Building a cabin under $6000 possible?

[randomq]

I like having one part of my jungalow that is overbuilt, dry, and quiet. A good retreat for storms where you won't be lying awake wondering if your roof is going to fail, or how much water is leaking in, or whether that wind is going to start shearing the cheap screws you used to hold everything together.

[Palanakonu]

Not a bad idea randomq. Perhaps I'll add a bedroom or something in the future when more funds come available and overbuild it like you mentioned.
Too bad roofing (I'd like to go new on this) costs about 1/3 to 1/2 of the total price here.

[terracore]

I'm in the planning stages of something similar, I've been reading up on pole barn construction. Quick, "cheap", and durable.

[kalakoa]

I do not plan on permitting my little shabin.

The structure itself requires no permits (ag use on ag-zoned land, up to either 600sf or 1000sf per various rules) so long as it's not used for "habitation" (eating/sleeping) and doesn't have plumbing/electrical ("must use licensed contractors").

Less clear: whether low-voltage PV qualifies as "electricity" for permit/licensure requirements; does gravity-fed non-pressurized water count as "plumbing".

Legal "waste disposal" means septic, not cesspool, but a bucket that you dump in the yard is somehow ok. There is no "type-approved" compost solution.

Roofing: it's expensive everywhere, the best (my opinion) is HPM "pattern 7" deep corrugated, it has some structural integrity compared to the others. At 1:12 with purlins spaced 24", it's like walking around on a hard surface.

[terracore]

Kalakoa, what is "pattern 7" for the uninformed like me?

[kalakoa]

"deep corrugated", classic tin-roof style but a little deeper.

Also available in clear polycarbonate. For a cheap "skylight", install one clear panel somewhere in the middle of the roof, and switch the overlap so that the clear is under the metal on either side. The sunlight acts as a natural disinfectant against mold/mildew/etc.

[Palanakonu]

When time comes to add a bathroom, I thought about using this stuff for the roofing of it.
Have a friend in Ranchos with a few skylights made from this stuff... makes his place extremely hot at certain times of the day.

I heard they are prone to leak though because you have to screw them down in the "valley" instead of on the ridge "peak"... plus figured they would get brittle after a short time in the sun we have here.

[tada]

HD sells 2 grades of plastic roofing. There's an $8 per sheet difference between them. So the cheaper one supposed to be brittle?

[randomq]

Cheaper pvc one on my shed has lasted 2 years, still feels flexible. Instructions say to screw into the tops, not the valleys. I will say the galvanized roof screws they sell in that area suck. Mine are already rusting.

[kalakoa]

an $8 per sheet difference

The cheap stuff is PVC and it can turn brittle/cloudy; mine is actually sagging.

The expensive stuff is polycarbonate.

HPM's polycarbonate is thicker.

Best roofing screws are stainless, also from HPM. Worth the expense.