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knittifer
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2013 08:42pm
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I am curious if very many people here have started out with the idea in mind that they would build a small cabin which would later become part of a larger home. Obviously starting with this is mind is probably a better way to plan than to wish later that you want a bigger home but it cannot work with your existing structure.
when we bought our property, we had the idea that this is where we would eventually retire, and would like to build a cordwood home there for retirement, or even early semiretirement. But for the forseeable future, we will not be able to spend the time or money on more than a small cabin built more traditionally Any suggestions on thing to think about it you know you want to go bigger later?
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2013 09:02pm
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I designed my one room 300 sq ft. cabin so that it could become the living room once a bedroom or two, and bath were added to the one end. But, I didn't really plan it that well, because the only place the bed addition can go is right where it would block the view for the living room.
But that addition might never happen and the cabin may stay as is. I may, or may not, put another building in the property in which case the cabin is a guest house.
Or, I may never build any more,. and just keep it as a short term vacation cabin.
It's possible to over-plan, and end up ruining or compromising how something is used in the present because of what you think you might do in the future. At the same time, back-tracking later because you didn't accommodate a possible future addition can be very costly. Tough decisions. Don't think I've been much help, but I sympathize with your plight.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2013 09:33pm
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I plan o n building my home on my place (now 40 acres  ) and this can be a guesthome or a ham radio shack.
I will need a decent sized shop to house all my toys, tools etc. It needs to house a JD front end loader/backhoe and a JD Gator truck. Just a few items I want after I retire. 
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PatrickH
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2013 11:54pm
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This is exactly how I did ours,I envisioned the larger house then figured out how to piece it together. for example there is a wide section of block basement that was not filled with concrete to be cut out later to connect both basements the main doorway and window are framed with one large header over both allowing me to remove both with no additional framing which will connect the two structures.I also put in very large headers to make window size changes very easy. Everything should be thought of ahead of time,the initial structure needs to be placed correctly and the utilities need to be placed correctly also. And things I know I will remove at a later date i do on the cheap. The more thought you put in ahead of time the less time and money you will have to spend.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2013 09:12am
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You could convert your cabin into a work or storage shed, or, considering your location and the winter weather, the garage when you expand.
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silverwaterlady
Member
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2013 10:06pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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We built our cabin so that we could add onto the front. This is why we have a big overhang. We plan on adding a four season room on the bottom of the cabin. The base of the room will be natural stone from our property.
The top part will be a small additional loft accessed via the catwalk.
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rockies
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2013 07:34pm
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I designed a small 14 x 20 foot cabin with a sleeping loft over the kitchen and bathroom as the central base, and then designed the final cabin with four shed-style bumpouts that can be added on depending on which function you want first. The west side has a livingroom bumpout, the east side has a pantry bumpout with laundry, the south side has a screened porch and the north side a mudroom entry. All the window locations in the original base plan can be converted to doorways in the future and the window units are then reused in the new additions. If money is available in the beginning you can build however many bumpouts you want right from the start, but the cabin is designed so that you can just strip off the siding and attach the additions easily. I can even add a second small cabin on the north side off the mudroom for a main floor master bedroom. I've never seen the point of building a small cabin if you're going to abandon it later on for a larger home. Build in stages, but design the whole thing first so that you know where the connections between parts will be and then you can place your blocking and doorways. It's like if you know that one day you'll be putting in french doors, frame in blocking and supports for that now and then in the future you just have to remove the drywall and sheathing and filler studs and not worry about headers and point loads.
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knittifer
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2013 10:30pm
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thanks everyone...rockies...I totally agree with your point about starting out by thinking ahead before you build. But the main thing is that I really want a cordwood house, and I know that my "cabin" will later be just a traditional style "bumpout" on the home. I think the idea of having a separate guest cottage would be the easiest way to go..in the sense of the original cabin becoming the guest cottage when the house is going to be built. I didn't mention this, but I have 5 children, so I would like to eventually have enough space for all the family to be there together when we plan to be there more permanently. so a guest cottage works for me. That is also one of my major issues with cabin design...designing a "small" cabin for 7 people until we can build more.
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hattie
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2013 02:47pm
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If it's retirement you are thinking of in the future, plan wisely. One level is better than two (think of aging, creaking bones). Our cabin was just over 500 sq ft. We decided to retire to it and figured it was large enough to live in. It has a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room. What it didn't have was storage. Our cabin is also very old and we didn't want to affect the integrity of the original structure. We added onto the side of the back and built a huge laundry room/pantry/closet space. We also have storage in the crawlspaces. Onto the laundry room we added a greenhouse and under the greenhouse we added a cold room. Onto the greenhouse (forming a horseshoe shape for the entire building) we made a 3 unit motel (for minimal income plus space for our children/grandchildren to stay when they visit). By making the building into a horseshoe shape, we have a nice courtyard for star gazing, barbecuing and a fire pit. We also have a large double garage that is also Bob's shop for his hobbies and a small shed for our garbage cans, recycle and lawn tools.
We have lived here full time since 2007 and love it. Our cabin (now our house) is still very small but certainly large enough for us and our small business. It is very easy to look after and when Bob needed a knee replacement some years ago, we were really happy we were all on one level. When we completely retire (close the motel) we will turn two of our motel rooms into a small apartment. Our plan is to rent it out for a very small rent plus have the renters look after the lawns and driveways for us. If they don't want to do that, we will charge a bit higher rent and pay someone else to do the jobs. We will keep one of the motel rooms for our children/grandchildren when they visit.
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