Cheapest building

[dscott7972]

We are very close to purchasing 60 acres! With no building on sight I will have to start spending my Fri-Sun building a home. Which is the cheapest route? Frame, log cabin, steel building, cinder block? I am looking to get a shell up and then some interior walls. Any suggestions?

[moopups]

A large kit steel quonset hut that is bolted together would be my choise, almost instant shelter, later converted to be your barn. They can be assembled very quickly compared to other types of buildings.

[mpillow]

What sort of equipment do you have at your disposal?
Tractor?
Power source?

A tag along trailer is all set up and you could live in it while you build then re-sell.

Those big quonsett need a tractor, staging and at least 3 people to put up (at least thats how our neighbor did his).

[Ross]

Cheapest building? Used, my house cost just over 7k delivered and another 20k to finish. They had better for about 5k more than my total but needing next to nothing. Prices have gone up since, but they're still reasonable here.

[Triffin]

Originally Posted by dscott7972

We are very close to purchasing 60 acres! With no building on sight I will have to start spending my Fri-Sun building a home. Which is the cheapest route? Frame, log cabin, steel building, cinder block? I am looking to get a shell up and then some interior walls. Any suggestions?

Check this site ..

http://www.cathy-moore.com/house/

Triff ..

[dscott7972]

Pillow: No equipment such as a tractor and I'll have a generator during the building process but then we are leaning towards solar or no power.

Triffin: What a great sight and what great pictures!

Ross: Used? You mean like one that would be torn down but you had it moved?
I'm not sure my access road would take a double wide yet alone a house.

Thanks to everyone else who has posted so far, I'll look into the quonset hut also.

[Snakeoil]

Triffin, excellent ideas and great house.

[Momo]

We built our garage first and we stayed there for a few months. Then we moved to the basement for awhile while we finished the house.

[Cyngbaeld]

Cheapest and quickest is balloon frame. That's why most contrators use it. Best? Strawbale of course!

[caballoviejo]

Cheapest new construction is a metal bldg. shell. $3.00 to $10.00 per foot2.

Partition the insides your self or include it in construction.

[wy_white_wolf]

Originally Posted by Cyngbaeld

Cheapest and quickest is balloon frame. That's why most contrators use it. Best? Strawbale of course!

balloon framing went out in the 40's. Present stick building style is called platform.

Cheapest - all depends on how much labor you want to vs. contractors/equipment costs. Earthships can be built very cheap using recycled material but, can destroy you body pounding tires. Steel can be cheap but need crane/tractor to stand the frame. For thr average Joe, it's hard to beat stick to beter all the variables that can be done.

[mikell]

Pole barn with 24' trusses. 24' are the most common and cheapest.

mikell

[abbiellieruby]

cordwood is the way to go you need to cut your trees and let thm sit and season for 6 mo. or so then start building..
you can get all the stuff for mortar mix delivered and mix it your own and hat will save you alot of money

[farminghandyman]

( personaly think this is your best )
but like said early, buy a garged kit or build from scratch, and put on a concrete slab, and set up in it for a tempory home, (if a garge is not in the plan then call it a shop or storage building YOU WILL WANT A OUT BUILDING OF SOME KIND,)

A cheap well used trailer would probly be fairly low cost way to go,

you put up a cheap building and normaly that is all you have is a cheap low quality building, that in time you will love to hate, and many "wish I would haves",

the other sugestion is, (depending on your plan) build a section of your home and make do with that and then add on to it and after you get the compleated home done remove some tempory partitions and finsh to your desired plan,