24x24 Cabin build up by Lake Louise-A bit of help

[alaskadian12]

I have been working on a plan and studying the internet like crazy the last few weeks. I have talked to folks that have places up by lake Louise already and searched through this board. I don't have much experience building cabins. Assisted in a few, but never my own. I am thinking I want to build a 24x24 with loft and front deck. I am setting this on 36" RR tie cribbing on top of gravel.

What I am trying to get to is a list of material I will need to get everything put together at once and have it all delivered up north in one load. The market is crazy and want to get the best deal I can. 12/12 pitch roof, 10' walls in the loft. With 2x6 construction. Does anyone have enough experience with this to lend a hand with the list of materials. Struggling with that part.

I am not new to the board. I have been on here since the inception but for some reason didn't have access to my old account.

 

[SmokeRoss]

You can draw up your plans and then count the framing and sheathing. But add 30 or so to the list for framing walls. They seem to get used up in unexpected places.

 

[Daveinthebush]

Spenard Builders used to make cabin kits and barged/shipped them out. They might be worth a try.

 

[iofthetaiga]

There's an old saying: "if you can't draw it, you can't build it." I don't know that this is literally true, but it's close. You need to at least be able to draw it in your head...

What I do: Use graph paper and draw my framing layouts. Work through the entire construction process in your head; go step by step just as you're going to build it, from the ground up, and draw each step individually. Draw your foundation cribbing detail and layout; compile a list of all materials for that component. Do same for your floor layout. Then for each wall. Then your roof/rafter layout, etc. Tally up every stick and compile your materials list by section.

I've built every house many times over on paper before I've ever picked up a hammer.

Once you have you entire materials list compiled, you'll be able to submit it for pricing quotes.

Once you commence construction your drawings will serve as 'blueprints' / reminders of what you originally intended to do.

 

[ChugiakTinkerer]

You might give some thought to altering your floor plan to a more rectangular footprint. Depending on what you want and how far you are from the road, the 24' wide structure with a 12/12 pitch might be a bit of a challenge.

Just for some context, here's a log of building the 12x16 guest cabin at our place.
https://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=14680

if you are at all computer savvy, consider installing Sketchup and getting one of the many capable add-ins that will do the framing design for you. We are outside the MatSu borough so no jurisdictional authority on my construction. If you are within the borough you should acquaint yourself with any code requirements they may have.

 

[AKBEE]

After lot’s of looking/researching, we went with a 16x24 and had pony walls set up for second floor 16x36’ giving us 8’ front and 4’ rear covered porches. Not to try to sway you at all, but with lumber prices what they are, trying to make the most of as little as possible can save bundles. Sites like Freisen’s Custom Cabins have layouts to look out online if you aren’t tired of plans yet. Good luck with your quest!

 

[JEH97LX]

One more thing to think about and read up on. Odds are good you'll be building on ice-rich permafrost given the drive up to the lake is so bumpy (road caused thaw settlement, probably when paved black). Placing gravel down will change the heat and cold absorption (higher thermal conductivity) so your active layer will increase in depth a lot, especially if the moss/tundra/peat is stripped or compressed as it helps insulate. This means deeper thaw during summer which melts ice causing settlement and repeats each year as the ice-rich permafrost thaws and compresses. With ice wedges, you can have several feet of settlement or collapse, especially once it fills with water. Building on thawed peat will also settle about half its thickness under long term load (so 4 feet of peat = 2 feet thick after a few years of heavy weight like gravel or cabin).

Anyways, make sure you can easily adjust your cribbing with a jack or something and add railroad ties. September is a good time to adjust at maximum thaw. To slow down run away thaw, 6+ inches of insulation below the gravel or below and around each pad would help. Various schemes out there on how to place insulation or different foundation types. If you want more reading material on foundations, the Cold Climate Housing Research Center is good. Personally, I'm a fan of deep foundations like helical piers as they offer good frost jacking resistance at depth (say 15-20 feet) and just skip the gravel cover, unless you are located on thaw stable ground like bedrock or clean, unfrozen gravel. There's another thread on foundations from a few months ago, might be worth a read.

 

[alaskadian12]

Appreciate the responses. There was some good stuff in there. I was planning on having the ability to shim and jack due to shifting, it's how most folks build up that way I think. So ditch the gravel and set it right on the ground up high then. Maybe I'll build them taller than 36" each to keep the heat away from the ground too. I am thinking of going 20x20 with a loft now. A bit cheaper still plenty of room and I can always build a bunkhouse later.
thanks again.

 

[cdubbin]

Panelize it, build lower with a shallower pitch roof...a 24' wide chalet style is lovely but a real monster to build remote....

 

[LeonardC]

OP might check out CheapSheds.com for some building ideas for small buildings. Designed for the non-professional.

Similar pro-built buildings are on display by Walmart as you drive into Wasilla.

 

[CRQAK]

I’m up in the Lake Louise area. We have 10 acres on the NW end of Susitna Lake. I have 2 foundations going. My guest cabin is is 12’x16’ with a 6’x12’ deck and the foundation is post and pad. This foundation has a wall tent on it and soon to have four walls and a roof. My main cabin foundation is 16’x24’ with cribbing on top of gravel. My cribbing stacks are 6x8x32” treated post with a 12”x12”x36” on top with a 2” adjustable coil rod. That’s is far as I got this summer.

 

[Doug in Alaska]

Sounds to me like you did well.

 

[CRQAK]

I was hoping to get more done this summer but I ha an unfortunate mechanical problem that prevented me from making it out to my property.

 

[ChugiakTinkerer]

I was hoping to get more done this summer but I ha an unfortunate mechanical problem that prevented me from making it out to my property.

Sounds like a very typical season! Some years you get the bear, and some years the bear drops 6' of snow on your temporary structure.

 

[CRQAK]

Looking forward to getting back out there to get a jumpstart. I have lots more materials to haul out this winter.

 

[ChugiakTinkerer]

Looking forward to getting back out there to get a jumpstart. I have lots more materials to haul out this winter.

You got to make hay while the sun shines, but be careful you don't overdo it. I went crazy hauling materials in 2021, and still have a huge pile of lumber because I underestimated who long each of my projects would take. I'm not asying put on the brakes, just be realistic in what you can accomplish.

 

[CRQAK]

Amen to that. I have a pile of lumber out there right know and I plan on delivering the rest of my dock material, board walk and more support beams out next week to my storage space at 3 lakes. Looks like there getting some pretty good snow out there and should be a good season.

 

[ChugiakTinkerer]

Remember, pics or it didn't happen!

 

[CRQAK]

Remember, pics or it didn't happen!

 

[CRQAK]

Some of my pre-made dock panels. 4’x6’ with 3/4 PT plywood. When the dock is completed ill have a total of 76’. 44’ will be stationary and ill attach my 32’ floating section that is in place now.