by Brian Cobble
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and enjoy the pictures and stories of little houses… I thought I would share one of my own…
I was able to find an affordable (and remarkable) private lakehouse for rent on property that bordered the farm, and realized that I needed a storage solution for stuff accumulated over the past 10 years. One of the problems I had found in the past, is that every time I purchased a tract of land, I felt a need to have some sort of a structure on it, and always built the structure in a permanent manner on the property that had just been acquired.
Also, with my modest budget, the only way to aquire bigger tracts of land, often meant selling the smaller tracts, once they had been partially developed. The solution was to construct a portable building, in a way that was rock solid, yet still able to be transported. My solution is included in these photos.
I call it the FL Cracker House, and it is 12 x 24, or 288 square feet, with a loft. This doe not include the planned partial wrap around porch. Total cost so far, not including my own labor, is less than $2,000. It is well on its way to completion.
Using the construction methods I found, I am building it right beside the house I am renting for convenience in many ways, and it can be moved to the (now 77 acre) farm once complete. The house is small and economical. The saved money allows me to devote more time to the farm and extra money goes toward an early mortgage pay-off. The cabin was more attractive to me than a mobile home, is bigger than a camper, and can still be used for storage of stuff if it is ever not needed. And equally importantly, it is portable if a larger farm becomes available. (this is my theory anyway)