Tiny House Blog

To close off October, I thought this picture was appropriate. The fall colors are extremely bright and the log cabin just blends into them beautifully.

I’m sure this is located back east somewhere, as the log structure is typical of that area and generally we don’t get those bright orange leaves out in the west where I live. If anyone can track down the location of this photograph, I will add it to the post.

Alice sent me this listing of a quaint little log cabin on an island in British Columbia, Canada. Built in 1986 this 241 square foot cabin with loft on a small piece of property and a very good price of $89,000 Canadian dollars is a dream cabin which I wouldn’t mind if I could make it my own.

If your dream is to live on an island do some research on Galiano Island in British Columbia. Below is the listing and a few more pictures.

RUSTIC LOG CABIN WITH LOFT ON GALIANO ISLAND serviced with power and phone. The property is a small lot (plus or minus 0.1 acres). Located adjacent to Bluff Park. Court Ordered Sale (foreclosure). Separate small bath house with a shower, toilet, and sink serviced with water, and septic. Telus high speed internet is available at the property. To view the listing and more photos go here. Continue Reading »

Keith from Indiana sent me his story about his little log cabin that he built himself with no prior knowledge. Here is Keith’s story:

I built the cabin in 1990 with the help of a friend, both of us having zero prior knowledge or construction skills.

After reading three main books (Building a Log Cabin From Scratch by Ramsey, The Wilderness Cabin by Rutstrum and How to Build Your Home in the Woods by Angier) I decided the quickest and easiest would be a “trappers tilt” style, where the fat ends of the logs all put one way toward the front form the pitch for the roof as they go up higher.

These were considered temporary in their day and were built directly on the ground, but I used concrete piers and mine has an insulated floor.

I had purchased the wooded land a year before (50 acres) for a bargain price in southern Indiana and spent the year ‘90 working every single weekend and any vacation time felling trees, clearing the space and taking bark of of cedars and jack pines.

It was under roof by October 1st and I’ve been using spare time since to finish out the inside when the mood strikes. The first four courses of logs are cedar with the remainder in jack pine. We used spray foam between the logs and then put PermaChink on top of that.

The roof is very low, anyone over 5 foot 9 has problems with the middle log rafter! Since I’m only 5 foot 6, I don’t worry about it. I had a shed roof on it but it started to deteriorate and about 9 years ago I put a galvanized steel roof over that. It’s never leaked and the only problem I have is mice once in a while.

The stove was the smallest I could find but it sweats you out pretty quick if a window is not left open. However, one occasion it was 30 below and it took nearly 4 hours for the place to get up to only 50 degrees, even the oil lamp fuel was frozen!

The floor is parquet oak over standard subfloor plywood. It’s a pretty cozy place as long as it’s just me or one additional person. Any more than that and it’s crowded! Storage is at a minimum, so we pack light.

We only used cedars (which are plentiful and grow like weeds) or man-planted jack pines and used every bit of them that we could. I also later built an outhouse by my self. No pictures of it, but it’s not much to look at, regular stick-style and has a 5 foot deep shaft. It was built before they changed the laws against them and is now grandfathered in. It’s located as to not interfere with any water source and we use hydrated lime when we visit. It has a steel roof as well. It never smells very bad, even in the summer.

My only regret is not putting a few more courses of logs or not simply making a 12/12 pitch roof with a sleeping/storage loft. But I was a lot younger and wasn’t thinking as long term as I should have. Now, at 50, I can see more clearly what should have been done. However, we were lucky to get it as finished as we did because it’s three hours away from where I live and very remote with no power or running water. Ask me how much I like tent camping – I still am not fond of it after doing it every weekend for nearly a year. And this is coming from a guy who used to love camping more than anything!

Here is an entertaining video Keith put together that shows the interior. Thanks Keith for sharing your story with us.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed

Lyle Congdon a graphic designer who runs her business, Wild Spirit Designs in Colorado is also stepping into the tiny house and cabin business and will soon be opening Jalopy Cabins. She contacted me the other day to tell me about this jalopy cabin.

Jalopy Cabins gets its name from the old jalopy truck pictured at the bottom of this article. Lyle has one completed cabin pictured here and it is for sale. Here is how Lyle describes it:

This cabin is 140 square feet. We are asking $10K and can finish it out however someone may want.

I personally think it would make a great guest cabin or art studio/office as is. Currently wired with electricity, and does not have plumbing. We would consider selling it with some of the items in the picture (ie. wood stove, counter/storage).

We’ve moved it once before on a flat bed trailer so I feel pretty confident we could ship anywhere, will just be a matter of cost depending where the person lives. We are located in Southwestern Colorado (Pagosa Springs to be exact!) for a point of reference.

The Jalopy Cabins website is still being developed, if you are interested in getting more information you can email Lyle at info@jalopycabins.com.

Jalopy Cabin Kitchen/Desk

Jalopy Cabin Stove

Jalopy Cabin Bed

Jalopy Cabin Deck

The Jalopy the cabin is named after

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed

One of my own dreams was to have a log cabin in the mountains, for me the dream has not been fulfilled but for David Harell from Mississippi his dream has become a reality.

David originally alerted me in a comment that he was building his cabin and had started a blog to follow the process. Thinking I would let him get a good start, I waited to write a post on his progress. Now David has the cabin completed and I am finally telling you about it. Thanks for your patience, David. Here is the link to his Old Cabin Place Blog and following are some pictures and a few comments to explain his experience.

The cabin is located in Northeast Mississippi, on the edge of the Holly Springs National Forest which is abundant with wildlife and other natural resources. The cabin is 12′x24′  and is located in the woods and was built by David and his friend Casey Cappleman.

Another great Saturday for log building, Got the cable for the hoist raised up high enough probably to finish the walls now. We peeled three logs, placed two of them.

Saturday we woke up to about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground! Although it didn’t last all day, it was really nice to see it all white outside. We went out an installed the cedar rails we made this week in the shop.

We were able to install the remainder of the tin on the roof Saturday, a wonderful accomplishment that will keep our work safe and dry from now on!

This is the story of a kitchen. Once upon a time there was a lonely bare spot in the corner of a cabin, far, far away in the deep woods. Within the course of one week, however, this lonely bare spot was magically transformed into a functional, usable kitchen. The cabinets are made from cedar slabs (leftovers from the sawmill). It provides a very rustic look.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed

One of the neat things about keeping things small is the beauty of simplicity. I came across this neat Adirondack cabin and just love the basic style of the lean-to converted into a small cabin, simply by adding a log front, windows, and a door. The hand scribed logs are chiseled for a perfect fit and the craftsmanship is outstanding. The inside dimensions of this lean-to are 12 feet by 8 feet.

A lean-to can be a refuge, a retreat, a shelter, a lunch spot, an inspiration point, and a home away from home. To learn more visit the Adirondack Lean-to Company.

Dale Snyder of Bellvue Colorado has recently started a business called Canyon Classic Cabins, LLC. He has designed a snug, energy efficient cabin that can be lived in full time or as a vacation cabin.

The cabin size is 16′ x 20′ and you can add an optional bump out of 7′ x 20. The walls are designed to absorb solar heat during the day and release it at night.

Canyon Classic’s uses modern technology by installing Ethafoam insulation on both sides of each seam. They also use latex acrylic chinking which allows the chinking to automatically adjust to any settling or contraction.

The logs are carefully selected Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pines and high quality control is made possible through pre-built construction.

Dale and his crew are reliable and sound people who stand behind there craftsmanship. The basic cabin starts at $26,150. If you are looking at log cabin construction for your tiny house be sure and visit Canyon Classic Cabins and talk to Daly Snyder.

Photo credit – Dale Snyder

Side of Cabin

Back of Cabin

Living Room

Living Room/Stove

Loft Bedroom

Main Bedroom

Bathroom Entry

Floor Plan

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed