|
| Author |
Message |
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 07:00pm - Edited by: wvcabingirl
Reply
Hi friends,
Just wanted to share a bit more about my cabin.
I purchased on 2/28/25 after 4 years of searching for land in OH, KY, and WV. My heart was pulling me back to West Virginia (lived there previously) and when I saw this property I knew it was the one. It was exactly what I wanted and for the right price, I was able to pay cash for the cabin and 15 acres.
The cabin was originally a post & beam Jamaica Cottages Vermont kit constructed in 2010, with an addition built on the back in 2016. It is situated atop a small mountain by way of a hazardously steep gravel road which becomes impassable in snow (is it a requirement of every great cabin to be nearly inaccessible? I think so). My property is the last on the road, you must cross up and over the top of the hill to get to it and I am the only one on the other side... I am surrounded by nothing but deep woods and very lucky to have all the privacy in the world.
I am "on the grid" for now, but do rely on portable propane tanks for my cooking fuel and hot water heater (I'm spoiled, I know). There is a well and cistern, but have had quite a bit of trouble with it... not so easy to drill down through a mountain... for now we are on water rations and making it work.
2025 was packed full of projects. I reconstructed the deck and added a roof, installed a huge living room window, re-roofed the entire cabin (an unforeseen event), added on a 4x8 entry way, sorted through lots of junk and trash left behind by previous owner, and planted dozens of native trees and shrubs throughout the property. I will add photos and more information when I have the time.
Thanks for reading if you've come this far!
Day of purchase!
| 
Lots of cleaning and sorting in the beginning
| 
Surprise daffodils in the yard
| 
View walking down to the cabin
|
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 07:10pm
Reply
More photos from early on
Taz and Sadie
| 
Pines in the backyard
| 
View off the porch
| 
Black walnut firewood from tree that fell behind the cabin
|
|
|
gcrank1
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 07:40pm
Reply
What a Great Looking Place!
Dont fall out of your yard and break your arm 
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 08:44pm
Reply
Thank you gcrank1! And ha! There have been a few mishaps already! A little mud or snow... well, let's just say I've discovered there are a few different ways to fall down a hill
|
|
gcrank1
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 09:38pm
Reply
When yer down in the snow just make Snow Angels 
|
|
paulz
Member
|
# Posted: 2 Jan 2026 09:47pm
Reply
Very nice. How does that black walnut firewood burn?
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 3 Jan 2026 10:53am
Reply
The end of April, 2025 brought my first big construction project at the cabin.
I had my little sister and my engineer dad come down from Michigan to help design my new porch roof and we made the first big improvement to the cabin. The porch was a priority so I would have a covered area to store tools and supplies while working on the rest of my projects, it has proved invaluable over the past year.
The original porch roof was more of an overhang and only extended over 4ft of my 8ft wide porch. I don't know who put it together, but it was braced incorrectly against the wall of the cabin and the main "beam" spanning the 20ft length of the overhand was two 10ft 6x6 hemlock beams scabbed together in the middle with a lap cut and just a couple screws. Interesting.
I strapped into my rock climbing harness and dangled off the top of the roof with a circular saw to cut the old metal roofing back (very precarious) then we deconstructed and took the old porch overhang completely off.
After some head scratching we agreed on a pitch, then built a header and wrestled it into place on top of pre-existing porch posts... I'm guessing the previous owner planned to extend the roof but never got around to it, the posts were left exposed to weather and were bent and wonky. We made them work for now, later on down the road I hope to cut them out and replace with tree trunks for a more rustic look.
Photos below.
Cabin when I bought it, you can see the porch roof doesn't extend to top of posts
| 
Cutting old metal roof
| 
Porch deconstruction
| 
Porch roof coming together
|
|
|
spencerin
Member
|
# Posted: 3 Jan 2026 10:06pm
Reply
So cool to see. It looks like you purchased a diamond in the rough and that you are the right person to restore it to its rightful glory.....
|
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 4 Jan 2026 11:32am
Reply
One spring afternoon walking around the back of the cabin I observed a 5-foot rat snake slithering up the siding and into the roof. The ensuing investigation revealed that my metal roof was simply screwed into furring strips on top of the rafters with no sheathing underneath, leaving my ceiling and insulation open to every critter in the county. And those critters had taken full advantage, the insulation was infested with mice and I found numerous bird nests and snake skins. There was an entire ecosystem up there! Naturally the roof took top priority and so began my least favorite but most rewarding project of 2025.
I started the project by myself after my partner helped me load sheathing and new roofing panels up onto the porch rafters and doing this kind of work alone is not something I would ever recommend. Roofing is some of the hardest work I have ever done and I immediately regretted my decision to work in the humid summer heat. I found myself waking before dawn to beat the temperatures and get as much knocked out before mid-day as I could. I was able to complete 1/3 of the roof by myself and managed to do it without falling through my ceiling and breaking my neck. I consider that a success. I saved the rest of the project for autumn when the temperatures were milder. My partner, brother, and I rallied and knocked it out together and in the end the entire roof was sheathed, protected with synthetic underlayment, every nook and cranny was sealed with rodent wire, and brand new roofing panels were installed on 2” furring strips. New gable ladders were also installed on 3 sides and the rotten, water damaged overhangs were repaired and rebuilt. We all agreed it was the first and last roof we ever want to put on!! Ha!
Preparing for sheathing
| 
Replacing insulation
| 
My brother and I
| 
Halfway there
|
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 4 Jan 2026 11:42am
Reply
A few more photos
My trusty helper
| 
Mouse infested insulation I replaced
| 
View from the roof, my beautiful mimosa tree
| 
New roof, still some detail work to finish
|
|
|
gcrank1
Member
|
# Posted: 4 Jan 2026 01:38pm
Reply
Yer Rockin It!
|
|
Fanman
Member
|
# Posted: 4 Jan 2026 07:33pm
Reply
I agree, roofing is definitely one of the least fun jobs... I've done a few, both my own and neighbors, and I'm sure I'll do more. Where our cabin is we have roofing parties, supply burgers and beer and get 20 or more helpers, of course you're expected to reciprocate, which is as is should be. But metal is SO much easier than shingles even though it's more expensive.
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Jan 2026 08:37pm
Reply
This one will be short and sweet… my favorite project since buying the cabin is my new living room window. The original cabin kit came with 2x4’ barn sash windows hung much too low for my personal taste. After scouring FB Marketplace, I found an amazing Andersen triple casement window in Morgantown a couple hours away and was able to get it for $200, a steal. Vinyl exterior, wood interior and 4x7’ of beautiful glass.
It was too heavy to install by myself so my neighbors came over and helped me. Here are some pics from that day. Note the post and beam construction of the cabin, visible with the siding off. Adding windows and doors has been a breeze since I don’t have to worry about wall studs.
The old window
| 
Framing and header for new window
| 
Ready for new window
| 
There she is!
|
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Jan 2026 08:43pm
Reply
And the view! Summer and winter.
IMG_9611.jpeg
| 
IMG_9608.jpeg
| 
IMG_3492.jpeg
|  |
|
|
wvcabingirl
Member
|
# Posted: 7 Jan 2026 08:46am
Reply
My biggest headache -I mean, ahem, “project”- of 2025 arose when I met one of my next door neighbors for the first time and he asked, “How’s the water up there? You run out yet?” His eyes got big when he saw my confused face and the next question was “Oh no, you don’t know about the well??”
No, I didn’t know about the well. As a young, first-time home buyer I naively believed my real estate agent when he assured me there was a well and running water on the property… I didn’t know to ask the important questions like “How deep is the well?” and “Is it going to run dry on me?”
The well is shallow, and it is running dry.
On a West Virginia mountainside where I’m located a well should be drilled 500 feet or deeper. Mine is 400. Mine runs dry. It produces about 3 gallons an hour. Pitiful. I discovered the situation about 3 months after purchasing and have kicked myself ever since, next time I will ask the right questions and have the well tested.
Long story short, not only was the well not producing, but my 1,200 gallon cistern was not holding water and was floating out of the ground where it was buried due to not being properly seated by the irreputable company that drilled the well. In August a neighbor brought his excavator over and worked at my property for 4 days unburying my cistern and re-seating it. He also worked on my driveway and flattened/graded the steep hillside directly behind my cabin. He did great work and was very affordable, I paid $2,000 for everything.
During the whole ordeal, we also discovered that the plumbing from the well to the cistern had come loose when the cistern floated and that is why it was only holding water up to a certain level and was sucking mud into the tank. That was a relatively easy fix, thank goodness. We washed and bleached the cistern then reinstalled and replumbed it.
I wish that was the end of the tale but in the months since the tank has not refilled like I thought I would. I don’t know what is going on with the well, but it seems to have slowed down to a mere trickle. We are on strict water rations and trying to decide how to move forward. A reputable contact suggested bringing a water truck up here and back-flushing the well to wash the veins out and hopefully clear any sediment. I think I will try that first. Rainwater collection seems like my next best option but that will require digging the cistern back up and finding somewhere to seat it next to the cabin, a major undertaking and expense. There is a natural spring over the hill from me but it is undeveloped and I am not sure what that would cost or how practical it would be to pump water the 1/10th of a mile to the cabin. Any input or suggestions are welcome!!
Mud in the cistern from a plumbing leak
| 
Re-burying the cistern (deeper hole this time)
| 
Filling inner columns with rock to add anchor weight and prevent floating
| 
Filling back in with soil
|
|
|
gcrank1
Member
|
# Posted: 7 Jan 2026 09:35am - Edited by: gcrank1
Reply
Fwiw, around here that kind of false statement from the real estate agent puts them liable for 'damages'; its a non-disclosure of issue thing.
Put up eve troughs to catch water from the whole roof, run that through a '1st flush diverter (you can diy, look online) and a decent filtering system into a 55 gal food grade plastic drum elevated a bit at the cabin. Pipe the overflow from that to your cistern. That way you will have a drum of water close by (that is all we have at our off-grid, dry cabin for utility water).
You may want to also look at what is necessary to 'develop' a spring with a spring box for a fall back supply, not to pipe in but to bucket in. We call that 'running water'....when you run out you run back to get some more
|
|
|
