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Cost of building a log cabin home7/23/2023 ![]() My siding over hangs my ledger boards, so they are out of the weather and the ledgers along with my bolts remains dry at all times. 8 ft off the ground is a different story. ![]() As low as his structure is to the ground, shearing isn't much of a worry. There is always the concern of shearing, but after 25 years without any issues, I'm feeling pretty good about it. The key to my success and the longevity of me doing it that way is my ledgers and bolts are not exposed to the elements. That is clearly a better building technique that didn't seem that important at the time. Looking back, if I could to do it over again, I would have placed my ledger boards for my floor joists directly on top of the 6圆 posts, rather than bolting them to the 6圆s. I have vaulted ceilings as well, and my construction was very similar. It hasn't sagged, settled, blown down or collapsed and the walls haven't pushed our or apart either. It looks exactly as it did the day I completed it really other than the trees around it are all much larger and I have improved the interior over the years. My building is still standing today and we use it often. I shingled the roof with 30 year 3-tab shingles and they look like they could last another 10+ years even today. I used a good acrylic stain and it is amazing how well it has held up. ![]() I have done very little maintenance on it as well, since it was stained instead of painting. ![]() My cabin is 8 ft off the ground due to flooding possibilities, so it sits almost 20 ft off the ground at the ridge points. To this day my 6圆 posts are still as solid as the day I buried them. I used 6圆 pressure treated posts (no concrete either), although I put them about 4 ft down on hard undisturbed soil with about an inch of gravel in the bottom of the hole, then packed them back with the dirt I dug out of them. My small cabin was in a rural county location where there were no building codes at the time, so I could do it however I wanted. Building codes are different everywhere, and I actually built a small 20x20 cabin using almost similar techniques 25 years ago when I was very young and had limited building skills at the time. I am a licensed contractor, so I clearly understand building codes and safety, and I still see no issues with your shed/cabin. I will wager that the building will still be there when most posting here are dead and gone as long as you continue to do maintenance on it as required. No, they are not to "government" standards, but they are fine in this instance based on the size of the structure. I was a little surprised that so many were so critical of your building techniques. If you would like to see the matching modern outhouse please check this out. If you would like to see the finished inside of the cabin please click here. It’s not likely that it’s required for a building of this size, but you never know. If you decide to do the same, remember to check with your local authorities to make sure you don’t need a permit. With such a big price increase I decided that if I wanted to add a cabin to my property I had to build it myself. Today that same building would cost $4,200. I know this for a fact because six years ago I bought a 12x16 shed from a well-known company close to where I live and it cost $2,000 for them to build it and drop it off. The cost of materials for this build, including doors and windows, was around $2,200, which was about the same price as the install would have been on one of this large size if I’d purchased it from a hardware store. Building a cabin yourself is much more economical than buying a prefab storage shed.
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