumber the same width (but much shorter) as my studs to sandwich each truss and each stud from top chord of truss (cut to agree with angle of the top chord roof slope) to some distance onto the surface of each stud you feel safe with, for me, that would be at least 2 feet down from the top edge of the stud.  I'd nail, screw, glue the "sandwich" together, producing the same integrated effect without the cost and manufacturing challenge of the pure Truss Framed House concept, but I suspect achieving the same result.  

You can build your own roof trusses per plans of Midwest Plan Service, or google any number of other sites with specs and Do-It-Yourself step-by-step instructions on how to build your own roof trusses, usually using plywood gussets).  Then again, if I had family-owned lumber mill/yard available to me, might get the trusses to cheap to go with the self-build approach.  I have not seen this modified truss framed house anywhere.  Indeed, I have read that despite the efficiency and speed of site construction, the Truss Framed House was not embraced by the residential construction professionals, possibly because of the difficulty of shipping that size truss (in pure form) from factory to site, or the difficulty of building it on site (in the pure form) in whole or part.....or possibly due to what was perceived (I believe incorrectly so) as limited in terms of potential interior floor plans and too simple an exterior shape.

I've designed many plans adding on minimal depth roof/wall bump-outs that I believe dramatically change the appearance of the units and allow for a less copy-cat look when drawn side by side for mass production.  A word of caution: I am NOT an engineer and have only been designing as a hobbyist for 35 years.  I've only built three houses I designed so far, and these did NOT use the rigid or truss framed approach I describe here and which I have found so fascinating for many years as a quick, cheap, easy way to get a covered roof on a home you can finish inside at your own pace (or all at once). I've seen several Rigid Frame Cabin units over the years, usually in forrest, beach and/or vacation settings.

[outhouse]

This is a pretty inspiring example for a start. Simple and affordable. http://www.countryplans.com/cottage.htm

An easy start for water would be a polypropelene tank with pump, or hill for gravity pressure (about 4.3 psi for every 10 ft of tank elevation). Either way you wouldn't need constant water pressure from the main house/meter, and could just fill when needed or rig a float valve to keep it filled.

If you eventually wanted a well or metered water, the tank could serve to store rain water caught from the roof and water plants.  

[n74tg]

Erin:
I am building my own house (by myself) in Hot Springs, AR.  You can do it too, but it isn't easy, and it doesn't build quickly if you're doing it by yourself.   But, it CAN be done.  

My project is chronicled in blog at address below if you're interested.

Good luck.  

[fourx]

Looks great, Tony- is that a lake the house faces? I did the same,in hardwood, all by myself twenty years back, and it takes a big heart and a lot of vision sometimes to keep going, I agree. The feeling of attainment and positive creation at the finish ( except it never really finishes as far as maintance goes) makes all that sweat and cursing well worthwhile.

[n74tg]

Yes Fourx, it faces one of the many coves and inlets on Lake Hamilton, which is the big lake that goes around much of Hot Springs.  

Oh, and yes, there has already been plenty of sweating.....and cursing.   But, all it all, it's kinda relaxing (sometimes) working on the house.  And then, something doesn't go right, and all the relaxing goes away and is replaced by stress and frustration.