Building a cabin

[bhdawgs]

any of yall ever build a cabin from the ground up at your deer land / farm? I am wanting to do this in the near future... most likely will have to have a crew do it, but i am eager to do some of it by myself. What are some dos/ donts? Things you learned or wish you had done ? I am not wanting to go fancy but something like the new metal pole barndominiums look slick, or a traditional log cabin, or A Frame. 1200-1500 SF with loft.... low maintenance. The cabin will be in SW GA, so most likely on a slab too.

thanks for any help or recommendations.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Great project!!!!!

 

[Lilly001]

I went with a steel building.
30x40 with a 10' ceiling.
I had the building assembled on a slab and then finished it on my own (still ongoing).
I am very happy with it.

 

[longbowdave1]

I went with a steel building.
30x40 with a 10' ceiling.
I had the building assembled on a slab and then finished it on my own (still ongoing).
I am very happy with it.

Got any pictures of your place.

 

[Lilly001]

This is it's current state.

 

[Danuwoa]

Man that’s awesome. I’ll tell you what we did and since it sounds like you aren’t far from me you will probably know what I’m talking about. We ordered one of those sheds the Mennonites build. It’s perfect. They delivered it and put the blocks under it. We use a generator for power and wired it up ourselves and put in a window unit for hot weather and an old Ranger stove for heat. It ain’t fancy but might be exactly what you’re looking for. I posted outside and inside pics in the deer camp thread if you’re interested.

 

[bhdawgs]

This is it's current state.

Got any photos of the inside? What was your rough costs? thanks

 

[longbowdave1]

This is it's current state.

Looks great!

 

[Lilly001]

Got any photos of the inside? What was your rough costs? thanks

Ill try to post some later as they are on my phone and I have trouble with that new tech.
As it stands (needs trim inside and the kitchen done) I'm in the high 30's.
I found that acting as my own contractor(I pretty much had to as I built it as I had $ available) and paying cash helped keep the cost manageable..

 

[nmurph]

Log homes require considerable maintenance, more than traditional construction and WAY more than steel.

 

[rstallings1979]

We ended up doing a 2nd home for the most part on our farm. It is around 2000 sq ft with 3 beds and 2 1/2 baths. I would have been fine with a steel building at first but the wife got ahold of it and went a different direction. I don't regret it as we spend a ton of time up there all throughout the year. Its got a porch that wraps around 3/4 of the home with a kick out for our outdoor fireplace area. Its my favorite place to be on earth to be honest. Headed there for the fourth!!!

 

[baddave]

just keep maintenance in mind . i've been thru this enough in my life . you have a little get away spot and it seems u spend all your time doing maintenance . That steel bldg sounds great . My father started building a little cabin in crawfordville about 55 yrs ago. he had 1 day a week to go out there during hunting seasons . worked 5 days and HAD to go to church 1 day . he seemed to always have to work on that stupid little wood framed cabin every saturday . i pulled in a single wide trailer and now all i have to work on is tractor, golf cart, food plots , fish pond , rarely have to do anything on that trailer.. i added a 8X10 bedrm on the back and a 10X 24 covered deck on the front . it is double tender

 

[jicard3]

Man that’s awesome. I’ll tell you what we did and since it sounds like you aren’t far from me you will probably know what I’m talking about. We ordered one of those sheds the Mennonites build. It’s perfect. They delivered it and put the blocks under it. We use a generator for power and wired it up ourselves and put in a window unit for hot weather and an old Ranger stove for heat. It ain’t fancy but might be exactly what you’re looking for. I posted outside and inside pics in the deer camp thread if you’re interested.

That's what we did as well. Ours is long and narrow, I'm guessing maybe 12' x 26'. We scrapped up materials and framed a few walls inside for a bedroom at the back end, bathroom and kitchen in the center and small sitting area in the front end. Got a loft big enough to sleep a few folks. We jokingly call it our tiny house. I wouldn't describe it as "nice" but it works out well for a hunting cabin.
I know a fella that is finishing a cabin he built from landscape timbers. He says it was too labor intensive and he'll never do it again but I'm here to tell you...that thing is neat. Web search "landscape timber cabin" and all kinds of pics pop up.

 

[Lilly001]

These are interior from my surveillance cameras.

 

[Lilly001]

Kitchen area. This is just temporary until I instal a real kitchen.

 

[Lilly001]

You can also see that the ceiling is not completed. That is just the batting insulation under the roof, it will have a finished ceiling with 10-12” of insulation.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Wishing the OP the best!

We just purchased a farm that has a 60+ year old house on and we are returbishing it as we go.

We are spending the 4th in full work mode.

This weekend I am tiling the counters and backsplash, installing new sink and faucet.

Have a 30 yard dumpster in the yard and am emptying the outbuildings.

Love to see progress from the OP and all others - some great ideas so far!

We love photos!

 

[nmurph]

Let me give you a little more perspective. I sell at least 3-4 "get away" homes every year. People buy/build them with the dream of spending time there but life seems to get in the way after a few years. 5-10yrs is pretty typical. Last year I sold a nice river cabin that had been owned by the family since the mid-80's and last month I sold a hunting property that had been owned by the same man since the early 2000's. Those are more the exceptions. I sold another last year that sold to the owners just the year before. It's tough to maintain two properties and life seems to get in the way of enjoying them.
As mentioned above, if I were doing a get-away property, I would buy a used single wide and put it on the property. You can do some nicer touches like flooring and countertops. If it's not a full-time residence, the you can make some compromises in terms of room and finishes in return for being better able to enjoy it. If you decide to retire and build, you can sell the MH and will have the well and septic in place. It's tough to get out what you will put into a hunting-only houses. Larger parcels tend to sell for less per acre and the money spent on a house tends to absorbed and not realized as return at a sale. JMO.

 

[Triple C]

Built this pole barn cabin in 2011. 2 bedroom 1 bath with nice shop. 30x50 plus 12 ft porch across front. Haven’t spent a penny on maintenance since building. I’m there just about every weekend.

 

[KevChap]

Been wanting to build a real cabin forever.. I have so many logs being in the tree business.. I've just never made time to do it yet. I wanna build mine the old way