# Small Cabin Construction Questions



## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

I know there are a lot of variables, but what would be a _very ballpark_ idea on what it would cost for:

1. Interior electrical for a 14 x 36 cabin that would have a full size refrig., elec. stove, washer and dryer, on demand hot water, 2 ceiling fans, and 6 outlets? 

2. Same cabin for plumbing for the toilet, bathroom sink, corner shower, kitchen sink (all fixtures on the same side of the cabin), and tied into septic tank approx. 100 feet away; well that is approx. 30 feet away. 

Finally, if we put the cabin on piers, how many would we need?

It does not have to be to code, but we would prefer it to at least be in that general neighborhood for safety sake and functionality.


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## BigWolf (Jul 24, 2014)

I would think 14 piers using 4x4's.

I don't know very much about how far spacing for piers should be, but it looks sturdy this way. I think it depends mainly on how you want to build it. This is just one option.. I thought this would help you a little bit. Good Luck


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

We have a 16 x 24 cabin on 6 piers. It very much depends on the base of the cabin and how it is built.


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

Are you set on a 14 by 36? Short lumber (8 foot) is cheaper per foot. Your 14 by 36 doesn't divide by 8 evenly. Also a "squarer" footprint often gives more interior room for wall materials used.


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## ddgresham1 (Aug 5, 2014)

In general you'll want 1 pier every four feet. Your electrical will run you around $2500 -3000. Rough plumbing about the same. Estimates will vary by region.


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## bryant (Aug 8, 2014)

Karen said:


> I know there are a lot of variables, but what would be a _very ballpark_ idea on what it would cost for:
> 
> 1. Interior electrical for a 14 x 36 cabin that would have a full size refrig., elec. stove, washer and dryer, on demand hot water, 2 ceiling fans, and 6 outlets?
> just checked at home depot last week and 250 feet of 12-2 w/ground was $64.26, assuming you are going to do the work yourself. for the washer you would need 10-3 at 184 for 250 feet. add in the main box (around 145.00) breakers, duplex boxes and plugs, you should be able to wire for your needs for around 1500.00 Using an electrician you would look at spending around double the materials cost.
> ...


The closer to Code you build, the more sturdy and long term the structure will be. Code is to set a minimum standard for safety, I've built many homes far above the Code Requirements per the owner's request. My own buildings tend to be "way over built" if you compared them to code. Most of the skills you need can be learned from some heavy reading. Electrical work is fairly straight forward as is plumbing, all you really need is a good book to use as your guide, be careful and detail oriented and you can do it.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

moeh1 said:


> Are you set on a 14 by 36? Short lumber (8 foot) is cheaper per foot. Your 14 by 36 doesn't divide by 8 evenly. *Also a "squarer" footprint often gives more interior room for wall materials used.*


To expound on that, in case you missed an important point:

Long, narrow houses are ok if you have to haul them down a highway (mobile home), but are a bad design if you're building on site.

14+36+14+36 = 100 linear feet of exterior wall for a (14x36) 504 sqft floor space.

IF you built it 20x25, for example (500sqft), your exterior wall drops to 90 linear ft. 10% reduction in exterior siding, and more important, 10% reduction in heat loss over the life of the building.

Something to consider.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

DH built concrete forms for a good solid foundation for our utility cabin. It only took him a few days and we have a strong enough foundation for a log built cabin.


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## StL.Ed (Mar 6, 2011)

A simple "how many piers" is not possible to answer.
How large will you make the piers? 
What is your soil type? 
How big do you plan to make the footings? 
How will the piers be constructed (concrete, wood, masonry)? 
What size beams will run between the piers, and what size joists are you planning to run between the beams, and what materials do you plan to use?

A tree house basically has one pier (the tree). A single dendriform column might support you, but it's probably not what you have in mind. :huh:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dendriform columns

(but it might be fun when people see it.)


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

TnAndy said:


> To expound on that, in case you missed an important point:
> 
> Long, narrow houses are ok if you have to haul them down a highway (mobile home), but are a bad design if you're building on site.
> 
> ...


Andy,
Thanks for a great more detailed explanation to that thought. If we took Andy's example the other way and used up most of your exterior covering to instead build a 24 by 24 cabin, you would use 96 of the original 100 wall length and have 576 sq feet of floor area (about 15% more). Then since 24 divides well by multiples of 4 and 8 foot, you can make full and easy use of 8, 12, and 16 foot lumber and 4 by 8 sheets of plywood/sheeting. Waste is a killer on maximizing value for me.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

TnAndy said:


> To expound on that, in case you missed an important point:
> 
> Long, narrow houses are ok if you have to haul them down a highway (mobile home), but are a bad design if you're building on site.
> 
> ...


Depends on the local conditions and orientation. Not sure how much wind the OP has to deal with in WV but in some areas a longer, narrower house can be cheaper to heat if it's oriented to minimize exposure to the prevailing winter winds. Likewise in warm areas for Maximizing exposure to cooling winds.

A 16x32 would be very close to a 14x36 in area and site planning but would have a lot fewer cuts and waste.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I wouldn't span 14 (or 16) feet without a center beam.
Rule of thumb is when using 2in thick lumber it will span a for for each inch of depth.
Thus a 2x4 will span 4 feet and a 2x12 will span 12 feet.
Thus another vote for a squarer home. since the deeper the lumber the more it costs per foot.
On the other hand trusses get pricy over 24 feet.


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## markcrain (Oct 21, 2010)

My cabin is 22x30 with post every 10 feet down 30' side and a row down the middle. Outside posts run to the top off the wall so its a pole building. I have around 35K all in. Board and batten exterior, full deck across one end which is 10 off ground. Other end is about 2 feet above ground. Interior is 1.5 baths with one being laundry. One main 22x22 room includes bed, LR,DR and fairly big kitchen. Spray foam insulation which is pricey and I think worth every penny. I have a lot of construction pics from when I built it if you want to see more. Mark


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