Arnold, CA…Our hope for you following along on our progress on Hewn Hill is that you will get an accurate look at what a project like this will entail. The biggest enemy on this project is just plain time. This is a minimal budget, but time intensive project. Like many of you I work 12 plus hour days on a local news outlet so project on Hewn Hill has to wait until our workday is done.

Today’s video is the realistic life of more wood which is a daily need. We also put down a bit of bark in the Barking Lot to keep the mud down with a bit of organic material & we worked on the tarp that is covering the entire cabin until we can get our roof finished.

Many projects are beautiful escapism. This one is not based in Canada or a far away remote place but in California. So our goal is to see what you can do in a realistic setting and within the constraints of our area.

Our first structure the Chainsaw Cabin is just 120 square feet and the largest structure you can have without a permit. We plan on pulling permits for larger structures starting in 2024.

The goal for the Chainsaw Cabin is to see if with just our hands, simple tools and time build something that will take care of a person’s basic needs.

These have not changed for millennia. The world is tech centric, frantic place but our basic needs have not changed. You need to be warm, protected from elements, be able to cook your meals, bath & take care of personal needs.

Our goal is to see if we can do this with almost no budget. The budget for the Chainsaw Cabin is to bring it in for under $1,000.

In addition to the cabin our goal is to see if you can using small solar systems, composting toilets, etc live a clean simple life with not only minimal cost and impact.

About The Chainsaw Cabin
The Chainsaw Cabin is our first building, a small 120 square feet shed/cabin on Hewn Hill. All lumber will be hand milled with a small inexpensive electric chainsaw. This is to see if anyone can build a small functional building with literally tools you can find at a garage sale and our only costs will be roofing, fasteners & glass for windows.

The Chainsaw Cabin will be single wall construction where the wallboards are a structural component of the build. Many of our primitive and pioneer building were constructed this way. The outside wallboard is also the interior board as well.

Henry David Thoreau’s cabin was only 10 x 15 and not much bigger than you can legally build today without a permit in most counties. For the Chainsaw cabin while it will only be 10 x 12 it will have a sleeping/storage loft. So if you are staying for a night or two at least you will have separate work, living & sleep areas.

In 1854 is cost the tiny home pioneer $28.13 to build his modest abode. With inflation that comes in at $962.80 in todays shrinking dollars. That is our goal to build our small structure with doors, windows and roofing for less adjusting for inflation than Henry did many years ago.

We are starting with outbuildings to get the property functional. Places to store tools, a solar shed & a place to sleep if need be. This is phase one and we hope to get that done this year starting with the Chainsaw Cabin then learning how to build a log structure on our next shed.

Next year, Lord willing we will start on our main two story, traditional log cabin built with logs from the property and probably a few other locally sourced ones as well.

About hewn.co
At Hewn we are going take you on a journey to see if it is still possible to build a functional, small homestead that anyone, even someone making minimum wage can build and own. We are going to try this in California no less. Join us as we attempt to build an off grid, solar powered, rustic, pioneer style homestead.

#OffGrid #TinyHome #HewnTV #TinyHouse #Pioneering #TinyCabin