justin de

Hello,

I have decided to build a very small cabin on a plot of land I own. There are a few design issues that I'm dealing with.

1. The road turns into a creek; the closest a truck can get is about 100' away so everything needs to be carried in by hand.
2. It has to be able to be taken down and re-used. The reason for this is it will be illegally built. In my county, even a 10' x 10' shed needs a permit. I won't be paying $5k for the permit, $3k for the Flying Squirrel Impact Survey (yes, I'm not kidding on this one), and $10k for water/electric/sewer to build a $1k cabin. I've actually posted here about this before. https://permies.com/t/22714/southwest-usa/Trouble-permits . I figure the worst they could do is fine me and tell me to tear it down which is still going to be far less than doing it the 'legal' way. And I'm likely to get years of use out if it goes unnoticed.

My initial thoughts are a small 10' x 10' A frame style cabin, 9' high with a loft. I chose the A-frame because it simplifies the design by eliminating walls and it will slough off the snow in the winter. I've already done a mock setup to visualize this and I think the size will be manageable and appropriate for my needs. This makes it a pretty easy building, a pile of 2x4's and some plywood, but that doesn't lend itself to being taken apart very easily and there will be no power there either. My idea is to build the roof in small sections at my house and then transport my sections to the site where they can be simply nailed together. Shingles for the roof, wood siding for the front and back faces, and probably unfinished interior.

I haven't really considered another method of putting it together, that's what I'm posting here for. Ideas on how best to do this project.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems that every person I talk to has some information to add to my situation. I spoke to someone in the planning department who is having me fill out a pre-planning review application. This will be passed through all the various departments that have anything to do with building, planning, permitting and so on and have them offer their advice. It normally costs $4000+ but for whatever reason, it is free at the moment. So I'm doing that, and also attempting to buy the parcel next to mine. We'll see how it all works out.

Hello,

I own a narrow strip of empty land in San Bernardino county, Ca. According to the county building codes, to build a house, it must be at least 600 sqft in area, and a minimum of 15' wide, with 5' clearance on both sides. My lot isn't wide enough so I've been told there is absolutely nothing I can do with this land. I want to build a small cabin. I mean small as in maybe 200 sqft. I've scoured the building code and have not been able to find any loopholes. There doesn't seem to be a minimum size building that is exempt from building codes. For awhile I thought I would be able to build a 'detached accessory structure', but have since found out any structure requires an existing residence. I've become quite annoyed with the county on this. I'm considering building a wall (within code) and then just building as I please within. Any thoughts on this? Any idea on loopholes? Thanks.

I have a small bit of land in Running Springs, Ca. Looking at the historic weather, I see the hottest hot was 94 degrees, and the coldest cold was -25 degrees. The average in the winter is around a high of 50 and a low of 20, in the summer 70 to 50. The winter sees up to 4" of rain, with none in the summer. My land is on a south facing slope, in the middle of a moderately forested evergreen stand. Would bale be a better choice for this climate or cob?

Thanks for your help.