What is needed to build a DIY cabin? Just the basic skills and a little over $6000. And that’s including the porch. A fellow built one for that price and blogged about it, named Steven Maxwell, and he’s since updated it with a modern price (the original cost him $4000 20 years ago).
The cost breaks down roughly like this: $1100 for the floor assembly, $3200 (the biggest cost) for the roof, $1300 for the walls and porch frame, and $450 for hardware, for a total of $6050. The cabin house is 14 by 20 with a traditional A-frame roof. It also includes a sleeping loft above the porch. Of course, this leaves a lot of leeway for customizing the large space. Maxwell built this little house himself, so he saved on labor costs there. The cost is of course just for the house itself, and after finishing it with doors, windows, and then whatever amenities the owner wants to have, it will be higher, but the price does include the shingled roof and floors, so it really is the price of building this cabin house.
The basic materials plan (click on our gallery) will give a really good idea of what’s included and the general way this simple cabin house is constructed, and home handy-people can probably tell right away if they can do it themselves (it’s really not an advanced building). There’s also a materials list that Maxwell has provided so you can take it right to your hardware store. If nothing else, this guy shows that you can build a sturdy, proper can home with a porch for well under $10k.
The photography is by Mountain King Log Cabin, illustrations by Len Churchill, and build by Steven Maxwell. For more about Steven Maxwell (he has a book called Build This Cozy Cabin, we’ve added him to our house builders directory under house bloggers. And for more kit homes, click here.
