Our thoughts for a place on our land-the 'Shabin'.

To me the reasons for inspections,etc are to save us from ourselves...good thing there wasn't inspectors back in the frontier days as the cabins wouldn't have met code...LOL

Sancraft,have you thought of a porta-potti like the ones sold at Wally World??

I lived in a house in Australia that had no indoor toilet-it was a long and scary(to a child) trip to the 'dunny'(outhouse)...I think when my parents bought the house there was no indoor plumbing at all.

Also had a kerosene(??) fridge and wood stove I think.

Joining two smaller sheds together is a good idea and if you really wanted you could build a room to join the two...

Hope all is going well with your plans.

GOOD. But if you hadn't thought of it-------you will have to give the power company a Key to your locked gate (actually they have their own lock that they link lock into yours) so they can read your meter and if they see any construction--------they tell the Building inspectors. Good Luck. Randy

PS thats one reason why I am 100% solar--------lock my gate no one will be coming to read my meter. I Also haul my gas bottles myself-- 100lb bottles, might cost a little more per lb, but I like my privancy, so I don't mind.

I undrstand that OSB has gone out of sight in some places, but $1.40 per sqft installed? thats nearly $50 per sheet, so your whole labor cost in hiring a builder might be saved there alone! Around here 7/16 osb went thru the roof last year, to nearly $20 per sheet.... even considered selling a unit i had that i gave $8 per for, but i didnt..... now its back down a little.

$3.25 for metal roof per sqare foot? That too is a little high for a roof around here... even at a nickel per screw, the labor is too high in my estimation... maybe no one does metal roofs in your area....dont know. here I got colored metal, delta rib pattern for $1.10 per running foot in 24 inch coverage, and $1.60 for 36 inch coverage.... have not priced it since fuel went up this spring though... mightbe a quarter more. Screws go in 3 per row every 2 feet running, so a 10 foot run has 18 screws in pattern and a couple for the drip edge, or figure 25 cause you dropped a few and couldnt find them until you get a flat tire... $1.25 plus call it $12.50 for the metal, that covers 20 square feet, for $13.25.... your pre built wants 32.50 for that.... tkaes about 7 minutes to install that sheet of metal... or 9 per hour... $180. per hour of labor.... not bad for a part days work.... call a local builder....

And as far as the "showroom" model that you walked in... if I personally was gonna sell the public on this, it would be over built for that purpose, and any additions to the starter model would be on it so that the springyness of the floor was not there..... hucksters abound in all forms.... just because a person sees one thing it does not mean that the model he gets delivered will be built similar.... reputation or not.

Insulation, Look into bubble wrap under foil, Tek Supply is a place to explore for a good deal or two once inawhile, and their tekfoil comes in a variety of sizes and r values. reflectex is another brand of the product.

It really is not difficult to build, And as bare sez, pour a slab, and when it is ready to build on you can getr donr in a weekend for the small size you are looking to build, and prolly for a whjole lot less than you think, even if you dont do anything but stand around and watch!

William

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I kind of figured the costs quoted by the builders would be high-that is why I was wondering about finding a local to basically build something similar without the added in cost of it being through Home Depot...

Metal roofs are VERY common up there,I think this price is probably way high as well.

Thanks.

Depends on the Electric Company, my co-op has an auto-read meter that sends back the reading on it's own monthly. Before that, you could read your own meter and call it in.

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Inspections depend on the state you live in. Here in WV, there are no inspectors to inspect. We had the power co run in the poles to where we wanted it to be and then dh did all of the wiring. He is a master plumber in MD and WV and he does alot of wiring for dishwashers, water heaters and such so it was no problem. Neither will plumbing be if we decide to do it. Again, no inspections though in order to run a plumbing co in Wv, we have to be licensed.
Also, the power co send us a card to fill out and then we send it back and then we get the bill. So no one enters the property either unless we permit it. It's totally fenced in with a lock on the gate.

Try WV if you are having problems. Mountaineers are always free.

yeah, I want to put in a good word for meter readers, my husband is one and he wouldn't rat anyone out unless they have damaged the meter box.....and you can send it in.

OZ,
Is this your company building your cabin?

If so beware.

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=83333

Siryet, no that is not the company although we intially contacted them about a cabin...

That is the good thing about this board,people tell others good and bad dealings.

Here's a shed similar to the one's outside Home Depot, or sold thru
http://conestogas.com/bridgestone.htm

this is one I saw up in Prospect TN area...
Just thought you'd like to see it.
Angie

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