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Ask HN: Anyone built a cabin before? Advice?

2 points by rwol ↗ HN
Thinking about building a modified A-Frame cabin on a plot of land. Doing most of the work myself, with contractors for the toughest parts. Anyone done it before? Costs? Advice?

Would be great to hear about your experience.

9 comments

[ 9.3 ms ] story [ 54.4 ms ] thread
techslave
ever built anything? done a major remodel? practice first by building a shed in your backyard. you don’t want your cabin to be your first rodeo.

most important is learning to hire quality subs. very very hard if you’re not a GC in the biz.

rwol
Maybe I’ll try starting with a tabletop model as the other poster suggested.

Any thoughts on acquiring the land? I was told getting in touch with a realtor local to the area would be a good start.

runjake
You’ll want to still take his shed building advice. Building a tabletop model will not give you the carpentry experience needed to build a cabin. At all.

You can also volunteer for your local variant of Habitats for Humanity but it’s inefficient and it’s more herding cats than carpentry. Still you might make some connections and someone may allow you to ride under their wing.

rwol
Is it really that difficult? I’m imagine there are things I am missing, but isn’t it pretty much: build foundation, build floor, build frame, build out roof, build walls, etc.?

As long as I research, do proper leveling, cutting, etc. and follow along with other builds’ process, I am thinking I will be fine. Would be great to hear where I might be wrong though so I don’t sink money into a failed build.

passer_byer
Yes, unless you have prior experiences, it is that hard. I agree with the others here who recommend you build an on-site tool/storage shed as practice. And no, it's not just about building foundations, floors, walls etc. You will need to consider how to rough-in for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc. as part of the build. Your wall-framing techniques have to take into consideration things like openings for doors, windows, and even how you will hang sheetrock.

Your biggest hurdle is probably going to be the permitting/inspection processes, assuming you want a legally habitual dwelling.

rwol
Agreed there, I know not to mess with plumbing, electric, and/or heating myself. Was debating going with spray on insulation done professionally, although I understand costs will rise the more I hire contractors.
quaquaqua1
My opinion is that sadly in 2020, most local governments will make it very difficult for you to comply with the building rules if your goal is a house that is anything different from what a "normal" house is.

Like the other commenter suggested, try with a shed, or even better, try making a tabletop model of your cabin with all the measurements and cutting scaled down from your ultimate goal.

If you do find a place to build, then great! But most likely it would be occuring in an area so far outside of town that it would be a very different life from suburb living.

Though I do know of a few people who made a house within a house....

rwol
I was hoping to sell the local government on it being a green building somehow, or something else that might motivate them to help with the building codes. Perhaps reaching out to universities within the region.

I think I’d like to try the tabletop model idea. I plan on having it be a second home / AirBnB spot.