We want to build a small structure as a temporary home while we build our permanent home, or something we could add on to later. Can anyone suggest a sound cabin-type home that can be built cheaply and relatively easily by total amateurs in a short time (3-6 mos.)? We're also looking for something that could be built by one person, if necessary.

-- Brian from Cincy (bdmetz@altavista.com), October 31, 2001

Answers

Why not just drag an old mobile home to the site and live in that until the main home is done. Around here single wides go for under $5000 often under $2000. When your done sell it off reuse it as a storage location.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), November 01, 2001.

How about a 32' or 40' CONEX box? 2-3K$, secure and designed for storage.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), November 01, 2001.

Look at this site: http://countryplans.com/ It has several different plans that might be suitable. Good luck!

-- Debbie from S IL (dc1253@hcis.net), November 01, 2001.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Country plans is AWESOME!

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), November 01, 2001.

Or build your garage and live in that until you build the house. Later the bathroom could have a door made so you could enter from the garage (like to a master bedroom, or hallway).

There was a woman named Louise on the Backwoods home forum who built/ lived in a morris building while they built the house.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 01, 2001.

An "A" frame structure is simple and cheap for temporary shelter.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 01, 2001.

Quickest long lasting cabin is one made of concrete blocks put up with surface bonding cement instead of mortar. The surface bonding cement (contains fiberglass fibers for strength) is applied in a thin layer to both sides of the dry stacked block and has a stucco appearance. Remember I said surface bonding cement NOT stucco cement. Now you still have to dig and install footings the old fashion way. Same with roof. The walls go up unbelievably quick and meet code most places. No interior or exterior finish work needed beyond the resulting stucco appearance.

-- Hermit John (hermit@hilltop_homestead.zzn.com), November 01, 2001.

how about an army tent?

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 01, 2001.

look in the back issues of Countryside. Over the last two years, I know of at least three issues with plans for cabins, small barns, out buildings, underground , pole structure, strawbale and cordwood constructions. Any of which could be used as housing.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 01, 2001.

We're planning on doing the same thing. We're building the weaving cottage first.

-- Sandie in Maine (peqbear@maine.rr.com), November 01, 2001.

The used mobile home is a great alternative - I know people who are STILL living in them 5 years down the road. Just fixed them up and added on. Also, have you considered purchasing a used travel trailer? Everything you need all in one package, and when you get tired of working on the place and need a vacation, just hook up to the truck and take off! Neighbors did that and still have the trailer..use it now as a guesthouse. Good luck.

-- mickhen (cackleberryacres@juno.com), November 01, 2001.

I know a guy who lived for YEARS in a truck pick up camper. He finally got his house finished, but it was a long haul. If I were doing it, I'd build a garage or barn/workshop and use it first. If you are going to have milk animals, a barn with a milk room in it is great, and none of the plumbing you would install for a temporarey house would be wasted work. Also great for processing chickens, washing vegetables out of the garden later on, as well.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), November 01, 2001.

A yurt?

-- Jennifer (none@none.com), November 01, 2001.

Hermit John: Can you get that surface bonding cement at Lowe's or Builder's Square? And do you mud between the cement blocks with this product just like you would normally do when building a block or brick wall or is this product just for the outside/inside wall surfaces of the building? How weather proof is this stuff? And tornado proof? I'm trying to find a building type that would be quick and easy, yet durable and am hoping this is the kind. It sounds like it would be attractive if I'm reading you right. Thanks. Iris

-- Iris (Sar_India@msn.com), November 01, 2001.

Another option is RASTRA. It is a insulated concrete form product made of 85% recycled foam plastics. See:

http://www.rastra.com/

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), November 01, 2001.

Pole barns go up quick! Easy to subdivide the inside!

-- Jim-mi (hartalteng@voyager.net), November 01, 2001.

Been lurking for about a year, about time to put my two cents in, I guess. My husband and I have the same plan, try http://www.countrylogcabins.com/ http://www.panelconcepts.com/ http://www.quickcabin.com/ and my alltime favorite is probably http://www.thewoodspeople.com/

Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste, I've never learned to do URL. Anyway, the idea is to build it at your current residence, and transport it and assemble at the new site. We plan to work on at night, and weekends, and have it ready to go when THE land shows it. I imagine you could probably have it under roof ready to lock up in a long weekend, or that's our hope anyway. Could make a cute workshop or guest house, or even small rental when the "big house" is finished.

-- Katy (katyf60@hotmail.com), November 01, 2001.

You could try vertical log like this website www.alaskacabin.net or you could just build a small frame cabin or garage. I like the idea of building the garage for starters and then build your big house lateer. It will give you experience in building and you don't have to worry to much about minor mistakes..."it's just a garage".

You could just frame in the big garage door to install later. Put siding over the area and it would look just like a cabin, you could open it up later when you used it for a garage.

I am building a 24X32 garage outside my home right now. That is pretty tough to do alone...I ask for help when I lift the walls, 3 walls up so far, hope to do the trusses next week.

-- marty (marty@valleymarket.com), November 02, 2001.

WHY STOP AT A TEMPORARY HOME.JUST BUILD A CORDWOOD HOUSE AND BE RID OF A MORTAGAGE.THE SYSTEM IS EFFICIENT AND LOW COST.THE SKILL REQUIREMENTS ARE BASIC AND DO ABLE BY YOUR FAMILY OR BY JUST YOURSELF. THE REASON CORDWOOD IS SO CHEAP TO BUILD IS THAT HALF THE COSTS OF A HOUSE GOES TOWARDS LABOUR. SEEING AS ALL THE LOGS REQUIRED ARE CHEAP OR RECYLED.ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PUT A FOUNDATION UNDER IT AND A ROOF OVER IT.PLUS IT DOESN`T NEED ANY INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR FINISHING.ITS LOW MAINTENANCE. THE R-VALUE OF THE WALLS CAN EXCEED AN R=90.WHERE AS THE STICK FRAMED HOUSE THAT COSTS OVER A $100 PER SQ FT. DOEN`T COME CLOSE TO IT. IF YOU WANT EFFICIENCY AND PRACTICALITY CORDWOOD IS THE ANSWER.BUT IF YOU WANT TO IMPRESS THE NEIGHBOURS BUILD THAT STICK HOUSE AND THROW MONEY AWAY.FROM THE MONEY YOU SAVE ON BUILDING CORDWOOD YOU CAN ADD THINGS THAT ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE. [SWIMMING POOL,JACUZZI,TOP OF THE LINE APPLIANCES,SATELITE DISH, BIG SCREEN TV,TILE FLOORS ETC].WALLS TO ME DON`T AFFECT THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE.PLUS IF YOU CHOOSE CORDWOOD THEN YOU COULD BUILD EVEN BIGGER BECAUSE OF THE LOWER COSTS. I`D INVITE YOU TO MY BOARD BUT IT SEEMS YAHOO HAS NUKED IT. ALL THE 1300+ TECHNICAL POSTS ARE GONE...I CAN`T SEEM TO POST ANY MORE.HOPEFULLY ITS TEMPORARY BUT IF NOT I CAN ALWAYS REBUILD.

WATCH AT THE FOLLOWING URL IF IT CAN BE SAVED...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cordwood

YOU CAN VIEW MY CORDWOOD NEWBEE PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING URL http://maxpages.com/cordwood

CORDWOOD MIGHT NOT BE FAST ..BUT WITH MORE THAN ONE PERSON DOING THE WORK .YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GET ABOUT 64 SQ FT-100 SQ FT OF WALL DONE A DAY.ITS ALL RELAVENT TO THE TIME/WORK PUT INTO IT.I`D LIVE IN A SHIPPING CONTAINER UNTIL YOU WERE READY TO MOVE IN.[BUY THE INSULATED ONES AS THEY ARE READY TO MOVE INTO.PLUS YOU CAN USE THEM AS A STORAGE SHED LATER

CORDWOODGUY

-- CORDWOODGUY (cordwoodguy@n2teaching.com), November 02, 2001.

Iris, you can indeed get surface bonding cement at Lowes, and I imagine at Home Depot and others also. I've never been in a Builders Square store. It used to come in more than one color, but mostly white only now. You can use concrete coloring when mixing it though if you want. After you build your footings, you mud in the first layer of block. After that, you dry stack the concrete block, no mortar needed. Coat both sides of the block with thin layer of surface bonding cement. This is what makes this type construction so fast. The surface bonding cement supplies all strength needed and as I mentioned meets most building codes so will stand against wind as well as traditional concrete block. It is just as water proof as any cement product.

-- Hermit John (hermit@hilltop_homestead.zzn.com), November 02, 2001.

Should also mention that Lowes has a video in store that shows how to use surface bonding cement. My local store does anyway. Really is pretty simple to use and gives a nice result.

-- Hermit John (hermit@hilltop_homestead.zzn.com), November 02, 2001.

I built a post and frame garden shed this summer, 12 by 16. Have the roof on, sheathed but not sided yet, and cost so far is just over $2000. Post and frame is an easy construction technique I read about in a how-to book club book I got 20 years ago - a lot like pole building. I dug holes at the corners to below the frost line, poured 8" thick concrete pads at the bottoms of the holes, then set treated posts in, filling around them with sand. The posts went as high as I wanted the walls. I also put posts in at the centers of the long sides, but only as high as the floor line. Then I tied the posts together with horizontal 2 by 10s at the floor line and at the top of the walls. From there I framed like a conventional house, with vertical 2 by 4 studs and 2 by 6 rafters, and sheathed with half inch plywood. The floor framing is about 6 inches off the ground. With no foundation work required, the excavation was minimal and I could start building right away. I used salvaged windows and doors (it's amazing what people will throw away). The most expensive thing was the flooring - tongue and groove Douglas fir, pretty and rot resistant - but plywood would have worked too and is cheaper. The peak is five feet above the ceiling joists, so there is usable loft space. I did all the work by myself in about four months, part-time, and I am no great shakes as a carpenter.

If Cincy means Cincinnati, we are pretty close. You could come out to Georgetown and see the structure to get some ideas - email me if you'd like to do that.

-- Scott McAlpine (scottmcalpine@juno.com), November 02, 2001.

Hey thanks, Hermit John. I told my hubby about this and he was interested. When I tell him what I found out from you today, he will really want to do this. It sounds so simple. I've gotta try it no matter what now. Thanks for the idea. Iris

-- Iris (Sar_India@msn.com), November 03, 2001.

I have looked at just about every type of construction out there. I like pole building it is quick and there is no need for a foundation. You can't find much info. on pole built homes but there is some out there. I am also a big on straw bale homes, this goes good with pole framed construction. As far as building a house yourself, I think that if you go pole framed you will just need some help with setting the poles and putting the trusses on. After that you can do everything yourself. As far as building something out of conventional building materials, here is what I have found to be cheap 2by4 studs, coposition roofing, waferboard, sheetrock, cheap pressboard T1 11 sheet siding.

-- Trent Tarter (papatarter@webtv.net), December 02, 2001.

Congrats on getting started Katy!

What plan from www.thewoodspeople.com are you planning on building with? I wish they gave a little more info on their systems on their website.

www.countryplans.com has some good plans and lots of good info on their website along with a very information forum. However they don't have what I'm still looking for, which is a well designed 16ft wide x 24ft or 32/36ft long plan with 2x6 walls and at least half a loft.

There is a web site at http://www.thenaturalhome.com/passivesolar.html that gives a pretty good run down on the surface bonded stacked concrete block construction. It basically uses a earthship type earth sheltered design but using bonded concrete blocks for the internal thermal mass & structural load carrying.

This saves hundreds of work hours compared to hard labor traditional earthship techniques like ramming hundreds of old tires with earth and giving you more internal thermal mass. You could also do this with homemade compressed adobe blocks with an earthen plaster

You still have to insulate the outer portion which could be blown in sticky cellulose(R21) inside conventional 2x6's just outside the block walls placed at standard 2 ft spacing or even wider since the concrete block bonded walls will be carrying the structural load. You can have 1 or 2"(add another approx R5 per inch) rigid extruded polystyrene on the outside for further insulation and water repellancy or to keep costs low just use a couple layers of polystyrene on the outside of the blocks. Remember that even though the earth(approx 50 degrees F) will moderate very cold temperatures but it can also suck heat out of a living space if its not insulated from it. With this system you will basically be creating a modified solar heated thermos. Very very energy efficient.

Underneath the bonded block house you would usually use a base of 6 mill plastic then compacted gravel then compacted sand and then a colored concrete floor of 3.5 inches with Pex tubing embedded in it for hydronic radiant heat(the best, cheapest & most comfortable kind). If you wanted the option of longer term stored heat then you would also have Pex tubing embedded in the sand layer. For the heating season you use solar and also use gas or wood fired heat(on cloudy days) to heat the water to the low 100's temps it needs in addition to direct solar heat gain. For the cooling season you don't need to circulate the the water at all and you put up solar shades so that you don't get too much solar gain.

On the south wall you use double glazed glass earthship style at an angle that was much cheaper discounted for slight imperfections but otherwise thermally as efficient.

For the roof you can use either deep I-Joists with a foot of loose fill celluose(approx R 40) or even deeper ones spaced closer together for using stray bales(R45) dipped in non-toxic clay slip & borate for sealing the bales and for fire protection. You can use a semi-conventional sloped roof. You can also use log beams for constructing the roof but that would be more expensive & complicated.

You could use more block or adobe for the inside walls but I would tend to go with conventional 2x4 or 2x6(plumbing) walls so that plumbing & electrical can be easily run. With a concrete mass floor & walls you should have plenty of thermal mass.

A smaller version of the high thermal mass concept could be built using the basic plan of a Earthship Hut design.

Have fun building, Michael C

-- Michael C (noemailon@webposts.com), January 18, 2002.