Alaska Cabin Build (Planning Thread)

Ron said:
Not to de-rail the thread, but I'm building a spec house right now. Basically a flipped a house couple years back and got a free lot. So now Im building a 1,280 sqft "starter" house on the free lot to maximize profit. I got my builder license but I will not swing a hammer or pick up any tool other than a cell phone on this whole build. Subbing everything out. House is currently dried in and half finished. Budget right now shows I'll walk out at $84 sqft.

Now that's nothing fancy, for sure. And I've got good subs, and Im not in Asheville market. But especially if he is going to labor much of this, he can get well under $130/square
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The place we use is a state wide average, so I agree with you. Doing a spec house like you up here would be close to 110 most likely.

for reference Nc median is like 117 sf


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CasterTroy said:
Slab?

Crawlspace?

Basement?

I'm budgeting $150 partial basement (like 1/3 the rest crawl, and garage slab of course)
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It doesn’t reference which because they use the previous year cost to complete all permitted new Home construction.

But 150 is a fair budget for any nice home. Depending on the area


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2300 sqft is decently large house, can you shrink it? This is going to be your permanent home?

Is it likely for power to go out much in that area, or is it urban enough that it won't be an issue? I like the idea of radiant floor heating as your primary heat source, and you've got a good source of fuel with the wood, but you don't have any heat without the circulation pump having power. Are you also going to have some sort of woodstove inside as well, or some sort of heating for when you aren't there to keep the wood boiler going?

From my past research (and it sounds like solid common sense), radiant floor heat as a primary heat source can be very efficient, but from an effectiveness standpoint the entire building envelope needs to be very well insulated and airtight. That may raise the cost up a not-insignificant amount, especially when you're talking about windows, and the tons of labor involved in caulking/airsealing all of the framing work, etc. I'd want to do that anyway given the climate, but the radiant floor heating might force your hand towards the higher dollar, higher quality end of the spectrum for build quality. Probably not spec-home grade.

I don't know what Alaska's energy code would mandate for fenestration ratings, but triple glazed casement/awning windows would be the only logical choice if I was building this house. I think any time you're talking about efficiency that you can throw single- and double-hung stuff out of consideration, and used fixed (non-operable) windows as much as possible depending on your cooling needs and egress requirements. Any time you can use a face seal (casement/awning) instead of a lossy sliding seal (single/double hung), or get rid of the operable seal altogether, you'll come out ahead for efficiency.
 
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Can 2300 SF still be called a cabin? :)

I'd do a LOT of planning and budgeting. I think you're going to run out of money in a hurry. I can't see 2300 SF being built for that. What is the market like there? I personally would just buy something existing if possible. I couldn't imagine building in an unfamiliar area with unfamiliar materials or methods.
 
obullfish said:
@ckruzer do you know any builders in Alaska? Got some really good friends in North Pole that could probably advise on who not to use if you are building around Fairbanks.
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Thanks man! Ill have to hit you up. Been awhile since lived in North Pole. Good point on the wood too. Forgot about that. Prob oil boiler is going to be best then.
 
Fabrik8 said:
2300 sqft is decently large house, can you shrink it? This is going to be your permanent home?

Is it likely for power to go out much in that area, or is it urban enough that it won't be an issue? I like the idea of radiant floor heating as your primary heat source, and you've got a good source of fuel with the wood, but you don't have any heat without the circulation pump having power. Are you also going to have some sort of woodstove inside as well, or some sort of heating for when you aren't there to keep the wood boiler going?

From my past research (and it sounds like solid common sense), radiant floor heat as a primary heat source can be very efficient, but from an effectiveness standpoint the entire building envelope needs to be very well insulated and airtight. That may raise the cost up a not-insignificant amount, especially when you're talking about windows, and the tons of labor involved in caulking/airsealing all of the framing work, etc. I'd want to do that anyway given the climate, but the radiant floor heating might force your hand towards the higher dollar, higher quality end of the spectrum for build quality. Probably not spec-home grade.

I don't know what Alaska's energy code would mandate for fenestration ratings, but triple glazed casement/awning windows would be the only logical choice if I was building this house. I think any time you're talking about efficiency that you can throw single- and double-hung stuff out of consideration, and used fixed (non-operable) windows as much as possible depending on your cooling needs and egress requirements. Any time you can use a face seal (casement/awning) instead of a lossy sliding seal (single/double hung), or get rid of the operable seal altogether, you'll come out ahead for efficiency.
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True dat. Going to try and shrink down to 1500 or 1700. 1400 is really our max with less a guest room. Good point on the wood. Thought of that too. And fish's comment on the wood, looks like oil boiler and inside wood stove are going to be the A and B systems.

As Mac pointed out - these climates reinvented airtight. Going to start out on faith the builders will be aware of this to, but going to have a trusted person make sure lots of silcon is used, in addition to the vapor issues.

From what I understand, triple pane is the standard, and the Frogs get the quad panes.

Thank you for the tips!
 
obullfish said:
Ak is the only place I’ve been where people put shag carpet on the walls for insulation. Also if you keep the outside looking unfinished and looking like a shithole your taxes are cheaper.
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Taxes are cheaper too if you buy a lot 50 miles from town and never tell anyone you built a hunting “shed” on it lmao
 
obullfish said:
Ak is the only place I’ve been where people put shag carpet on the walls for insulation. Also if you keep the outside looking unfinished and looking like a shithole your taxes are cheaper.
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Haha. Don’t think the woman would go for that. Barry convinced on the painted t111 lmao.
 
Loganwayne said:
It doesn’t reference which because they use the previous year cost to complete all permitted new Home construction.

But 150 is a fair budget for any nice home. Depending on the area


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But no slab costs for this. So the lack concrete like down here is a huge saver.
 
Loganwayne said:
The cost I gave you is the cost shown for building in Alaska so whatever Is standard there is snown in the estimated cost per sf


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Interesting. Worse case a lot of cash and a small loan. But really want to stay on budget as we are planning for function and simplicity. She is ok even with a square warehouse building and a small section turned into 5 square rooms for bed kitchen and LR. Haha. Hopefully with a lot of the extra walls and etc of a typical “home” we can be within budget. I’m prepared to get my bubble burst tho. Lol.

Will be making calls to builder this week to get some hard numbers and get everything mapped out as quick as possible.
 
Single story or two story? A two story will usually be more efficient per square foot in terms of surface-area-to-volume ratio than a single story, so usually lower heat loss, also less cost in truss and roof area and attic insulation. There are trade-offs there though, like boring looking houses.
 
Did anyone look at the link I posted above?

If I were building new, there is no way I wouldn’t follow what’s in that link.

No way I would build a log cabin style, it’s just not cost effective to try to build in enough rvalue without just building a house inside the cabin.
 
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