Thanks!

How much did it cost you to build a 12x20 I’m new to carpentry thought about building a little cabin on my woman’s family’s land to live in for awhile to upgrade farther.

Good ideas. I may end up building other structures on this property, so input is appreciated. The timber I used was aspen. Thanks for watching.

If you insulate the bottom of the joists with sheet foam and fill the gaps, how would that rot the fiberglass above? how does the foam not provide a vapor shield?

I do similar work for a living. For a basic cabin like this, I would just cut out some of the umderaide plywood and add ventilation strips. Foam is overkill for something like this.

@@BlackpowderBBQ It will if you encased the post in concrete and all the post preservative in the world will not help you. Moisture is held between the post and concrete and cannot escape. If the post is on bare ground and not gravel that the chances are good the bottom will rot. Also without a concrete footing to spread the load out you have limited yourself on how much that post is going to carry before punching down thru the soil.

We've had PT 6x6s start to rot out in as little as 6 years here in Virginia. If you are hell-bent on using them, pour a 6" thick concrete base with 6" of gravel on top of that. Do not encase the post in concrete. Backfill with tamped dirt only. If you want them to last longer, use stainless steel screws to attach 3/4" Pt plywood all the way around, including the bottom of the post. Have the plywood come above ground level by several inches and seal the seam where the plywood meets the post with silicone. For really important areas, we have also wrapped the plywood with ice dam underlayment or the equivalent (that very sticky and adhesive black sheet sealant that is used around rough window openings before installing windows; I can't remember what it is called). We've also used milled locust 8x8s as posts. They're hard as crap to fasten to but they do last longer than a bare PT 6x6.

40 years! Thats great

😂 yeah I had one placed on a joist upside down….that could throw you off until I grab it to install. Thanks for watching Raymond!

I thought about that. Here’s hoping I’m ok. Year and a half in and no movement yet. Thanks for watching.

I was thinking the same thing. I would expect even pressure treated wood would rot in about 10 years if exposed to earth.

Nah, ground rated posts will last for a very long time in earth. The spot that is at risk is right near the surface at the air/ground barrier. A little roofing tar there from about 10 inches above ground to 10" below will extend the pier's lifespan.

Sounds interesting. Thanks for watching

We take great pride in our property and using it and managing it in a responsible way. Thank you for watching!

Hi Doug, that’s the idea here too. Glad to hear your family gets great enjoyment from your bunk house. Hoping for the same with this building. Thanks for watching in Vermont!

Same here, that would be my main issue if I tackled this solo.

@@Darkware880 For me it would be putting up the rafters. Determining the pitch and angles would be my biggest concern. I feel like I could slap on some plywood, felt and metal roofing material.

@@Darkware880 Thanks. I will research this. I am physically capable, but I guess I need to master the speed square.

@@johnbrowniv use a framing square for the birds mouth just make one template and trace onto the rest of the rafter and u should be good (if ur building a gable roof at least)

Thanks man

Hi Paul. Sounds like you have a good project ahead of you. I’m having a blast doing this one. Stick around, just put the roof on today and the steel siding goes on this week. Thanks for watching.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream How come no moisture bearier on bottom of floor joists first and then plywood. Then install insulation and then a layer of foil bubble wrap stapled to top of floor joists for added thermal protection, then nail down 5/8 or 1 inch treated plywood for base flooring. That will make a good strong floor for a very long time..And there won't ever be any warping of any part of floor or bowing of floor..I want my floor to feel super solid like concrete.. just a thought, let me know what ya think.. of course I always like to do things heavy duty so to last a very very long time.. I guess that is just me.. keep videos rolling. I am subscribed.

In my experience working on different homes. The plumbing on concrete foundations is much more difficult to work with and also more expensive. But I would agree that concrete is better as far as life and strength.

@@federicolopez-casildojr1451 you ar rigth! but - what plumbing? think he will do an outhouse? if u make concret point foundaion (not a plate) there is no difference in working with maybe planed plumbing. The moisture in the ground will rot the wooden foundation much earlier as the whole cabin. so the Life Expectancy of the cabin depends on the foundation. and is drastically shortened by the senseless sticks.

@@mikecollon100 rightyright, my druug! you know whats meant.

I treated the foundation like a pole barn and set the posts first. In hindsight sight if I were to do it again, I fully agree with your suggestion and would build the frame first then attach posts. That said, I’m pretty sure that would be difficult to do with one person. Either way, worth a try to attempt to get things aligned more perfectly. Thanks for watching.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream Pole barn columns are set on concrete pads.

Only if you have 10 friends who are willing to trade ice-cold beer for labor.

I’d vote sono tubes

That’s the way it’s installed. I should have taken a clip showing the floor insulation instead of just time lapse.

Yeah, time will tell. The sandy soil is pretty well drained so it should be ok. I used the 6x6s so they’re a bit more beefy to get more life. I’m 40-ish so they’ll last longer than me I’m sure. Thanks for watching.

Backfilled with soil. You never want to encase wood in concrete.

Never heard of termite issues in my area. Thanks for watching.

The moisture from the soil and rain will cure the dry concrete over time. Also, in my case, the holes began to fill with water so I sort of mixed it in the hole.

you can always adjust the playback speed -- look under settings

Probably

The post style foundation is really easy and fast. However, being wood is in the ground, its life is limited. Concrete footings would last much longer but also cost a lot more. Here in Michigan the footing needs to be at least 42” in the ground or freeze-thaw will cause the structure to heave. Hope this helps.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream Yeah thanks for the reply.

Probably

With the siding on there’s not actually any exposed wood. Hopefully it lasts 50 years, I’ll be long gone!

I agree. It’s a simple way to build but lots of folks over-design. Yes, I have a bag of concrete mixed into the bottom of each post hole.

So far so good. I sealed up the bottom real good before enclosing the floor in. We don’t have porcupines in mid Michigan, gotta go north further for those guys.

You can fasten whole sheets of metal lath to the underside of the plywood holding up the insulation and that will keep out just about any gnawing critter than wants to freeload in your house. Fasten it into the bottoms of the floor joists along the same line that you fastened the plywood into those same joists.

50-100 years

To be honest, I would set the wood on concrete footings instead of just burying them in the ground. In my opinion, a foundation set on concrete footings will last longer.

@@vatoloco1348 OK. Thank you so much.

Probably wouldn’t need it on this cabin since the under side is not touching the ground. That said, I did so because of moisture in the woods. For a lawn mower shed, if you’re not insulating it, you wouldn’t need the underside at all. Just make sure anything touching the ground is treated or it will rot.

That dude was on TV (history channel?). I’m sure that helped him tremendously. Wonder what show I could be on 🤔

12x20 with 8x12 loft

Mine are 8’ apart

Hi mustang…the next video is coming within a week or so. My intention is to get into a rhythm of uploading a video every week, we’ll see how that goes. Next video will be framing walls, setting rafters etc… Then sheathing and roofing after that. More to come, thank you for following along.

The cabin is 12x20 and 8’ sidewalls with a loft over half of it. Check out the build series for more info!

I did not install a vapor barrier. If I were building this off grid cabin to modern building codes and standards for full time dwellings, there should be a vapor barrier. However, I don’t think it’s necessary for this type of build. Thanks for watching.

Great question! In this case, only treated, un-trimmed ends went into the ground. The tops did get trimmed and notched. If you watch the series, you will see that all trimmed and notched areas are not only above grade but also completely under the building siding and will never see moisture. That said, you are correct that cutting into treated lumber will sacrifice the longevity of the board if that area is exposed to ground contact or moisture like rain. Thanks for watching.

My cabin is 12’ wide and 18’ long. In the future I will likely add a 12’ wide by 6’ or 8’ long porch on the front.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream I might consider setting the posts and create the porch now. Built the porch as you build the cabin and incorporate the roof or add separate porch roof if that's the style you want. In any event, you have the covered porch to keep materials and tools dry plus a dry place to work (and do messy work) as you finish the interior of the cabin with supplies out of your way. I am always puzzled why most folks don't do the porch at the same time and make use of that space as you go along.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream I thought you said "12x20 with 8x12 loft"

You were ahead of your time!

Cool story.

12x20 with 8x12 loft

Hi Dennis. Actually, the safe, sound span for a 2x10 floor joist is longer than this. I am at 12’ and I think I could have gone 14’ or more. Typical home building uses either 2x joists or engineered joists for all types of spans. Additionally, in my case I am using rough sawn lumber, meaning the cross section of the board is 2”x10” instead of 1-1/2”x9-1/2”. This means even more rigidity. Honestly, the floor of this building is really solid and has not even 1/16” of “bounce” in it. Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching.

@@LivingOurAmericanDream That's very interesting. Where I'm from (South Africa), building regulations won't allow spans of more than 3,5m for a 51 x 251mm rough sawn joist. When I designed my house (7 x 12 M) I had to have 3 rows of 5 supports 3.5m apart. Also, any beam longer than 5m had to be a laminated beam, which is considerably stronger than solid wood. I later built on a lean-to shed roof on one side of the house 10m long, and had to get an Engineer's certificate to use one single 10 metre laminated beam of 76 x 251mm, on 4 posts. The regs are very strict over there! Your standards seem to be very different over there. Thanks for the vid. Cheers.

No, and I’m aware my work reflects such 😊

Did we watch the same video?

Yeah, the floor has 6” insulation in between the joists, just didn’t capture it too well on the time lapse. Thanks for watching

@@LivingOurAmericanDream A 2x12 floor system would easily take R-30 insulation. Use all available space to keep your build as toasty as possible when the cavities are open. Too late and too expensive to retrofit a cold house after it's all buttoned up.

Not Canadian, eh.

Yes, the entire structure blew down in a 15mph wind gust 😏