My Colorado Hunting Camp Project

Madman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
280
Location
Windsor, Colorado
About 7 years ago I purchased a little over 11 acres in the Rockies of Colorado. It was an old mining claim which never got released, and is surrounded by other remote mining claims which are in turn surrounded by BLM and National Forrest. I purchased it for my girls and I to be able to summer camp and potentially establish a hunting camp out of s this is my favorite area of Colorado. The previous owner tried to build his home on here, and went as far as installing a septic system and had a well drilled, but as he and other property owners got into a couple of pissing matches, restricted access especially after December, and a few other things he gave up and I purchased it.

In May of 22 I started planning out a cabin in my head and thinking what I would have to do to pull it off.....My girlfriend made some subtle suggestions of what I should do to keep her happy (and to be honest they were good ideas...a shower and a toilet).....and in August I started the build with the help of two friends for the rough construction and another ex navy Nuke buddy of mine (I was a Navy Nuke) helped me with some of the plumbing and wiring of the solar. Attached are pics of the process.

If you are reading this, want to do something similar but have doubts my advice is don't doubt...YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

Build 1.jpg
Leveled out the ground, did some Caber-toss stuff with the vertical poles and started the footprint.
Build 2.jpgBuild 3.jpg
Laying out the floor structure and the flooring.
Build 4.jpgBuild 5.jpgBuild 6.jpgBuild 7.jpgBuild 8.jpg
Build 9.jpgBuild 10.jpg

Framing her up.
This makes it look easier than it was.

Build 12.jpg
Dropping in the plumbing for the shower, sink, and toilet.
Build 13.jpgBuild 14.jpg
Roughed in plumbing.
Build 15.jpg
A little glorious view during construction...this was after the rough building was done, now I'm on electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall, and fireplace.
Build 16.jpgBuild 17.jpgBuild 18.jpg
Oh Yes! Glorious.


Build 19.jpgBuild 20.jpg
Drywall for clean look!
Build 21.jpg
Shower with the portable hot water heater...it works excellent!.

A worthy investment, and nice retreat, hunting camp, and was a lot of fun to build. I think the best part was the challenge and success of doing all on my own (For the most part anyways).
 

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How long do you expect that untreated subfloor and beams to last touching the dirt?
Longer than I have left in life....soil and weather are much different here than most understand...the sun will do far more damage than anything else...The soil doesn't retain water and as the site is right in the sun zone, there is rarely a snow dropping that will be around for more than a few days. The only material that is touching the ground are the treated vertical posts, and the treated 8x8's...all the subflooring is lifted up by brackets and not in contact.
 
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About 7 years ago I purchased a little over 11 acres in the Rockies of Colorado. It was an old mining claim which never got released, and is surrounded by other remote mining claims which are in turn surrounded by BLM and National Forrest. I purchased it for my girls and I to be able to summer camp and potentially establish a hunting camp out of s this is my favorite area of Colorado. The previous owner tried to build his home on here, and went as far as installing a septic system and had a well drilled, but as he and other property owners got into a couple of pissing matches, restricted access especially after December, and a few other things he gave up and I purchased it.

In May of 22 I started planning out a cabin in my head and thinking what I would have to do to pull it off.....My girlfriend made some subtle suggestions of what I should do to keep her happy (and to be honest they were good ideas...a shower and a toilet).....and in August I started the build with the help of two friends for the rough construction and another ex navy Nuke buddy of mine (I was a Navy Nuke) helped me with some of the plumbing and wiring of the solar. Attached are pics of the process.

If you are reading this, want to do something similar but have doubts my advice is don't doubt...YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

View attachment 288247
Leveled out the ground, did some Caber-toss stuff with the vertical poles and started the footprint.
View attachment 288249View attachment 288250
Laying out the floor structure and the flooring.
View attachment 288251View attachment 288252View attachment 288254View attachment 288255View attachment 288256
View attachment 288257View attachment 288258

Framing her up.
This makes it look easier than it was.

View attachment 288260
Dropping in the plumbing for the shower, sink, and toilet.
View attachment 288261View attachment 288262
Roughed in plumbing.
View attachment 288263
A little glorious view during construction...this was after the rough building was done, now I'm on electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall, and fireplace.
View attachment 288265View attachment 288267View attachment 288268
Oh Yes! Glorious.


View attachment 288269View attachment 288270
Drywall for clean look!
View attachment 288271
Shower with the portable hot water heater...it works excellent!.

A worthy investment, and nice retreat, hunting camp, and was a lot of fun to build. I think the best part was the challenge and success of doing all on my own (For the most part anyways).
Little slice of heaven
 
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