Knock Down Fishing Cabin

We've had a recreational property in the Cariboo region for about 18 years. For the first ten or so years we tent camped there a few times a year. I drew some plans for a large cabin, but never found the funds or time to build it. Finally it occurred that a small cabin might work just fine and might actually get done.

I prefabbed it in my yard , putting everything together with screws. I was hoping the Municipality would come and tell me that I had to dismantle it due to permit issues. I could then whip out the cordless screwdrivers and knock it down in about a day or less!

That never happened so I left it together for a full summer and the kids used it as a playhouse. In the early fall I took it apart and stacked all of the components into our 18'x 7' stock trailer. I managed to fit the entire building in there, wood stove, floor, deck , walls, roof metal, roof trusses(home built), 4" thick rigid insulation, adjustable steel support posts and the two 26' long 8" deep channel irons that support the building. The truck got loaded with tools and enough Portland cement to pour six 10"round x 3' deep post supports. The 3' depth is sufficient to get below winter frost penetration in the Cariboo.
The total weight of truck and trailer loaded was about 22,000 lbs according to the scales at the local COOP. With all that weight the truck would still hold the 55 mph speed limit on the steepest hill encountered, an 8% grade. Gotta love diesel power!

A neighbour and I put the cabin together at the lake. He helped me for one full day which got things to the point that the roof was ready for strapping. I worked another two long days to complete everthing. I don't think I have done a single thing to it since, we've just used it and enjoyed it. The neighbours were kind of shocked at how quickly it went together, but then it had already all been together once and was designed to be a quick assembly. The main floor support beams are steel channels sitting on adjustable steel posts, so we went from concrete poured to floor on in just over two hours. The support beams have tangs welded on @24" centres so that the floor joists can be attached quickly with screws (what else?)

It is a small Cabin but with the good sized covered deck (10' x 16') it works quite well with four or five occupants. The overall size of the cabin is 16' x 26'. The 16x 16 interior space is mainly used for sleeping and has one set of bunks plus a decent kitchen with sink and pantry.

The small size and thick insulation make it very easy to heat. I have gone into the building in winter at 30 below zero and had it toasty warm in there within 20 minutes of lighting the woodstove.

Glen