Portable buildings

[lutt]

Has anyone here ever finished a portable building for a living space, or ie economical cabin? Mother passed in the spring and left me some property where I do all of my hunting and fishing in that area! I'm looking at a company here in Arkansas, bald eagle barns, I've had one if there buildings before and they are top quality! I'm needing some ideas on finishing as far as shower, sleeping area, kitchen/ lounge. The building I'm looking at is simply called the cabin, 14x24. Has 20 feet of usable space and 4 feet of porch. I will be staying there a lot! It's in the same area where I work on the row crop farm on my months that I'm off work. I want it comfortable and efficient! I live about thirty miles from there and hate having to drive back and forth during our busy seasons! Sorry for the lengthy thread starter, I want you guys opinions and pics if you guys have them! I will try to post pics later of the building, you can google them, they have a nice website! Thanks LUTT

 

[EddieWalker]

What is your level of experience at building? plumbing? electrical? finish work?

I had a client that wanted me to do this for them, but after figuring out what they wanted and what it would cost them, they bought a single wide mobile home instead. More room with everything in it ready to go for just a little bit more money then what I was going to charge them.

If you are doing all the work yourself, and it's just going to cost you what the materials cost, then it might be worth your time. Do you like spending your weekends working on a house or doing something fun?

First thing you need to do is draw up a floor plan and determine how much space you have for what you need. Bathroom, kitchen and sleeping area. How many beds, how big will they be? Shower will need a water heater, where will that go? how will you heat and cool the building? Where will that go? Window units are great for small spaces and very cost effective. Do you have electricity to the site? Best price for cabinets are at the box stores. The prebuilt ones are very affordable, but if you want to go rustic, 2x4's work good to build a workbench type kitchen with plywood counters.

I tell my clients to dream big and if it's what they really want, take their time getting there. A lot of the time it's too expensive to do all at once, so we do it in steps, working towards the final goal.

Eddie

 

[lutt]

Thanks Eddie, I will be doing the work myself. I have time, I'm a engineer on a towboat, I have month off when I am home. I do work on the farm when home, but we won't be busy for a few more months. The materials we be salvage, I have plenty and enough appliances on hand for it. I have all the material to finish on hand but insulation, and some of the electrical, even already got the cabinets! I do need to set down a draw it out! That's gonna be the tricky part, trying to make use of the space! Won't be nothing fancy. We are not fancy people. I thought about a mobile home, but really not crazy about them. Thanks! LUTT

 

[lutt]

Oh yeah, water, electric, and sewer are already there! I will heat and cook with propane, I have a like new 40 gallon hot water heater, but thinking that may be overkill, I may break down and buy a small electric, ac will be small window unit. LUTT

 

[dave1949]

An on-demand flow though, under counter electric water heater would save space. They can also be wall mounted.

Try for an arrangement with the kitchen sink and the bathroom on opposite sides of a partition wall. Plumbing and drains would all be very simple and short. You could easily share the on-demand water heater between those.

 

[lutt]

Thanks Dave, I didn't realize they made a electric on demand water heater, all I ever saw was gas, that would be a great space saver and quiet! Also on sharing the wall on the plumbing is a excellent idea! LUTT

 

[kw22614]

If there's trees on your property why not clear a nice area and build with the logs, using a chainsaw for the major cuts. May end up being cheaper than premanufactured, and can go bigger to meet all your needs? Most all building mats can be bought used, major cost would be floor slab and you'd have that anyway. Just a thought.

 

[JPRambo]

The electric on demand water heaters take a fair amount of power to use. If you are going to have propane why not use one of these?

 

[lutt]

I do have trees, thirty plus year old pines, but really don't want to fool with a log cabin,or cut my trees! not a bad idea though. I thought about one of those, on demand propane like that, they sell something similar at our local orsheleins, may look into that! Good ideas guys, thanks LUTT

 

[dave1949]

The electric on demand water heaters take a fair amount of power to use. If you are going to have propane why not use one of these?

Bosch Tronic 3000 Point-of-Use | Electric Tankless Water Heaters | Efficient Home Heating Products

I was thinking of something like the US9 model 9.5 kW on the high setting , or the US12 model 12kW. 1 to 1.5 gal per minute assuming 55* rise in source water temperature.

If electricity costs $0.15 per hour (don't know Ark. rates, but probably lower):
A 20 minute shower at 9.5kW costs 47.5 cents.
A 20 minute shower at 12kW costs 60 cents.

Bosch Therm 330 PN | Bosch Gas Tankless Water Heaters | Efficient Home Heating Products

This gas unit is rated at 2.1 gal/min for a 55* rise in water temp.

It looks like it has a modulated flame, 30,735 btu min. to 75,000 btu max.

75,000 btu is 83% of a gallon of propane per hour.
At $2.00 (a guess) per gallon propane a 20 minute shower costs 55 cents.

If those flow rates of 1-2 gal/min are not enough, then the higher capacity units favor propane I think. Depends on what you need/want.

A typical low-flow shower head is said to be 2 to 2.5 gal/min.

Did that help? :laughing:

 

[lutt]

That's funny! Lol LUTT

 

[muddstopper]

Might want to consider a camper trailer. Lots of good used ones this time of year. Just pull it to where you want it, level, hook up water, sewer, and power.

 

[lutt]

We got a camper, but I want something more permanent. Thanks LUTT

 

[EddieWalker]

Has anyone here ever finished a portable building for a living space, or ie economical cabin? Mother passed in the spring and left me some property where I do all of my hunting and fishing in that area! I'm looking at a company here in Arkansas, bald eagle barns, I've had one if there buildings before and they are top quality! I'm needing some ideas on finishing as far as shower, sleeping area, kitchen/ lounge. The building I'm looking at is simply called the cabin, 14x24. Has 20 feet of usable space and 4 feet of porch. I will be staying there a lot! It's in the same area where I work on the row crop farm on my months that I'm off work. I want it comfortable and efficient! I live about thirty miles from there and hate having to drive back and forth during our busy seasons! Sorry for the lengthy thread starter, I want you guys opinions and pics if you guys have them! I will try to post pics later of the building, you can google them, they have a nice website! Thanks LUTT

How much does the 14x24 foot portable building cost? Do these dimensions include the porch? At 336 sq ft, it's a tiny space to want to invest in, and probably not something you'd want long term. I would think 500 to 600 sq ft would be a minimum for a one bedroom cabin. Probably add a loft to it for guests. Have you looked online for floor plans for small cabins?

One of the big drawbacks to portable buildings is that they don't have a foundation, they just sit on blocks or wooden skids. If you put a layer of gravel down, you can prolong the life of the skids for awhile, but if Arkansas has humidity anything like East Texas, then it's just a matter of time until the wood begins to rot. Do you have wasps? mice? snakes? ants? or other undesirable critters that you don't want to start to live and even die under your cabin?

If this is something you want to enjoy long term, then I would strongly suggest pouring a concrete slab foundation and stick framing it up from there. You could easily side it in wood that looks like a log cabin, or if you don't want to maintain it and just paint it once and be done with it, Hardie lap siding is easy and affordable. Put a quality shingle or metal roof on it and be done with it. There is no such thing as a well built portable building. The cut corners worse then any mobile home. Stud spacing, lack of headers, cheap roofing materials, small nails, undersized lumber for rafters and joists. For what you pay to buy one and have it delivered, I guarantee you that you can build a stick frame building on a cement slab for less if you do it yourself!!!

Eddie

 

[riptides]

We added a 12X40 building to our lot this year. Delivered and set in place, all dressed up out side, with three windows, three french doors, one standard door, shutters, flower boxes, and upgrades on the flooring, it came in just under 20k.

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice looking building, but those French doors are going to struggle with the weather without a porch to protect them. Doors do not do well without protection, and French doors need it more then regular doors.

Eddie

 

[riptides]

Nice looking building, but those French doors are going to struggle with the weather without a porch to protect them. Doors do not do well without protection, and French doors need it more then regular doors.

Eddie

Struggle how? They are regular outside rated doors.

 

[EddieWalker]

Rain gets into the sides of the doors. On the non opening side, you will also get dust, leaves and whatever else is blowing around, that will hold moisture even longer then the opening side. The sides of the door itself and the frame of the door is just regular pine. The paint only holds out the moisture for so long. Doors need to be protected from the elements to keep them dry. A door that gets wet, will rot, it's just a matter of time.

Eddie

 

[lutt]

How much does the 14x24 foot portable building cost? Do these dimensions include the porch? At 336 sq ft, it's a tiny space to want to invest in, and probably not something you'd want long term. I would think 500 to 600 sq ft would be a minimum for a one bedroom cabin. Probably add a loft to it for guests. Have you looked online for floor plans for small cabins? One of the big drawbacks to portable buildings is that they don't have a foundation, they just sit on blocks or wooden skids. If you put a layer of gravel down, you can prolong the life of the skids for awhile, but if Arkansas has humidity anything like East Texas, then it's just a matter of time until the wood begins to rot. Do you have wasps? mice? snakes? ants? or other undesirable critters that you don't want to start to live and even die under your cabin? If this is something you want to enjoy long term, then I would strongly suggest pouring a concrete slab foundation and stick framing it up from there. You could easily side it in wood that looks like a log cabin, or if you don't want to maintain it and just paint it once and be done with it, Hardie lap siding is easy and affordable. Put a quality shingle or metal roof on it and be done with it. There is no such thing as a well built portable building. The cut corners worse then any mobile home. Stud spacing, lack of headers, cheap roofing materials, small nails, undersized lumber for rafters and joists. For what you pay to buy one and have it delivered, I guarantee you that you can build a stick frame building on a cement slab for less if you do it yourself!!! Eddie

Eddie, I'm starting to think about that, our humidity here is always 95 percent or better in the summer! The buildings I was looking at are kinda high, a 14 x 24 is 6495 delivered, I'm thinking I can pour a slab and frame it up a lot cheaper! I've been toying with the layout of a that paticular building and really having a hard time making it fit, I think I would be better off to frame up a 24x24 and do it right the first time! Your right on the moisture, I figure she would rot from the ground up. I m thinking about scrubbing this idea! Too much money in the long term and I've got the money to do it right, and with the salvage materials I won't be much out of pocket finishing it and furnishing, just money on electrical wiring, plumbing, an insulation, I started doing the math this morning and it really don't add up on the portable! Thankyou for the heads up Eddie, I'm gonna figure up a 24 x 30 and a 30 x 30, believe I will get more for my money with it on a slab! THANKS LUTT

 

[woodlandfarms]

What is your situation with Codes? Sure, you can under the radar it but that generally catches up with you.

I guess in the end it depends on how much you want to spend, what compromises you are willing to make and what amount of labor you can put in. There are some very cool modern architecture designs for small homes on the net.

Also, in WA we are seeing a lot of these "permanent" motor homes. They look like log cabins. Have a bedroom in the balcony. Small but functional

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