How I Built a CHEAP Cabin Completely Off-Grid - Full Build
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ย. 2023
- This was a beautiful summer in Northern Minnesota, and it was great to spend this time surrounded by nature building this off-grid cabin.
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For your viewers, one thing that would be better is to apply siding after the wall frames are stood up. The sheet siding should extend below the wall bottom plate and be fastened to the rim joist on this type of construction. It ensures no water will seep under the bottom plate.
This is a consideration we had as we were building and it is an oversight. I wish I didn't miss this detail. It will be in one of my future videos about what I wish I did different.
also adds more strength to the wall
@@ArtOfWoodCraft😊
Adding Z Bar flashing under the bottom panels also helps drain water away, AND prevent any rodents from chewing their way in.
@@username-mc7jw I actually never thought of that. That would have been a very inexpensive upgrade I will have to remember for the future cabin build.
How fun to work on a project with your dad.
I am happy that you have your time to built something with your father. I give everything to have something like that. But life is short. Thats why I try to work with my little son on all projects 😊
I am so happy you get to share those moments with your son. Life absolutely is so short
Just found this. Cool that you’re able to do this with your dad. I’d love to be able to do that, but my parents have been gone 43 and 25 years now.
We still have our farm, and have made a number of improvements to bring it back to a state we’re satisfied our parents would be smiling. Nine years ago, we had a 10x16’ cabin built in the woods, half lofted like yours but with a hipped and higher ridge. I called it our permanent tent, as the site had been our deer camp for years. Then 7 years ago, our parents’ house burned. It was about a quarter mile north of the dry cabin and had been rented most of the time since Mom moved to town. Anyway, we had the guy who built the cabin put up an 18x32’ cabin, also half lofted and hipped roof, on a slab, and extended the slab enough to move the little cabin adjacent to the big one. Electricity, water, and septic from the original house were tied in. While it was going up, I salvaged corrugated metal and wood from a hoghouse a couple hundred yards away and also cleared a 1950s vintage farrowing house down to the concrete. It was inside and about half the area in a 25x75’ shed, so we used the salvaged materials to close in the two open sides of the concrete. We extended power and water to that space for a really functional shop. With that and a lot of earthwork and gravel, the place is attractive and efficiently functional. In the years since, we’ve gathered there for a base camp while we did fence maintenance and other projects. It’s farther away than I’d like, but the time there is pretty gratifying. Sunrises and sunsets are often magical.
Me and my wife are starting an offgrid cabin. Looks like you're getting some things accomplished. We live in Tennessee so the cold here is not that bad and snow is minimal so we're gonna be building ours through the winter. God willing. My wife is fighting cancer so I want to get ours done as soon as possible so that we can enjoy as much time as possible in it together this next spring and summer. so we'll be working hard.
God bless and see you spring or whenever you start videoing again.
It will certainly be great to get to enjoy the cabin together when finished and if your wife helps (even a little bit) it will be that much more special. Building memories is even more gratifying than having a cabin all finished up. I'm certain you will both enjoy it! My dad wasn't getting any younger, but he said he was sure surprised about how much he was able to work on the cabin. He also just battled cancer and appendicitis & I am so happy we got to do this together. You will be too!
Post pictures and take some videos for memories!
My only thing to add is DON'T MOVE TO TENNESSEE! This place SUCK'S! From the 10% sales tax (yup you heard right) to the 2500$ dollars a month 1 Bedroom apartments and 1000$ a month just to rent a ROOM and share a house with 3 other strangers. This is NOT meant for those in the lower class nor the lower middle.....hell I'd argue even the straight up just middle class. If your not upper middle then your gonna be check to check.
Don't get me started with the property taxes either you won't believe me. Now I know some on here will have an opinion that I just haven't been "around" and don't know but let me shed some light. I do construction inspection and have literally chased the money and worked for 24 years now and I've lived in 17 States so far (I use 5 months as the minimum for being able to say that I lived there and not just visited).
I've been from FL (Miami) all the way to Elmira NY upstate (and numerous other places within the same state sometimes and not just new states). Did you know you can get a HOUSE in Florida BEACHSIDE for way, way, way less than a house in Tennessee that sit's around pastures of Cow sh!t with literally nothing to do but work 24/7? Were talking a whopping 30%-40% cheaper to buy and I'd say 25% to 50% depending on where your at for rent ( a location in Daytona Beach somewhere).
I mean with all the things open 24 hours in FL to do for fun like Mini Golf at 3 A.M. or pavilion rides, movie theater you can order real food/BEER in to a table and not just getting candy (awesome). Or of course the beach but hey why would you ever give all that up for rude wealthy people who think they are better and most will even tell you that, also for an ultra Liberal dreamland where the old Mayor PAID the homeless to take a Bus anywhere out of the state as long as they stayed gone (yup these people are that brazen. Will look dead at you like "What did I say something"). Your neck high among Cow's, horses which are cool for about an hour until you ask how much to ride them then watch the people act as if your about to ride the actual Secretariat (horse people will get it).
There is nothing here but bad smells, disgusting attitudes, and the worst of the worst..........................Garth Brooks!!!!!..................................YUK!
SO I warned you if you come near here just do yourself a favor and when you see the state border just go around your not missing anything but about 10,000 and that's only if you do decide to come through!
@@jackbounder6374 sorry, over 300 years of heritage in these hills, Scots, Irish, Cherokee. But I understand what your saying. But if you already own your property and everything you can see it's really not too bad. The reason that things are so high is that imports from other states have moved in and driven the prices of everything through the roof.
Land, homes, rent, insurance ect. A few years ago we didnt have all this caviar dreams on a catfish means people here.
It's the outsiders moving in that caused all this outrageous price implosion.
A few year ago you could buy an acre of land for $400, now thanks to imports, new people wanting to buy a house, cant even afford the land.
So if you want to blame someone here, blame the outsiders these idiots put into office just to make themselves rich, because they'd already bought up a lot of property and houses when they first bee bopped into our beautiful state.
We love our state, if we could just run the carpetbaggers OUT. Good luck.
God bless.
Tennessee Hillbilly, Out
Great job and building it with your Dad will bring great moments and memories!! God Bless You both!
I had a 12x24 shed delivered to a few acres we have. Five years later we converted it to an offgrid cabin. The best part is when the kids and grandkids come and visit now.
That's so great, and now you will have so many memories there too!
It’s so great to see your able to work with your father on this project.
Nice build, just built a 10 X 12 cabin. Got everything from my local lumberyard except the the steel prehung door and two windows from Lowe's. It cost $2,200 for everything, but I have a power station with solar panels and no wires in the walls. I did nothing that required a building permit. A 10X12 with no power or water going to it requires no permit where I live.
That's so awesome! It's very cool you didn't need a building permit for anything. No power or water requires no inspections here in MN, but permits vary greatly by the county & region. Glad to hear you have your own little piece of property!
What area is it that you can build that size with no permit?
@@tennesseeterri in California you can build a storage shed up to 10 X 12 without a permit, and with no water or power going to it. It's been the same for many years. They classify it as a shed / studio. I heard in Idaho you don't need a permit to build a house, just for commercial.
@@flynnstone3580400 sq ft building as long as it's on skids doesn't require a permit in my county. Thinking about doing a solar shed in my backyard.
@@tennesseeterriI am in Pensacola FL
Love how just as you panned over you caught him picking his nose. And you kept in the final video. 👍 We’re all human. 😜
Glad you're dried in for the winter.🤟
That was some great footage my brother and build a 16x32 cabin with a loft we worked on it on the weekends for 2 years it’s a great accomplishment
I was thinking this must be in a very remote location, then I saw the power lines! Good that he isn't far from people, being alone.
Man, that heartbreaking for even me when you got it all buttoned up for the winter and had to leave.
I’ve been dreaming of this for years, been saving odd things that would work great in a little cabin, but in Wisconsin, even a very small 1/2 acre of land is expensive!. Like 15 to 20 grand. 😰
We've been looking in some parts of Wisconsin too. You gotta get out there to find a good deal
Very nice build! I like how you wired in to use the generator. I'm going to search for that video now. I have a pre-fabbed cabin that i have only so far partially insulated and added a window in the loft. Your build has given me inspiration to continue sooner than later. New sub here.
You can do it!
I love your voice and your style of story telling. I subscribed ❤️
nice place to build😁✌
Absolutely love it! Beautiful job, young man!!
That first comment was so funny to me😂. “This is where I’m going to be living .” A tent, a chair and a car. Doesn’t get more simple than that.
Good job on the cabin. Looking forward to building our own.
Fantastic making memories and sharing with friends. Some dream some do, you did.
Great Job Guys😊
Ginger L USA ALABAMA
Great job guys, 👍 always good to build with someone, it makes better memories 🙏
nice job! I will be building a similar size cabin with my brother on our 20 acre property soon.
It will be a great memory that you will get to keep forever with your brother!
Nice video. Soothing voice. Great content here. 👌🏽
You did an amazing job 👍
Looks good. The double doors are a great idea. Even if you don’t use it as a shed, you can really enjoy that large opening in the summer, and it’s wayyyyy cheaper than buying a big glass door. More secure too.
I just hope you don’t have any animals building underneath over the winter. We used to have such a big problem with skunks and raccoons. I’ve got a real thing about any building without some sort of solid protection now.
I continue to think about that all the time! In my next video I plan to upload I include that discussion with what I wish I did different because skirting is going to be a little tricky due to how I put down some blocks 😅
Super cool to see being built. And it seems like you spent less than what some companies charge for a shed around this size. Great job
Thank you! I actually did a few shopping trips looking at various sheds and sizes and we certainly spent a lot less than they would have run (and of course, more quality materials). I think it would be pretty cool to do a comparison between something you can buy vs build. Of course, we like the experience though too. Something you can stay in that you build with your own hands is quite surreal
Your work is very good 👍👍
Your cabin is beautiful.Enjoy it with your family.👍
Thanks I would like to see it finished that would be cool
be sure to add a front covered porch. So you can grill outside and enjoy the outdoors.
Oh absolutely a great idea!
dude, this is so cool!
Great job !
I've seen pre-built SHEDS for like 8k. Prices are insane. I don't even know what I'm doing but I would 100% do a DIY cabin over those for a tiny home.
I built a tiny home nomad trailer for about 8k and I’m doing my first winter living inside it on a farm. Lots of fun, was like building my own house. My next plan is property and park the trailer while I build a cabin.
That's really cool. Are you connected to utilities? I am always curious how people are doing in the winter in tiny homes / cabins. We want to do a couple of winter living videos this winter with the cabin here and also my dad's 8x12 cabin that he lives in year round. That cabin has propane heat and it does have electricity (2 years after having only a generator for any power it sure seems like a huge upgrade).
@@ArtOfWoodCraftI’ve got shore power and use electric heat since my place is small. I’ve also got a wood stove installed and a diesel heater installed so I’ve got options for heat depending on situation. My next move is solar and getting my generator set up to charge power stations and be a back up.
@@TinyGoHomes that sounds like you have the heating figured out and are ready to take on the winter! I'm sure you will stay toasty with all of those options for you!
@@ArtOfWoodCraft doing solar set up this winter
Great job 👏
Thank you! We love building and we are really enjoying chatting with everyone!
Looks awesome
Nice 👍🙂 build
That is a good start , looks great
Looks great! Thank you for sharing your journey and inspiration!
Beautiful!
Should add a small breaker panel for your electrical. It will give you more flexibility in the future.
I think I will. I have to learn exactly how to wire one up for a solar generator too. Should be a fun trial and error setup!
Good job!
Nice
Great work bro!!! Looking forward to building my own after winter :)
Very nice video! Thanks!!
Next building. OUT HOUSE 👍😁
Great job
Very nice👍
Its funny because i was actually picking my nose same time you panned to your dad picking his lmao!! No joke!! One my first jobs as a young man, 20 years old, was insulation installation, and boy was it rough in summer up in attic crawl spaces and in back blow truck we had a thermometer and it used get up to 120 degrees f, and id have to have on long sleeves and pants, it was definitely fun!!
Haha, I'm happy that resonated with someone!
This was fascinating to watch and it looks wonderful!
Thank you!
I notice the lumber used in these kinds of videos and it looks to be such high quality. What kind of wood is it and is it designed to withstand the weather? It doesn't look anything like the common and often warped, crappy lumber that we Alaskans get to enjoy.
Great job bro I really envy you, keep up the good work. But I think a deck of the door side with a tin roof would really make it home😎 Watching from Florida
Ahh - I love Florida though too. I worked in Melbourne for a bit and it was glorious weather. I would buy some property there to spend winters if I had the means! Cheers while we prep for winter 😆
Awesome.
Cool build man!
looks great I need some land
We are looking too!
Great cabin and video 👍
Thank you!
I want to see you build a porch on the cabin loved this video. 👍
Congratulations! It’s a beauty 👍
Nice😊
Looks nice
Thank you!
Great stuff! I'll have to go back and watch the other videos you referenced. Fellow Minnesotan here!
Jimmy we are happy to share the state with you! 😂
Hello!
1st time viewer here, read your comment on Bushradical's channel n decided to check yours out!
The cabin turned out really nice! You'll have lots of great memories there!!
Cilla in AZ
Thank you and enjoy the warmth out in AZ!
@@ArtOfWoodCraft
It's definitely getting nice out here!
As a fellow raging alcoholic like u , you should get some horses so you can haul some Budweiser up deer! 😂
Looking good. Hopefully your dad will stay there while it is cold
He's done it for the last 6 years! Hahaha
Not bad 👍👍🤘
Heck yeah Robert!
I have property up there too. Thank you for posting this. It makes me feel like I can do it too.
I'm sure you can!
It's good that the walls and ceiling have insulation but the floor isn't insulated.
I wish I could have one of these in the backyard of all my properties. Free cash flow lol
That would be so awesome & you just might be on to something. Let us know if you want some help building some 😂
Hi I saw your comment on The Rustic Caveman, Chris snd checked out your video. Very nice indeed. I decided to subscribe and follow your channel. All the very best to you my new friend.
There are a lot of things wrong with this build, but it still stands and is functional. I think young people should adopt this mindset and forget the “dream house” with granite countertops. Spend your life living it, not servicing your debt to afford a “lifestyle”.
Props for sticking with it.
I agree and with our channel we hope to bring some of the younger audience into the fun lifestyle of enjoying a different kind of living.
Thích kênh của bạn rồi nhe
I have one of those. I call it a shed.
Maybe some shutters to close it up for the season 🤔
I really like that idea!
@@ArtOfWoodCraft you know how curious some critters can get.
My Gf and I are in the getting ready to start building a 16x22 (352 sq ft) off grid tiny house on 5 acres of land we bought on the Rio Grande just south of Albuquerque New Mexico, We bought a 16' foot Camper to live in while we build though, after we build ours were going to gut the camper and refurb it for her daughter who is a freshman at UNM while she has to live in the Dorms, we will have both done by the time the school year is over and her daughter can move in to the camper, the one thing we are doing though is were going to put the camper up on steel piers 4 feet high so we have some space to put put the lawn mover and other stuff we need to store.
That sounds like a really great plan and I'm positive it will turn out just fantastic. Make sure to take pictures and at least a few videos to share with your daughter.
@@ArtOfWoodCraft Oh were going to film it but she's going to help with the camper so it has the lay-out she wants.
EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND WELL DONE.. CAN YOU PLEASE COME AND BUILD ME ONE !!
Ope, love the Minnesota accent.
Ah you betcha! 😂
Looks good enough for the girls I know. FromSt.Paul,Minnesota.
It's a nice place, and I think that i would like to do something
Similar to what you have done. and since I am not interested in anything big that is just about right.
Wow impressive 39K views in 4 days also a kool cabin
I was very surprised (happy!) to see all the views and interactions. We are so excited to grow this channel!
Cool place! Any chance you have plans and pull list? Did see anything in comments. Would love to build something like this. Thx for sharing
I really wish I had the full list. I think I may make a complete list of everything I purchased and returned so I can have a full list. I kept the receipts so it is certainly a video I could make in the future. I have to get organized a bit before that video!
SUBBED! Dave in WV!
Dave - thank you and we are happy to have you here!
Great video! Whereabouts in Northern MN is this cabin?
We are up near the Canadian border and an hour from Lake Superior. Closest large city for supplies is about an hour away in Virginia, MN.
Not "normal lumber" it's called non-PT or "Not Pressure Treated". Got to learn the lingo my man.
Did an awesome job! If it was me I think I'd drop the window size (if not just have 1 window on 1 wall with solar and some cameras) so that you could drop that attic down and get quite a bit of room plus just make it easier to get into Bed. It would be allot easier on your old man if you did. Still great job seriously!
Thank you!
Looks good and you have some great views. Did you buy an acre of land?
I like the double doors idea! 👍
Quick suggestion before you close in the wall on the interior from your generator outlet to the first outlet inline, I would suggest running another line in to be able to hook up a power bank to the entire shed and then be able to avoid making a dead man's cord. You could just have one outlet coming in from the generator that you plug into, then have a similar plug on the outside inside the house that you plug in a loop while the generator is running or just run everything off of a power bank and then you can either charge the power bank directly off the generator whenever generator is running
Trying to figure out exactly the way you are suggesting this. Do you mean to have an extra cable in the box? I may already be ahead of ya on that one if so. I don't think we have a dead man's cord problem yet, but don't want to either! We were thinking to put some type of electrical panel on too.
@@ArtOfWoodCraft yeah I guess it's a bit confusing. Basically an easy way to do it would be to install another generator plug on the inside but have that one as your first in line to feed the entire electrical system inside of the shed. But have the same generator plug you have on the outside feeding one or two plugs on the inside as sort of an extension cord built in to the cabin. Which would then be able to give you the option to plug in power banks to charge When the generator is running and then simply unplug the cabin from one of the power banks and plug it into the generator plug. Then you'd have power off the generator and you're charging the battery banks. I know that some power packs offer pass through power but I think the ones I saw are smaller ones that don't offer that
So basically it would go from the generator to the generator plug you have installed on the outside of the cabin than from there to your generator. Only plugs on the inside of the cabin. And then from there you use a separate cord and plug into the generator generator only plug on the inside then take the other end and plug it into the generator. Feed plug you installed on the inside to feed the rest of the power to the interior power of the shed. And then when you're without the generator, you just unplug it from the generator. Only plug and plug into your power bank and everything is inside and dry
@@waylonhartwell I see now what you are suggesting! I might just do that. I happen to have 1 additional plug just like the one I featured in my build :)
@@ArtOfWoodCraft yeah, I would suggest doing that to give you the option of having your battery pack run the building or your generator. Charge your battery pack during the day while you're working or have the generator run the building if the battery packs are dead and then your battery packs are inside at night and at the same temperature as your body. If it's early spring or late fall then they're happy and plus you're kind of future-proofing it for solar
👍
🤘
Build a 16x20 alot less cutting
You are very right!
Nice job. What do u do for water? Maybe add a bathhouse or addition next summer?
Absolutely in the plans! We haul water right now. Town has water for 10 cents per gallon so you can't really complain too much!
What city or town are you close to? I'm from northern Minnesota and moving back up there in a few months to build an offgrid solar cabin by Bemidji!
I definitely would have put 2 of them sheds together, & made 1, out in a septic tank, or at least a composting toilet & a kitchen area, with & a shower, & rain collection system
Those are some very good ideas. And we certainly are going to be continuing to update our cabin :)
Nice job and nice serene place hate to tell you you should take your old man's cell phone battery out then you might be off grid
We would worry too much about him then. Haha. But I'm pretty sure he'd prefer it that way 😉
Did you have to pull permits? What county are you in?
It is simply a storage shed.
I know you said it's off grid but do you know if it's someone's land that could make you tear it down?
Cool , what part of Northern Minnesota ?
Hi. Just found your channel. Great job on the build. What does your dad have for his permanent shelter?
Thank you! My dad has a cabin semi off-grid. I made a very interesting video about it on my channel. It's the first video that plays when you visit my page. Hope you enjoy it!
th-cam.com/video/H37cirrYQFU/w-d-xo.html