Cabin Build in TX Hill Country
 

After months of planning and daydreaming I broke ground yesterday on my cabin build. At this moment only 5 piers have been poured with 13 more to go.
Overview plan is budget minded off grid build. Except for floor and roofing joist most framing will be recycled. Roofing and some siding will be recycled. Hot water solar panels recycled. Windows, recycled. Lighting will be solar led. Water will come from rainwater collection.
Cabin dimensions has been getting a little bigger to accommodate family and guests. Foot print will be 24x32 with 24x14 loft totaling 1104 sqft living.

Its always a great moment when build plans start to materialize, Congratulations.

Your off to a good start having 1/4 of the footings poured on the first day , Nice.

Good luck, don't be afraid to let your plans change along the way if get ideas as you go.

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google sketckup

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Rain collection and wood pile in one. I will be close to all the water I need to mix my concrete for piers.

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Progress near the end of day 2. For day 3 I rented a jackhammer and made much faster work of busting through the rocky ground and Finished the 15th pier and 4th corner.

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In the fall I hand dug 5 dams and swales to slow down the dry creek and retain more water for plants and wildlife. Now even a month after a good rain we have a babbling brook. There are abundant deer, racoon, as well as occasional fox, coyote, feral hog and ringtail cat. If our lakes ever go back to normal levels this should be 10 feet under water.

I love repurposing good used materials. An nice looking water. It is always a valuable drawn for wildlife.

Which direction from Austin ?
Live water would lend itself to generation of electricity & possibly Water-to-water Heat pump.

You can use salvaged rigid foam for insulation too, there are companies all over the nation that sell used rigid foam insulation from commercial roofing. Have you done any research into superinsulation? Air Selaing? HRV's? Manual J Calculations? REMOTE, PERSIST building techniques, OVE construction? All things that help make the most energy intensive portion of the home (HVAC) more viable in an off the grid situation.

For insulation I'm looking at a wealth of things I've learned from this site. For walls I plan on a rainscreen design, Siding, air gap, radiant barrier house wrap, taped rigid insulation, sheathing. Interior walls might be rigid sealed with spray foam stuffed wit/h batts if time permits. Roof will be Texas Cool Roof design.
Cool Roof Design for Hot Texas Climate | Houston Cool Metal Roofs
My hvac design will be 1-2 Gree 27 seer 9000btu minisplit heat pumps. Regardless of man j Hvac sizing will boil down to my wife's cooling requirements.

sounds like you're on the ball. Cheers!:thumbup:

I thought I would let you know my dad just released his book on this very subject.

Modern Potable Rainwater Harvesting: System Design, Construction, and Maintenance: Daniel M Brown: 9781502477323: Amazon.com: Books

He has been using rainwater for potable water for a number of years now. He details everything you will need to start your own (particularly because there is little good information on this subject).

That Cool Roof idea is GREAT! Thanks

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Any updates on the cabin John?

The cabin rough framing might be finished this weekend. I've been busy with work while my carpenter has been working away at it. Improvised design changes... I added a gable to the south facing roof line to gain more usable space upstairs. Living space should be closer to 1200 sqft. I'm using a composting toilet system not yet installed. Upstairs water closet now planned after staying in a similar sized cabin with 4 women. Off grid solar dream has moved to grid tie, way cheaper and practical for my set up. Roof, windows and insulation time coming up! Unfortunately my casual free time has about dissolved, and I'm about to stay really busy until October. Progress will come to a screeching halt by the end of May.

Gable end
 

It looks to be coming along nicely. Please keep us in the loop. :)

Looks great! I know you are looking forward to getting it dried in.

Austin

Its been awhile. I'm only out there for sporatic short visits. The last few visits I've mostly focused on wildlife and landscaping improvements for wildlife and water retension.There is a metal roof on, not super visible from the ground. I have my composting toilet ordered. Next big thing needs to be siding. I think I'm farming that one out.[IMG]http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/...d/CAM01118.jpg[/IMG]

View from upstairs to back french doors.
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Rigid insulation and 1x4 for roof!
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House wrapped.
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Recycled Culvert firepit grill, lunch!
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Looks like I don't have any pics of the roof. I'll take a few pictures next time