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Cabin

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
I thought I would share some pics from our cabin build starting in 2012. My dad is a jack of all trades type and I am not...but I am good at grunt work. At times I thought we took on more than we could handle but with the ingenuity and help of a few friends and family we put together a respectable place. We probably could have created something more attractive but we opted for practical instead. It is 24x36 with 4 10x12 rooms (3 bedrooms and a bathroom). The living room/kitchen is 16x24. It is powered by generator except for the water pump which is solar powered. We are looking into converting the whole cabin to solar because our solar panel is going to waste. We have a downspout hooked into a cistern. A wood stove provides the heat. We used pine and poplar trees from our property for the wall siding inside the cabin and for the ceiling in the living room.

We made LOTS of mistakes but have been able to cover most up. The cabin is so far out that if something went wrong or we forgot something the work was done for the day.

My dad leveling the site
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Preparing for the pillars. That job truly sucked! It was very difficult getting them lined up.
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Setting the beams on pillars.
7a.jpg

Floor joists
8.jpg
10.jpg
13.jpg

Floor
11.jpg
 

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
Great cabin. Being able to use boards from your own trees is very cool. Have you had any problem with shrinkage of the boards inside?

We were able to stack the lumber in a warehouse for about 5 months to air dry before we had it cut and planed. There has been some shrinkage but not much...mostly with length not width. We built our interior doors using pine and poplar boards also. The 3 pine doors have twisted but still close. The poplar door is still straight.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
We have a small band mill, but the Woodmizer like an LT35 or bigger with hydrologics is first class for a portable mill. Really does the hard work for you.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Fantastic setup you have. I am sure it is plenty rewarding to build it yourselves. Very nice.
 
We were able to stack the lumber in a warehouse for about 5 months to air dry before we had it cut and planed. There has been some shrinkage but not much...mostly with length not width. We built our interior doors using pine and poplar boards also. The 3 pine doors have twisted but still close. The poplar door is still straight.

I assumed it hadn't been dried. I doubt you will have much shrinkage with 5 months drying time.
 

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
This is one of our most recent projects...flooring in the main room. I was ok with painted plywood floors but wow what a difference this made. We also finally got our tankless water heater working. At hot shower makes staying overnight even better. Next up is being able switch to solar from generator power.

IMG_1306.jpg
 
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