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marr708
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# Posted: 23 Oct 2009 09:06pm
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Hi I am new to this forum. So I thought I would share some of my latest cabin project info. I recently bought five old cabins that were going to be demolished. The price was cheap, but I had to move them. Two of the cabins are Salt box style [9x12] and the other three are tradtional gable roof design [14x14] My wife and I only wanted one cabin, but the owners said they would give us a better price if we took all five. The cabins are all cedar construction and in excellent shape. The smaller cabins can be moved on a trailer, however, the larger cabins will have to be partially disassembled.
My current plan is to strip off the old shingles, remove the roof boards and cut the trusses [in one piece]. I have done this with two cabins and have one remaining. Once all three are partially disassembled, I will cut the end walls and remove each wall, complete [battens and boards still attached]. Tomorrow, I begin the final cabin.
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marr708
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# Posted: 23 Oct 2009 09:16pm
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Sorry, I forgot to post some pictures! Here they are.
Salt Box
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santa_fe_summerfall.jpg
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partially disassembled
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outside cabin #2
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MikeOnBike
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2009 09:31pm
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I would love to stumble on something like this. I'm starting a 16x18 build next spring but could use something like this for storage and guest cabins. Love the board/batten siding!
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marr708
Member
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# Posted: 22 Dec 2009 02:07pm
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Mike, I found these cabins on Craig's List. Also check the GSA [web site]. They sometime have old forest service cabins for sale. Good luck.
My cabin moving is done until April. Snow shut me down. I only managed to get one complete cabin disassembled and moved. Unfortunately, I was short on manpower and those 12x14 walls [with frame and siding attached] were really heavy. We wound up lowering them down, with cattle ropes attached to the bumper of my wife's Yukon. I welded 2x2" pipe stock to the outer corners of my 6x12' foot flatbed trailer. The outriggers allowed the wall panels to rest comfortably for their ride home. Merry Christmas!
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elkdiebymybow
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2010 01:35pm
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Nice find!
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marr708
Member
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2010 05:20pm
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Since this is the first time I have tried to move a cabin, I learned three things: you need a plan; you need manpower; you need horsepower. My plan was flawless. Customize a flatbed trailer to accomodate each section of the cabin as it is disassembled. Load those sections on to the trailer and move them to my house to be reassembled later. Perfect! Unfortunately, in my quest to save money and not bother friends, I skimped on the manpower and horsepower. We almost killed ourselves and destroyed the cabin by wrestling and dragging the sections on to the trailer. Also, once we got the cabin home. It was too heavy to unload off the trailer. I had to wait until my four huge football player nephews came out from California. They lifted the walls like they were were made of styrofoam, ha! Manpower wins again. Since they will not be here this spring, I'm thinking of renting a "Grade-all" off road fork lift with a long boom. I will be able to lift the walls easily, load and unload them, in one day. Cheap insurance for avoiding disaster. I've posted some pictures of the trailer and what's left to be moved. I also posted a picture of my friend, who moved one of his smaller cabins. He almost destoyed that cabin as well. He reinforced the floor and tried to pull it from the middle, thus skidding it onto his hay trailer. Unfortunately, the cabin started to buckle in the middle from too much stress. We wound up jacking up the whole structure and bulldogging it on to the trailer. Not fun.
However, lesson learned. For my small cabin, I will build a frame underneath the floor, with two 4x4" beams for the whole structure to slide on. The winch line will be attached to the beams. Thus the cabin will slide on these, not stressing the structure. If anyone has a better idea, write me, because I'm making it up as I go, Ha!
Custom cabin moving trailer
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disassembly in progress
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more disassembly
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There's got to be a better way
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marr708
Member
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2010 10:46am
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It's been awhile but I've finally got them down and moved. I met a guy who had an old crane. He came out and we craned them out. It was a timesaving and back saving decision. Currently, the larger cabins are stacked up and waiting to be reassembled in the springtime. The little cabins will be craned out complete [in the springtime also].
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marr708
Member
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2010 10:52am
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pictures
removing the walls
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lifting
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loading the trailer
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unloading at the ranch
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2010 12:30pm
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Nice cabins!!! What a find! So, were you able to save them all or did some of them not make the move? Good luck with this....Can't wait to see more pictures as you progress in the spring.
We had to move our cabin (only about 50 ft to put in the septic). The access was not an issue, no crane required. We hired a company with a tractor trailer, steel beams, a set of wheels, jacks and timbers to move it. It cost us $5,000!! That didn't include the new foundation! So it was REALLY expensive, but well worth it. We weren't here when they did the move - we were too chicken to watch so a neighbour took the photo. *S* They did a great job though and we were glad we chose that way to get the job done.
Our cabin, FRED, on the back of the moving truck
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marr708
Member
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:25pm
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The three larger cabins are all dismanted and stacked. The two smaller "saltbox cabins" are still on-site and intact. The owner says I can move them when springtime arrives. I do like the semi-tractor and trailer you used to move your cabin. However, something like that is too big to fit in our location, bummer! Come springtime, we're going to fabricate another "Frankenstein" trailer rig and try not to drop the cabins on the highway, Ha!
I also liked that you named your cabin "Fred."
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:43pm
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FRED = Freakin' Ridiculous Economic Disaster. *s*
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 20 Nov 2010 11:36am
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reminds me of when i was a small child and my father had an old slave cabin moved onto our black lake,lousiana property.It has two rooms.A big huge main room for all to sleep in and be in and a small kitchen.we had the most wonderful times there.wonderful doings u got going on there.good luck.
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onthefence
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2010 06:22am
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my sister has a small one room cabin @ her home (which is our childhood home ) that my dad built in the early 60's using the recycled material from an earlier homeplace that was built in the 1930's . he worked in roosevelt's c.c.c. camps and built it in the style of some vacation cabins he helped build on the west coast around washington state and / oregon. the little cabin has not been used for decades and has fallen into disrepair .it boasts a brick chimney and a fireplace and another chimney above the ceiling for a wood stove .... it also has very long pine board walls and pine floors as well but there is considerable damage to the floors and the foundation sill may have some rotting issues ....i would like to move it to my property beside a scenic area near a creek ...is it worth it or should i just do as my dad did and recycle whatever materials i can and start from scratch ....unfortunatly money is an issue ...thanks in advance for any opinion either pro or con.
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marr708
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2010 02:21am
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I guess it depends on your skill set and the condition of the cabin. If the cabin is in bad shape,you could salvage much of the building material. You could then rebuild it in the same spirit as your Dad did. It will be a homage to both your building skills.
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