Pondering an off grid remote think pad

I inherited about 60 acres of mountain top in McDowell County, WV. 
This is family land that goes back at least to the mid 1800's. There is a played out coal mine under it. When my father gave it to me, he made me promise two things (which I completely agree with, and agreed not to do)... not open the mine back up and not sell it. Easy. 
It's hard to get to via logging roads but once you're there, the views are wonderful. 
The locals are independent, to say the least, and I like them very much. I think they gave me a chance due to family history in the region. 
Anyway, my wife is encouraging me to put a shelter in a place we call "Rock on rock". 
There is a spring nearby. I don't want electricity. 
I can bring a small genny as needed. This is a great reason to get my FJ40 going as well. I have not even made an inquiry on how to go about this locally, but I suspect codes and rules are simple. 
If you've ever been to southwest West Virginia, you know, it is rugged. Stones, sheer cliffs combined with lush forest. 
My thought has been to figure out footings then build a raised platform. I'm thinking something like 24x24 with a cantilevered deck. 
Then I would design and build a small timber frame at my shop in Maryland, transport and erect. 
Anybody gone down this road?

Tips , cautions, experiences?

I've got nothing but that is badass. Congrats!

I have no idea either but I want to hear about it.  Not sure who GRM's off grid building expert is but I bet there is one and that they'll be along shortly.

An "A"frame is about as simple as it gets or a teepee to move around the property at will

A friend of a friend, who has house building skills, is doing this as a weekend getaway about 45 minutes south of Knoxville. 

I might give thought to something like a glorified shed that rolls in, pre-built on a trailer. 

Yurt?

John Welsh said:

I might give thought to something like a glorified shed that rolls in, pre-built on a trailer. 

 

Along John's line of thought.  Not knowing what distance from a main road, or the shape of the logging roads, the delivery company may help.  I know they use a tracked fork lift type system for deliveries.  One was used to deliver a large shed to my property.  My driveway is 1/4 mile. It's dragged along the skids under the structure.  Considering it may not be a permanent structure, it may help with taxes.

These are all valid thoughts. And I may change my mind after I get serious, but I'm thinking about a scratch built timber frame because I've always wanted to do one. 
Regarding getting a good sized truck up there...the rod going up has a sheer droop of about 100-200 feet. It's along a ridge. In my f350 dually on a switchback, I needed a spotter to not do the very bad thing. So I'm thinking build offsite would be a good thing. 
I am about 8 hours from the property too, so a set-up/take-down isn't too appealing at the moment. 
I want to throw down some woodworking "skills" so the next generation or two can say "this was Papa's cabin...he built it".  
The house my father built between 1946-47 is still standing on the other side of the ridge. It was his way of dealing with Normandy/Battle of the bulge, etc. 

Everyone says he wasn't "quite right" when he went up the mountain, but he seemed better coming down. 
 

This will be sort of an honor to that also. Not too get to heavy. Sorry about that. 

I have no answers for you but from what I have seen everything you do is cool as E36 M3 so I am happy to follow this. 

I have always been a fan of shipping container based things. They are amazing structurally so even if you don't want to live in it due to space and how they look but they can be a nice base if you want to cantilever it and then have storage space inside that is dry and secure. you could build on the top of it. I have the ISO specs for them and they can hold something silly like 1,000,000 lbs loaded on top of them. 

So my first wonderment is how to anchor a deck into sometimes solid tock, and sometimes loose shale. 
 

In reply to jh36 :

Your previous reply came in when I was typing mine so you can ignore the shipping container comment. 

NY Nick said:

I have no answers for you but from what I have seen everything you do is cool as E36 M3 so I am happy to follow this. 

I have always been a fan of shipping container based things. They are amazing structurally so even if you don't want to live in it due to space and how they look but they can be a nice base if you want to cantilever it and then have storage space inside that is dry and secure. you could build on the top of it. I have the ISO specs for them and they can hold something silly like 1,000,000 lbs loaded on top of them. 

I appreciate that....you should see the stuff not posted...that would balance out your opinion!

I am also a huge fan of shipping containers. I don't think this is the application for it, but if I live long enough, I want to bury one and make a recording studio out of it. 
 

For another time!

In reply to NY Nick :

Ha!  Same!

If you can't drive to the site easily, you won't be getting a pre-built shelter up there unless it's tiny.  Looks like you have plenty of on-site material to do a cabin.

If you can weld, I'd suggest a welded metal foundation sitting on metal pads.  Those could be anchored to rock with bolts and cement.

In reply to maj75 (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, I have thought about harvesting timber there, dragging a band mill up and going for it. The only problem with that is time. I could move faster building the frame, numbering it, taking it down and moving it. I think. 
If I didn't have a 9-5 (or more like a 5-9) I would do that exactly. 

This doesn't jive with the "Papa built this place" idea, but if there are Amish down that way, seems like the sort of thing they'd happily take on.  You could always have them get it built up to a point and then you could finish it.

I designed and built my own house over 20 years ago and have been living in it ever since.

In the course of planning everything out, I walked through tons of houses, took photos and measurements, drew floor plans and even made some two dimensional scale models, complete with furniture. Then I took my stuff to an experienced draftsman and he drew up the blueprints.

While I'm mostly happy with the results all these years later, I regret not hiring an architect, or using a set of pre-existing plans.

At the time, it seemed frivolous, as I was pretty sure that I knew what I wanted and I was focused on pouring every available dollar into tangible items for the build. There are many, many aspects of this that aren't immediately obvious when you are planning a dream build; things like door swings, wall thicknesses and their effect on the dimensions of rooms and spaces on each side, places where you might want one type of door vs. another, standard cabinet sizes (and fridge sizes) and their relationship to kitchen design, and even the available space for your preferred style of trim and moldings. Small spaces like bathrooms and closets can seem much, much larger on paper than they will once you have actual walls up.

And there are reasons that certain layouts become somewhat standard when it comes to getting the most out of common dimensional lumber and minimizing waste.

So that's my suggestion. Spend a little money on an experienced architect or an existing set of plans before you start turning lumber into dreams. I'm planning two more building projects within the next five years, and I will be approaching things a little differently this time.

I guess first question is to determine the goals.  Offgrid, you have water, solar is cheap and devices are efficient.  So thats good.

What will the duration of your stays be?  Weekends only?  Seasonal? Full time?  Very different requirements and amenities will be needed.  

How many people will stay here?  Any kids or people with current or future accessability issues?

Do you want to have a place for guests?

Whats the poop situation?

What are you going to do to occupy your time while there?

Whats the budget?  

Whats your timeline?

What is security like?

What is your end goal?

What sort of permitting is required, or are you gonna ride dirty?

Somethink like this has been a dream of mine for a while so I am extremely jealous.  My wife and I watch all the "building off grid" shows and a few things stick out as borderline necessity to build something decent.

• Decent road.  Even if its tight/small, at least some way to get a 4 Wheeler or UTV with a small trailer to haul supplies.
• Realisitic timeline and budget.
• Telehandler.
• Skilled local labor when needed.

If I was in your shoes, I would first work on improving access, at least good enough to get a decent size SUV up the road safely.  You are gonna be taking a lot of trips and if you make 50 trips saving a half hour up and a half hour back each time...thats a whole week of production.  If it was me, I would hire this step done since big equipment and someone who knows the land will do a much better job.  

Once I had my access situation sorted, I would clear the land, do my surveys and layouts, and proceed to build simple shelter with the following goals in mind:

• Security
• Parking for 2 Vehicles
• Shelter

Basically a 3 bay tin roof with one bay enclosed.  Its not effcient to haul everything up to the build site and back every time, this will save a lot of time and headaches.  Sure I wouldn't necessarily leave my nice M18 tools sitting locked up in a shed on a mountain for 18 months, but it would be nice to have reasonably clean, dry, enclosed storage for large items where the risk proposition makes sense to leave them on site.  Your Telehandler will thank you when it gets to sit under a roof.  The shelter will also give you a place to camp as needed, cook meals, maybe have a wood stove, and get out of the elements.

Once I had my shelter set up then I would spend some time on the actual building.  Thats up to you, but just like anything 90% is in the preparation.  

I see some conflicting statements... 

• You live 8 hours from the property
• You work 5a-9p
• Think pad

A cabin build like this is almost a second job. Do you have the time resources for this undertaking? 

It might be a long time, years, before this becomes a "place of rest" and not a "place of work." 

I have a cabin in the north GA mountains which has some similar attributes. 
 

I'll get back to that...

While it's fresh, let me thumbs up the idea of using an architect. They are artists, and will ALWAYS come up with creative ideas you never thought of. (This is coming from a builder with over 40 years building experience, AND a design degree. I would hire an architect). 
 

There are several good ones on this board (I've worked with Duke, and he is fantastic)

Ok, back to my cabin...

I've  been working on it for over 20 years. It borders some of the greatest driving roads in the country, and 80,000 acres of National Forest land. 
 

My primary activity there is working on the place. No electricity. No internet. No TV. No cell phone coverage. No running water. The only heat is the fireplace. 
 

I try to go there one long weekend per month. I never succeed. 
 

I have a pond and a spring-fed stream on the property. That's my water source. 
 

The 8 hours is gonna be a challenge. No matter how much you love it, you will find it really hard to get there at times. 
 

My design head says NO WAY to a container house. It is a total violation to the property (and I like container houses). 
 

I am also not a fan of storage sheds. The prefab nature of them looks cheap, and will violate your "grandpa built this" goal. 
 

It's the start of a very long adventure. Enjoy every step of it!!

BEFORE you hire an architect, spend some time camping on the property. Different times of year, different weather conditions. 
 

Learn what your favorite features of the property are. Where does the sun rise?  Which direction is the primary wind?  What spots don't drain well?  Where are the favorite spots for wildlife?  Views?  What spots are hardest to reach?  Which spots are secluded and peaceful?

You need to be able to tell the architect what things you love and want to emphasize. 
 

I actually built a lake house for someone once who told me "I want the house to remind me of rain on a metal roof, and hoot owls calling". That was almost all of my guidance. 

I love the sound of the waterfall on my property, and the smell of the mountain laurel. I like to see the fish jump in the pond. I don't like my neighbor to the south. These are very important things for me to remember with everything I do and build. 

I've lived offgrid for decades, built my own house too and work in construction, primarily concrere. This is a cool idea all around.

No electricity isn't something I'd recommend, it sounds cool in theory but practically electricity is very handy. You can always have a small solar system and never use it if you want.

I'd probably point you more towards standard framing than timber frame because it's easier and faster, being 8 hours away and always working means timber frame progress could be glacial. I do get the idea behind your wants though.

Concrete on rock is simple: pound it down to solid rock that will never move and pin the foundation to it if on a hillside.If it's not on a hillside it gets a lot easier too. You will probably want various engineers to look at the site if it's on sketchy rock though. Far enough away from a ledge and you might be able to get away with a house on skids with no foundation for something that small. Upside too is it requires nothing permit wise in a lot of the country but check where you are at.

I hate container homes and would recommend literally anything else. Yurts arent a thing I like either but plenty do, for whatever reasons.

I'd probably fix the road up a bit if you can barely bring a truck up it without rolling off a mountain