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rockies
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 20:39 - Edited by: rockies
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What was your biggest mistake in the design or construction of your cabin? Even the "experts" will admit after a few years "Well, If I could do it all over again I would have done....."?
Did you find your actual costs were anywhere close to your estimates (or budget) and did you get it built on time?
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Steve961
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 20:55
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Doing the drywall and mudding/taping myself. While it didn't turn out that bad, it took me so long to finish that it made going up to my cabin a chore. It's the one part of my cabin building I truly did not enjoy.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 20:56 - Edited by: MtnDon
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I made detailed drawings of all the areas, foundation, framing walls, floor, roof, etc. The one part I did not draw out was the porch roof. Hey, a porch roof is simple, what could go wrong. Well, go wrong happened. In short the roof ran into clearance problems. It was resolved in an unorthodox manner; it works, looks a little strange, but is still solid structurally. But it could have been better if I had also drawn it with the same detail given to the other parts.
Our estimate and final cost did not match. We were over budget by about five dollars a square foot, but that was because of our upgrading of a few finish details during the work.
Timewise we came out pretty on target.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 22:25
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I went with 24" spacing on everything, mainly in trying to be green (uses less wood, etc..). Worked fine for walls and ceiling, bt for the floors, i wish i woulda used 16" spacing...I've had to crawl under and put in some blocks and posts.... oh well, it's still great and was fixable. But floors, 16" from now on!
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cabinbiscuits
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 22:36
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I ran the floor sheeting the wrong direction on my first floor which resulted in some give at the panel seems that wouldn't be there if I would have rotated them 90 degrees. Some day I'll probably put a wood floor over the sheeting so that should take care of it.
As far as cost estimates for the building itself I was hoping to come it at 10k or less but I don't think I made it. Im still not done, but I don't want to add up the receipts to find out either.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 23:11
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I had no do overs. I bought plans on line, hired a professional builder by trade, 25+ yrs experience to help me do the dried in shell. He cost me $40 per hour he worked about 6 to 7 hours per day, for 9 days. I had to feed him, do laundry too.  He cost me about $2500 for his labor, more for food etc, but a great investment. He was so anal on "plumb/level/square" and it really made life easy as we progressed, everything came togehter perfectly in the end. I didnt run into any of the gotchas I could of. Sounds expensive, but I feel it was cheap (his labor). I used a full footing/stemwall, also hired a pro to do that. It was all done when I showed up and my lumber pkg was setting next to it. I had no budget, what ever it cost me to finish it was my budget, I paid cash as I needed. Made countless runs to Home Depot in those 9 days for truck loads of material. I had saved up so much cash, I planned on hiring the entire thing, so doing it myself (with my builder friend) left me plenty of extra. I splurged on everything. All my spans was 16", ie floor, walls and rafters. I sheeted the top of the attic with plywood, so its perfect for storage and made it easier to walk around up there during building. I used no OSB, stuff isnt allowed on my property.  The dried in shell, I was into it about $5500, with builders wage, close to $8000 total. Finished total, ie full cabinets, stove install, materials etc, about 14K for the finished unit, does not count decorations and furnishings. I had saved up 35K for my cabin, doing it myself, I was way under budget. 
I sub'd out only the foundation, metal roof and chimney install. I also contracted out the cabinet build, but I have a buddy in the business, that was only $2200. I installed them myself. All other work was done by me, including wiring, insulation, interior sheeting, trim work, flooring...
Its been fun, was a great excuse to buy loads of power tools and absolutely every type of air nailer one could need. I had purchased so many tools to add to my collection for this job. I have every type or air nailer you could need included a pair of Bostich palm nailers too (those are fantastic for metal hangers and Ticko nails.
Ok, sorry for the ramble. I enjoyed the build and saddened its done. I want to build my final home next and retire there, this can be a guest shack later.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 07:13
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This may surprise and maybe even sadden some of you. The biggest mistake was building the cabin. Don't get me wrong it is something my husband and I dreamed of for 25 years and saved for(enough for the shell).We love our cabin.
The problem is that it is a money pit. It is remote and anything and everything costs more to have done.Just finding someone we can trust to work on finishing it is difficult. It is in Canada(location is where my husband was born and lived for the first eleven years of his life,many relatives still live there) and we are US citizens. Bringing building supplies,furniture etc. across the border is difficult.It's not even worth it. Our cabin taxes and insurance are double what they are in the US.
What I wish we had done?Build a couple decks. One for a long term three season tent for sleeping and one screened in for cooking and lounging.
This plan could have worked for us and we would have much more saved for our retirement.
We are still working on getting the inside finished with the leftover cash we have after we pay for everything else in the city.....
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 07:48
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Keeping my house in town.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 08:38
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It would be a big money saver if we could eliminate our city house. If the cabin was not in Canada we would be selling our city home when we retired.
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hattie
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 12:24
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We were about 10 - 15% overbudget when we put the addition on our cabin and we were a few weeks late getting it done. Bob did all the design work (we spent a couple of years modifying it as we came up with new ideas) and we hired a contractor to do all the work.
The overbudget was our own fault because we found a few things we wanted tweaked as the contractor was building. He was very reasonable and did an excellent job.
Hmmm....what would we change? Not much. We are very happy with it. I suppose I would have put in a few of those solatube lights in the ceiling that help save electricity costs. We could probably still do it but it wouldn't be worth the cost vs savings to do it now.
I also think I would have liked to have some kind of enclosed porch/entryway that you go through before you come through the door to the house (to act as a weather break). I think it would have saved a lot of energy. Every time you open our front door in the winter, a lot of heat escapes and the cold rushes in. We tend to use the back door most of the time because of that and the back door goes into our laundry room which we can close off, but something smaller at the front door would have been nice to have.
I'm really glad we decided to do everything up to code and legal. We have some neighbours who didn't and are having some "issues" now. It's nice not to have to worry about something coming back to haunt us years later because we didn't do it right the first time.
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Rossman
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 13:11
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Quoting: silverwaterlady It would be a big money saver if we could eliminate our city house. If the cabin was not in Canada we would be selling our city home when we retired.
This might be a dumb question, but if you are going to retire, why not just move to Canada and live on your land?
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 15:30
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in hindsight not so much a mistake
would like a cellar under the cabin for more storage, not freezing in winter and cool in summer
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 15:49
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Being U.S citizens we are allowed a stay of six months without a visa. We could enter the U.S for 24 hours and restart the six months.
We don't want to spend winter up there. It is a really long,snowy and cold winter. Our cabin is not set up for winter. It was built in the location with the intention of using it in the late spring to early fall. Our cabin is considered a seasonal cabin. If we wanted a full time residence we could have built on the main road by the power lines and where the snow plow clears the road. That would make for a camp that is not so private and to far off the lake.
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MJW
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 19:11
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Not doing this years ago was our biggest mistake.
Building our place ourselves was just a small piece of a much bigger picture.
Working for ourselves, becoming more self sufficient, going 100% off grid, doing more with less, just an overall change in lifestyle.
For years I did the 80 hours a week to keep up with the Joneses, lived in the 3000 sq ft house on a postage stamp sized lot and spent more than I made.
Now I live in 640 sq ft with a loft on 14 acres, make about 1/3 the income I did before but I travel alot more, am with my wife and 6 year old 24/7 and am a heck of a lot happier.
I went to sleep last night listening to coyote pups howling and stood on my deck this evening watching a flock of 20 or more turkeys feeding in the valley below my home.
As for the cabin itself, it was pretty well thought out and planned and we are very happy with it.
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rockies
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 19:36
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My question was sort of a "cheat" question because I haven't started building yet, I'm still in the design phase. I have a background in Architecture and Interior Design, so I am constantly redesigning and altering the plans, but I think my main mistake is always starting with something that is too big (usually around 1200 sq') and then having to shrink it for the budget. I got interested in the "Solar Decathalon" design contest that is held every two years in Washington, DC where Architectural Universities all over the world have groups of students compete to design and build a proto-type home no bigger than 800 sq feet. The houses are scored based on green building science, energy efficiency, appearance, water conservation, etc. I thought if they can build a whole house in 800 sq' I should try to see how small a cabin I could build and still have every function I needed. So far I am sitting at 392 sq' with an optional pantry addition adding another 96 sq'. I want it to be as simple and easy to maintain as possible. I love doing research and finding products and methods that are not only simple to use but also inexpensive. I don't think you need a $20,000 furnace from Germany that boasts 98% effiecincy or some other specialized equipment in order to live a greener life and I don't think you have to settle for the modern version of the "mad trappers shack" just because you don't have much money.
Planning is everything, and if you can't afford the whole cabin in one go I think you should still design it all in the beginning but make allowances for building it in stages. My cabin will eventually have four stages, with the pantry being the first addition, then a screen porch, and finally a dedicated mudroom entrance connecting to a master bedroom on the main floor for a total size of about 650 sq'. If I know where to put in the blocking and beams now I can attach future walls and roofs to the main structure easily. I also plan on putting in the foundation pier supports for the future rooms as well. I can always just leave the piers standing bare (or use them for temporary deck supports) but at least all the concrete work is done at one time. If I plan it all out and actually draw it up rather than using the "back of an envelope" method and winging it as I go along I think you can get a lot of cabin for a modest budget.
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rayyy
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# Posted: 19 Oct 2013 09:40
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I started out with an old gas stove and refrigerator scavaged from an old camper.Was more trouble than it was worth.It's best to save up and go with new.
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 19 Oct 2013 09:50
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You might be over planning. I see this often with people that draw rather than pound nails. First stage should be to get the whole structure enclosed and a roof over. Sometimes it all comes to you as you sit in your new cabin shell. Where's the best view, biggest windows. Where the back, good for bedroom. Which corner is out of the way, closet. etc. It's hard to preplan that stuff.
Remember the basics, good simple sturdy foundation, a strong simple roof. Valleys can cause issues. L shapes can cause flexing. Too long or wide have their own concerns. There is no such thing as the '' right size'' A small cabin is easy and heat, paint ect. A large cabin is expensive, hard to heat, pay taxes. Small you tend to spend more time outside. Big you tend to not see what 's out there.
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Sustainusfarm
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# Posted: 19 Oct 2013 14:41
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I would say including a first floor bedroom, although I can add it on easily enough and not putting a storm cellar underneath from the beginning.
I am going to take Steve961's advice and have someone do the drywall!
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Rossman
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# Posted: 19 Oct 2013 20:43
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Quoting: silverwaterlady Being U.S citizens we are allowed a stay of six months without a visa. We could enter the U.S for 24 hours and restart the six months. We don't want to spend winter up there. It is a really long,snowy and cold winter. Our cabin is not set up for winter. It was built in the location with the intention of using it in the late spring to early fall. Our cabin is considered a seasonal cabin. If we wanted a full time residence we could have built on the main road by the power lines and where the snow plow clears the road. That would make for a camp that is not so private and to far off the lake.
Oh sorry I just assumed dual citizenship as you mentioned your partner was born here.
Anyway, I love winter! Perhaps an acquired taste!
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 19 Oct 2013 23:35
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I love winter too. Just not such a long winter.
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creeky
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 09:30
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i haven't made any big mistakes yet. but I'm trying.
let's see. 12v solar battery system ... should have been 24. too much planning not enough hammering. thx for the reminder owen. backing the bushhog into rocks. putting a #8 bolt on the bushhog shear bolt. not putting my hops up on strings early enough. not leveling the bunkie before putting in the doors. i'd better stop now.
but all in all I have to say i've really loved living at the cabin with the many critters for friends. and winter, once you're mentally prepared for it, is a real pleasure. i have a small farm and winter means the chores stop and i have time to reflect, sit by the wood stove, go snowshoeing, read ... and that hike to the biffy at -17 is truly a fine way to know you're alive.
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hattie
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 12:45
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Quoting: creeky winter means the chores stop and i have time to reflect, ... read
That's why I like winter so much too. 
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Rossman
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 15:08
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Quoting: creeky that hike to the biffy at -17 is truly a fine way to know you're alive.
Sure makes you appreciate the coziness of the cabin when you get back inside!
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rockies
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 19:27
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I find I do tend to do a lot of overplanning whenever I'm designing something but that usually is a good thing. When I first discovered the "Solar Decathalon" contest
http://www.solardecathlon.gov/ I took out the plans for a house I'd designed years before (2200 sq') and decided to try and make it smaller as an experiment. I got it down to 1100 sq' with the same number of rooms, same proportions and layout, and the house ended up being more efficient and liveable! I also read a lot of the books by Sarah Susanka about "Not So Big" living and how to make smaller homes work. I agree that for a cabin a simple shape (usually a rectangle with a simple gable roof) is the easiest layout, but with such a basic plan you have to really get inside and work it all out beforehand in order to have a great cabin. Too many times I see a 14x20 foot or a 16x24 foot cabin with a tiny basic kitchen crammed into one corner (hot plate, bar fridge and a sink draining into a bucket), no bathroom, a couple of chairs and a small table, a cot and a wood stove and that's all they can find room for. I certainly don't believe that you have to spend a fortune on a cabin, or that it is so "cleverly" designed that you have to follow only "17 easy steps in order to convert your kitchen into a bedroom" but lots of planning can pay off in the long run. I would hate to be sitting in my cabin mentally laying out the interior after 2 weeks of building the shell only to discover that an additional two feet in overall length could have got me a functioning mudroom, or room for a full sized tub in the bathroom. So far, at 392 sq' I have a open plan cabin design with lots of built in storage, a full sized kitchen and bathroom, and the ability to add-on a pantry/mudroom and a screened porch easily ( I had it down to 320 sq' but it was getting a little tight). Hopefully I can get it built for no more than $15,000.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 20:08
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Something we were talking about this weekend at our place was that we are glad, looking back, that is took as long as it did to build our cabin. We wanted to just build it like a normal build and get it done with, but we had to take it slow and easy due to schedules, money, and the fact that we are building it ourselves....
What it has done is give us the time to realize upcoming mistakes and change the course of construction - we changed the location of a room or two and the screened porch and front/side porch. After living in and around the place for a couple years, you can see the coming and goings of the sun and wind and the seasons.......
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 08:14
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my cabin was built out of a storage shed, they are on skids and portable and don't require permits around here (just drop it on the ground and move in). it was pricy to make it livable.
if I did it over I would have bought a couple truck loads of log length aspen (poor firewood, poor lumber, loggers abandon piles at the landing because its so low value it costs more to move than it sells for, so its very, very cheap), and built an old style log cabin with a second floor for under $1000.
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rmak
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 22:57
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Biggest mistake(s)
Building on barnstones, not a solid foundation.
Not pitching the roof enough.
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cbright
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2013 14:08
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Mine so far (mid construction) is, not taking some time off to build it, so the build is taking forever when I work at it less than 10 hours a week.
Using a big bay window in the cabin.... added a lot of complexity and time to the build, but glad it is there now as it makes the cabin unique.
Not squaring one wall up correctly... a little out of whack, but not a major issue.
Time estimate.... I like to do things without cutting corners so it is taking longer than I thought.
As for budget, didn't really have one, but it is going to be in the ballpark of what I guessed.
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EastTN
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2013 17:48
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Biggest mistake was hiring a contractor and not being on site to personally check on quality. I ended up having to rebuild the whole cabin over the following few years.
Be there while the work is being done.
It's a must!
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Rossman
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2013 18:19
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Biggest mistake: not getting started yet!
Meeting with the septic guy this weekend though! Once I get my septic permit & design I can apply for my building permit!
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