Tom’s Pole Frame Off Grid Cabin

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Tom sent me these photos of his pole framed cabin that he’s been working on in his spare time. Pole framed construction allowed him to get the roof up first and do the walls later. Looks like he may have added an addition later and the deck later as we did too. I have to envy that nice level lot and lake view! What a nice setup.

DSCN0845  Here’s a photo during the building process, yes the roof is done before the walls. That’s nice for camping on the site out of the rain while you build the rest.

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Interior shot. Tom says the interior will always be a work in progress. I can relate to that. We may never get the trim done. Cabins are for relaxing right?


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Check out that view! I imagine it’s great to take a cool dip in the lake during a hot summer day!

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Now for my favorite stuff, solar and water collection systems! The cabin is not connected to utilities. So he uses solar panels to charge batteries to power the lights, and to provide water pressure.

Tom’s got a similar setup to ours, a few elevated rain barrels for washing water. He’s also got 45 watts of solar power to keep his batteries charged. (Good deal on a complete 85 watt Monocrystalline solar kit) He mentioned that their cabin is setup to run on mostly AC power. So he turns on the 750 watt inverter when he gets there and it powers several 7 watt (60 watt equivalent) CFL bulbs and 6 AC outlets. He also powers an AC ceiling fan and a 19″ LCD tv for movie nights. Sounds like a great setup.

For his DC system he runs a  DC water pump for cabin water pressure on and 2 lights that came with the Harbor Freight kit.

Launch Small Cabin Gear Site


Cabins: A Guide to Building Your Own Nature Retreat

Cabins: A Guide to Building Your Own Nature Retreat

If you love dreaming about a special place in the woods or are thinking of building one, you’ll love this book from David and Jeanie Stiles. It’s filled with photos and illustrations on how to build all kinds of structures, like cabins, saunas and more. Preview it here

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1 Response

  1. I like the cabin SO much, that want to Pinterest it, if that’s ok. I especially like how the pictures show how pole building works. Pretty good job, to explain in three pictures. I’m very visual, can you tell? 😀