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Planning a tiny home cabin, looking for input

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Special T:
Matt Reisinger the bild show on you tube. He has lots of great details on how to build to last. More expensive materials and products but make less of a difference with longevity and smaller scale structures. I think lots of the details he goes over can make an off grid cabin 100% more useful.

Air sealing for heat and bugs. Run 2 circuits for power. 110 and 12 volt. So much can be runs off a small generator, small wind or solar 12 volt. I run my cabin call 12 volt led lights usb plug ins small soloar panel. I would bet that a small wood stove would work well. My brother got a wall tent stove he added firbricks to and now heats his 600 square foot shop apartment with it.
Metal roof with a rain catchment barrel and a covered outside area expand the usefulness of an outdoor retreat.  Many counties have some kind of a footprint restriction for summer home cabins. Skagit county had a 20x20 limitation with a loft. If it were me I would go as big as legally allowed and build a big covered porch next to the cabin for grilling, fires and enjoying the outside until your too cold and have to go in.

Machias:
Look up Tin Can Cabin.  The guy detailed his three shipping container cabin build.  Here is two major considerations with Shipping Containers.  The biggest is the floor HAS TO BE encapsulated.  The floors are impregnated with some seriously nasty chemicals that continue to off gas forever.  Serious health hazard if you are sleeping in one or spending any time inside.  Number two, unless you spray foam insulate the walls, you WILL BE dealing with mold very soon.  Even if you were to put in wall studs and insulate, even the tiniest space between the insulation and the steel container wall will sweat, condense and mold will develop.

I lived in an 16x24 foot Old Hickory Shed for 4 and a half years.  No electricity or running water for most of that time.  Spray foam insulate, cost a bit more, but you will never regret it.  Insulate the floor.  I can share a story sometime about NOT insulating the floor and having to deal with mold on everything that was a couple of inches off the floor.  Cold air from the floor rising up and meeting the warm air in the cabin, causes condensation on the underside of the dressers, etc,, and walla mold issue.  Propane heat puts extra moisture in the air, which equals....you guessed it, mold.  Check out 509 Wood stoves (Flame Innovation) in Post Falls, ID.  Best thing since sliced bread for heating your cabin.  Easy to regulate the heat and last all night.  Uses compressed logs.  Buy it by the pallet and it's 65 cents a log.  Wood stove puts out dry heat, much better for the cabin space than propane.

Boss .300 winmag:

--- Quote from: Machias on January 16, 2024, 12:45:57 PM ---Look up Tin Can Cabin.  The guy detailed his three shipping container cabin build.  Here is two major considerations with Shipping Containers.  The biggest is the floor HAS TO BE encapsulated.  The floors are impregnated with some seriously nasty chemicals that continue to off gas forever.  Serious health hazard if you are sleeping in one or spending any time inside.  Number two, unless you spray foam insulate the walls, you WILL BE dealing with mold very soon.  Even if you were to put in wall studs and insulate, even the tiniest space between the insulation and the steel container wall will sweat, condense and mold will develop.

I lived in an 16x24 foot Old Hickory Shed for 4 and a half years.  No electricity or running water for most of that time.  Spray foam insulate, cost a bit more, but you will never regret it.  Insulate the floor.  I can share a story sometime about NOT insulating the floor and having to deal with mold on everything that was a couple of inches off the floor.  Cold air from the floor rising up and meeting the warm air in the cabin, causes condensation on the underside of the dressers, etc,, and walla mold issue.  Propane heat puts extra moisture in the air, which equals....you guessed it, mold.  Check out 509 Wood stoves (Flame Innovation) in Post Falls, ID.  Best thing since sliced bread for heating your cabin.  Easy to regulate the heat and last all night.  Uses compressed logs.  Buy it by the pallet and it's 65 cents a log.  Wood stove puts out dry heat, much better for the cabin space than propane.

--- End quote ---

Could you frame out the floor with 2x4s, spat foam it then sheet with plywood for encapsulating it?

Machias:

--- Quote from: Boss .300 winmag on January 16, 2024, 01:10:18 PM ---
--- Quote from: Machias on January 16, 2024, 12:45:57 PM ---Look up Tin Can Cabin.  The guy detailed his three shipping container cabin build.  Here is two major considerations with Shipping Containers.  The biggest is the floor HAS TO BE encapsulated.  The floors are impregnated with some seriously nasty chemicals that continue to off gas forever.  Serious health hazard if you are sleeping in one or spending any time inside.  Number two, unless you spray foam insulate the walls, you WILL BE dealing with mold very soon.  Even if you were to put in wall studs and insulate, even the tiniest space between the insulation and the steel container wall will sweat, condense and mold will develop.

I lived in an 16x24 foot Old Hickory Shed for 4 and a half years.  No electricity or running water for most of that time.  Spray foam insulate, cost a bit more, but you will never regret it.  Insulate the floor.  I can share a story sometime about NOT insulating the floor and having to deal with mold on everything that was a couple of inches off the floor.  Cold air from the floor rising up and meeting the warm air in the cabin, causes condensation on the underside of the dressers, etc,, and walla mold issue.  Propane heat puts extra moisture in the air, which equals....you guessed it, mold.  Check out 509 Wood stoves (Flame Innovation) in Post Falls, ID.  Best thing since sliced bread for heating your cabin.  Easy to regulate the heat and last all night.  Uses compressed logs.  Buy it by the pallet and it's 65 cents a log.  Wood stove puts out dry heat, much better for the cabin space than propane.

--- End quote ---

Could you frame out the floor with 2x4s, spat foam it then sheet with plywood for encapsulating it?

--- End quote ---

Most use epoxy or remove the floor and replace it.  Here is a good site for ideas.  https://www.discovercontainers.com/should-you-remove-the-plywood-floors-in-your-shipping-containers/

brokenvet:
For heating you can use the traditional wood stove or go rocket mass heater that you can build yourself. 

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