Cozy Log Cabin – How I built it for less than $500

This simple, but cozy bush cabin was constructed in my spare time, and was completed in 8 months. My youth group, and several people from my church were a huge help. I wouldn’t have been able to complete it so quickly without them.

Of course there are things that I can, and could have done, to make sure this cabin lasts 100+ years:
1- The logs could have been debarked before I used them.
2- In the future I can jack the cabin up and put it on footings so that the logs will be kept off the ground.
3- In the future I can put a metal roof on, to replace the tarp.

So why didn’t I just do the above 3 things right away? I was under a strict time & budget constraint. I only had $500 and I had exactly 8 months to complete the cabin (it’s a long story). Although I had a lot of people who helped on various occasions, I worked alone most of the time, often in temperatures of -30, with only a chainsaw, an axe, and my arms. Although I had to take a couple of shortcuts (because of my constraints), I do not regret any decision I made in the cabin’s construction. If I chose to build the cabin exactly the way I wanted it to be built, I wouldn’t have been able to build it at all. In the future, I plan to build a bigger log home. And when I do, I will be sure to take the time to build the cabin exactly the way it needs to be built.

Cabin details:
– I have no previous experience in construction, only a passion to learn and build.
– The cabin is 10’x10′. While the roof section is 11’x16′
– It has 52 logs, approximately 25 inches in circumference at the base. I left them with the bark on.
– It only cost me $15 worth of gas, and $30 worth of oil to build the entire cabin with my chainsaw.
– The floor is set on 9 patio stones, with 2″x4″s for support, and 2.25″ thick rough-cut Poplar floor boards on top.
– I made square notches in the logs, which I found to be a sturdy way to fit the logs together.
– We didn’t use any machinery (except for a chainsaw). Just good ol’ fashioned man power.
– I used a heavy-duty tarp to cover the roof.
– To fill the gaps between the logs I used brown-coloured insulation. Not the best way to fill the gaps, but it’s certainly cheap, quick, and efficient.
– Since the cabin is small, I didn’t place it on any footings. The logs are sitting directly on the level ground. I’ll see in the years to come, how well the cabin holds up. But it’s already lasted through a whole winter and spring without shifting, which is good.