Building a Hunt Camp - Phase 6

The Cabin is still waiting for more work. I haven't had the time to get down there and add some more to the construction. This weekend I am heading down to do a bit more. The plan now is to put in a few more windows, if the rain holds off. If not, I will spend the rainy weather installing the 12 volt lighting system.

I will say without shame I am no engineer. The road to 12 volt lighting has been long. But we decided months ago we wanted to be "off the Grid" and to do that we have to be self sufficient. After months of research it appears the best solution is 12 volt LED lighting and other appliances. It seems the RV world has plenty of appliances that are accustomed to running off of 12 volt. As of now I am not intending on using a power inverter to move the power from 12 volt to 110. But that may come if the need arises. Fortunately, there are plenty (as of now) low voltage lighting, fans, refrigerators etc. that will not only function on 12 volt but are designed for 12 volt.

I want to save the details of the install for a future post and include all of the engineering details for those who are interested. Photos will come and show the process.

Windows, 12 volt lighting, insulation who knows - it depends on the weather. So we will see next week what progress has been made.

Building a Hunt Camp Phase 5

It has taken us months to get to this phase. Actually after the concrete was poured we went ahead and set the door. But then hunting season arrived and everything else was put on hold until after hunting season was over. But to this point we have the building sealed and dry. Roof, concrete floor and we started moving in.

I don't have pictures of it, but I used the spray foam sealant to seal the gap all the way around the bottom of the building. There were gaps between the wall tin and the flooring due largely to the shape of the wall tin. So the spray foam worked great at sealing it off. The top - where the corrugated roofing met the top plate left gaps in the shape of the roofing. After a lot of research, we went with the foam insulation used around window unite air conditioners to press into the gaps It was inexpensive and worked well. All of the rest of the gaps will be sealed with spray foam or fiberglass insulation. (gaps too large for spray foam - this is only in the corners around the corner posts) We will cover the rest of the insulation later.

Door before windows installed

Front Windows Installed!

For now we are putting in the door and windows. Or the front windows. So cutting the door was interesting, let me say clearly, when cutting metal siding, ear plugs are a necessity! But the hole was cut and the door installed. (Still needs painting but its too cold to paint it now) And last weekend we installed the two front windows. Having spent the last four months of deer season in a building with no windows, it is very refreshing to have some natural light into the building. The cabin was more like a cave for the season. Needing full lantern power during the day or night! Now with two windows it give great light. We will be putting in four more windows later.

- -  to this point we have done all we can. As the budget allows we will be doing the following:
installing four more windows
Installing 12 volt LED lighting through out the building
Building and installing kitchen cabinets
Installing a wood heat stove
Installing a small propane cook stove
Designing and installing water system.
Building our Outhouse
Building our shower house
Building a covered front porch

Building a Hunt Camp - Phase 4

The roof is on! Now it is time to start on the underpinning and the walls. Since we were using the existing metal from the old garage we tore down, the walls were set to hang. But we decided that we wanted to underpin the flooring to keep out any critters that may want to call this place home. We still have to decide on what type of flooring to put down, wood or concrete. But we will get to that later.

My Son Ridge helping
with  underpinning

My son came to help me on the underpinning and start on the walls. It was a blast having him along. At 12 years old he worked his tail off. He also helped me set the posts, pour the concrete in the post holes, now he was helping with the underpinning and walls. After all this will be his one day and his ownership in it now will pay huge dividends later.

One wall finished!

We opted to use the same galvanized steel we used on the roof as our underpinning. It should last for several decades even in direct contact to the ground plus it just looks good and is more durable than just about anything I could find outside of masonry.

We had to excavate a good bit to get the underpinning where we wanted it, finishing with it level with the top of the floor bands. It really dressed up the cabin better than I originally thought it would.

Back and end finished!

Then came the walls. The metal sides were hung vertically and simply lapped over one another to get the walls covered. By taking our time we were able to get a lot done each day. We opted to cover over every opening and cut them out later - windows, doors, etc. Plus since we didn't have our floor in place we didn't cut the door opening knowing we would have to have the door flush with the floor. I wanted the floor in place before we cut the door opening.

Pouring Concrete floor

After a lot of consideration I opted to go with a concrete floor. It did cost a good bit more than the wood floor, but I will never have to worry about replacing anything. Its done. My buddy, David Catoe poured the floor. In half a day, he back-filled the floor, poured and finished it with one helper. amazing how fast he got it done, and I must say it was worth every penny to have it done. I highly recommend any hunt camp built from scratch - get a concrete floor! 

Concrete Floor finished.
Great decision to have concrete floor! 

Next is the door and windows!

Building Hunt Camp - Phase 3

Now we are ready for the roof. Here there are many options available to choose from. Standard asphalt shingles, roll roofing, tin, galvanized steel, and steel. It really depends on your budget and look you want. I decided after a lot of research to opt for the galvanized steel. Largely because I wanted the look of tin, but wanted to keep it economical also.

Roof finished and nailing boards up

After pricing the 5-V tin it was almost $30 per 12 ft piece. While the corrugated galvanized steel was $11 per 12 ft piece. The cost savings enabled me to get a great roof at one third the price of tin, with a similar look. Plus I just like the corrugated look. So we covered the roof with twelve foot pieces of galvanized steel. This roof should last the rest of my life and my son's will have to worry about it before I do. However, before settling on the galvanized steel, I did go look at a lot of older barns that owners wanted torn down to see if I could recycle the roof tin from those barns. Most were OK at best, and after consideration I opted for a new roof.

Roof view from front

The new roof went on pretty fast, when you are covering twenty-four square feet with each piece it doesn't take long - However, since we did this last summer, we did have to break it up. When the sun got too high in the sky, it was just too hot to put the roof on with the sun reflecting on our faces. So we started at first light worked for several hours and stopped. Then the last hour of the day we finished.

Once the roof was on we had shade, I pulled out my hammock, strung it between some posts and took a nap enjoying the cool shade we just made.

Next step is underpinning, and starting on the walls.

Building Hunt Camp - Phase 2

As we pick up on the building of your hunt camp, we have the posts set, the concrete is poured around each post and we are ready to put our bands on and set the trusses. We are doing this because we decided it was easier to set trusses and put the roof on before the walls were in our way.

It's important at this point to state that this cabin is completely off the Grid. No electricity, No running water, not indoor plumbing. We will deal with these with some unique designs to be explained later. Now to the construction.

 So using 2x6 we placed a band all the way around the bottom and the top. Here it is critical to set grade. Meaning to put the bottom band exactly where you want your floor to be in relation to the ground. My brother used a transit to shoot grade and we marked everything to get the elevation perfectly level. From there we measured up and set the top band to ensure everything was level, plumb and at grade. (Here is where I found my mistake of being a shade out of square)

Top and Bottom bands in place
getting ready for Trusses

Once all of the bands were in place (We used 3" deck screws to secure the bands to the posts) it was time to set the trusses. I would highly recommend a minimum of three people to set the trusses, with four or five being even better. Each truss was set directly on top of a post for added support. The trusses were plumbed and secured with support bracing to the walls, and to one another.

End trusses set!

After the trusses are in place and secured now it time for the roof joists. In our building we opted to place the joists between the trusses rather than on top of them. Largely because this is how it was when we tore it down and we were using a lot of the original roof joists. Using joist hangers we placed the joists at two foot on center intervals between each truss. Once all of this was done we were ready for the roof.

Trusses and Joists complete ready
for roofing

Point we did all of this in one day.