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dstraate
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 11:42am
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Hello,
I don't know how many lawyers we've got trolling around here, but I wanted to open up a discussion as to what constitutes a "dwelling" in the legal sense vs. a "shed". I'm sure some of us have had experience with the county folks.
Do you have any experience with Building Departments? What do they look for if they are trying to differentiate between a shed and a dwelling?
It seems to me that departments would have a rough time here, since nearly all creature comforts could be stored in a "shed"
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 12:03pm
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Out here it is defined as: ""dwelling unit" means one or more habitable rooms constituting one self-contained unit which has a separate entrance, and which contains washroom facilities, and not more than one set of cooking facilities (unless a secondary suite is permitted in the applicable zone), and which is designed to be used for living and sleeping purposes"
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 12:22pm
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Since you are asking and since you have your cabin built, I am assuming you may be running into trouble with your county. Hope not. Is your cabin only suppose to be a shed? Your county may have a website you can go to that would define this for you. Did you get a building permit and if so did you have to build a minimum square footage? I would keep it looking as "shed like" as possible until quite a bit of time passes. Do you have close neighbors also?
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dstraate
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 01:59pm
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No problems, and no close neighbors. There are tons of "sheds" in my area. I just heard about the county giving one of the folks a hard time a while back. I didn't need to permit mine as it is under 180 sq ft.
Either way, there's a huge snowstorm up there today. It won't be long before nobody can get out there without snowshoes :)
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Nirky
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 02:40pm
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In the county I am planning on building my cabin, these are the exceptions which do not require building permits:
A. Any structure designed or constructed solely for the purpose of storing or housing hay, grain, poultry, livestock, produce, horticultural products or agricultural equipment, provided the floor area does not exceed two hundred (200) square feet. Such structure shall not be inhabited; a place of employment; or a place where products are erected, constructed, enlarged, improved, converted, demolished, processed, treated, or packaged for sale; nor shall such structure be a place used by or accessible to the general public."
B. One-story, detached accessory buildings or structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed two hundred (200) square feet.
The key phrase in all this is "Such structure shall not be inhabited". The question now is what is their definition of "inhabited".
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 02:44pm
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Wow...it is so beautiful here today it is hard to imagine a snowstorm!!!
I'm glad you are having no problems with your cabin-it would be a shame to take it down which is what they make people here do fairly often. You are lucky you did not even need a permit. There are a lot of people in Wisconsin who build garages or sheds for cabins to get out of building permits and size requirements. Our building inspector even suggested that we do that-said he would just look the other way, but we did not want a garage for a cabin. We wanted to have windows and porches and not be "away from it all" but have to worry about being "found out".
There have become so many restrictions though that it really is ridiculous. ANY structure on our property needs a permit to build if you read the description but when does it become stupid? Can you build a bench to sit on? How about a play set for the kids? How do these laws get interpreted? Silly!
Ha...kinda funny cause I am on jury duty all this month and I just got a taste of what the courts and lawyers do day in and day out-all this legal mumbo jumbo :)
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 04:01pm
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The best place to ask questions is at your county building department since laws are different everywhere. The building inspector that "will look the other way" won't be around forever. Than what are you going to do? Better to do it all legal and be able to sleep at night.
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 04:21pm
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Agreed.
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 05:41pm
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Storage shed, no insulation requirements, plumbing or electical requirements. Same for windows, ie ingeress/egress. Door can swingoutward...
But you can not legally stay in it. Nothing saying a shed cant have cabinets and a woodstove.
Cabin, same as home, but must have toilet. Can be from a outhouse (will vary depending on codes). Difference between a cabin vs a home is a cabin is the same, but you cant be in it for more than 60 days out of a year. They do this to make it affordable (taxes) for homeowners to afford a second place for recreation without the high taxes.
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silverwaterlady
Member
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2011 10:34pm
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Depending on where you plan to build you may not be able to build a storage shed UNTIL you build your cabin.
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