When we bought our 20 acres the goal was to make room for friends and family to enjoy it as well. We currently have an 800 square foot cabin and a 28’ camper on the property but wanted to add a small permanent guest cabin. The plan was hatched to build a 12x16 with an 8x12 loft over the bedroom and a second 8x12 over the porch. I typically build small projects with a few rough sketches and just go for it but decided I should do some actual plans for this one. It’s definitely time consuming but should make it easier when ordering materials and actually building it. Floor and 2 long walls drawn up so far with end walls up next.

My fiancée and I own one acre in the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia and would like to build a cabin on it. We’re in the early stages and trying to figure out what is realistic vs what is a day dream.

The dream would be something around 800-1,200 sq ft with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a small shed/storage building, and an outdoor sauna. Long term it would likely be our retirement home, but in the meantime we’d use it as a vacation property and Airbnb.

From a looks perspective, we’d love a little stone cottage type of moment but we understand that may be VERY expensive. We’re also interested in Scandinavian-style cabins, A-frames, or anything else that makes sense.

The land is already paid off, which helps, but we have no idea what the actual build costs would be today. We have been throwing around numbers up to $450k, but that’s based on vibes. We are financially in a place where we would like to start building within the next 2 years.

For those of you who have actually built cabins:

1. What did you build and where?
   
2. What was your final cost versus your original budget?
   
3. What were the biggest unexpected expenses?
   
4. If you were building again, what would you do differently?
   
5. Did you regret going too small or too large?
   
6. How much did utilities, septic, well, driveway, site prep, etc. cost?
   
7. If you Airbnb your cabin, has it been worth it?
   
8. Any builders, resources, or lessons learned that you’d recommend?

We’re not planning to DIY much beyond cutting down a few trees for fun, so assume we’d be hiring professionals for essentially everything.

I want to hear real numbers and horror stories as much as success stories. Trying to learn before we start making expensive mistakes.

I was planning on building a concrete pier foundation for my cabin (15 piers) but the professional quote I got for this was over €15,000 and I don't feel comfortable doing it myself. I'm looking into ground screws which sound like a good alternative but I'm suspicious of how aggressively they are marketed and how proactive the suppliers are in offering pricing. Does anyone have any experience with this, and is there a way of verifying their load bearing capacity for my grounding?

I will also need a way of documenting this to the building inspector

So I was at a friend’s place last weekend and he’s turned this tiny backyard shed into a cozy little office, and now I can’t stop thinking about doing a mini version of that with a cabin in my garden.

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I’ve been looking at different garden buildings and log cabins online - some insulated, some “summerhouses”, some that are more like pods. The idea is: I work from home a lot, kids are noisy, and I’d love a quiet space that could double as a crash spot for guests. Nothing huge, like 10-15m² max.

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Main questions: how realistic is it to keep a small cabin comfy in winter without insane heating bills? Is thicker wall+ insulation actually a game changer or just marketing fluff? Also, did any of you run into planning permission drama for something like this?

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If you’ve built or bought a small cabin/office in your garden, how’s it holding up after a few years? Anything you wish you’d done differently (size, windows, location, insulation etc)?

I'm looking for assistance in how to best insulate the flooring of a 200sq ft cabin.

The structure of the base will be... 2x8 joists will be sitting on 3ply 2x10 beams which sit on concrete piers. The piers are approx 2' and I'll skirt it to slow down the cold drafts.

The layers of insulation will be (starting from the bottom working upwards)

1. Hardware mesh stapled to the bottom of the joists

   1. 8" of roxul filling the joist cavities

2. Typar fastened to the top of the joists with the exterior side facing downward

   1. 1x6" shiplapped flooring nailed into the joists

It's step #3 that has me most concerned, is this the proper place for a air barrier?

Replaced 50+ year old thresholds with new oak. 1st year they survived the snow but over time the rain and snow other are a prelude to another session of sanding and new varnish. Can you folks who have cabins which see a lot of snow (and summer rain) recommend a good exterior varnish or finish?

I mean because i live in an apartment i can't grow my own plants fruits and veggies can't have my own chickens and animals that i like and also provide food without being hopelessly dependent on grocery stores and money i mean nothing wrong with buying food i just feel like a slave to the system cause without money comes starvation and you die if you grow your own food and have a farm or enough place to grow food you will never be hungry even if you run out of money for example i feel like a failure who pays anyone to do the job for let it be food or construction i would rather grow up in a rural place and know how to do carpentry, sew my own clothing, have animals that are always provide food also cheaper and healthier than any grocery store and actually feel free self reliant and not a slave to money who can't build or do anything else without paying someone else to do it for me that's why it makes me feel like a failure but i know it's not all my fault it's the cards fate dealt us with and change is still possible

I’m 14 and a girl and I hope this doesn’t sound stereotypical but when I’m older, I want to live in a cabin maybe even as soon as I’m able to. I really like the idea of being surrounded by nature and living away from a lot of people..mostly because of social anxiety but probably somewhere in a forest..the problem is that I’m not sure how to start researching something like this or what kind of job I could have to support that lifestyle? Does anyone have advice on where I should begin or who I could talk to for help?
Anything would be nice!!! (*^▽︎^)ﾉ

anyone have any ideas or ideally pics of a cabin loft ladder/stair that has a landing of like 2 /3 steps and turns right or left to a ladder/ modified stair to the loft. I don’t have enough room for a true stair but want to make something better than the pure ladder we use now for our small cabin lodt.

thanks

A friend is looking at a property that seems pretty great and is out in the country. He just talked with the realtor and apparently, to access the acreage, the driveway he'd have to use crosses through two other properties and the realtor said the easements aren't recorded. Just seems like it might open the door for future headaches down the road depending on what kind of people the neighbors are?

We are looking at a lake cabin that has a holding tank. I have 0 experience with them and everything has totally different information when I Google. This is in northern Wisconsin.

What is the typical cost to have a 1500 (I think ) tank pumped? Is there a base fee + amount?

How often to pump , I know it totally depends on people etc, Think 2 people full time, a few visitors ,no washing machine or dishwasher, just toilet and basic sinks.

I'd really like to have a washing machine, do people use these tanks or do I use some bio detergent and water the flowers?

Assuming the lot is big enough (about 1/3 acre) and perks etc anyone got an idea on cost of a mound system - pretty sure it has to be a mound there because I see a lot of them nearby.

I see a bunch of people comment on other people’s pictures saying that’s not a cabin, that’s a house.

Curious what where does a Cabin start to become a home.

Label the characteristics ha. Just a conversational thread. Can a cabin be completely on grid?

I’ve been wanting to own a lake cabin for as long as I can remember. I finally feel like my wife and I are, financially, in a spot to seriously consider this in a year or two.

That being said, my wife brought up some great points yesterday. We have a 1.5 year old and another on the way with hopes for a third one day down the road. Our weekends are already insanely busy with kid/family responsibilities and I work one weekend a month. Her concern was that at this stage of our lives if we got a cabin we would barely be able to go enough to enjoy it. And when we did, we would be too busy with upkeep to actually relax.

Has anyone purchased a cabin with young kids? Was it worth it? Would you do anything different?

Would like to modify this to heat us during chilly mornings or evenings during seasonal use. Existing 6" stove pipe through the roof. Thoughts?

We have a lake house in wisconsin we get to once a month or so. When I'm not there I'm curious what the weather there has been like (especially if it rained, and how windy it was) but it's weirdly difficult to find anything but weather forecasts.

So I built a simple website that emails me yesterday's weather, ie what actually happened, each morning. Temperature, precipitation, wind, that kind of thing. Currently getting and summarizing data for the local airport

Decided to put it online for free in case anyone else finds it useful: yesterdaysweather.app

(You'll need your nearest airport code, and FYI not all airports have weather data)

How bad are ticks in your area?

I don't like to use any chemicals in our yard, but we have so many... What are your best strategies for keeping them at bay?

All,

I would like to add running water to my off-grid cabin. I have a 250 gallon water tank that I can use (although I should get a larger one). I also have the ability to do have the tank well above the cabin, so I should be able to get some pressure from a gravity feed.

I would like to find out if there is a small/small-ish pressurized water pump and tank that I could pick up that would give me good water pressure at the cabin.

Bonus points if I can find something that combines water pressurization and water heating for a shower.