A Low-Cost Cabin Built with Womanpower!
(Page 3 of 4)
September/October 1979
By the Mother Earth News editors
For the other half of the roof, we wanted a contrastingly steep pitch to accommodate a good-sized sleeping loft . . . and we fiddled with supports, ridge-pole heights, and knee wall until we finally hit upon an angle that pleased us. (See the sidebar for some surprising information about that "chance" angle!)
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FINAL TOUCHES
Eventually it was time for the finishing touches: the installation of doors, windows (we purchased all but one window for the price of $40 from an old, recently demolished resort hotel), and ceiling insulation . . . and—the most tedious job of all-chinking. No matter what method is employed, chinking is a monotonous (though not difficult) task. However, we came up with a system that did save us a little time and effort.
To begin with, fiberglass was stuffed loosely into the spaces between the logs, and—since we had a couple of rolls of old chicken wire on hand—we cut the metal webbing into long strips (about five or six inches wide) and pushed these into the openings . . . tacked them in place with a staple gun . . . and covered the whole assembly with a fairly dry mortar mix. The fiberglass provides valuable insulation, while the chicken wire helps to hold the decorative and draft-discouraging mortar in place.
The cabin proved to be not only low in cost and easy to build, but beautiful and cozy as well. It's heated with a small Lunge wood stove (a Scandinavian model comparable to the Jotul), and our food is prepared on an Atlanta wood cookstove, which is seldom needed for heat (although its extra warmth is welcome enough on cold winter days).
The cabin's southern exposure helps keep our rooms well lighted and cheery, and a small stand of birch trees—directly out front—provides cooling shade in the summer. (Later, when the leaves fall, the bright winter sun shines through the bare branches and warms our little woods dwelling.)
WHAT IT COST
The total cost of the finished cabin came out to $3,000 . . . not bad for a permanent, naturalistic, comfortable home! This figure can be broken down as follows:
It should be kept in mind, too, that our expenses could easily be cut in half by anyone who chooses to substitute handmade stone or wood piers for the foundation, or to harvest native timbers from his/her own land.
Yet—even at the cost of $3,000—we feel we've got a much more original and inexpensive home than could be bought on the market for several times the money!
Best of all, we have the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment derived from doing all the work ourselves. Of course, we did have help off and on, since our enthusiasm spread to friends and neighbors. Folks often stopped by for a "look-see" . . . were handed a cold beer . . . and ended up pitching in to make the job easier and more enjoyable.
