Building a cabin SE Oklahoma

I'm trying to decide how to build my cabin on the mountain property I've got in southeast Oklahoma south of McAlister and I was wondering if anyone out there has ever tried to build one out of the natural sandstone rock found in this part of Oklahoma. If so do you have any tips?  how hard is it to construct  and is it feasible to do on a limited budget?

While I have not built a rock cabin I have seen some that are a work in progress.

Are you considering a stacked rock cabin?

Here is a thread that you or others might enjoy:

https://permies.com/t/194339/stone-cabin-woods

I am looking forward to see what others have built.

I am familiar with rubblestone foundations made up of things such as sandstone but an entire cabin definitely seems to be something of an undertaking.

What does the availability of stone look like and what are you thinking would be your plan to quarry the stones?

Stone buildings have been built for a long time
- They can be back breaking but if you create swing lifting cranes and runways it helps a lot.
- use a concrete foundation strip if you can because they do not move and are fast to install
- use lime mortar
- use a moving backboard wall behind the stones to make it easier and faster to lay them.
- choose your stones carefully
- use string lines and poles to keep things straight.
Books are available on the subject

Timothy Norton wrote:I am familiar with rubblestone foundations made up of things such as sandstone but an entire cabin definitely seems to be something of an undertaking.

What does the availability of stone look like and what are you thinking would be your plan to quarry the stones?

I'm sure it would be quite the undertaking but it is one of the things I'm considering as far as sourcing the stone well these hills are pretty much just stones with sand and clay in the mix and since my neighbors and I have started pulling together every year get a bulldozer out to maintain the road that connects our properties since it likes to wash out that dozer turns up a lot of stones that could be easily gathered and brought back to the property as well as all the loose Stones all over this place. I would most likely end up forming my foundation from concrete and rebar if I chose to go this route but for now I'm simply doing my research I've always dreamed of a log cabin but I don't know if the trees on this property would be sufficient as there's really not a lot of pine but rather more hardwoods like oak and hickory,than anything and most of those are crooked lol

John C Daley wrote:Stone buildings have been built for a long time
- They can be back breaking but if you create swing lifting cranes and runways it helps a lot.
- use a concrete foundation strip if you can because they do not move and are fast to install
- use lime mortar
- use a moving backboard wall behind the stones to make it easier and faster to lay them.
- choose your stones carefully
- use string lines and poles to keep things straight.
Books are available on the subject

Thanks for that info. Sounds like you've done a bit of research on the subject yourself or possibly even have some experience. In fact one of the reasons I've thought about the stone building is that there are a few old military buildings made of the natural Stone found around here one in particular sits out in moyers and was recently renovated into a new home

Anne Miller wrote:While I have not built a rock cabin I have seen some that are a work in progress.

Are you considering a stacked rock cabin?

Here is a thread that you or others might enjoy:

https://permies.com/t/194339/stone-cabin-woods

I am looking forward to see what others have built.

That is absolutely awesome. Thank you for the link.

Thomas, if your road is washing out each year you may need to have a good look at its design and improve it.
Slow the watwer down, install a few culverts

John C Daley wrote:Thomas, if your road is washing out each year you may need to have a good look at its design and improve it.
Slow the watwer down, install a few culverts

So the reason our road washes out is a combination of off road vehicles like ATV's & UTV's which tend to loosen the surface as they travel  and the steep angles of the road some of which reach angles of 35°  followed by the heavy rainfall we get here every spring and fall.
And something else to think about is that even the county maintained dirt roads require monthly service from a road grader as well as periodic loads of material to be brought in to fill in where erosion has occurred such as around water culverts etc. So for us as a community to do maintenance on our road annually at a cost of around $300 per household allowing us to keep our road in good condition and Private isn't a big deal.
The alternative would be having the county come in and do maintenance, which would increase our property taxes and forfeit the entire roadway wherein we would lose some of our land and open access to public transportation which is something we as a community decided we didn't want.