Cabin Pictures

[Coyote]

You got that right! I built the whole thing for $4000. Being a "portable" building means IRS depreciation, and no property tax increase!

What a timely post. I am also going to add a "bunk house" dutch cabin 12X16 with loft. Under the loft I'll add a 6' bathroom and 6' kitchenette.
Tiny houses = tiny taxes. The real room is the great outdoors.

 

[Skyco]

Question for you Coyote- When I built my little "sleeping shack" in the NC mountains I checked with the county and was told if any dimension was over 12ft it had to have a building permit. Supposedly all of NC follows the international building code administered by the NC State Fire Marshal.
The county building permit office told me the 12 ft rule and said it didn't matter if it was a portable building or not. I had planned to build my "portable" 8x20 so I could transport it without wide load permits but dropped it to 12 ft long after the county told me the rules. I wonder now if they told me right...I'd sure like to build a larger "portable" building to add to the "camp" if I can get away with it

I have no installed power either and use 12v lighting, propane heating and a portable generator to run the AC in the summer. I happen to have a brand new RV refrigerator (propane powered) I'd like to put into another "portable building" along with a shower, stove and a cassette type toilet which I also have on hand. Right now we use a porta-potty type toilet which gets us by and an ice chest for food storage when "camping" there. I have an RV with all the amenities but with fuel costs what they are I frequently visit for the weekend, about a 250 mile round trip, without towing the large RV beast up there and "rough it" in the "box" as we call it Heck I'm only in the thing if I'm sleeping or the weather turns bad unexpectedly.

 

[KentT]

The cabin is set down in a little creek valley. The creek runs about 10 ft from the front door. Everybody said I was crazy.

Likely because that "berm" appears to be the bank of an old stream channel... Perhaps there's been other gradework somewhere that would have permanently altered the path of potential overflow since then, but the top of that bank behind you is likely the high water mark from your creek at some time in the past.

You may be quite prone to the cabin being washed away in the event of a flash flood that could be caused by a tropical storm off a hurricane or something dropping several inches of rain in very short period of time...

 

[WayneB]

Looks like a great hide-a-way! In the first picture is that a neighbor behind you? I am sure once you insulate it a bit it won't take much to heat or cool the place.

 

[irwin]

Once you break it in some, it'll look like a smaller version of the home from Little House on the Prairie..

 

[Coyote]

Nope, that's my "outhouse" It's really a portapotty, in an authenic, reproduction, antique, ole timey, outhouse! I don't have a neighbor for at least 50 acres!

Looks like a great hide-a-way! In the first picture is that a neighbor behind you? I am sure once you insulate it a bit it won't take much to heat or cool the place.

 

[Coyote]

Skyco, the rules are governed by the county, not the state. The 12' rule is how WIDE it can be in my county. (For highway transport) This came from a place that builds barns, gazebos etc. No building permit needed. But I am also 100 acres in the middle of the country, and my cabin is 1/2 mile down a 4WD only road. People 'round here don't like the county man sniffin around much and I think he knows it!

Question for you Coyote- When I built my little "sleeping shack" in the NC mountains I checked with the county and was told if any dimension was over 12ft it had to have a building permit. Supposedly all of NC follows the international building code administered by the NC State Fire Marshal.
The county building permit office told me the 12 ft rule and said it didn't matter if it was a portable building or not. I had planned to build my "portable" 8x20 so I could transport it without wide load permits but dropped it to 12 ft long after the county told me the rules. I wonder now if they told me right...I'd sure like to build a larger "portable" building to add to the "camp" if I can get away with it

I have no installed power either and use 12v lighting, propane heating and a portable generator to run the AC in the summer. I happen to have a brand new RV refrigerator (propane powered) I'd like to put into another "portable building" along with a shower, stove and a cassette type toilet which I also have on hand. Right now we use a porta-potty type toilet which gets us by and an ice chest for food storage when "camping" there. I have an RV with all the amenities but with fuel costs what they are I frequently visit for the weekend, about a 250 mile round trip, without towing the large RV beast up there and "rough it" in the "box" as we call it Heck I'm only in the thing if I'm sleeping or the weather turns bad unexpectedly.

 

[Skyco]

Speaking of county man- had an interesting visit awhile back from a deputy We were shooting AR15s and all of a sudden my son says someone is up the gulley we were shooting into
So I go walking up the gulley carrying my AR...luckily I saw he was a deputy before he saw ME!
Layed down the gun quick and went on up to meet him....can you imagine what sort of deadly misunderstanding might have occurred if he had been itchy and I hadn't realized he was a cop immediately
Anyway he was investigating our shooting from a complaint. Told me it was perfectly legal and he seemed a little perturbed someone had complained, I don't imagine he liked having to come out onto posted property alone on gunfire reports any more than I liked having him there....

 

[Coyote]

Speaking of county man- had an interesting visit awhile back from a deputy We were shooting AR15s and all of a sudden my son says someone is up the gulley we were shooting into
So I go walking up the gulley carrying my AR...luckily I saw he was a deputy before he saw ME!
Layed down the gun quick and went on up to meet him....can you imagine what sort of deadly misunderstanding might have occurred if he had been itchy and I hadn't realized he was a cop immediately
Anyway he was investigating our shooting from a complaint. Told me it was perfectly legal and he seemed a little perturbed someone had complained, I don't imagine he liked having to come out onto posted property alone on gunfire reports any more than I liked having him there....

Sounds like we have a few things in common...I'm known to rapidly empty a few .223 clips myself. Keeps the neighbors mighty polite!