Some small camp questions

[ultraviperman]

Hi! I'm thinking about building a cheap camp for myself on some land around 20x14 to live in year round. Now, in my locality where I'm thinking of buying land in southern new brunswick there are no permits required for under 600sqfeet.

Now I was wondering if somebody could give me a BALL PARK figure what it would cost me to hire someone to frame up the house and put in basic electricity and plumbing?

I just want to know a rough estimate like around 20 thousand or 10 thousand. I'm talking about building a square box here. No loft or second floor. Nothing fancy.

Also, would electric baseboard heat be the cheapest way to heat a 280sq foot house?
I'm thinking that oil/natural gas would be no good no because the furnace would lose alot of it's effeciency because it would be too powerful and would constantly be shutting on and off. I'd also have to pay for maintence on the furnace ect. I'm going to insulate the home really well. I'm going to insulate it as much as possible. Probably like R60 or something.I'm more interested in lowering monthly payments than I am about initial costs. I'd rather spend more upfront to have a lower monthly bill.  I'd like to keep heating bills below 500 dollars a year. My climate is similair to northern new england.

Thanks for your comments.

[glenn-k]

Welcome to the forum.  John is the pro on superinsulation here and has recently posted some information on a thread.  Okie Bobs Icynene is his ultra favorite and highly spoken of by John too.  

Prices can range all over the ball park but if you aren't looking at doing any yourself and are going premium on some of the stuff then I would guess $100 or so per square foot or $28000 plus or minus from there depending on local conditions and resources.  Lots of variables there to be picking a price out of the air.

[desdawg]

Howdy ultraviperman and welcome. I think if search this site you will find a lengthy topic on heating small spaces. Like Glenn said costs can vary considerable from area to area. Out in the boonies will probably be more than near a city, etc.

[MountainDon]

Hi there ultraviperman and welcome. You're thinking about building a cabin about the same size as I have planned for this spring/summer. My design has grown and now stands at 14 x 26. [BTW, I'm a transplanted Canuk.] Building costs can vary a lot, Glenn is in the ballpark for a contracted out building. This forum is a goldmine of info if you want to jump in and build it yourself! And John's plans are easy to modify.

It sounds like you are able to connect to the power grid. Electric heat may be a viable option depending on your cost per KWh. Electric can beat gas / oil prices in places. There are propane/nat. gas heaters available that would probably be a better choice than a conventional furnace; do a google for direct vent heaters. They take up a little wall space and even come in fanless (no power use) models. Do you have a good southern exposure; passive solar may assist in keeping those utility bills down?

Would you consider the use of a wood stove as primary heat when you are there and use the electric/gas option as backup and to meet any code or insurance requirements? They do encroach a little on your space for proper fire clesrances (one reason my cabin grew), but a wood fire sure imparts a nice cozy feel.

Wherabouts will this place of yours be, boonies, country, suburbia.....?

[ultraviperman]

wow, thanks for all the answers guys. I can't believe a tiny little cabin like that would cost 28k!!! I'd be willing to do the construction work myself, but unfortunately I have absolutely no skills or knowledge of carpentry/electrical/plumbing. I've banged a nail into a wall once. lol. Would it be possible to do some of the work myself with no help? What parts are the easiest? I haven't decided how rural yet, but it will be less than a 20 minute drive to a city of 100,000 and it will have electricity ect.

[MountainDon]

I'd recommend you go to John's book reviews at   http://www.countryplans.com/books.html   and pick out some reading material. The first book on the list by Wagner is a great beginning book.  I found one barely used on amazon.com.   The Working Alone is a great help for a solo builder.  I've seen a couple of the other books on the list at the public library.

Do you have a dog? If so build him a nice dog house for some basic carpentry skill practise. If not that, maybe build a small shed on the property first. That'll give you a feel for what you can accomplish. In many places you can build a shed without a permit at all.... must be under whatever the local P&Z has set down... might be a 100 sq ft or so limit. Check that out. I have some simple simple shed plans in Adobe PDF form I could give you.

[Amanda_931]

Or you could spend your Saturdays building with Habitat for Humanity.  They have a book as well.  Don't know if it's wonderful or not, but it is geared for volunteers.  Hit nails and eat--generally pretty good--food provided by one of the local churches or organizations.  Or that's how it was when I did some volunteering.

http://www.amazon.com/Habitat-Humanity-How-Build-House/dp/1561585327

(the Wagner book is good too)