I'm building a log cabin

Sounds great Montana! I have been thinking of buying some land in Wisconsin and doing the same thing. Sorry I can't be of any help , but will be watching with interest.

Tana's Leerrve Shack: abandon pants ye who enter......

Subline
Thanks a bunch. I wish you the very best with your plans as well. I'm so excited :-D

Stilly
LOL! Damn strait ;-) I think I'll call it Montana's homestead :-D

It'll be Mountin' Men, all Mountin' Women - don't forget a hot-tub!

I'd love a hot tub, but it would take up too much room.

Last week I was sitting in the snow by the Lake,
looking at the water ripple, the clarity of what I thought
might be my soul. But it was just a pond.
Spring-time, you know?

I lived in the Sierras, but move from place to place
walking, usually, in the evening of what I used to dream.
The rocks on the shore were small, medium and huge
and I realized how good it is to breath what is there.

Just the smell of granite, water and wood, and the ways it feels.
The strength in our selves and the ancient biology
that mostly modern people have forgotten.
I lifted a rock from the snow and carried it to the water,

and as hard as I could, threw it into the future.
A splash and a ripple, a thunk, and a new foundation
was born. So I did it again. And again
just for the exercise and the joy. To breath some more.

Within an hour I had thirty of these boulders lined up
into the water, 80 pounds each, stacked liked a wall
or path or fragile plan that most never see.
From nothing but the snow and the sand.

My muscles were sore in a good sort of pain
that seals into our hope the strength of our work,
from winter's frosted toes. I watched people's
windows through the trees, flashing blue TV screens,
and I had to pick another rock from the shore.

I had to, as a taste, just to breath. Please dear God, just
to breath some sweet, cold, fragrant wind.
It isn't every day that we can walk along the shore,
and build something, anything of value.

But my muscles really LIKED it, deep Nature there! It's in our
DNA. From the land. We have strength as a gift so we can USE
it and enjoy each beautiful, elemental, grounded, shaping thing.
To hold ourselves and the things we love.

I don't know how much strength it takes to ask a tree
to lay down and become what we dream. To take it
and understand it's soul, and fully appreciate what we do.
But the physical work makes me think it through.

Yeah, you think I'm crazy . . . that's okay.

But if you need any help to carry, shape or place some logs
I would pay you for the oppurtunity. In the same way I ask
my friends if they have any wood to chop or stack,
snow to shovel, or earth to move, it's hard to describe.

A log cabin is shelter. Hands need to carry something
that is worthwhile.

Are there any people in Wisconsin who know
what the creek I mean?

That's beautiful CB. Thank you very much :-D

when we bought our farm, the house was a wreck. SO we moved a trailer in and lived in a trailer for about 2 godawful years. (cold, small, kids hated it, we were the hippies of the area)
After we finished our house, (most of the work we subcontracted cause I was working full time and my wife , Mrs F was a great project manager) we could move in and just do finishing touches like painting and wood trims.
I saw this show about a guy who built his cabin in the Alaska wilderness. It was small and he had to make everything from logs, including his own boards. It was riveting ,I was amazed at his workmanship. BUT, I wouldnt want to do this myself.

there are several companies that offer log cabin kits based around simple designs that are easily modified and your do (or contract) for the labour. Keeping in mind that no log cabin is complete without a usable roofed front porch. don't really need to pour a concrete slab you can easily just form and pour a footer. the one I built was about (24 ft x 30) 750 sq ft one bedrm one bath kitchen/living and a small loft. core/centralize your plumbing (bath and kitchen water/sewer lines adjacent) Highly recommend steel roofing and triple-wall chimney pipe (or clay flue) with spark-arrestor.

"the one I built"...

That dys!

Sounds great, Montana, also just reading with interest. Would love to see the pic a year or whatever down the line.

We all have our dreams…a small cozy log cabin on five acres, sounds wonderful to me :wink:

You guys lived in a trailer for 2 years Thank god you guys all made it out alive with you sanity intact!
As Dys mentioned, I was thinking on the lines of building a log cabin kit where everything is pre-cut to fit in place. I couldn't imagine building it from scratch, but I would have loved to see the program you watched with the guy that did it all himself.
I've done a lot of research on line and found several kits, but I may go with hiring someone to build it because I don't want to get in over my head.

well if you all put your heads together building a log cabin shouldn't be a problem.

I'd advise against too small. You might want a few more feet in time. Dys' 750 square foot sounds about right to me, though I can envision being comfortable at, say, 600 sq. feet. My ex and I lived comfortably in an 850 square foot house for a couple of decades, though that also had a goodly non-screened in porch. The 850 would probably be more than you need.

I have a architect friend who spent some time designing 400 square foot houses, which make sense to me in some situations, but not when you have five acres in the first place.

I don't mean it has to be huge, but I don't think cramping yourself completely is worth the odd bit of savings in materials.

Wow Dys! I didn't know you built your own log cabin. I'm sooo impressed :-D
Thanks so much for your advice. That helps a lot. My uncle is a builder and I might talk to him as well to see if he could recommend someone to build it.

Soz
Pictures will be taken on a regular basis ;-)

Colorbook
It just gives me a cozy feeling :-D

Steve
Yep, I bet I could do it with a good kit and help from you guys ;-)

Osso
I agree that I don't want it too small, but I'm also keeping in mind that I won't be living there. I will still be living here and just want a place I can get away to just to be alone or a place where I can invite friends over. Living in the same house with mom is very easy because she's a breeze to get along with, I just need my own space every now and then. Mom doesn't like a fireplace or a wood stove because they make her nervous, but I love them and I plan on having one of each.
Mom also has a lot of company over here at the house and I need a place to go during those times where I can't be bothered.
I'll be starting work soon and it'll drive me nuts to get home from a long day to a house full of relatives who will no doubt start asking me all kinds of questions as they always do. My aunts and uncles love to talk to me and ask me questions about my on going projects and as much as I enjoy talking with them about them, I won't be much in the mood after working all day.
My mom is also retired and rarely goes out, so in those times where I simply want to be alone or entertain my own guests, I'll have a place to do it :-D

Hot tub, bed, sonewhere to keep the drinks cool. What more do you need?

Oh - and a screened in porch, and apparently, some sort of roof!

OK - and a fireplace.....

Re: I'm building a log cabin


I think I'd make these at least three separate items, but that's just me.

Otherwise, I'm so jealous!!!

Margo
Heehee!!! Yeah, I think I'll chip in for a roof as well. Seems to sound like a good idea. It tends to snow a lot up this way and I don't want to be wasting time shoveling snow in the cabin ;-) I may even go all out and have some floors put in there :-D