Maine Mountainside 20 x 32 cabin

[soomb]

What brand camera was/is it?

[MaineRhino]

I use a Moultrie I-60. It's a 6 megapixel camera with infrared flash.

This is my fourth (4) one. They keep breaking, and Cabela's keeps replacing them. I love that store!

It took this picture just after I set it up out behind our outhouse..........

[glenn kangiser]

That is a cool picture.

[peteh2833]

That is a great picture.

[Whitlock]

Wow what a good picture!
That bobcat sure is red compared to around here

[MikeOnBike]

He looks a little thin but maybe its just the light summer pelt.  Here in Idaho I usually see them in the winter when their pelt is heavier.  My best reference is the one we raised when I was in high school and he ate pretty well.

[MaineRhino]

This bear pic was taken in the same spot.

[rakuz66]

Great looking camp!  What is the snow load up there?  Does the loft tie the walls together?  Or is it that double collar tie, or both?  Just getting idea's!

[MaineRhino]

I'm not sure of any official snow load calculations for this area, but we had record snowfall last year! I'm sure it was over 14' at my house. I think I plowed 24 times or so.....

The loft does tie the walls topgether, as well as the collar ties. I put the ties as high as I could. They are about 7' 8" or so from the loft floor. It leaves lots of head room.

This is before the insulation was finished..

[rakuz66]

Gotcha, what about the front half??  Is that open ? Or is there ceiling joists??    Beautiful work by the way.  Where did u get plans? or is it your idea's?  Thanks again.

[MaineRhino]

The front part is an open cathedral ceiling.

The plans were in my head, but my inspiration came from this site! The last two winters I spent many hours reviewing all the other posts and pics here, and my plan was always changing. We also visited camps for sale to get an idea of floor space and layout. We actually had a major change in plans about two weeks before building, and we are glad we waited and planned for so long (one year).
They sell plans here which are similar to my camp. I would recommend starting with those plans and modify as you see fit.

[glenn kangiser]

I find I often change plans or methods or materials based on knowledge I have gained here-- even for customers -- on CODE jobs.  Yes  I bow to the system on work for others...

[MaineRhino]

Here is an older pic from the loft toward the front.  You can see that there are 2 2x8x20' rough hemlock beams that sit on top of the wall, and are attached to the rafters for extra support. I also used it to install 2 overhead lights (not seen in pic).

[rakuz66]

So those 2 ( 2x8x20) hemlocks hold the walls together in the front half.  I see.  What did you use for rafters, looks like 2x8's or 10's on 16 in/ctr?  Is there a ridge beam or just ridge board???  Sorry for the   Just trying to get my stuff together< thanks.

[MaineRhino]

No problem, happy to help!

The rafters are 2x8, 16"o/c.  The ridge is a 2x10.

[peteh2833]

I used a 2x10 ridge board and 2x8 rafters on 24"OC. How come you went with 16"OC ?

[John Raabe]

Neat photos all the way around.

Thanks for sharing the project and the wildlife.

Communing with nature in the outhouse looks like it could be more than a delicately worded phrase.

[MaineRhino]

I have finally gotten my wife to walk to the outhouse by herself!  After seeing those pics last year, she was very reluctant to wander far by herself.  Our dog goes only to her invisible fence flags. Just the flags, no fence installed up there. She hasn't figured it out yet....


Peteh2833,  I went 16" OC for added strength. For what little I spent on the extra boards I more than gained in peace of mind.

[rakuz66]

Maine, just trying to get the dimensions straight.  20 is the width and 32 the length ??  or is it the other way around?  How long is your loft?   

[MaineRhino]

The base is 20' wide by 32' long. The actual camp is 20x26, which leaves 6' for the front porch.

I would not do it this way again. I would make the camp 20x32, and install the porch and porch roof later. In this case, I was limited by the trees in front of camp. There are two beautiful white birch trees I did not want to cut down.

I would also put the woodstove in the center of camp.

The loft is 20' wide by 10' deep. Then I installed a 3'x10' addition on that where the steps land upstairs. Does that make sense?

[peteh2833]

Not happy with where the stove is now?

[rakuz66]

I think I have it.  So your l.room area w/the vaulted ceiling is 16 ft long by 20 ft wide. 

[MaineRhino]

Yes, the main area is 16x20.

If I did it again I would center the woodstove, creating a more even heat throughout the cabin. I've seen pics of some other cabins with woodstoves centered, now I know why.

[MountainDon]

There's no doubt that a central location for a wood stove does distribute heat better to all parts. However, cabin size and personal preferences may dictate otherwise. In our case with a 16x30, we opted for corner placement, and for a few reasons I believe it's best for us.

1. corner placement left us with more safe usable space when the stove is fired.

2. with the stove in one corner and the sleeping area in another, more distant corner, the sleeping area will be cooler and we both count that as a plus. There's going to be a ceiling fan towards the stove end and that should help even out the temps if desired/needed.

There's no one size fits all solution, IMO.

[peteh2833]

I'm putting mine on the one outside wall towards the center. I would like to get it into the center but just can't find a good place. Plus with 3 young children I can box it off with a railing if it is against the one wall. Pete