Don’t Buy an Off Grid Cabin Build it! A little advice to save yourself some money on your off grid cabin build. Don’t buy retail lumber. Invest the money into a portable sawmill and mill your own lumber from the trees on your land. You’ll save tens of thousands of dollars on lumber costs.
The November 2014 issue of my magazine I did a good article on Building A Cabin On A Budget. It will save you tens of thousands of dollars on your cabin build!
You can build a log cabin for less than $10k in tools and equipment instead of buying lumber to build with. Invest in the tools! Not the lumber!
Buy land with plenty of timber to harvest for building your cabin. When you’re done harvesting, simply plant more trees to replace the ones you cut down. You need about 50-100 logs on average to build a 500-1000 square foot cabin.
Most people just want a small cabin, and if it’s your first build you should build small anyway to make it a bit easier and simpler. It’s a learning experience an the experience you learn on your first build will allow you to build a bigger and better cabin for your next home. Then you can turn the old small cabin into a guest house, mother-in-law suite, or rent it out on AirBNB for an income.
So yeah…don’t buy lumber. Never pay retail for lumber if you can help it. You’ll still have to buy the fixtures and hardware, wire and pipe to install your electrical and plumbing, but the largest cost of the build is materials and labor. Labor can be as much as 50% or more of the build cost. Materials is the other half.
So save as much money as you can and build your own cabin from the lumber on your land instead of buying building materials.
You will save much more money and gain the building experience to build a bigger and better off grid cabin later on down the off grid road.
The Real Costs of a Cabin Build
Here’s the truth: The two biggest costs of building a cabin are materials and labor. Materials often eat up about half the budget, and labor can easily make up the other half. But if you’re willing to put in the work yourself and cut your own lumber, you’re slashing those costs in a big way.
When you think about the cost of building a cabin, it really boils down to two main things: materials and labor.
These two categories can easily eat up 80-90% of your entire budget. Labor alone can account for 40-50% of the total cost, and materials make up the other 40-50%. That’s almost everything. Now, imagine cutting out both of those expenses. That’s where the real savings are.
Here’s how it works: Doing the labor yourself means you’re not paying someone $50-$100 an hour to do work you can learn with a little effort. Yes, it takes time, energy, and determination, but it’s also a skill that sticks with you for life. And let’s face it—when you’re living off-grid, self-reliance is kind of the whole point.
On the materials side, milling your own lumber is the game-changer. A portable sawmill isn’t just a tool; it’s a money machine. Instead of shelling out thousands for overpriced lumber from the store, you’re creating your own building materials from the trees on your property. It’s an upfront investment that pays off in spades. Plus, when you harvest responsibly and plant replacement trees, you’re creating a renewable resource for future projects.
Now, I get it—this all sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But it’s work that pays off.
For example, if you’re new to construction, don’t let that intimidate you. Start small and build your skills. Even if you hire a pro to teach you for a weekend, that $500-$1,000 investment in learning will save you tens of thousands over the course of your homesteading journey. It’s knowledge you’ll use forever, whether you’re building a cabin, a shed, or even your dream off-grid home.
This is about saving money by removing the two largest costs of building a home. Labor and materials. Labor typically costs about 40-50% of the total build cost. Materials also cost 40-50% of the total build cost. Do you see how much money you can save? It’s a simple idea, but it’ll take a lot of work and planning to make it a success. If you have no skill in building and don’t know how, start small, get some help from a professional.
PROTIP: WHEN YOU HIRE THE PRO TO TEACH YOU DON’T HIRE THE “I KNOW A GUY” FRIEND OF A FRIEND THAT WORKS CONSTRUCTION!” Don’t do that. I would hire a REAL PROFESSIONAL licensed contractor with decades of experience, and pay them to help teach me how to do it.
How I would do it is simple…I’d say something like:
“Hey, let me ask you something, this is gonna sound weird, but you have experience in this area and I don’t…I need some help building a shed/cabin and want to learn. Can you help? I’ll hire you to build this shed/cabin, pay you $500/day for the weekend and you teach me what I need to know how to build a little 300-500 square foot shed/cabin. Can we do it this weekend?”
Simple easy, and if they say no or they act flaky, just move on to the next one. There are hundreds of local contractors in a hundred mile radius around your property, find one.
It’s not about the shed. What you’re doing is learning how to build.
You’re not paying $500/day for them to build you a shed/cabin. It’s about the building techniques. It’s about the experience. It’s about the knowledge. Hire someone that’s got 20-30 years of building experience. Avoid the fly-by-night self proclaimed “contractors”. You want a professional, someone that knows their stuff. A good contractor will answer your questions and be professional and courteous and most will be willing to help. They may want more money though depending on the going rate in your area. $500/day may not be enough. $1k a day might land you a very good contractor with 20-30 years of experience that they’re willing to share with you. This is an investment into the success of your future off grid homestead because you’ll use the skills you learn forever. You’re not trying to compete with them…you just want to build your own larger home or log cabin one day. The shed/cabin is practice, and will double as an income stream later.
This $1k is an investment in a hands-on high intensity learning course to teach you how to build a very simple shed cabin in a few days using power tools and your own portable sawmill. It would help if you already have the lumber milled. If you don’t know how to do that, most sawmill companies will teach you the basics when you buy one of their sawmills.
If you’ve never even felled trees with a chainsaw before, hire a logger to teach you for a weekend at the $500/day rate. This seems like a lot of money, but trust me, I’d rather pay someone $500 to teach me knowledge that I will keep forever, than waste $500 on lumber paying retail prices at big box stores.
Which is more valuable to you? Knowledge and skill, or paying someone to do it for you? If you’ve got the money to waste, go for it. But most people don’t have that kind of money to throw around. hence the whole reason for building my own cabin.
To me, the knowledge is much more valuable because I will use it on my homestead forever and I don’t have to depend on anyone else to do it for me.
save tens of thousands of dollars on your off-grid cabin build? Stop shopping for overpriced retail lumber and start thinking smarter. Here’s the deal: don’t buy lumber. Invest in a portable sawmill instead, and mill your own lumber right from the trees on your land. That’s where the real savings are.
Retail lumber? Forget it. That’s for people who like throwing money away. Lumber prices are crazy, and with a little upfront investment in the right tools, you can cut your costs down to almost nothing. Seriously. A portable sawmill pays for itself fast.
Why Mill Your Own Lumber?
Here’s the science: Trees grow on land. If you buy land with timber, you’ve already got the raw material to build your cabin. A 500-1,000 square foot cabin takes about 50-100 logs, depending on your design. Instead of buying those logs processed and marked up at a store, just mill them yourself. You’ll save thousands. Probably tens of thousands.
And guess what? After you’ve harvested your timber, plant more trees to replace them. It’s sustainable. It’s smart. And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than shelling out for pre-cut lumber at a big-box store.
The Point Is To Start Small, Then Think Big
If you’re new to this, don’t try to build some massive luxury lodge right out of the gate. Start small. Build a simple cabin—300-500 square feet. That’ll teach you what works, what doesn’t, and give you confidence for your next build. Plus, smaller cabins are easier, faster, and less stressful.
Once you’ve got that experience under your belt, you can tackle a bigger cabin down the road.
PROTIP: Your first cabin won’t go to waste. It can become a guest house, a mother-in-law suite, or even a rental property on Airbnb. Imagine your little cabin earning you passive income while you work on your dream off-grid home.
Tools Over Materials
Invest in the tools, not the lumber. A portable sawmill isn’t just an expense; it’s an investment. One that saves you a fortune and gives you control over the quality of your materials. Plus, you get the satisfaction of knowing you built your home—literally—from the ground up.
So, yeah. Don’t buy lumber. Never pay retail for it if you can help it. Build your own cabin from the resources on your land, save a ton of money, and gain the skills to build bigger and better cabins down the road.
Off-grid living isn’t just about surviving; it’s about thriving smart. Get out there, make it happen, and save your hard-earned cash for something better than overpriced two-by-fours.
HAPPY OFF GRIDDING!
May all your off grid dreams come true!
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NOTE: Always check the local, state and federal laws governing building and land use. Do your due diligence. Hire a professional if you don’t know how to do something.
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LX50START Portable Sawmill – Cost $3k
14″-48″ Portable Aluminum Chainsaw Saw Mill – Cost $149
