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bjohnson1102
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 02:53pm
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Hello All,
Last spring, I started the process of buying a chunk of hunting ground with a couple buddies. As soon as I knew we were buying ground, I started researching build ideas. This forum is pretty much a one stop shop for me, as I have been reading as much as I could over the course of the past year. Lots of great buildings, plans, layouts, etc. We finally closed on our land about a month ago, so I am finally ready to get serious about building a hunting shack. There are a few things I'm pretty settled on, based on much of my reading here, and following the expert advice of many of you, and including lots of information based on Owen Christensen's posts:
14x28 cabin, built on skids, using 2x4 lumber for the walls, etc. I am building in southern Iowa, so there is definitely snow to contend with, as well as frost, but I believe skids are the way to go for our build.
I am relatively handy and will have no trouble constructing the skids, the flooring, the walls, the sheathing, insulation etc.
I have never constructed a roof system, so that is why I'm here. Do most of you suggest trusses or rafters, and what is your reasoning? I don't care about a vaulted roof line vs a flat roof line, I want to do what is easiest, holds up to snow, and if possible the least expensive. I realize that easiest and least expensive likely don't align with each other.
Besides trusses vs rafters, any other issues that you see? 14x28 is actually bigger than what I was planning, but Owen himself said that building a 14x28 with 2x4 lumber was the best way to maximize your money and minimize the cutting that you need to do.
Appreciate any and all advice and look forward to sharing my build with you.
Brad
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 03:55pm
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Brad, youtube, look for Larry Haun, be breaks down each section, watch his video in rafters build and you will be an old pro. I did it, flawless
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6n6kf7vdY
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 04:18pm
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I built my own trusses for a 12x16 cabin. 14' isn't much more than 12'. It's a remote cabin and everything is hauled in by snowmachine. I cut the truss pieces at home during the week and then brought them out on the weekend. After finishing the floor deck, but before doing the walls, I nailed down blocks of wood to form a jig for the trusses. After that, nailing the trusses together went pretty quick.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 04:44pm
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I built a 12x24 in '83-'84, the idea was to maximize wood/min expense (lol) by utilizing the multiples of 4x8'. Thought about a 16x20 or 24 too. I thought about a lot of things in those pre i-net days....designed myself and built all with hand tools.
The other thing having essentially 12x12 'living spaces' was to us it gave enough elbow room for us and furniture. Btw, we did a 12x12 loft. So, 12x12 kitchen/dining/utility, 12x12 living room, wood stove in the middle, and the 12x12 loft was basically 430sq.ft.
That concept was adequate, the two of us had enough space to be comfortable; for 36 years.
Our new place is one-story, 16x24ish; we Really Like It! As we got older that loft ladder climb up/down became a problem. I could still see doing a bit of loft, though only for storage of seasonal things.
Fwiw, we did no 'foundation' or deep piers, it was all a 'floating' structure with beams on silo-block pads with cement block risers and the joist box frame sitting on that. I should have used more but in those 36years I only had to jack/shim a smidge at one on the corner of the door frame (just off-center in the 24' run). Was on a sand and gravel knob of a hill left from the last ice age.
I never regretted getting the beams up off the ground, whatever is down there IS your foundation so you dont want it not breathing and rotting out.
Be sure to use plenty of pads, somehow a cabin gets bigger and heavier than you expect. It all starts there.
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bjohnson1102
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 03:49pm
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Hi guys thanks for the replies. A couple follow-ups...I initially stated 14x28, but now I'm thinking 16x24 again. Roughly same square footage, and 4x8 sheets of plywood, siding, etc. seem to align better with 16x24. What are the downsides, other than 16 wide is about the maximum for skids according to Owen.
Also looked at the price of pre-built trusses from Menards, they are roughly $100 per truss. It seems like I could build them cheaper, but it is far easier just to buy them and put them up. Any thoughts?
Thanks again!
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 05:19pm
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What is your time worth?
Not the money equiv. but the time you could be 'building cabin' vs 'building trusses to build the cabin'.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 08:50pm
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Quoting: bjohnson1102 but it is far easier just to buy them and put them up. Any thoughts?
Yeah, you didnt watch the Larry Haun video then.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 21 Apr 2021 06:08am
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You really need to start with an interior layout program to figure out where things like beds, tables, heater and a kitchen will fit. You cant just eyeball it when working with smaller buildings like this. Personaly 14x28 would feel like a hallway to me once you start putting things In. Ease of build should mean next to nothing if the final product is something you want and are proud of.
There are very very good common rafter calculators out there and they can calculate every angle and dimention needed for a normal roof system. Blocklayer.com has very good calculators for this.
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