KIT, TREES on PROPERTY or CAMPER?????

[Boeing]

Well Guys,
It's getting close to retirement time....my wife has made it clear that she is not interested in living "in the sticks". My 70 acres has about 10 acres of 8" pine trees that I could use to build a small cabin.....maybe? It would be kinda nice to use wood from the property. There is also alot of rock...
There are countless kits available if my local trees are too small or green or whatever....
The other option is a 28' or so travel trailer. I would normally be alone hunting and playing food plot farmer with an occasional 2 day visit from wife or daughter.....then I have to lock it up for another month.
Right now I have a building with a woodstove and solar light/water pump and sink. I guess I could just keep using that but wife/daughter don't like my army cot. women....
Ideas, suggestions.....anyone tried building with 8" pine trees?

 

[burnieman]

If you go with the trailer, go big. We had a 28 ft fifth wheel on our mountain property. It was ok but it felt so small. We sold it and bought a 36 footer with 3 big pop outs and the difference is huge. I even put a wood burning stove in it. Now it's just like home. Almost.

 

[nybirdman]

What ever you do;if you want company you will have to make it comfortable for the ladies.I think your trees are too small to mill.I small building say 24'x24' with two bedrooms,bath,kitchen.Lots of plans on the net,get some ideas and stick build.
We are doing a similar project in the spring for some friends downstate.We have to go by building code even tho it will be a "camp".Drilled well,septic,power ect.Approximate cost for us is $45,000.This will be stick built with a concrete pad for a base.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I don't get it. You said you have a building already up? I would work on fixing it up.

Given age time money, I would also look at a used manufactured home.

 

[JimAnderson]

Well Guys,
It's getting close to retirement time....my wife has made it clear that she is not interested in living "in the sticks". My 70 acres has about 10 acres of 8" pine trees that I could use to build a small cabin.....maybe? It would be kinda nice to use wood from the property. There is also alot of rock...
There are countless kits available if my local trees are too small or green or whatever....
The other option is a 28' or so travel trailer. I would normally be alone hunting and playing food plot farmer with an occasional 2 day visit from wife or daughter.....then I have to lock it up for another month.
Right now I have a building with a woodstove and solar light/water pump and sink. I guess I could just keep using that but wife/daughter don't like my army cot. women....
Ideas, suggestions.....anyone tried building with 8" pine trees?

In Virginia termites and woodbores can really do a number on untreated wood.You would have to debark all the logs to use them whole and let
them air dry for some time.Unless you have access to a mechanical debarker you are in for a lot of work just to strip the logs.I saw pine logs
at 8 inches on my bandmill and use the the lumber for sheds.Building codes in Va will only let you use graded lumber in a dwellings so unless
you have access to a certified inspecter with a stamp you are limited in home sawn lumber's uses.
Maybe sell the trees for pulp and use the proceeds to enhance what structure you have.JMHO,Luck JimAnderson

 

[Boeing]

Good input......I've thought about partitioning my building to get a "livable" space but it's only 24X40. (three car plus shop) and I have it filled with tractor, truck, shop when I'm not there. When I'm there I add a cot and folding table/chairs and it's full. I'm thinking about EXTENDING the building another 16', then maybe I could do the partitician thing. My truck is a "convertable" '75 Blazer so I don't want to leave it outside. Same with the tractor....
I had intended to do the nice log cabin home thing but several things have stopped me. One, wife gets BORED up there. TWO, all the wells around me are approx 900' deep. BIG BUCKS, so I've "tanked" water up there in 300 gallon tanks and added clorox. OK for 3 seasons and I'm usually not there when it gets serious cold.

 

[mvwicker]

Without a well and septic system you'll never shake the "camping out" aspect of your nice property. The RV/trailer idea seems like the best idea. You could leave it at the property most of the time, and take it on the road for a change of scenery.

 

[smiley]

I'll try to remember tomorrow to take a photo of the stockade style log cabin my father and I built over 40 years ago for my son, out of Poplar trees no bigger than 8". We split the logs lengthways with a chainsaw so the inside would be flat to be finished later, (which never happened).

 

[woodlandfarms]

My crazy idea... Split the shop. Go look at some modern architecture mags. You could put a big glass door in for one of the roll ups. There are some great home septic systems.... DIY if you are inclined. Lots odpf great ways to make a cool living space on the cheap.

 

[Boeing]

Smiley,
I'd love to see those pix's......was the wood treated with anything? Can it be tented for termites? They used to build homes in Florida with a very hard wood called "florida pine"
must be alot harder than the pine that we're used to.
and "woodlandfarm" guy, I'm getting a price to extend the existing building another 16', which would allow me to partitician off the shop into a living area. (that's where the woodstove and plumbing is) The shop could then be moved to the other end. hmmmmm?

 

[EMB5530]

What about digging a systern for water storage.
Not to be a preacher but I would hold back on the chlorine. Do some reading on it, its nasty stuff
Good luck in whatever.

Remember catch that rainwater its free

 

[smiley]

 

[smiley]

View attachment 296869View attachment 296870
Boeing,
Here's a couple pics of the cabin. One guy could build it alone but it's easier with two. Basically it was done by building the floor frame, setting the corner and center logs in place and tieing them together with a top 2x6 plate, then filling in between with more logs. We tacked each log in place then ran the chainsaw down between them to fit them together, moved them tight together and nailed them in place. After about a year we chinked most of it with oakum and portland cement with small nails to help hold cement in place. Most of the chinking has fallen out for lack of maintenance and the cabin being moved at least 4 or 5 times. Flexible caulking would be better. It is on blocks although with the snow, doesn't look it. We don't have termite problems here but I do know about termites as we built a fence with on site pine posts in Fla. and the next year it was down. You should be able to spray the bottoms with copper tox or zin tox and put termite caps on the blocks.
If it looks of interest, PM me and I'll send more photos and detailed description.
Smiley

Don't know how I managed to get those photo's in without description and I can't seem to delete it???

 

[Boeing]

Thanks for the photos, Smiley. It looks great....rustic but that's the idea. What size is it? I'd like to make it large enough for a mini-kitchen, double bed, shower stall, sink, portipotti and a woodstove. You used POPLAR.....it that better than white pine? I have SOME large poplars and hundreds of 8" pines.
About the water.....I did and am considering sinking a concrete tank and catching rain gutter water off my building. That would solve the freeze issue. I would still have alge, green scuz fears and perhaps a "hot tub" chlorine tab thing might be good. You can filter most of the taste out. Our "burb" water has been chlorinated all my life .....ain't affected me none....nun....nuune....pnun......

 

[smiley]

A friend had a 12 x 24 Amish built cabin trucked in and has a bedroom with bunks in the back, small toilet/shower and the rest a combination kitchen/living room, about all the stuff you mentioned.
Our cabin is only about 8 x 12 if I remember correctly as it was just a playhouse for my son, but can be made any size within reason, just keep adding logs. In a much larger size, I'd think about diagonal bracing for the walls and stringers across the rafters or trusses. Here's some pics of the pole type rafters and ridgepole, the plate where the support log for the ridgepole is notched around plate and the sill board where the logs sit on it and are fastened to the floor framing. Poplar has always been considered an inferior wood but we have a lot of it and use it for everything (had our own small mill) from framing lumber to finished boards. If not stacked and dried properly, boards will twist all over the place. These logs were cut and put up within days without a lot of twisting. It rots quickly if not kept dry but these in the photos are more than 40 years old. We built wide overhangs to be sure everything stayed dry. I learned from an old time carpenter neighbor that poplar was a preferred wood for dance hall floor joists. It is very springy and a good square dance could really get it hopping. Pine is generally better wood for building except for that southern loblolly or sand pine that we had in Fla. which I don't think is even good for pulp.
As for water, we did use a new septic tank for a water cistern in Fla to store rainwater until we got our well drilled.

 

[EMB5530]

Thanks for the photos, Smiley. It looks great....rustic but that's the idea. What size is it? I'd like to make it large enough for a mini-kitchen, double bed, shower stall, sink, portipotti and a woodstove. You used POPLAR.....it that better than white pine? I have SOME large poplars and hundreds of 8" pines.
About the water.....I did and am considering sinking a concrete tank and catching rain gutter water off my building. That would solve the freeze issue. I would still have alge, green scuz fears and perhaps a "hot tub" chlorine tab thing might be good. You can filter most of the taste out. Our "burb" water has been chlorinated all my life .....ain't affected me none....nun....nuune....pnun......

Shouldn't have to worry about alge if you have a concrete tank under ground as there is no sunlight for it to grow.
Also copper pipes are good to use if you are worried about alge.

If you can find an old stainless steel milk container (make sure it hasn't been used for spraying herb/pestisides)from a dairy it may be a cheaper option. Just a thought
Good luck.

 

[Boeing]

I'm getting some good ideas here, guys, thanks. I won't cut those pines until I'm ready to split and nail them....I do like the cross board/brace idea to keep them straight.
A new septic tank had been suggested (buried). Currently I'm using 300 gallon plastic "caged" containers that are all around. Mine had shipped "car wash soap" in a previous life. They DO allow sunlight and require the chlorine....also certainly suseptable to freezes, I've been hauling them 10 miles to a friends house and filling from his well. The only good part is that when the tanks were sitting on the trailer I had gravity feed. I have added solar panels and have a 12V pump now. I priced a well.....all nearby are 900' deep, we're talking over $20,000...FOR A WELL!!!
Thanks for the help. :thumbsup:

 

[smiley]

I'm getting some good ideas here, guys, thanks. I won't cut those pines until I'm ready to split and nail them....I do like the cross board/brace idea to keep them straight. Thanks for the help. :thumbsup:

You can use whole log without splitting if you want the same effect inside. It would make diagonal bracing harder though.

 

[FarmerGeorge]

Smiley, Get a 28 to 32 foot travel trailer. Build a roof over and extend the front part out about 12 feet. Depending on where the doors are, you can close in about 20 foot of the rear (in front) for a spare bedroom, closet and small bathroom for guests. The rest you could screen in for a nice bug free area.

 

[Ted Summey]

When I am faced with arranging accommodation for my wife and/or daughters, I have learned in 28 years that the more it is like home AND the LESS like a tent the better. Forget the idea of an outhouse and a portable toilet for more than an afternoon on the boat is a STRETCH. So if it were me in your shoes, a travel trailer with slide outs and a deck/screen porch would be the best option. Plus when the women folks aren't along for the hunting or food plot work why should you have to rough it LOL!