“A series of bluffs up the East Tin Hat Ridge presented better and better views the higher we climbed. This is the last open bluff before Tin Hat summit, a somewhat flat and large, though uneven rock outcropping. We decided to build the cabin here.…Below follows a chronology of the construction of the hut which, complete with upgraded trail, took some 30 days over a period of about three months.”

The photos is titled: The first dusting of snow on Tin Hat Hut at the end of October.

Mike Massulo Photographer

The dream child of Patrick and his two son, Hugo Charly journeyman carpenter and guitarist, has materialized in shacks perched ten meters high, anchored to the slender trunks of spruce.

To see pictures of the interior and read the complete article visit the Mon Jardin website.

Tonight we came home from our family Christmas dinner to a house fire. Our oven is old and according to the fire report it likely malfunctioned. Fortunately there was no serious structural damage or injury, but it won’t be livable for quite some time. We are so sad to have our little paradise destroyed by fire and smoke damage. As I try to unwind and get some sleep at a friend’s house, I find I am revisiting your blog and missing our tiny home.

I know you enjoy pictures and just read on the blog you were looking for cabins in the mountains. Here is a few pictures of ours.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

BriAnna

A few years ago we purchased some vacant land in northern New Mexico. We chose that area based on a number of factors. Some of those included wide-open space, abundant sunshine, affordability and artistic history (Georgia O’Keeffe lived down the road a bit). Our long term goal is to retire there and pursue a simple artistic life. One of the main reasons we chose that piece of property is its remoteness to other neighbors and the lack of congestion that comes from urban living. Urban living has a lot of advantages like electricity, water, and corner coffee shops. We plan to work around some of these conveniences using “off-grid” practices. I have enjoyed camping since I was toddler. The slower pace of life in an environment more closely linked with nature has always been a draw. Our cabin provides all of this with far more elbow room than a tent. Add in windows, a wood stove and a comfy bed and what could be better?

Site Location and Solar Power

Our parcel of land is a bit under 42 acres and nearly all the land around us is uninhabited grazing land. In fact, the people we bought our land from still graze horses and cattle on their square mile that surrounds us. I have spent enjoyable nights there listening to the baying of cattle and cry of a lonely coyote. Our decision to go “off-grid” was simple: the nearest utility pole to our cabin is nearly a mile away. We could have paid thousands of dollars to run power poles and lines to “connect” but then those “lines” would disturb our pristine views and require a monthly payment. For a fraction of that cost, we simply installed a basic PV (Photovoltaic) system. Our cabin is small at a bit under 200 sq. feet and has modest energy needs.

I designed all of our cabin’s lighting needs to be met with 12 volt DC based LED’s. This eliminates the energy losses of converting solar DC in to normal AC current. By utilizing a lot of task lighting, the whole cabin does not need to be lit to perform basic tasks. Even so, if every light in the cabin is turned on our total lighting use is less than 40 watts. This low demand allowed us to scale down the entire PV system to a basic 80-watt panel and a single 110-amp/hour storage battery. This DC system is supplemented with a basic power inverter, which allows us to run some AC devices and even some smaller power tools. The coffee bean grinder is our most common use of 120-volt AC.

Challenges with Building the Cabin

Building in a remote location has some added challenges that many take for granted. Power, water and access to building materials top the list. For us the build began with pouring concrete footers that would support the cabin’s framing. Getting the concrete there was the easy part; mixing 1800 pounds by hand with water carried in jugs was the hard part. I completed the bulk of the framing over a couple of weeks using a generator to run my air compressor. Having compressed air allowed me to use my pneumatic nail guns which greatly sped up the build. Since then, a lot of the work has been done using smaller 18 volt cordless tools, hand nailing trim, etc. The solar system has no trouble charging the battery packs for my cordless tools, and as an added bonus the solar system is silent…that gas powered generator would drown out the subtle sounds of nature that surround us, and that is a primary reason we like living there.

Cooking, Water and Heat

In a conventional home, the turning of a knob may bring life to a cook stove using natural gas or electricity at 220 volts. Our cooking heat is provided by a couple of means depending on the season and the items being cooked. In the summer we often will cook over a campfire outdoors…grilled steaks, hotdogs on a stick and of course marshmallows for s’mores. The morning coffee is French press, with water heated on the Coleman camp stove (summer) or on the wood stove (winter). Other cooking is done in a similar manner; the only thing that we are still experimenting with is small scale baking using a Dutch oven on top of the wood stove.

All of our water is brought in using 5 gallon Nalgene jugs. Hot water for washing and cleaning is heated the same way that we heat our cooking water.

Our cabin is passive solar by design and when the winter sun is shining, the wood stove is not usually required. When the winter chill does come calling at night, we stoke it up and can stay quite comfortable with just a few logs. Our grey water is used to irrigate the local sagebrush and we use a basic sawdust composting toilet for solid waste. Since it’s portable, the sawdust toilet can be brought inside if the winter temps make its normal use in our woodshed uncomfortable. We have a small alcove in the cabin that provides privacy for this if needed.

A Work in Progress

The initial building process had us “dried in” after a months work, but I still have a ways to go on a lot of the smaller details. The build is being completed as time and money allow. Our cabin is a six hour drive from our full time home so we do not get down there as often as I would like…but when we are there time is well spent with a balance of work and play. When the time does come to live there full time, the plan is to live in the small cabin while a more elaborate (ie: running water) home is built using the same basic “off- grid” mind set.

Kevin Stevens writes for Networx.com.

The Linger Longer, a Park Model

This custom unit is one of our park model builds, it is built perm. on a steel i beam frame with three axles and bumper style hitch (hitch is hidden under front steps) unit is 14′ wide and a total of 38′ long including a 6′ front covered porch with treated decking and vinyl porch posts and railings, layout includes bedroom in back large enough to accommodate a king size bed if needed, large closet, bathroom including a 4′ wide shower stall with seats, full size tall elongated dual flush toilet, sink/vanity, vent/light as well as vanity lights, high grade allure vinyl flooring in bathroom, kitchen includes hickory cabinets, full size fridge, induction cook top, toaster/convection oven, microwave, dual basin full size sink with custom cover that matches the counter top to cover one half of the sink to gain counter space if needed, cabinets include base, overhead and 7′ pantry. house is fully insulated wired and plumbed like a site built home with rv type connections to allow set up in an rv park, set up on 110v service, has two heat/air combo units, one in living area and one in bedroom, layout also includes two lofts, one 6′ storage loft over the front porch that has a custom installed stained glass window in the gable end that has a light behind it controlled by a switch next to the front door allowing the owners to light the stained glass at night for a very nice look,  house also has a large sleeping loft in the back accessed by stairs between the bath and bedroom, this loft is the full 14′ wide and just over 17′ long creating lots and lots of added sleeping/reading room, the side walls of the house in the loft area are 10′ tall with a 7′ tall ceiling below the loft in the bedroom and bathroom to gain headroom in the loft, the loft has railings but is open looking down on the living area below.

The house has hardwood laminate flooring in a cherry color throughout including the large loft with carpet in the storage loft, living room includes a corner electric fireplace that is very realistic when turned on, it produces a lot of heat and is surrounded by cultured stone, TV is mounted above fireplace.

The house has a 36″ wide front door with oval frosted glass with matching vinyl screen door, second 36″ nine lite door in bedroom,  have two 32″x3′ windows on porch area, two sets of 2×3 windows on each side of living area, 3×3 in bedroom, and three 2×3 windows in loft. front porch is large enough for hanging porch swing and rocking chair, also has old south charm style sky blue ceiling.

The last three pictures are of a bird house that is a to scale miniature version of the linger longer that my 13 year old daughter built for the owners.

[View with PicLens]

Modular Jasper Cabin

This is a modular type unit called the Jasper Cabin, this house was built in four sections that were then transported to the delivery site and re attached, it had two lower sections that were each 12′ wide and 18′ deep with two roof sections to match, once assembled the house was 24′ wide and 18′ deep with an upper level bedroom.

This particular house had cedar log siding on the exterior with an ivy green metal roof the layout was custom and designed by the buyer, it includes a lower level bedroom with large bunk beds. A three side wrap around covered porch was added to the house after set up.

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The Tookie House

This Slabtown Customs build is an 8′ wide and 24′ long tiny house with rustic pine exterior siding installed in a lap pattern. It is built on skids instead of a trailer so is meant to be set up perm on a site but is still easily moved if needed. It’s built on treated laminated wooded skids, has 2×6 floor joists with hurricane ties, 1″ of sub floor material, full standard 2×4 framing with 9′ tall sidewalls. the 9′ sidewalls are used to gain more headroom in the two sleeping lofts this house has, with 7′ tall ceilings in the areas below the lofts this gives us almost 2′ of wall space in the loft areas before the roof starts to make is rise.

The house has an 8×8 bedroom on one end so combined with the two sleeping lofts it will accommodate several people, the bathroom is on the opposite end and includes a 3′x3′ shower stall, full size toilet and 18″ sink/vanity. This particular unit was custom built to be a rental unit much like a motel room so it doesn’t have a complete kitchen, only a dorm style fridge and a microwave along with oak base cabinets and counter top, above the countertop are electric and cable connections to allow a wall mounted flat screen TV.

As with most of our small houses it is fully wired and plumbed like a site built home but has RV type connections, its fully insulated with fiberglass in the floors, walls and ceiling.

The house is completely set up for 110v service and includes a 19 gallon water heater and heat/air unit mounted in the wall. The house has a 9 lite 36″ wide entry door, 3 3×3 windows including one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom for a nice balanced exterior look, as well as one in the living room,  with one 2×2 window in each loft. Although this unit does not have a complete kitchen, adding remaining needed appliances would not be a problem.
the set of pics shown in the email were taken before the ladders were installed to access the lofts but there was one in front of each loft. The bathroom and bedroom doors on this unit are pocket doors that slide into the wall so they do not create a problem with robbing space around them when opened.

The flooring in the house is hardwood laminate with a cherry color in the main floor as well as lofts with a high grade vinyl in the bathroom.

[View with PicLens]

Annemarie Wick House

This is a custom tiny house based on our Annemarie plan, it is for a road legal size of just over 8′ wide and 24′ long and includes an 8×8 bedroom on the main floor with two 8×8 lofts above, one on each end. It has a bathroom with a 36″ shower stall, 18″ sink/vanity, full size toilet, 19 gallon water heater, double basin sink with cover for one basin, microwave, toaster/convection oven, double burner cook top, full size fridge, 3/4″ pine t&g interior walls and ceilings, hardwood laminate flooring, built permanently on a steel frame with axles and hitch, painted custom colors. This one is available for $15.000.

A couple of the pictures are blurry, especially the shot of the shower and adjacent shelves, sorry for that.

[View with PicLens]

Ellis Washington House – Lynda Edition

This is another version of the popular ellis washington house, it is 12′ wide, 26′ long with a custom porch, porch is only 4×6 leaving a 4×6 computer nook on the other half of the front of the house, main sleeping area is in a loft over the back 8′ of the house which is accessed through a large closet/dressing room/utility room in the back of the house. Pricing for this house is $18,000.

[View with PicLens]

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Ellis Washington House, Travis Edition

This house is a 12′ wide and 26′ long unit built on skids, with 2×8 floor joists, floor plan is attached, main sleeping loft is in the back and is 8′ deep spanning the full 12′ width, bathroom has tub, the buyer installed ceramic tile on the walls around the tub after delivery, house has a large closet along with washer and dryer, loft entrance is in the closet area, there is also a small loft above the front porch area, the window type opening in the loft above the kitchen has a removable custom frame with slats to soften the large opening, it was out at the time of the pics, this was done in order to make getting large items into and out of the loft.

[View with PicLens]

Slabtown Cube

The Slabtown Cube is for sale at a ridiculous price of $8500 as it sits on Scott’s yard through Monday, December 12, if Scott still owns it by Tuesday morning it will be set up and will be available for rent at $75 per night with a two night minimum, set up and available here in Mountain View, AR.

Ellis Washington Studio Cabin

The Ellis Washington Studio Cabin is a 12′ wide and 26′ long studio cabin with 6′ front covered porch leaving a 12×20 main cabin, this unit was extra tall with two lofts, one over the porch and one over the bathroom and bed area, this units original floor plan had the kitchen area located where the bed is now in the pics, buyer wanted the kitchen moved to present location to allow placement of bed on lower level. In a reproduction of this model the height will not be this tall, we can still however add a loft, its actual height will depend on delivery location and travel route.

The kitchen can be placed either as in the pics or as in original plan.

[View with PicLens]

Partne House

Tiny log cabin style house built on trailer, full bath, kitchen, washer/dryer, two lofts, hardwood flooring, pine log siding, 10′ wide and 22′ long For sale at $16,000.

Contact Scott Stewart at Slabtown Customs for more information.
ozarksbest@yahoo.com
870-213-5310

Please let Scott know you heard about his homes through the Tiny House Blog.

I have been a follower of the Tiny House Blog for a few years and was really intrigued by what it might be like to live in a small home. My wife and I searched for land for a few years, but could never find the right piece of ground. She was convinced that she wanted a place on the water and I was convinced that the only piece of land that we could afford near water would be the size of a postage stamp.

We finally found the perfect spot while exploring a part of our state that we had never seen before. While it is only 85 miles as the crow flies from our home in the city, and about 150 miles by road, it feels like we are in another country. It turns out we didn’t by land near water, but found 30 acres of heaven on earth of highland pasture.

I was at first determined that I wanted to build a tiny house like the Tumbleweed, but was convinced (coerced) by my wife and daughter that 100 square feet just wasn’t going to keep us all happy. I’m glad that I listened! We also bought property in a “development” which requires that homes be a minimum of 500 square feet. With some creative math we were just able to sneak over the 500 square foot threshold. The main part of the cabin is 320 square feet with a 100 square foot bedroom on the back of the cabin. We have two lofts which are connected by a “catwalk” which adds about another 100 square feet. We use a ladder to get up to the lofts and when not in use the ladder retracts into the bottom of the catwalk to give the main cabin more room.

We are totally off grid and use solar as our main source of electricity. In this part of the country we have about 300 days of sun a year so the solar keeps the batteries charged pretty well. We have a 2000W inverter which can run just about anything we need and use a 3500W generator to back up the batteries on those days which are either foggy or cloudy. We don’t have a well (yet) but have access to a well nearby.

We have two 550 gallon water tanks in the unfinished part of the basement, which serves as a mechanical/storage area. We refill the tanks by hauling water in a 210 gallon tank which fits on a small flatbed trailer we have. The cabin is mainly used on the weekends and an occasional long week and we find that the 1100 gallons of water gets us through our cold winters with no problems.

We currently heat the cabin using a free standing propane fireplace which is regulated by a thermostat. We also use propane for cooking, refrigeration and hot water. We have a 500 gallon propane tank on the property. In addition we also have a small bathroom with a shower with hot water and a flush toilet that is connected to a septic system.

I designed the cabin and spent much of one winter finalizing the drawings and making scaled models to make sure that the space would be adequate and that the placement of the windows and roof lines seemed appropriate. Because the space was relatively small I decided to make the sidewalls 10′ tall instead of the traditional 8′. This gives the cabin an added sense of dimension and gives more than adequate headroom in the loft area. In addition, the loft does not cover the entire second floor and the space over the living room is open to the 12/12 pitched roof about 18′ above the floor. Once we were happy with the design we had IB Panels out of Jerome, Idaho manufacture the cabin using SIP’s. Eric Lott and his crew did a great job and were extremely helpful through the entire process. The cabin arrived in pieces on one flat bed truck and it took a crew of about six people and about six days to erect the cabin. At the end of those six days we had the roof on and the windows in and were ready to move in. While the cabin was far from done at that point we decided that we would camp in it and finish it as we had time.

Today the cabin is about 90% complete with almost all of the exterior completed and a good part of the interior finished. We sided the exterior of the cabin with a product made in Colville, WA by a company called Weathertite Log Siding. It is made to resemble hand hewn log siding and was very easy to install and I think added a lot to the cabin. There are a couple things I would do differently, but they are minor and I think that all of the pre-planning really ensured that the finished product was something that we would be happy with.

My name is Gray Anderson, and I am with Gable Log Homes, a cypress and cedar custom log cabin company based out of Sumter, SC. We have recently begun to offer an inexpensive, all materials included, cabin kit that can basically be stacked in one weekend, we call it the “Sportin’ Cabin.” The 16 x 20 cabin with a 6 x 20 porch (lofted sleeping area available to maximize floor space), are made from solid 4 x 8 precut cypress wall logs and can be assembled in one weekend. So this is not your typical wall siding made to simulate a log cabin, it is actually solid cypress logs from the base to the top of the gable! The cabins start out delivered to the site for $12,750, but we do offer package discounts depending on the number of cabins built. Basically, the more you build the more you save!

Not only is it inexpensive and simple to build, it is as sturdy as a rock. Our design for cutting and stacking removes the need for insulation, they do that themselves! I am even in the process of finding the right location to build my own Sportin’ Cabin. See construction photos here.

As fars as house specifics go:

• The Sportin Cabin is 16×20 with a 6×20 porch.
• We cut each and every piece of cypress at our on site mill that goes into each Sportin Cabin.
• 4×8 wall logs all around and up in both gables. It is a solid log cabin, there is no log siding or imitating framework.
• A sleeper loft can be added to increase floor space.
• All materials are included in kit (windows, doors, wall logs, floor systems, etc.)
• The cabin can be built on basically ANY surface and is not limited to stilts, a concrete slab would work just fine (or maybe even on a floating barge!). We would be more than willing to credit the pricing for the floor posts, if a slab is the owners choice, and reimburse them with materials for interior projects. Such as cabinets, walls, etc.
• All of the by-products from the cutting process used in other aspects of the Gable Log Homes mill. We use the remaining lumber for pallets, mulch, cypress and cedar shavings for livestock and much more.
• $12,750 plus free shipping! To anywhere in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, and some parts of Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas and Indiana

We feel that this cabin would be the perfect home for someone cutting back on living expenses by living in a small house. I am anxious to have my own Sportin’ Cabin built so I will truly be able to live the lifestyle that the Tiny House Blog readers enjoy every day. Our biggest thoughts on the cabin its quality and affordability together. Those two terms are rarely paired honestly, but we are definitely the exception. We are willing to go out of our way to help out anyone who shares the same interest in the cabin lifestyle as we do!

This cabin is a 14 foot by 20 foot beam style log cabin and is the perfect size for a small cabin or small home. Here are the details of the construction and if you would like to learn more click here for Montana Mobile Cabins website.

Floor System

• 2×6 16” on center floor joists
• Rim Joists 6×6
• Solid Floor Joist Blocking
• Floor: 3/4” tongue & groove OSB wafer board

Walls and Gables

• 10” square logs/beams, hand stacked, butt and pass corner
• Gables-framed – sided with reclaimed metal; excepting interior gable in loft, wood sided-board & bat; insulated with R19 fiberglass insulation
• Chinking throughout interior & exterior
• Window & Door Jambs-Resawn Lodgepole Pine/Fir

Loft (loft area approx. 10’x13’)

• Joists – 2×4
• Decking-2×6 rough sawn pine & fir
• Railing-2×6 rough sawn pine & fir
• Ladder to loft – rough sawn pine & fir-handcrafted

Roof System (8/12 pitch) – Ceiling

• Ridge Beam: Log
• Hand stacked Exposed Roof System: 2×6 rough sawn pine & fir mix
• Felt Paper: 1 Layer 30# Asphalt
• 2” Firestone foil back rigid insulation in roof
• Delta-rib metal roofing; color – Antique Bronze

Windows and Doors

• Windows: 3 Milguard vinyl double pane – sliding windows on main floor; 2 each in gable ends; 1 Alpine garden window on main floor
• Exterior Door: 1-36” Therma Tru Factory metal door with half light

Treatment

• Montana Standard Log oil applied interior & exterior

Price is $27,500 delivered inside the state of Montana. Please contact Montana Mobile Cabins for delivery pricing and information outside of Montana.