Pole Barn Cabin?

[jbos333]

Hi all,

I'm sure this has been discussed way too many times already, and I know some love 'em, others say it's a waste of time.

I have recently broken ground on a building site on a piece of ground I co-own with my sister (it was my folks') around 80 ac.....

I put a drive back in around 475' to a really nice build site, hidden from the road, nice views, etc. One spot in particular lends itself to a walkout basement. In an ideal situation, I would take my savings and get a poured foundation, and a modest 1000+/- s.f. basic ranch framed/dried in, etc. etc.

I do have a site layout that includes a seperate garage connected by a breezeway to the house.

The question is, of course, what would you do in this situation? I'm not in a huge hurry to live there full-time, mainly because of commuting to employment, and I don't want to take out any financing. I do want to at least have the basic conveniences there so I can stay more often as I wish.

So, is it stupid to put up a pole structure that is proportioned like a 2-3 car garage, in the spot I have planned for already, with the bare minimum essentials to get a CO, to be ultimately be used as a garage if/when the actual house gets built? I'm thinking lots of used/salvaged items such as cabinets, etc. and minimal finishing (I'm a single guy, lol). Maybe put plumbing in one back corner so as to leave bathroom there in the end? Or maybe a loft living area?

Keep in mind the septic field will be located and sized such that it will also be useable for the house, the electric and well will also be useable for the house, ultimately.

Thanks for any opinions or experience you may have!

 

[Beltzington]

Wife and I bought an RV trailer with the same idea of occasionally staying on the property before and during the house construction. We have stayed in it once in the last two years. You might be different but I find it irritating "roughing it" when I have a very comfortable home 1-hour away. Something else to consider is the security of the property when you are not there. Our camper was broken into 3-months after we had it, $1200 worth of damage for $40 worth of stolen stuff. We now leave it unlocked. Good luck with your decision.

 

[jbos333]

Hi, thanks for the input.

I, too, have a comfortable home 40 min. from my land. My ultimate plan was to have a legal, spartan residence at the land while building (or not) and rent my existing home to generate income each month.

I do have a small travel trailer there already, so I theoretically could just hook up to septic and water for 3 seasons and "live" there....but I was gonna try to abide by the "rules" and build a minimal, legal residence.

 

[tommu56]

If you go the pole building route make sure you put a vapor barrier under the concrete or it will be eternally damp.

One of my cousins had the same conditions but he couldn't put the bath room in or any plumbing per building codes.

We worked out this plan pole building 24 x 32 long 12 ft clear inside vapor barrier in the floor one large grauge door one walk in door fiberglass panels 4' down from soffit for light on 2 walls

4 4" pipes roughed in through slab for future the building dept was ok with this. an The had the building built got the OP"S found an older but good shape trailer backed it in the building along with his toys and worked on the rest of the utilities camping in the trailer.

His first 2 things were well and septic like your plan septic centrally located between house and building.
The well was on the other side of the pole building but that water can flow up hill.
Electric was trenched in under ground to the pole building and house will be fed from there when he gets that far.

tom

 

[jbos333]

Tom, thanks for the info.

It looks like the only big difference between your brother's plan and mine is I was going to try to be compliant so I would have a legal residence with a C of O in my pole barn.

Believe me, if I thought I could get away with the camper idea for any length of time, that's what I would do. In an ideal world, it would work fine. But, in reality, even though none of this is visible from the road, and it's a dead end, town road, there are many looky-loos who wander around where they shouldn't. So someone would catch on pretty quick, I'm sure....then call the code enforcement guy sooner or later out of jealousy or whatever.

It has been discussed before....just what is considered CAMPING and what is considered LIVING there? I have found no firm answer to that queston.

 

[gghb]

morning

i would start with the local regulators. in my area you can't live in a pole building you must have a bay on the side and live in you rv for inspection . to live in a framed garage you must meet all residentail building codes can be a real pain in the butt. greg

 

[jbos333]

Has anyone ever dealt with Durabuilt out of Ohio? Their "cabins" are pole buildings with a 2' crawl space under...they have a traveling crew and most of their stuff comes in around $18.00/sf dried in or $75.00/sf "turnkey".Durabilt Pole Buildings | Pole Buildings, Commercial Buildings, Pole Barns, Loft Barns, and Cabins to Accent Any Home

 

[wedge40]

Has anyone ever dealt with Durabuilt out of Ohio? Their "cabins" are pole buildings with a 2' crawl space under...they have a traveling crew and most of their stuff comes in around $18.00/sf dried in or $75.00/sf "turnkey".Durabilt Pole Buildings | Pole Buildings, Commercial Buildings, Pole Barns, Loft Barns, and Cabins to Accent Any Home

Had a neighbor who had a barn built by Durabuilt. He was not impressed with the crew who built it. The materials were delivered and sat in his yard for about 3 or 4 months before someone came to build it. He was suppose to get cement put in and I think after taking them to court he either got his money back or after 3 or 4 YEARS they came out put the cement in finally. Now this was 6 or more years ago, so hopefully they hired a more reliable building crew in my area. I'm waiting to see what others post.

Wedge

 

[tommu56]

Has anyone ever dealt with Durabuilt out of Ohio? Their "cabins" are pole buildings with a 2' crawl space under...they have a traveling crew and most of their stuff comes in around $18.00/sf dried in or $75.00/sf "turnkey".Durabilt Pole Buildings | Pole Buildings, Commercial Buildings, Pole Barns, Loft Barns, and Cabins to Accent Any Home

check with some locals I had some Amish guys put my grange up 3 days 20x 24 and the concrete in 3 days this is in NC PA

I have a friend in elmyra that drives for them and they cover a large area and do great work.

tom

 

[jbos333]

Tom, thanks again...I actually have a local Amish crew available that is highly recommended.

I figure if Durabuilt can do it for that price, I should be able to get my local Amish crew to do it for the same or less, right?

This Amish guy is also highly recommended for his masonry work.