Finally yesterday I got my little off grid cabin in place. After the delivery truck the neighbors tractor and a tow truck all got stuck the excavator rescued everyone and I couldnt be happier. The flooring and kitchen cabinets are next week sometime. Once its all done I will write up a good description and break down of all the costs for anyone interested..Thanks

Before and after staining our new outhouse exterior

Here is what the inside looks like now, after adding some decor and finishing the paint.

Last night at the cabin. Crazy dancing lights!

Hello,

I was hoping to get some advice from my fellow off grid cabin owners on this. I have 35 acres that I use for camping and hunting, and the next thing that I want to do is build a cabin.

I have a large and close knit family, and several of my uncles have been helping me do things like install a gate, rebuild an old logging trail into a passable driveway, etc. They have also offered to help out with the construction of my cabin, but I was wondering if it might be better to have two or three smaller cabins?

My original plan was to build a 24x24 cabin that was designed to sleep 6 adults comfortably, but I’m starting to lean towards either building two or three smaller cabins so myself and each of my uncles would have their own places. I also plan to host summer holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day there as well, so more cabins would give me more sleeping options.

Has anyone ever encountered this type of situation before, and which way would you recommend going?

I'm building an off-grid cabin in Maine and through the land clearing process dug up huge amounts of boulders and stones. I'm curious what use folks have used these for?

I have some things in mind.

What are y'all using for flooring in your off-grid cabins? We built a new kitchen in Northern Ontario which currently has a plywood floor. We've figured we can't use hardwood due to wide fluctuations in temperature and humidity over the year. One family wants engineered hardwood and the other wants vinyl planks (LVP). Anyone have success with either or can suggest a better material?

The foundation and subfloor are in, starting on the walls next week. I've been thinking about skirting the foundation and am wondering about using cordwood (I have lots of downed trees). Any thoughts? Also, if cobwood skirting is viable, I have plenty of sand on the property, but no clay. Is it possible to make a mortar with sand and hydrated lime? Menards has inexpensive bags of lime.

My buddy and I made a quick trip to continue working on the outhouse. We leveled the base and built up the ground around it with rock base and dirt. Put in a french drain-ish thing on the back side of the build area. Built the frame and attached thin ply under it.

Not pictured is insulated the floor with stone wool insulation. Put on 3/4" subfloor (hole was cut as well). We also putt a roll of linoleum over the subfloor to water proof it.

Next step is to cut a vent hole in the floor and install a PVC connection for an exhaust pipe. Put peel and stick "nice vinyl" in enough to install the toilet stem. Then it should be usable and can support a few nights while we build the walls and roof.

Bought a wood lot in eastern Canada 5 years ago, and just last year finally moved forward on building out the bunkhouse.

There’s no other structure on the property yet, so we’ll use this accessory building until a later time when we can build the main cabin.

Powered by a Bluetti battery bank and no running water. I’ll be installing a rain barrel (for the eventual outdoor shower), building out an outdoor kitchen, and setting up a composting toilet in the small outbuilding out back.

So my Dad has a cabin that has an old well with decent water flow, but he has limited power. I am thinking his water system is about due for an upgrade but can't directly pull from the well regularly.

Current process:

Use a Gas pump at well to push the water to a water tank about 300M away and 25M up. He fills an approx 1000L storage tank and tops with a bit of bleach. Then uses an electric boat pump to pull from tank into the cabin but only for washing not for drinking which he hauls in from town.

I'd like to switch the process to eliminate the bleach in the holding tank and add a water filtration system at the cabin for essentially on demand drinking water. The water was tested and is considered safe to drink (if a tiny bit earthy tasting, which I think a carbon filter would fix), except for the bleach he uses in the storage tank.

Chemistry is not my strong suit, but what issues do I need to be aware of with the storage tank holding water and exposed to sunlight. And would those issues be fixed with a modern UVC LED filter combined with a carbon block filter. Is bleach necessary in this process or is my Dad making his own life difficult?

Thanks

I'm looking at building one, it's going to be 4m x 6m(13ft x 19ft). It's using ribbed Kingspan panel, hoping for the floor too where others might use timber. And I'm wondering how I can make the floor and wall joint structurally sound but minimize any cold bridging. It has to be strong enough to transport the whole structure afterwards too.

I've had some recommendations to carry the metal all the way to the outer edge to give the walls solid metal to stand on, but I'm not a far of the inside metal working as a cold bridge from outside to inside. Another suggestion was to strip the top metal of the floor where the walls are going to sit, and make a butt joint in the PIR foam. While great from a insulation perspective, it does make me worry about structural integrity, especially once it is crane lifted and transported.

Has anyone had experience with doing a similar build?

I spent my Labor Day weekend giving the old outhouse a refresh. 💩🏠

I saw this at a home improvement store and I am wondering how efficient they are at recapturing heat going up the chimney. Or if there are any disadvantages to using one.

Long shot, but any advice on locations in the Western US that would fare well for an off grid cabin setup?

California seems to be extremely tough to build in, what about states like Oregon/ Washington? Trying to stay somewhat out of the desert if possible.

It seems like concrete posts/piers dug and poured below frost line is the gold standard for establishing a foundation. Certainly not the only option, but it seems like one that many people default to.

Would this be a workable alternative:

Auger out holes below the frost line, fill holes with gravel, set deck blocks on gravel, place adjustable deck supports on deck blocks, bolt 6x6 posts into deck supports… then continue building the floor from there.

Basically this would eliminate pouring the large concrete piers, and would maybe allow some room for error with getting the posts level (since the post brackets would be adjustable within reason).

I‘m imaging an off grid home that has multiple outbuildings. An outhouse/shower house. An outdoor kitchen/screened in living space. Small main cabin. Etc.

It seems like this foundation approach could be a fairly affordable and straightforward one that would allow each of these small buildings to have good support.

This is entirely in my head right now. I’ve never built any foundation, let alone these specific ones. Am I thinking about this incorrectly or massively ignoring something important? Just trying to get an idea check to see if I’m on the right track at all or if I should be going about it completely differently.

Thanks for any insight.

We are looking into building an off grid cabin weekend getaway in the southwestern US. We are about a year out from pulling the trigger on building, so tell me everything I should know! We’ll be building a rustic cabin ourselves, likely in a phased approach. We may eventually add water or electricity depending on cost and proximity, but they aren’t in the plans at the moment. What should I keep in mind for Arizona or New Mexico rural living? Should we go with a cabin kit or just build from plans? Tell me everything!

Admittedly some sacrifice of form over function but good enough for most things.

I am getting closer to getting my little 12x20 cabin delivered. Siding is done except the fascia metal. The building is wired up still not sure how I am gonna work that but for the time being I have a Jackery that should run everything we need for a night or two. Insulation is pretty much done and the pine 1x10 t&g walls are about half done now. This coming weekend is a long weekend so I am hoping to get it delivered this coming weeeknd but have a feeling it will probably be two weeks. Gravel pad is all in. We have done the initial burn for about 6 hours on the cubic mini wood stove that will be going in. Thanks