# Does it make sense to build a small cabin?



## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I've got a shed that's maybe 10'x15', not sure, haven't measured it.
It needs a little work, a new door, some windows, insulation and shingles, and I got to thinking, it would make a neat little cabin.
It's got enough room in it that you could put a small bathroom with the shower and toilet all in one 4'x4' (or so) space.
The line that runs from the septic tank to the drain field runs right behind the shed, maybe 8 ft away, and a water line comes within 5 ft of it on the other side. I would bury a 55 gallon plastic drum to use as a septic tank.
If a guy insulated it pretty good, put in a small wood burning stove and some solar panels, it would keep you alive and dry if times got really tough, and would also make a nice little guest house.
The shed does have electricity.
Would it make sense to invest time and money into something like that, or would I just be entertaining myself?


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

I think your shed could make a great little cabin. It would not cost an arm and a leg for electricity, and it would be easy to maintain. We are thinking about building a tiny home just for minimalistic reasons. Our lives have been overrun with clutter and our time goes towards trying to maintain a large house full of stuff we don't use, electricity bills that keep getting bigger, and just having to keep up with maintenance.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

It doesn't have to make sense to anyone. It's OK to entertain yourself. Have fun.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

We have those all over the state of Minnesota, they are called icefishing shacks. Of course, they aren't hooked up to a septic system, but many do have electricity, heat, cookstove, and a porta-potty.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I think its a great idea. There are all kinds of products made for Tiny Houses. I redid a old airstream and now a Avion for company. Hunting,long weekends and even so my mom dosen't have to drive so long in one day. Dh's daughter and 2 kids stay in it when they come up and our 4 large dogs can still have their home. It's actualy fun.I know, I strange ,work is fun to me.


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

Instead of a ice fishing shack, you could call it a shooting and gun cleaning cabin.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

That is pretty small (150 sq feet of floor space) but people live comfortably in trailers of this size. It really all depends on what you want. It would make a great guest house or even short stay rental for income.

If you get some firm estimates as to the cost of the things that you cannot do to change the shed to a cabin and make a cost plan for the things that you are able to do you will have a much better idea of what this would cost.

Add a porch and I am sure that this would add value to your property. And what is wrong with entertaining yourself?

And for real preparation it can't be bad to have a secondary shelter in case the primary is destroyed or unusable.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

emdeengee said:


> And for real preparation it can't be bad to have a secondary shelter in case the primary is destroyed or unusable.


THAT right there alone is reason enough, especially if you have the means and time to do it. The time to build shelter is not when you REALLY REALLY need shelter !

On my 'round-to-it' list is something similar...I want to build a small log cabin on our place....something like 20x30. One bedrm, bath, livingrm, kitchen on the main level, a loft bedrm in one end overhead.

It's going on a hill, and would have a full basement (which our house doesn't), daylight on one end, and I intend to build out the back half the basement as a fallout shelter while I'm doing this....it will be mostly underground already. Not hard to do WHILE you're doing it. I've got the logs sawed and been stacked in a shed for 6-8 years now waiting on me.

Plan to rent the cabin as weekend/short term rental for now, and later, maybe move a more permanent resident in to help with farm upkeep as we age more and can't do as much. (firewood, mowing, etc). Also, should things turn really tough, we'd have a spare dwelling for family, or ourselves.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

from TNAndy - THAT right there alone is reason enough, especially if you have the means and time to do it. The time to build shelter is not when you REALLY REALLY need shelter !

No kidding! I actually never thought about what we would do if our primary dwelling was destroyed (and given that we live where it is 35 below zero in the winter ....) but then this happened to friends of ours a few years ago. Their wilderness house was completely flooded out in the spring break up - the river never reached that level before. They have a cave on their property at a much higher elevation and just that fall they decided to move some basic survival supplies up there. 

They were dry and warm and fed for over 2 weeks by that cave and their supplies before they could get out and guess what their next major project was? They made the cave more comfortable and then after they repaired their house and built some berms they built a second cabin.


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## thestartupman (Jul 25, 2010)

For those who have built, or are planning to build a cabin, would you share what size they are, or will be?


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## trulytricia (Oct 11, 2002)

I would love to have a little guest cabin like that. But around here anything you build makes your taxes go up. A disincentive for sure. 

How's it where you are?


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

My small cabin saves me plenty.... back up home in case of fire.

Here.... not many carry home owners cause it is too high..

Cabins pay for themselves here. Maybe in other places too.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

I think it is a good idea if you meet a bit of criteria.
Do you have a use for it?
Do you have the extra $$ to do it without causing a problem?
Do you have the time to do it without taking away from other maybe more important prepping issues?

I have always thought the idea of multiple smaller shelters was a better idea than one large one. Yes square footage wise it may be a bit more expensive, but multiple smaller shelters can be built without a lump sum large $$ outlay. Build a small house for living. Build a canning house later. Build a work shed later. You get the idea. Multiple small shelters that you can work on and complete a little along and have working shelters instead of one big project you never have the time and $$ to actually get usable.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

thestartupman said:


> For those who have built, or are planning to build a cabin, would you share what size they are, or will be?


16 x 24' with 6 x 16' porch


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

My hubby wants to build one on a car trailer bed so it can't be taxed as property like a house on land. It would be taxed as a camper trailer. The bad thing about it would be we live in an area with tornados so it would get blown away, but a normal house would too. The positive is that it could be moved to a new location. We have seen some efficient plans that make very good use of the small amount of space available.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

CF, What do you think about that 16x24 size? Big enough, or do you wish you had went larger, or possibly smaller? That is a similar size to what I have been figuring for a main living cabin for me and my wife. I have went back an fourth between 14', 15', and 16' wide, but am pretty happy with the 24' length.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Not nearly as nice as Cabin's, but it suits us. 81 sq. ft.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Cabin Fever said:


> 16 x 24' with 6 x 16' porch


I never get tired of this cabin reminder.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

suitcase_sally said:


> Not nearly as nice as Cabin's, but it suits us. 81 sq. ft.


 ...or, this one.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Muleman said:


> CF, What do you think about that 16x24 size? Big enough, or do you wish you had went larger, or possibly smaller? That is a similar size to what I have been figuring for a main living cabin for me and my wife. I have went back an fourth between 14', 15', and 16' wide, but am pretty happy with the 24' length.


The size was okay for us. The cabin is one large room. It has only two small closets and the bathroom is outside (outhouse) and the water is outside, too (year around hand pump). During warm weather, we bathed either outside with a garden sprayer shower and during cold weather bathing was done inside in a plastic concrete mixing tub.


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## RichNC (Aug 22, 2014)

Cabin Fever said:


> The size was okay for us. The cabin is one large room. It has only two small closets and the bathroom is outside (outhouse) and the water is outside, too (year around hand pump). During warm weather, we bathed either outside with a garden sprayer shower and during cold weather bathing was done inside in a plastic concrete mixing tub.


But you don't live in it anymore do you, don't y'all have a nicer bigger cabin now?


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

RichNC said:


> But you don't live in it anymore do you, don't y'all have a nicer bigger cabin now?


That is correct. But, I thought we were talking about having a small cabin as a second home or as a bug-out place.


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## shelljo (Feb 1, 2005)

DH and I keep looking at those pre-built sheds. We've debated using them as a cabin, or just building one ourselves. (With all the lumber he's picked up cheaply at auctions, we might have enough to build our own.) We want to put something up out at my Dad's farm, which was homesteaded by my Great-Grandfather in 1890. The place was hit by a tornado in 1973, taking the house. No one has lived there since then. We'd like to, but it is too remote to our workplaces. So, until we can retire there, we've talked about putting up a weekend place. We just haven't gotten around to it yet. We keep thinking 12' x 30' would be a nice size for a kitchen/living area with a small bedroom.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

shelljo said:


> DH and I keep looking at those pre-built sheds. We've debated using them as a cabin, or just building one ourselves. (With all the lumber he's picked up cheaply at auctions, we might have enough to build our own.) We want to put something up out at my Dad's farm, which was homesteaded by my Great-Grandfather in 1890. The place was hit by a tornado in 1973, taking the house. No one has lived there since then. We'd like to, but it is too remote to our workplaces. So, until we can retire there, we've talked about putting up a weekend place. We just haven't gotten around to it yet. We keep thinking 12' x 30' would be a nice size for a kitchen/living area with a small bedroom.


Check out "Park Model" RV's. The kind without slide outs.
I have a few pinned here.https://www.pinterest.com/5element1667/park-model-rv/


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

I think from a strictly financial standpoint a cheap used camper can be had for cheaper than a person can build most any cabin. hat is good if the goal is cheap fast living space. if a person is looking for something nice with a certain ambiance, then a cabin is the way to go. I do think for long term a well built, well insulated cabin is a good deal, but it just can not be done that I have figured anyway to compete with the price of a used camper. But then the used camper will probably be ready to set fire to in 10 years or so and a well built cabin will last. I guess it all depends on your needs and long term plans for the shelter?


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## beenaround (Mar 2, 2015)

people often ask me if they would like a certain size room or I need to show them what a certain size room feels like. I tell them to stand in one. 

My office in the woods is 12x20 with a 4' porch. I wouldn't want smaller. It's insulated well with good windows and a wood stove. It will cook a person out no matter how cold it is outside. No bath or kitchen or water. I think I'd add on if I wanted them.


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## ronron (Feb 4, 2009)

Every so often I think about doing this, then end up adding and adding till I have a big cabin, then I trash the whole idea because it got to big.. Our county doesn't make you permit a shed under 200 square feet... I want to do it just to create that little wow cabin, and test my self to see whatI can live in.. Try out the minimalist and the rigmarole of living in a smaller space with less... Unfortunately I do not have the husband for the life style...


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## thestartupman (Jul 25, 2010)

Ronron, I know exaxtly what you mean. I have drawn up so many cabins, and they all seem to grow, and grow. I wish I could just keep the plan simple, and get it built.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

ronron said:


> Every so often I think about doing this, then end up adding and adding till I have a big cabin, then I trash the whole idea because it got to big.. Our county doesn't make you permit a shed under 200 square feet... I want to do it just to create that little wow cabin, and test my self to see whatI can live in.. Try out the minimalist and the rigmarole of living in a smaller space with less... Unfortunately I do not have the husband for the life style...


I was on craigslist the other day-actualy saw for sale one of those vintage stove/reefer/sink comos for sale. They have new ones and all kinds of small appliances for mini "homes".


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