I know I asked before but this time I am seriously building a cabin in the woods and am looking for plans/pictures/ideas for a tight cabin.

Gonna build this fall and eventually live in it full time.

Please post pics/ drawings of cabins in the woods if you have them!

Gonna be building in New England.

I especially interested in passive solar design, natural springs/dug wells...etc

There tons of cheap plans online for cabins. Start looking there for ideas. I have some land Im going to build a conex cabin on so it's safe from bears and people when Im not there. Good luck!

This site has a lot of interesting small cabin plans & their prices are reasonable.

http://www.townandcountryplans.com/
http://www.cerc.colostate.edu/Blueprints/blueprints.html

They may give you a few ideas.

Red

 I forgot to mention that if you are building in the woods consider putting metal roofing and hardy board on the outside to cut down on your fire danger. I live in the woods and I will be replacing my roof next year with metal after all the fires nearby here in N. CA the last few years. When burning embers are floating in on your roof you realize how important these two items really are.

Red

Basically looking for some good pictures of cabins/cottages!

More pics if you keep scrolling down.  

My Cabin

here's my thread : www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=612794

Bought mine from northeastern log homes in kenduskeag maine. It went togrther well and the plans were well written.

Thanks for all the pics so far!

Would love some more!

I got about 3 acres of wooded land.  Gonna start building next month!

Here's mine. It was built from logs cut and milled on the property.  It does have a full concrete form basement, however, so it's a little different than what you are looking for. If you are considering a log home do research into heating; it's not as much as R factor issue as it is a mass issue. Once you get the house warm it tends to stay warm (same thing for cooling). We have a single gas fireplace that will get the house too hot for comfort, in the dead of winter, in about 20 minutes. The house also has an oil furnace, which I keep set at 52 in the winter (I'm only there 10-15 days/month), and a backup woodstove, as well.

Anyway...







It's on a little over 40 acres, almost all wooded.

Thanks for the pics.    I was there last winter for the winter campout.  How many square feet is your house?

Quoted: Thanks for the pics.    I was there last winter for the winter campout.  How many square feet is your house?

Thought I remembered that.

The house is about 1650 sq ft.

Check you local Home Depot although not techinally cabins they have a two story storage building (I think around 16 X 30) listed for $12K.  I'll take some picture the next time I go.  My first thought was sell the house and move one of these on a 100 acres.  At $12K you could be debt free pretty quick.  

I would start your search here. Log Home Builders
I took their class, and feel confident that I have the knowledge on how to build my own home. For the tasks that I need professional help, electrical and plumbing, I will seek that out.
They have a great forum and are pretty helpful. There are many 'survival minded' folks on their forum.
Their basic premise is to 'do it yourself' and rely on #1, and they teach the skills on how to do just that. I took their class a few years ago, and it was an invaluable experience.
At the very minimum, I know enough to spot quality home building, whether I choose to buy a kit home, or build from scratch or pay someone else to do it. They also have a recommended Architect that uses their strategy and methods of building in his plans.
Give it a look.

And now for something completely different:

Have you studied alternative building designs at all? For my first year in NM I lived in an Earth Ship. This is a building that uses automobile tires, stuffed with rammed earth, as building blocks. The idea is to have lots of heat mass to hold in the heat. With 24" thick walls, this is easy! Solar/wind power provided adequate electrical power for domestic needs (washer, propane-fired dryer, lights, etc); however, the well  required a 220VAC generator. (it is 400+ feet deep!)

Temperatures: 22 outside, 60 inside; 120 outside, 80 inside. I can live with that; there are NO heaters or air conditioners in the house.

Here are some pics of the electrical system:

PV cells + 24" dia windmill:


eight 6v golf cart batteries:


"Smart" battery management unit. This switches automatically between batteries & 'shore power,' i.e. genny or power company:

Quoted: And now for something completely different: Have you studied alternative building designs at all? For my first year in NM I lived in an Earth Ship. This is a building that uses automobile tires, stuffed with rammed earth, as building blocks. The idea is to have lots of heat mass to hold in the heat. With 24" thick walls, this is easy! Solar/wind power provided adequate electrical power for domestic needs (washer, propane-fired dryer, lights, etc); however, the well  required a 220VAC generator. (it is 400+ feet deep!) Temperatures: 22 outside, 60 inside; 120 outside, 80 inside. I can live with that; there are NO heaters or air conditioners in the house. Here are some pics of the electrical system: PV cells + 24" dia windmill: i56.photobucket.com/albums/g169/franksymptoms/Home%20Stuff/DSC01061.jpg eight 6v golf cart batteries: i56.photobucket.com/albums/g169/franksymptoms/Home%20Stuff/DSC01064.jpg "Smart" battery management unit. This switches automatically between batteries & 'shore power,' i.e. genny or power company: i56.photobucket.com/albums/g169/franksymptoms/Home%20Stuff/DSC01059.jpg

I seen a documentary the other day about a man in NM that had a subdivision full of these dwellings. Of course the county was fuckin with them about building codes etc. Then it showed him gowing to the state capitol trying to get them to ease up and understand these alternative structures and movement. Somewhat of a green movement of course.

Were you in anyway associated with these folks? Do you know what or who Im talking about?

I have been studying all of this off the grid stuff and Im somewhat intrigued.

countryplans.com/

Hre is a site I came accross and have been studying that I think will help the OP. It matches his request anyways.

Quoted: I would start your search here. Log Home Builders I took their class, and feel confident that I have the knowledge on how to build my own home. For the tasks that I need professional help, electrical and plumbing, I will seek that out. They have a great forum and are pretty helpful. There are many 'survival minded' folks on their forum. Their basic premise is to 'do it yourself' and rely on #1, and they teach the skills on how to do just that. I took their class a few years ago, and it was an invaluable experience. At the very minimum, I know enough to spot quality home building, whether I choose to buy a kit home, or build from scratch or pay someone else to do it. They also have a recommended Architect that uses their strategy and methods of building in his plans. Give it a look.

A big +1

I took the class in early 2006.  It's definately well worth it if your serious about building with logs.  Not kits or milled timber --- LOGS!

Cygnus ...  Do you have the same screen name over at LHBA forums??  

Heavyopp

Quoted: Quoted: I would start your search here. Log Home Builders I took their class, and feel confident that I have the knowledge on how to build my own home. For the tasks that I need professional help, electrical and plumbing, I will seek that out. They have a great forum and are pretty helpful. There are many 'survival minded' folks on their forum. Their basic premise is to 'do it yourself' and rely on #1, and they teach the skills on how to do just that. I took their class a few years ago, and it was an invaluable experience. At the very minimum, I know enough to spot quality home building, whether I choose to buy a kit home, or build from scratch or pay someone else to do it. They also have a recommended Architect that uses their strategy and methods of building in his plans. Give it a look. A big +1 I took the class in early 2006.  It's definately well worth it if your serious about building with logs.  Not kits or milled timber --- LOGS! Cygnus ...  Do you have the same screen name over at LHBA forums??   Heavyopp

I am a member as well. (Dec 2005)

Fantastic investment of time and money if you're remotely considering building a cabin.

On a side note, did you know that Skip Ellsworth just recently died?

These guys are in Washington state....kinda too far for me to go to 2 day class...but thanks for link.

Quoted: These guys are in Washington state....kinda too far for me to go to 2 day class...but thanks for link.

I was torn as well, but it's worth the trip. Seriously. If you're interested in cabin-building and can possibly afford it, this will change your viewpoint on a lot of things.

The class closes out quickly, and it's held in one of the most awesome log cabins that you will ever see. I'll never forget my time there, and the whole crew is "likeminded" and even shoots off their porch during class breaks.

Quoted: Quoted: These guys are in Washington state....kinda too far for me to go to 2 day class...but thanks for link. I was torn as well, but it's worth the trip. Seriously. If you're interested in cabin-building and can possibly afford it, this will change your viewpoint on a lot of things. The class closes out quickly, and it's held in one of the most awesome log cabins that you will ever see. I'll never forget my time there, and the whole crew is "likeminded" and even shoots off their porch during class breaks.

 It's not too far.  Just a 3 day weekend. I left on a friday, had classes sat and sun, and went straight to the airport from class sunday night.  Left seattle at around midnight.  I was back in my house in Jersey before 10 am. Cost about $1,500. Class, air, rental car , and 2 nights at the best western.   Worth every penny.

Skip Ellsworth dead?? I'm heading to LHBA site now.


Jer      

Quoted: I would start your search here. Log Home Builders I took their class, and feel confident that I have the knowledge on how to build my own home. For the tasks that I need professional help, electrical and plumbing, I will seek that out. They have a great forum and are pretty helpful. There are many 'survival minded' folks on their forum. Their basic premise is to 'do it yourself' and rely on #1, and they teach the skills on how to do just that. I took their class a few years ago, and it was an invaluable experience. At the very minimum, I know enough to spot quality home building, whether I choose to buy a kit home, or build from scratch or pay someone else to do it. They also have a recommended Architect that uses their strategy and methods of building in his plans. Give it a look.

This looks sweet. But they say they are not doing anymore classes this year. Does anyone know of any good books for something small? Like 14'X20'?

Quoted: I seen a documentary the other day about a man in NM that had a subdivision full of these dwellings. Of course the county was fuckin with them about building codes etc. Then it showed him gowing to the state capitol trying to get them to ease up and understand these alternative structures and movement. Somewhat of a green movement of course. Were you in anyway associated with these folks? Do you know what or who Im talking about? I have been studying all of this off the grid stuff and Im somewhat intrigued.

I'm not associated with them. I just lived in the house my sister owned. SHE did a lot of studying, and visited the site you mentioned.

Lots of problems exist with getting permits. The entrenched authorities don't want to sign off on new buildings until a ton of engineering work has been done. Personally, I believe that there is a lot of prejudice from contractors and labor unions; they don't want to invest in the technology & training to build these buildings.

dupe sri

Quoted: Quoted: I would start your search here. Log Home Builders I took their class, and feel confident that I have the knowledge on how to build my own home. For the tasks that I need professional help, electrical and plumbing, I will seek that out. They have a great forum and are pretty helpful. There are many 'survival minded' folks on their forum. Their basic premise is to 'do it yourself' and rely on #1, and they teach the skills on how to do just that. I took their class a few years ago, and it was an invaluable experience. At the very minimum, I know enough to spot quality home building, whether I choose to buy a kit home, or build from scratch or pay someone else to do it. They also have a recommended Architect that uses their strategy and methods of building in his plans. Give it a look. This looks sweet. But they say they are not doing anymore classes this year. Does anyone know of any good books for something small? Like 14'X20'?

Living Homes by Thomas Elpel has a chapter in the butt-and-pass method of log building taught by the LHBA.

There's another log cabin building book that is for shorter log building called the Short Log And Timber Building Book that is out of print, but you can find it on Amazon and Ebay sometimes. That's where I bought my copy.

 This will probably start the S... flying, but 8" logs = R-8, which is better than a tent, but way worse than R-19.
 I'll have to admit that when I was younger, the idea of my own small LOG cabin in the woods was VERY attractive...... however, with the input of an Architect buddy, I decided to go with well insulated frame design.
 One of the biggest problems with log construction is the eventual air infiltration from the logs shrinking & twisting- look at older log cabins, particularly arround the doors & windows at the settling.  My uncle wanted a traditional log cabin, but used the newer T&G milled logs to be tighter- he also wanted a fireplace instead of a wood stove.  After 20 years that place is so cold in the winter & so hot in the summer, I can't imagine someone living there full time.  On the other hand, my cabin a few hundred yards away, takes but a few very small pieces of wood in the stove in the AM to keep the place warm most of the day- or in summer close the windows in the AM & it will stay nice & cool for the day.
 I built my 24X32 cabin 10 years ago all by myself at the cost of $19,800 furnished.  If I would have hired the work done, it would have been $40-50K.   I suspect that if I was to build it today, it would cast about $50K in materials.
 For the record, the water comes from a small stream a couple hundred yards away (could put hydro on it- have an old 1.5 KW Wind Jenny that I could adapt).  That water is so pure & great tasting, that I could bottle it & sell it for twice what the best bottled water is going for in the stores! (yeah, I know- it should be boiled etc.- I wonder if the old Prospectors & settlers up there did that..).  I have so much wood around, that it could supply a dozen cabins like mine.
 In 1900 the old guy that originally homesteaded here, planted potatoes & a dozen apple trees (still bearing) & sold them to the gold prospectors (yes, you can still pan gold ot of the river- lot of hard work though!).
 I'm just saying that if you are going to put your life & soul into a project like this, just don't get too wrapped up in the dream.... keep an open mind to what will be the most efficient for you in the long run.  I did use half log siding on the outside- so that it does LOOK like a log cabin

Who uses 8" logs for a cabin?



Depending on your species of wood, R values can be as high as 1.5 or 2 per inch of wood.

I've been in cabins with 12" diameter logs that are super warm - and they are heated only with a small stove. 12 is the minimum suggested by the LHBA.

The LHBA used whole logs, and the only drawback is that you have to re-chink after the first year due to the shrinkage.

However, because the shrinkage of a whole, uncut log is proportionate from the outside towards the inside diameter, you don't get the same kind of settling. Just come along with your re-chink coat in a year.