Building A Cabin In The Woods (Part I)

There's something enchanting about the idea of escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to build a cabin in the woods. The tranquility of nature, the crisp scent of pine, and the sound of rustling leaves – these are the promises of a cabin retreat. In this multi-part blog, I'll share my experience in building a small cabin on a secluded wooded property.

The first thing I needed to do was to cut in a driveway. I found a local contractor that specialized in clearing land and constructing roads.

When I originally purchased the land, I didn't have plans to build a cabin. My intent was to make a shooting range and hunting location.

After spending time hiking the property, I decided it would be really cool to have a get away location not too far from home to enjoy throughout the year.

And so the journy began. I cleared a lot about 100 yrds from the parking and range area.

The hardest part was brining in materials and digging the the footings.

I enlisted my son to get me through this part.

The cabin design is straight forward. Basically a 12x12 box with a 6' porch. the highest point is 10' and the lowest is 8'.

The most difficult part of the build was constructing the front wall wich was 10' high. Not sure why I decided to put the siding on first but that was a mistake as the siding I used was hardy plank. 100lbs. per sheet. I got a good deal on it so I went with that. Needless to say, the wall was too heavy for 5 people to lift. I had to design a makeshift hoist along with using the UTV winch

I worked on this project six months straight coming here right after work every day until dark. I had no idea what I got myself into. I have great respect for the construction peaple that do this every day. It about killed me. My lack of experience probably added 5 months out of the six....

As I got further into the build, it became a mental challenge that pushed me to prove to myself that I could actually pull this off. This was a solo gig other than my son helping with the footings. It wasn't because people didn't offer, it was something I needed to do by myself.

I enjoyed doing the roof. Got the shingles at a restore dirt cheap.

Inside siding T1-11 board

I wanted the cabin to be self sufficient as possible. I designed a solar system that utilized both 120v AC as well as 12vdc.

Majority of the inside lighting is 12vdc. That way if the solar goes down, I can run directly off of batteries. 12vdc LED Wall Scounce

Cabinets were on clearance from Home Depot.

Solar System: 2400watt pure sinewave solar inverter. This is a 24v system. Two 200AH batteries in series. These are lead acid batteries. 150 lbs. a piece. I had to put in extra floor bracing to support. Recently I have upgraded to Litium Ion which are only 35lbs. a piece.

Of course I had to installan AC unit for the wife.

A backup propane generator is part of the system. It can charge the solar batteries if the solar drops below required feed from the panels.

Westinghouse 4500 Duel Fuel Inverter Generator

Solar panels: 250 watts each. 1000 watt output at 30.4v each ran in series.

Pictured here is the loft with a twin mattress. Still need to put a rail in so whoever sleeps up here doesn't roll off a fall 8 feet...

Thrift store chair.

Propane heater that is thermostat controlled. Dyna-Glo 10,000BTU Vent Free Heater

There isn't great cell service in the area so I installed an exsternal hotspot router. Works great for streaming video and in cabin wifi. Yeacomm 4G Outdoor Router

I still have a few odds and ends to finish like lattice around the base.

Conclusion:

Building a cabin in the woods is a labor of love that requires careful planning and a deep connection with nature. It was a learning experience and I deffinatly honed my carpentry skills. I probably would never do it again but do have many other smaller projects in the works.

Part II will be the construction of the outhouse complete with a heated shower...