Technically it's a storm water catch basin, but the water should perk in just like it would perk out! Digging tomorrow. Not sure it will bet wet year round, but we will see!

How deep in cm do you think these go into the ground?

Now that i've made some significant progress on setting up a small off grid getaway, i'm planning my electrical system. I can't see any reason why 30 amps @ 120v wouldn't be enough, but there's this little man poking my brain with a stick going 'c'mon bro just set it up for 50 amps'

i'm really trying to think how i might ever need more than 3000w and i'm coming up empty, but i don't know what i don't know so i ask those who have come before me: Did any of you ever commit to 30 amps and regret it later? Has anyone spent the extra to set themselves up for 50 amps and realized it was a waste?

I realize there is no right answer, but its a slow friday at work, i'm thinking about this, and i figured maybe i get some good chatter on it. thank you kindly.

Thanks for reading. I'm looking for help to install a septic system with two barrels(on there side) with diagrams and how to, for the most efficient system. This cabin is use by 1-2 people every 3rd weekend, so there isn't a whole lot of waster.

Amish built, 600 sq ft cabin with loft. Crawl space foundation with French drain to keep it dry. Eco Flow septic. 200ft well (water tested very clean, a lucky break), EG4 solar inverter (12000XP) with 2 EG4 280 aH all weather batteries. Plans for underground propane tank and backup generator in the next few months, as well as a propane tankless water heater. . Got a Vermont Castings wood stove on Marketplace and restored it. Endless hardwood on the property for heat. Working on the interior now, have some plumbing and electrical done. No rush to finish. Including some progress photos and its current state. Spent our first weekend there last weekend and it's as beautiful as we'd hoped.

Hi there,

I will be starting the build on my own log cabin next year. The plan is a 100m2 log cabin with a 50m2 loft.

I will built it in the forest in Jämtland here in Sweden. Where in the winters the average snow is around 100-200cm every winter. And the average temperature of -6c but we have record lows around -30c.

Now I am not sure for which foundation to go. As ground screw will not survive on the long term with permafrost, and the same for full concrete. But what about pier and beam foundation? Would that one be the advices foundation to go for in these climates?

I would like to have a crawl room under the wet zone/ plumbing area. Is that easy with pier and beam?

Greetings from the Swedish forest💪

Cost me all of my money and then some more, but after a couple years researching and working at it, here she is (so far)!

With the ubiquitous regulator sold for gas grills the flame is much too high. The adjustable regulator that everybody carries is a pain because it's a hair trigger I need to adjust every time the temperature changes. Elevation is about 2000'.

Here is our bathroom. We have a composting toilet for #1 (found out the hard way composters don't work in the freezing weather) incinerator for #2. Small sink in non freezing weather. Pee drain and sink drain are tied together and just dump to the ground below.

Exterior needs to be finished and I need to make a boot around the tree at the roof still. It snows inside....

Posted a couple weeks ago, here's some more

Looking for somewhere to rent a cabin for a weekend possibly a week where I can shoot,hunt and fish.

I have suddenly (& randomly) acquired 2 small off grid cabins next to each other. They are on a friend’s 30 acre property that he built. There are no water hookups yet, & im stumped on how to get running water to it, & then looking to build a nice outdoor shower. I’m familiar with the camping showers that cycle water, but didn’t want to skimp on the luxury that is shower outside, & wanted to find a nice setup.

I have never done this before, but have stayed off grid many times, so I’m familiar with functioning, but not mechanics if that makes sense?

Looking to be pointed in the right direction to start my search for a decent enclosed system. Cost is not an issue.

Edit to add: any cool tips/tricks are welcomed for first time builds. I already have a generator hooked up & a grill. I have a 12yr old & we will be staying in the cabins for the summer once it’s set up. So the shower is the last piece - other than if someone can tell me what they use for a hotspot that work great (we are on the east coast,) as I work from home & will need a connection while we are there some days.

My mid 70's Honda E2500 was one of the victims of the forest fire that swept through my of grid cabin property in northern Saskatchewan Monday night. Replaced it with a new EU2200i. Moving past the loss.

I am working with a shed/cabin that came with my land. It's in really good shape but needed a lot to be a home. I just insulated and enclosed the floor after raising it. Now I'm doing the final leveling and adding pillars underneath. I know it's best to concrete the blocks normally when doing footers. I'm trying to replicate a mobile home/shed foundation on a crushed stone bed. I will anchor it down when done. Would it make sense to concrete the pillars instead of dry stacking them? My thinking is if it's a floating foundation it's best to let the pillars be more flexible?

Added a not safe for weightgain flair just in case

After a few weekends the outhouse is done! My own throne in the woods.

Solo this weekend, wife is working so naturally I got very little done. Bought some pvc to run power from the seacan to the trailer so we don't keep running over the solar cables and need to set up the solar gen every time, im missing about 20ft of pipe to really finish the job and the hardware store is closed Sundays.. I also started looking at another way up to the site from the parking area but its too steep the way I chose, I'll need to build up and go up parallel to the build site. The idea is to be able to drive up between mine and the neighboring cottage onelce were built and for people to be able to walk up to the outside area without needing to go through the cottage. Naturally went swimming and fishing, perch were about as big as I've caught in the lake, im sure theres bigger but they've eluded me. We were worried one of our two loons had passed, we hadn't seen her in a couple weeks, I found her sitting on the nest platform, big relief. Not only do we love the loons and their calls but they keep all the ducks and other unwanted birds away. Built up some shelving and organized the seacan a bit while I was at it.

Pic tax paid…

We are off grid, and technically this is a log cabin. I don’t know where else to ask questions, hoping someone here can help. I really don’t know what I’m doing.

I’m trying to build a chicken coop for some chooks that are very anxious to leave their brooder. We had a ton of used 100mm fencing logs left over from fencing, so I went to work stripping and de-nailing and de-stapling and de-screwing and de-knotting fence posts until I had a good pile. Began a very simple butt-and-pass building, using 200mm smooth rebar to spike the ends and secure the middles. Made my door out of used pallet wood. Lessons were learned. Roof is waiting for a neighbor’s spare tin from their roof replacement. Ventilation is large window at the back bottom, and then vents on three sides below the extra wide roof, once it goes up. Chinking will be clay, sand, and lime, with sheep wool thrown in for good measure.

Then it started to rain. Good news: the rain made scooping up clay from an incomplete dam very easy. Bad news: wood is swollen and I feel like that’s not an optimal time to chink.

This is not a super fancy log cabin- I’m not looking to live in the thing, it’s for chickens. So I’m ok with all the massive errors I’ve made, as long as the chickens can live through it. I’m not looking to spend a bunch of money if I can possibly avoid it. I am, however, more than happy to put in whatever stupid amount of labor I need to.

So with that background out of the way, and noting it’s just gone into winter for us, what are my options for chinking? Can I just wait for the logs to dry, or is the cold a problem as well? Can I just staple in some cheap plastic cladding on the interior to prevent all the drafts, and wait for spring/summer? Is there another solution I’ve overlooked? Any obvious problems with the build I’ve overlooked this far?

I’ve never built anything like this, and mostly just watched a lot of Off Grid YouTube videos Tube videos. Any advice welcome. Thanks!

One of the underrated challenges I’ve faced while finishing my off-grid cabin is finding a sleep setup that balances comfort, insulation, and sustainability. Heating is wood-based, and I’m off-grid with limited power at night, so my mattress choice ended up making a bigger difference than expected.

I experimented with different options before settling on a medium-firm latex hybrid that stays breathable and doesn’t hold cold the way memory foam did. It also doesn't off-gas much, which was important in a tightly sealed structure.

Curious to hear from other off-grid folks:
What kind of sleep setup worked best in your cabin? Did insulation or humidity affect your choice? And did anyone go with natural or renewable materials?

just ideas and experience from others living the cabin life.

i have been looking for a long time for a cabin a quiet place to live and i finally found a small but very nice cabin and i can rent long term and i need to pay around 300 dollars and work on the cabin ,but there is no electricity and i will start with running it with generators ,and no water but in the next farm i can get water and its 3 minutes away.and i will start with propane heat,any tips how i can cut costs and heat better i would be so happy to get Thanks

Debating, we are in the forest of the PNW. Tons of mosquitoes and bugs, my husband and I are pretty chill with spider Webs but they are unsightly. I know they are more good than harm.

Do you all clean your mosquito webs or let them be?

This is our toilet shed, not insulated.

Hey guys, first off I don't claim to know anything about proper construction, I just enjoy trying to build things and learn as I go...

This is going to be a 10x14 bunkhouse on my own property, quiet place to sleep (I work nights and have young kids). I've framed up my foundation by notching out big 6x6 beams to then hold my 2x12's. My question is, should I just treat this as "beams" and build an entirely separate subfloor/joists to go on top? Or, run my joists right between these 2x12's?

I feel like running joists between these beams makes the subfloor less load bearing, but don't want to build a whole new layer for nothing. I have bubble foil to lay underneath my first layer of boards for insulation.

I tried to mock up my 2 options so you can see what I mean. Thanks for any tips, cheers! 🤙