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cizzi
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# Posted: 8 Oct 2008 09:00pm
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Hi everyone, I love this website, read most of it.. I also bought LaMar's ebook on homesteading and ordered another book from amazon.ca on building your own dream cabin in the woods.. I'm an electrician by trade and will be shopping for a piece of land in the woods to build my cabin..
question #1.. its stated that 100 square feet or less of space you dont need a permit.. how can I find out where I live (montreal, canada) if I can go 15x15 or 15x20 for example? would anyone say something? i would rather be off-grid with solar power and do everything myself
question #2.. any of you know where I can find cheap piece of land ? for example 1 acre up to 1 1/2 hours from the city? i checked mls.ca but not very successfull.. most of them want the entire amount cash to buy the land vs financing.. I might have to wait a year or so to save up the money? loans are out of the question for me..
thanks
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 8 Oct 2008 10:40pm - Edited by: CabinBuilder
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Quoting: cizzi question #2.. any of you know where I can find cheap piece of land ? for example 1 acre up to 1 1/2 hours from the city?
In my experience, I don't think you can find cheap property for your cabin within 2 hrs drive form the large city like Montreal - that's the prime cottage area and is quite expensive.
I had to take 2.5 hrs drive from Toronto to get something decent at the price I could justify.
Good luck though.
Yes, MLS is a good start.
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Barrys Bay
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2008 09:58pm
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Bon Nuit,
We found our lot by asking locals in the area that we usually vacation in (Barry's Bay) if they knew of any cheap land for sale. Prices are better if you stay away from waterfront, but are close enough to walk or quickly drive to the water. If you can get it for the price of a car or less, it's great!
Also, whatever area you are looking in to buy a lot is part of a district, township, municipality, county, etc. (i.e renfrew county, township of madawaska valley) Once you have an idea of where you want to buy your lot, look up its area on the internet followed by the words by-laws, etc. Use a local map to help you figure out your specific area out as well. Hope this helps. By the way, we have to drive 3.5 hrs to get to our place, but it's always worth it.
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cizzi
Member
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2008 10:03pm
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thanks for the information.. didnt know i could look up laws on the internet by district.. also im concerned that while building or once built my cabin will be subject to vandalism.. has this ever happened to you when you werent around? i would like to be re-assured in some manner
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2008 10:10pm
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Our cabin will be built next month and vandalism has crossed my mind. From what I hear, vandalism occurs mostly as a break-in to see if there is any booze to be had. No fridge=no booze so we don't have to worry (plus we drink all our booze up anyway!) Also, If you hide your building from plain sight it might help. I don't know if I will leave the curtains open or not in the windows. I figure if they want to break-in they will, so just don't leave anything too valuable inside.
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cizzi
Member
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2008 10:13pm
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but im planning on having stuff like a generator and a 200AH battery and solar panels on the roof, etc... among other things.. kinda scary knowing its out there in the woods unprotected... something should be done? a basic alarm system perhapss as I've seen?
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soundandfurycabin
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2008 11:46pm
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I'll be largely depending on security by obscurity....in other words, if they don't know my cabin is there, they can't damage it. My driveway also ends a couple hundred feet from the building site, which I think will deter most thieves. There are lots of other cabins around where they can drive right up. I suspect most thieves would be too lazy to cart away a heavy battery, especially if you keep the closest vehicle access a hundred feet or so away (a good gate could help with that). For the solar panels, maybe it will be enough to have the approach to the cabin be from the north. Thieves will probably walk around the place checking doors and windows but they're likely too stupid to think of looking up on the roof.
Some people I know bolted a heavy steel job-site toolbox to a rock outcrop from the inside. They lock up their valuables and don't worry too much about someone breaking into their cabin. Anyway, it's a good idea to think about security before buying or building.
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swanugly
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2008 12:26am
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for the outside paine of glass on my windows i am gonna use flat laminated glass ( car windshield glass) . it can be cut to any size . it can be broken but it stays together you would have to chop a hole through it with an axe to get in and then the edges were it is attached will still be shards of glass . so crawling through it will be panefull .
i think the metal door would be hard to brake down with 3 1/2" screws into the studs but i guess if they wanna get through they will.
the one advantage i have is our neighbours house is above our property and they would hear all this going on . make friends with your neighbours .
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CabinBuilder
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2008 09:22am
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I also largely rely on "security by obscurity".
This was the part of the plan for our property before we started to do anything there - our cabin is not visible from the road, locked by gate, fairly long driveway...
We don't have much valuables there, but if anything (mainly tools) - we hide them.
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cizzi
Member
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2008 04:40pm
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a real estate agent told me you need a permit no matter what size cabin you build.. i told her i read here that 10x10 is fine... whats the real truth on this? i live in montreal, canada..
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soundandfurycabin
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# Posted: 11 Oct 2008 02:58pm
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If it is meant to be a "habitable" structure, a permit is most likely required no matter what size. Many places let you build small sheds and other outbuildings without a permit. But some won't allow a shed unless you build a house first. The only way to know for sure is to ask the local government office where you want to build, or like Barrys Bay said, look it up on the web. Search for the name of the area plus "building department", "building regulation", "building bylaw", etc.
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swanugly
Member
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# Posted: 11 Oct 2008 10:53pm
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i wonder if bubbles got a permit to live in his shed ?
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cizzi
Member
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# Posted: 11 Oct 2008 11:19pm
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if I need a foundation out of concrete then I will need a permit which means i need electricial and plumping from standard rules in my province... i want my own electricial system via solar panels because i know how it works and my own water system... what are your opnions on this?
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2008 06:42am
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Cizzi,
I don't know what you are looking for in land, on the water, in a bush, etc. but one acre is really not that big if you are looking for some privacy. By looking through the MLS listings you probably noticed that the more land you get the better the price per acre. If you can afford it you might be better buying a larger lot. Of course the location makes a big difference. A one acre lot in one place can cost as much as a 10 acre lot in another.
Look up a few lots and then map it out on Google Maps. You will be able to see what the area looks like and what else is there plus the driving time to get to the land.
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swanugly
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2008 12:31pm
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the new mls site shows the location of the properties for sale . it is mapped out . then you can use google earth to view a sattelite picture . it seems to work quite well . google will even give you directions how to get there .
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RickandRandy
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2009 04:04pm
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Salut Cizzi!
We are in Quebec also, and we are not clear on the necessity fo permits either. It seems that for Ontario, you can build a 100 sq foot (or 3 meter by 3 metre square) structure without necessity of a permit. This is is tantamount to a garden shed. On the cottage life magazine web site, they have an article on a guest bunkie that is just this side of legal without a permit in Ontario complete with a sleeping loft. You can buy the plans online. Hopefully the law is similar in Quebec. Let us know if you find anything out. Thanks. Rick.
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avan
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# Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:52pm - Edited by: avan
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I live in montreal and my 14 acres land are in eastern township (canton de l'est). In Quebec province you Absolutly need a permit. You can built a shack or cmall cabin in the wood without permit, but it's illegal (we do anyway). For a couple years know, the regulation are very hard, the small town have no money so they need taxes, so they don't need cabin or summer camp, they want house of a minimum size of 24ftX24Ft on concrete fondation or new this year: screwing pile. The regulation is that, if you have a land classified "Green" or protected (and regulated by the province law), you can built a small shack or cabin under certain regulation: first you need to have 11 hectares minimum; no fondation; no water or electricity; 200sq/ft maximum floor size, including the porch. the cabin have to be in a single level (no loft). this is a provincial law but administred by your city (town), so you have to submit your plan for approval at the municipality and they send it to the "protection du territoire agricole" for the last approval. If your land are classified "white" (no protection) there are no minimum of land size, but you need to send your plan to the municipality.
We search close to three years for a land that are wild and not too expensive: we ended at 2 1/2 hours from MTL. We pay $45,000 for 14 acres half white/green. Where you can find big and cheap land are very far like the gaspésie, or closer very far in eastern township, like around Mt megantic or Asbestos area.
Hope this help you.
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