Tom O’Rourke who lives in Northern Minnesota sent me a few pictures of a writing/guest shack he and a few friends built recently.
Tom says a few intrepid, and skilled friends took part (my kids too). We built a 10 x 12 foot guest house, writing shack about 100 yards from the house. It took a month to build and we used a “crib” of pressure treated lumber, no footings as a foundation. I hope it will move as one unit if it gets frost-heaved.
The desk is on a hinge and swivels up and out of the way. The bed is lofted a bit, and is behind the bookcase. Steps to the bed are built into the bookcase.
Excluding the woodstove, and a month worth of food and beer to support the troops, we spent about $2,700. Tom also mentioned that the guys sure ate a lot and drank a lot of beer, but is a great alternative way to get a building constructed.
Thanks Tom for sharing your great project, hopefully it will inspire someone else to do the same.
Nicely done, although I think we could use a few more pictures like the 2nd one. I need to see further detail on how that platform was built.
Outstanding! When can we move in?
Pretty neat! Did he say what kind of stove that is? I’m looking for a small one for the bedroom of our current house.
Thanks for the nice comments. The stove is a Jotul f100 nordic…we did put insulation above the ceiling. The stove is designed to heat 800 square feet, so it’s not a problem to get and keep toasty.
I like the offset windows in that last pic…open rafters? no roof insulation? It gets pretty cold in MN…even with a woodstove.
There is insulation above the open rafters. We wanted to keep those for the look of them but there is a layer of insulation above them.
I like that foundation, kind of like a float house for the land.
Picture No. 3 shows the technique of holding one’s tongue in just the right position when hammering.
You guys did great and when you want another challenge, we have beer (and pretzels and cheese) only a state away!
Great Stuff- and tom’s a good guy- from what I can gather in past email yammerings between the two of us- his cabin’s in my next book too. Very cool little place- thanks Kent/Tom
-Deek
Relaxshacks.com
Love your site. We are interested in rental units but I don’t think the county would allow such a small unit.
Tom is my uncle…that’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Rich kid vandals then came in a trashed the place.
Lovely little cottage! But if pressure-treated wood is used inside the house, major problems might repeat MIGHT occur. A friend of mine used pressure-treated wood for the floor joints of his new home. Once the heat was turned on, the chemicals in the wood begin to off-gas and my friend’s wife could not stand to live in the toxic air. They sold the house after one year. At least, this is the way I heard the story. I send this for your information.
That is very beautiful building but I have one question. If I built that here in Ireland, I don’t think the rats would even wait until winter to move in under the floor. How do you manage?
Hi, I love this cabin! I was wondering the dimensions? And also, what is the space under the bed used for?
Thanks,
Matt
10 x 12. Under bed storage…fire extinguisher, window screens, etc. Currently remodeling interior to maximize space…
Hi- great little cabin. Have a similar sized cabin and had recently picked up the same jotul! Was planning to put it in this winter, but had been worried about overpowering the cabin, and also the clearances. As you mentioned, this is a stove meant for minimum 600-800 square feet. Have you had any issues?
no issues aside from having to crack the window on occasion. We cheated the clearances a bit (by accident), but there is cement board behind the bricks and a small air gap in between. Given the size of the shack, I really never need to get the stove roaring…
Watch out for creosote buildup if you aren’t burning a good roaring fire in there very often. The slow smouldering burns can really dirty up the chimney and may cause chimney fires if it gets too thick.
Nice build…agree with request for more framing pics…looks like good work and i’m always interested in good work!