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I am seriously moving towards a modular or manufactured home. I know to please Michele its going to have to be something nice with a big kitchen.

I am done staying in a camper and the cramped space it offers when the weather is fowl.

This would be more of a small home 1300 sq. ft. or less.

I just started researching mobile/modular/manufactured homes so I do not know much about any of them.

Just wondering if any of you live in one of these or have lived in several of these?

Here is what I have as for getting the camp together.

1. County water

2. Free excavation (Includes boring machine to tap into county water)

3. Fairly flat ground

4. Electric along road. (free hookup from power company) unless I go underground then about $1,500.00

This will not be a permanent residence for us but possibly could be used for a few months in the summer for my dad and his wife.

What I have seen that I like is 3 bedroom ranch with 2 full baths and a open floor plan from the kitchen.

I have seen cost anywhere from used/repo from 24k to new for my budget $80K

I would love to hear your reviews if you have ever owned one of these types of units.

Thanks

Plus my old neighbor owns 90 acres less than 4 miles that I have lifetime access to hunt.

The lease is 100% in my name and all members write a check to me ;0)

BigRich have you any big issues to share or (If I had to do it again I would...........?)

For some reason I cannot attach link but there are some nice 1 story 3 bedroom floor plans I like here

https://www.claytonhomes.com/find-a-home/Cincinnati--OH--45202?distance=100&beds=3&baths=2&minPrice=25000&maxPrice=75000&minSquareFeet=0&maxSquareFeet=26600&isMultiSection=true&sortMethodId=1&numberOfItemsPerPage=12&startingIndex=1

If you think you might lose your lease and want to sell it, I'd go modular.

After I posted this I have found some repos that were way discounted.

I did a lot of research as well here is how these go as far as by quality and structure

1st place Modular Home

2nd place manufacturered homes

3rd place mobile home.

She just replied, our house is paid off in 2 years and we are going to have a bad ass setup out at camp. There is Deer camp, Mushroom camp, Beer camp, and soon to be Harley Riding Camp!

The cool part is my tap in to water is free, my electric from power company is free if I use poles and underground service is $1500.00

I can hook up the electric myself along with my plumbing and septic system.

I also have all excavation service free also.

Still trying to figure out how much trucking one of these things will cost above selling price.

So the cost will be reduced a lot as others would pay for that stuff to contractors.

This Saturday we are going to a showroom to look at modular units north of Columbus

No way I'd buy a pre manufactured house when I could build one. But, I've drove nails my whole life doing it too. Metal roof too. If you are willing to do the things you could do like paint and put the floor down, you can get it done considerably cheaper than anything you've considered so far. Good luck and God Bless

Good luck, Robb

There also may be some property tax advantages to having the outside look like a pole barn versus being a house.

Have fun building, we just finished our cabin on our hunting ground and I can tell you we blew our original budget away!! But then again, I wouldn't change it for anything! Lol!

We use natural gas heat and our gas and electric bills are very low compared to the house we moved from, which was only half the size of our new home.

I recommend the modulars, given you do your research and look and the models available and understand the fit and finish of what you may be purchasing.

$25,000 water $5,500 road $7,000 power $3,000 propane

I won't tell you what the build cost. You are doing it right. With living all over, I never had a house the way I wanted it until I was 67.

I've seen some of the new modulars and their construction has vastly improved. You should go to the factory to see what they do.

We use natural gas heat and our gas and electric bills are very low compared to the house we moved from, which was only half the size of our new home.

I recommend the modulars, given you do your research and look and the models available and understand the fit and finish of what you may be purchasing.

Honestly folks I first wanted to have a medium sized Gambrel Shaped barn and a small matching barn for mower, quads etc.

But as I get older I want a more posh place to stay as does Michele. If its really nice I know I have a much better chance of getting Michele and Morgan there more often!

From our home it's right at 1 hour and 45 minutes to camp.

The property is low and is close to the bedrock in that area so a basement may not be an option? Personally I would like to do a full basement as a place to store all of our stands and stuff. If I was able to build a basement I would need a lot of backfill and I very seriously doubt I could do a walkout basement?

I will be going back out to the property soon and I will post some photos of this parcel!

I will be having a surveillance system installed for that very reason.

The person who has sold me the property lives directly across the street from where this cabin will be. Plus her brother has his home at the end of the field as well.

I am hoping that will help reduce those issues?

https://www.worldwidesteelbuildings.com/

Those projects will be later since I have been building pipe fence around my property, hunting season starting, fall butcher season coming, and my third child due in a few weeks. Projects just seem to take forever! Lol

With this being a cabin I want to stick with something no bigger than 1400 sq. ft.

I talked with my buddy who is doing the excavation for free he and I are going out this weekend to get measurements on a basement. The cost from a crawl space to a basement is about 12K additional and he said the only big issue because of the grade of septic system I will not be able to put a bathroom in the basement. That is not a deal breaker.

If I do a full basement that would make this place around 2500 sq. ft. That is a lot bigger than the small cabin I originally wanted but since my dad and his wife will be spending months there then with us being there, my sister and her kids, and my step brother and step sister and their kids I think it will be a thing that needs to happen.

Plus our oldest gets married next September and he and his fiancé have said they want her to get pregnant on their honeymoon if the planets align correctly!

I did do a deep dive into the product knowledge of Mobile, Manufactured, and Modular over the weekend and I will be going 100% Modular. Those things look to be built like tanks!!!

Last year I wanted to build my own since I own a roofing company and all 6 of my roofers were framers at one time. Cost would probably be much cheaper but the modular would proved a boatload of less headaches.

I also talked to Jason (excavator) also on lease. My septic should run $2200-2500. As he said the water hookup is free except the county tap in fee which is $550.00.

AEP electric gives a 5K construction credit unless I do underground and my dad and I both feel underground is the way to go that is $1500.00

I have not gotten bids but Jason and I believe the basement should run roughly $15000.00 to $18,000 pouring a 9ft. wall.

I will put in a gravel driveway and Jason says we can haul gravel with one of his dump trucks along with any backfill that is needed. I only have to pay for fuel for all equipment so we are thinking top end $2500.00

Jason is one of my closest friends and says he will do all of this he just wants a bedroom in the basement or a small mini-barn to make him a bunkhouse so he has his own space.

The acre I bought has one tree on it and its a small walnut tree. So it's full sunshine all day! The lot is fairly flat with a slight slope.

Guys I really appreciate all of the ideas and such. I have to admit this is getting exciting just doing the research.

More to come...

I am really liking this look right here.

I am going to build a 30x30 with the bump out at 15x15 and enclose the right side of the front porch to make a 10x15 bedroom.

I will put the stair case in the left corner as you walk in at 90• that way I can have three bedrooms up stairs and 2 downstairs.

So far I have about 90% material costed out and I am right at 32k

That includes the foundation at 30x30 plus 15x15 bumpout and slab first floor.

As I said my dad and his wife (lol cannot call her stepmom she is just a few years older than me) will have plenty of room plus with having a sister and 4 step siblings and 8 grand kids it should be enough room for a long weekend?

I also plan on building a carport/shelter that can cover 4 full size pickups side by side with each have one pulled behind the other!

For picnics and big dinners the shelter will accomplish that.

With me enclosing the right side of front porch that gives me a 10x15 bedroom and that gives enough room to put both my dad and I on first floor with both bedrooms have a private bathroom.

Mine and Michele bathroom will have a door that is open to common area for first floor use to everyone.

This little cabin idea has turned into 5 bedrooms 3 full baths!

I originally wanted a 16x24 gambrel cabin at the most, lol now it's around 1700 sq ft.

Once it's all said and done it will be well worth that extra room I believe.

I will have a main common area both upstairs and downstairs

Good luck man and be patient during the building of this. God Bless

lol wv. mountaineer remember I own a Roofing and siding company.

It's easier to build new than to fix a house that is damn near totaled because a 150 year old tree cut it in half.

The part I am really excited about when this is all done is being in a structure versus a camper we have camped at this lease we hunted the same property since basically 1980 and we stayed in a fiberglass Apache pop-up for 10 to 12 years before graduating to a different camper and went thru several campers throughout it'll be nice to have a permanent structure that can actually not walk on top of each other in

My buddy Brad the architect will provide several others.

I have not run the math but in my head if the left side of screened in porch going into kitchen is 15 deep I am not sure the front is ten? I will do some algebra and figure it out l. Lol or let Brad do it.

I am going to start shopping Craigslist to get a bunch of the materials needed.

Hopefully I can get my kitchen and other materials toilets, vanities, lumber from there and save a living t more than I have costed out?

I costed it out so far from Lowes Retail and thru my Roofing company I get 15% off and then Menards or Home Depot will beat that by 10% or the Lowes will match their pricing as long as its all apples to apples.

Here is my first floor layout.

I guess to view these stand on your head or do somersaults

I am going to build 40 inch wide stair case which is 6 inches wider than a standard staircase. It will help getting furniture to the upstairs as well.

I have 2 passload nail guns and will most likely buy a 3rd one.

When I get close I will definitely reach out!

How far are you from Chillicothe, Ohio?

Not sure exactly where their materials come from but what they have in stock is it. The bad part is them maybe not having enough of what you need. Depending on the item they may or may not get more in.

Now, I've driven nails for a good portion of my younger life. Dad and uncles were all contractors. So, between ball and school, I was swinging a framing or roofing hammer. And, I like helping people. So, you holler when you get ready. I'm about 5 hours away but, if you'll assemble a decent 5 man crew, we can likely truss that thing in one weekend if we aren't working too high off the ground. God Blesd

I have a 6 man roofing crew who I employee full time.

They will bang out the trusses on a Saturday.

Heck I am trying to see what price they give me to frame it all, drywall, etc. Also build the carport!

I have had my foreman working for me for right at 16 years and he is rock solid! I never have to check or have issues with him on any job.

When we do have the rare tree split the house in half we usually get together go through it discuss and get a game plan together!

But to be honest 99.9% of the time either I or my son sells the job, orders the material, and he shows up and does the hard stuff. Then we go back walk through entire project with customer and get payment.

I am hoping with Serbian Shark (One of my besties) owning a roofing company and framing I can get his butt out there that week. I plan on starting in March/April. I figure work 8-10 hours then pig hunt until dark and have a blast doing it and making more great memories!

Don't worry you are still on the list when there is an opening!

Joe just think riding the Harleys all thru South Eastern Ohio/West Va. and having that camp right there.

As Mrs. Hottie said AKA my wife There is an order of structure out there.

1. Deer Camp.

2. Beer Camp (LOL I've mostly quit drinking myself altogether).

3. Harley Camp.

4. Mushroom season Camp.

Enjoy it for years and years for sure

Good luck, Robb

That is sweet!

I always thought turning a barn into a house was cool but I never imagined it would happen. Hell Michele would never go for living fulltime in a barn like structure!

it will be a nice get away for sure!!!

My cousin is a custom homebuilder and wants to trade helping me for some wild pig hunting opportunity! :0)

He text me last night and said (Cuz send me over what your thinking you want built and I will draw up your blue prints and all and I will help when the time comes to help you throw this thing up!

So I shoot him my specs at a cabin 30x30 with a 15ft. deep front porch all the way across the front and a 15ft deep by 1/2 width.

Within minutes he replies OK Kelly we are making your camp 32x32 because there is absolutely no reason to make so many cuts and waste that much wood.

I did tell him that I do want the second floor to have a small loft area so the heat from my wood burner can get to second floor easier without roasting out the folks on the first floor. He agreed 100% on that.

The wood stove I traded a gun for is a made by the Appalachian Stove Company. Its 52 inches and can boast 58,000 btu

We swing all 3 shifts every 5 weeks gets rough quick.

After retirement 34 months 25 days (But who is counting)? I don't plan on roughing much of anything!

Bob I would say your POW place is a cabin where that pictured above is a cardio/hunt shack! Lmao do you commonly get nose bleeds way up there?

I have come up with some ideas on the interior to make the barn theme flow!

It would be super cheap to build and I can put in industrial ball valves on inside bathroom to keep this from leaking

They are just hard...no give...and they get cold unless you add hot water piping- a PITA.

If I was doing a slab, I would thin film insulate and either plank floor it or if you want the most durable use those Vinyl planks. Quiets the place down too. The VP's look pretty good...almost like hardwood floor. I use them in some of my worst rentals and they wear like iron.

Also my excavator who is on my lease and one of my best friends and also owns a motorcycle dealership and has those painted floors he says he wished he never did that his sales guys are sweeping the floors 3-4 times a day. He said it looks great but shows every ounce of dust and with this a hunting camp he said I would pull my hair out trying to keep it clean

I am going to use some type of laminate floor like Beendare is suggesting that has a very rustic look to it. It does have a small film of insulation but basically no R factor it’s to help level our imperfections in the sub floor and noise reduction underneath planks.

then we committed to building a cabin for each of my kids as a wedding present. In the process of building the first now, They get a 16 x 20 stick framed box with windows doors loft and a small deck anywhere on the 700 acres. I will hook up the electric but water is their gig.

The intention is that the log place is the central hub to meet and eat etc. Making for a smaller place to keep up and clean and maintain. Then the outlying cabins for the kids are their own gig for upkeep and cleaning and such. At this stage of life less is more. If the overall plan works we can reduce the house in town to a condo or townhouse for less upkeep and live part time from the cabin, along with hosting holidays and such at the cabin.

My experience with owning the cabin in the woods is you have to visit at least once every two weeks to keep things from going to *&&&(. Flies, mice, rats, bats, trespassers, bears, skunks, and all that thrive in the woods will take advantage of a cabin that sits too long. I beg my friends and family to go use it for weekends and what not, it is in far better shape when it is being used than it is sitting empty. I would not want it much bigger, it would just be more upkeep. Granted things are not finished out and would be easier upkeep if they were finished better, but "its a cabin not a lodge" That was the request of my kids, do not build a lodge that we have to hire someone to upkeep if we move out of state when we start adult life, keep it a simple cabin so we can walk away and live life, and return when life allows.

ok my .50 not my .02

oz

Your spec doesn't show any steel rebar...I wouldn't pour a foundation like that without it.

Our soils here are about 2%-4% expansive. Pouring a Slab as you are I would do a 6" slab with #4 bars at 12"oc....18" is probably fine. The perimeter Grade beam 12"-18" thick minimum, more is better as it acts as stiffener, and a min of 4 bars in the GB probably #5's if it were my place. With concrete foundations...its never a good idea to scrimp.

Conditions during the pour and how its cured very important with concrete. Aren't you guys getting into some cold weather back there? Pouring in cold conditions or over frozen ground is a bad idea. At the very least I would paper the slab after the pour.

FYI, there are a lot of concrete guys around here that aren't formally trained...they learned from a guy...who learned from another guy. For example; The actual mix is very important. There are a lot of guys here using those tow behind a pickup grout pumps. You have to use a smaller aggregate and wet the mix down significantly to get it through the hoses....and the mix comes out the consistency of a milkshake...which does make it MUCH easier to work with but also weakens the mix appx. 25% right out of the truck.

Sorry for the armchair QB comments but you asked- grin

We have a very small cabin with a wood floor that I painted with porch paint, but keep cheap Wal-Mart rugs on top of it. I am thinking this summer of putting down the same flooring so we can keep our boots on and just vacuum and mop the floor when done. I think you will be happy with your choice Kelly, but definitely take the advice about insulating the floor. We did not do that at the cabin and I use a electric heater aimed at the floor just to keep it comfortable when it gets in the 20s and lower. Tough to motivate yourself to go outside and hunt in the frigidness if your feet are already cold before you put your boots on:) Hard lesson learned!

Also rebar 5/6 on footers and mesh in slab. I just copied and pasted a photo illustration of a monolithic slab. Also the floor will be insulated.

I am not building this on the lease I purchased 1 acre from adjacent land owner to lease. Has electric and county water.

I have a Appalachian wood stove for secondary heat and a heat pump and ac being installed as well.

Making the stair case to second floor 40 inches vs standard 36 inches as well

Kitchen is being increased a tad as is front bedroom both 15x15 so I have less cuts

Alas...two kids in college at the same time has delayed my retiring....the whole working for the kids thing. A note on that; Funny how two kids that always got along well can become bitter rivals due to their Universities playing each other in what was to be an important game for both teams on the 25th. Now the hubbub has died down a little as my daughters team dropped out of the the top 25 ...and my sons team bumped up to 3rd.

I said hell why don’t you try for Harvard or Princeton it’s almost the same damn money!

We are going to take all the appliances out of our kitchen and put them in the cabin and then upgrade our kitchen because I hope to sell it when Morgan graduates high school.

Back to the cabin I’m getting my heating and air done for around $1500 or I should say cost I’ve given my buddy about 20 referrals for AC units and furnaces so I is doing it at cost plus he hunts usually a four-day weekend with me every year.

One of my best friends it was in my wedding and a roommate for 10 years owns one of the largest flooring companies in Cincinnati so that’s all it cost my tile my flooring everything.

And my cousin just found out about my cabin he just gave away 20 windows that were less than three years old rehabbing a home he said he should be able to rehab another two or three homes by next April

He said I can have anything and everything I could use for this cabin kitchen appliances cabinets windows doors so that should help save a lot of money

All the interior doors are going to be barn doors with 40 inch openings

I even plan on putting barn doors in front of the entrance doors there’s three in the front but that way I can lock them down and just make it a little bit more secure

All custom upper and lower cabinets, double sink, island, and countertops for 800.00

Be nice in the cabin

I talked to my cousin today and we discussed insulating the cabin/barn house.

Here is what he came up with. Also we talked about venting and I am going to install two decorative gable vents and a cupola as well with a weathervane on top!

Well with the cabin having the custom mahogany cabinets I am thinking all white appliance would look terrible. All black would not look as bad but not as good either!

But the blend of the Stainless and the black will make that kitchen look awesome!

I had budgeted $500.00 for a stove off Craigslist, yard sale, etc. Tomorrow morning I will have Michele order this stove off amazon to the house. So that’s another $84.00 under my original budget!

I am glad I rented a 10x20 storage unit!