Living off-grid often means building, repairing, and improving your space yourself. Cabin projects are a hands-on part of self-reliant living, whether you’re starting from scratch or upgrading an existing structure.
This section covers practical cabin projects including small builds, repairs, layout improvements, and functional upgrades designed for off-grid cabins and rural properties. You’ll find ideas that focus on durability, simplicity, and working with limited power, tools, or materials.
These projects are meant to be realistic, achievable, and adaptable — perfect for anyone living full-time or seasonally in a cabin setting.
Introduction: Restoring the Small Cabin When we first saw the small cabin, a tree had fallen across the roof and packrats had clearly moved in. It had been abandoned for years, but beneath the mess we could see good bones. This post documents the earliest stages of restoring our small off-grid cabin — from assessing … Read more
This post documents the very beginning of our off-grid cabin journey — how we found the property, what we walked into, and why we decided to take it on. This project became the foundation for everything we now share about off-grid living. If you’re new here, you can explore the bigger picture in our guide … Read more
An update on the Small Log Cabin It’s been awhile since I’ve updated on the small log cabin. Over the past few years we’ve been enjoying snowmobiling up to the cabin during the winter, and honestly, it’s become one of our favorite things to do. We live not far from the Great Canadian Trail, so … Read more
Our latest project has been putting an outdoor wood-burning stove out near the small cabin with a cover, so we can cook on it in the spring and fall. Of course, we will use it in the winter as well to warm up or just to enjoy. The small cabin already has a wood stove … Read more
This post is part of our ongoing cabin journey — you can start from the beginning in Finding Our Off-Grid Cabin: The Beginning of Our Cabin Project. This past summer was a challenge. With forest fires in the area and road closures limiting access, we weren’t able to get up to the cabin as much … Read more
The basement walls and floors were pretty dirty when we started.
2025 Update: We have taken the wood stove out and put in a propane furnace. It’s wonderful and the cabin is now for our guests
The cabin is only 10 x 11 so there was no need to leave the big cast iron wood stove that was in there. A small wood stove will do the job we need it to do.
There are all kinds of small wood stoves out there, we are trying to recycle and use what we have so spending money was not part of the plan. We found a larger wood stove in the cabin, but the heat from it would have blown us out of there, so we decided to buy a cheaper wall tent stove.
The existing front door is damaged so we will be taking an exterior door from the addition to the main cabin and use it.
The additions will slowly get taken down and we will be re using whatever building supplies we can.
There are so many things to do on this property, for sure there is no shortage of projects. We decided to start working on the small cabin again and try to get it ready for winter trips up, but before we could fully focus on that, there were still a few things at the main … Read more
Installing a metal roof on this small cabin was the next step after tearing off the old roof. Once the old shingles and insulation were removed, the structure could finally be prepped and made ready for the new metal roofing. Before putting the metal on, the roof needed proper ventilation and insulation to prevent moisture … Read more
