Architecture

Off-grid cabin built for just $300

Off-grid cabin built for just $300
The cabin measures 10 x 12 ft (3 x 3.6 m) and is joined to a carport that contains a trailer
The cabin measures 10 x 12 ft (3 x 3.6 m) and is joined to a carport that contains a trailer
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Alyssa and Jesse moved into their 5 acre (2 hectare) property in September 2015
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Alyssa and Jesse moved into their 5 acre (2 hectare) property in September 2015
The property is located in the Pacific Northwest
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The property is located in the Pacific Northwest
With winter on its way, the couple wanted to make life more comfortable, so next protected and extended their living space with a small cabin
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With winter on its way, the couple wanted to make life more comfortable, so next protected and extended their living space with a small cabin
Once the cabin was erected and their living space increased, the couple further prepared for winter by installing a wood-burning stove
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Once the cabin was erected and their living space increased, the couple further prepared for winter by installing a wood-burning stove
The cabin is also insulated and features clear plastic roofing as windows
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The cabin is also insulated and features clear plastic roofing as windows
The trailer is parked inside the cabin/carport
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The trailer is parked inside the cabin/carport
The trailer
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The trailer
View of the 5 acre (2 hectare) property
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View of the 5 acre (2 hectare) property
The cabin measures 10 x 12 ft (3 x 3.6 m) and is joined to a carport that contains a trailer
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The cabin measures 10 x 12 ft (3 x 3.6 m) and is joined to a carport that contains a trailer
Alyssa and Jesse estimate that the salvaged materials alone are worth thousands of dollars
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Alyssa and Jesse estimate that the salvaged materials alone are worth thousands of dollars
If you added the cost of the land and the trailer within the cabin, the price tag would come to a lot more than $300
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If you added the cost of the land and the trailer within the cabin, the price tag would come to a lot more than $300
Alyssa and Jesse decided to ditch the trappings of modern life and move out into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest
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Alyssa and Jesse decided to ditch the trappings of modern life and move out into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest
The cabin is insulated throughout
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The cabin is insulated throughout
Inside the trailer
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Inside the trailer
Inside the cabin
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Inside the cabin
Inside the trailer
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Inside the trailer
Inside the trailer
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Inside the trailer
Inside the trailer
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Inside the trailer
Salvaging materials for the off-grid cabin
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Salvaging materials for the off-grid cabin
Salvaging materials for the off-grid cabin
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Salvaging materials for the off-grid cabin
The wood-fired hot tub
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The wood-fired hot tub
The wood-fired hot tub
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The wood-fired hot tub
View gallery - 22 images

Alyssa Craft and Jesse Stafford ditched the trappings of city life and bought some land in the Pacific Northwest, deciding to live in a trailer while building themselves a homestead. With winter on its way, the couple wanted to make life more comfortable, so next decided to extend their living space with a small cabin. The cost of construction for this hybrid cabin/garage home came in at just US$300.

Craft and Stafford moved into their rural 5 acre (2 hectare) plot in the Pacific Northwest in September 2015 and installed their trailer into a carport there, running a generator when they need electricity.

The couple spent – and still spend – a good deal of their time bartering and salvaging free building materials, and have ended up with quite a haul. Indeed, they estimate the cabin alone used several thousands of dollars of salvaged materials. It's also worth noting that the $300 price tag for the cabin doesn't take into account the cost of the trailer or the land.

Using the carport (and trailer within) as their base, the couple extended the structure with a 10 x 12 ft (3 x 3.6 m) timber cabin, which features a cedar roof and clear plastic roofing used as windows. The cabin is also insulated, and a wood-burning stove and air-movers were installed to help circulate warmth throughout the structure.

The cabin is also insulated and features clear plastic roofing as windows
The cabin is also insulated and features clear plastic roofing as windows

The pair also installed a water tank and pump, and even built their own DIY wood-fired cedar hot tub for bathing in.

Hot tub notwithstanding, it's still not the most luxurious of digs, but serves as a fine temporary base while they get on with the hard work of building a more permanent off-grid house and barn. Other future plans include drilling a well, installing a solar system, and becoming self-sufficient by growing their own food.

You can follow the couple's story and learn more about their cabin and their lifestyle on their blog, via the source link below.

Source: Pure Living For Life

View gallery - 22 images
2 comments
2 comments
Buellrider
Should be retitled, "How to surround your nice camper with an ugly shack". I wish them well but hope they learn to build something that they will be proud enough of to invite someone to visit.
Beachhawk
I guess it's okay if you don't mind living in the 19th century. Where did they put the outhouse? Is the trailer in the carport a prairie schooner or a stagecoach? I assume they are hunters and gatherers: Hunting deer and picking berries, no television, reading by candle light like Abraham Lincoln, cooking on the wood burning stove. At least they don't have to fend off Indian attacks and they probably don't have worry about grizzly bears. It beats living in a cave.