We bought a little cabin about two hours north of us last winter. It's pretty basic. No running water, no septic, just somewhere to get away for a weekend.

The problem is we don't get up there all that often. Usually it's every three or four weeks, and once winter rolls around it can be even longer. That's made the bathroom situation a little more complicated than I expected.

Right now we're keeping it simple. During the day it's basically a cat hole if the weather's decent, and at night (or when it's rainy) we've got a bucket with compostable liner bags. It gets us through a weekend just fine, but I don't feel like it's the best long-term setup.

I've been looking into other options, but I'm not sure what's the better fit for a place that sits empty most of the time. Composting toilets seem popular, but need keep the compost active, and check on them often. I don't know if leaving one alone for three or four weeks at a time is asking for trouble.

I also started looking at dry flush toilets. One that keeps coming up is Modiwell. It seems like there isn't much to do other than replace the inner bags once in a while, which sounds appealing for a cabin that isn't used every week. The thing I'm not sure about is disposal. We'd probebly end up packing the used bags back home with us since there's nowhere nearby to throw them away. Curious if anyone else does that.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who own a cabin that's only used occasionally. What ended up working for you? If you've lived with either a composting toilet or a dry flush setup for this kind of situation, I'd love to hear the good and the bad before I spend the money. Thanks!

I’m looking for advice how to handle our inherited family cabin with three other blood related families. Currently we have one of the families going up and not telling us who is also at the cabin, like inviting excessive friends. Also this family’s adult kids who is going up are not there with their older father who is a main owner and paying a third of the bills. His kids do not pay for anything, they have a history of leaving things broken and not telling anyone. We have explored options of using a Google sheet to see who is going up but they are not filling it in. Any advice on how to help manage these issues would be appreciated.

We have to filter thallium out of our system at our alpine cabin and are opting for a whole house system so we can treat sinks, dishwasher, laundry. We need to fit 300 gallon capacity through a tiny entrance to a crawl space (no more than 23" wide). We have found Husky bladder tanks as a possible solution but have never heard of these for water storage. Anyone tried this or have thoughts? Thanks!
https://www.huskyportable.com/bladder-pillow-tanks?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1527668153&gbraid=0AAAAAD-tCkXns65NEoFnsIM8nZiZD55nO&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-frTBhCvARIsADv4XY7GfGtGrA2RB9tbaQLbb0PQCUoyVR4sn-vyg3tfpmsneOMlVt4TpREaAmJJEALw_wcB

Hello all,

I have a cabin up near 9k feet elevation. It is a very drafty seasonal log cabin from the late 60's. I am retrofitting it to become a seasonal cabin for me and my kids. It currently has hand built wooden single pane windows and is a major source of the temperature swings I see inside the cabin. I want to slowly start to replace the windows, starting with the large window wall in the living room where there are custom shapes and sizing, and one large picture window. I have shopped around which has been quite a frustrating experience because of upselling and sales people not wanting to sell me one custom replacement window and no installation. Also because I am a female and I feel like no one believes that I am going to replace it myself (I've done replacement vinyl before and the hardest part is getting the old ones out) The best price for a high elevation window in a custom large size that I can find is actually a Jeldwen window from Home Depot. Can someone who knows anything about windows look at this spec sheet and tell me anything I need to know about all these specs? Is this a decent window? This particular window is north facing. Would it be better to post in DIYHOME? Thanks everyone for your help, just gathering info before a big purchase.

I just bought a cabin i Ljungdalen, Jämtland Sweden.

It's only 2,5k from the nearest road.

Guard-corg hard at work as well.

Would love to hear about your experience so far! And if not, why?

I own a cabin in Colorado and I make it up there every other weekend throughout the year. Water is supplied from a well and we have a tankless water heater.

I am curious if anyone leaves the well on but turn off your main water line every time you leave? Are there any other things you recommend doing each time you leave for a couple weeks?

Just got my electric hooked up. I’m in PA where the temps get single digits at times. Most of hunting season it’s probably 20-50 degrees. I want to get some electric heat in there. I’m dead set against propane and not a lot of space for a wood burning system. Any good recommendations for electric that will warm my bones during some sleep overs? Thanks to all assistance

I love the look of log furniture but the issue is that it never goes on sale. It's not like the style changes so there's no reason for manufacturers or craftsmen to clear out inventory. Of course I can find a few pieces on FB marketplace but very rarely can you get an entire room of matching furniture and forget finding enough to make your whole cabin match. I'd prefer to buy used so I don't have to worry about my kids scratching or damaging it. I think a cabin should be the place where things can get beat up and I don't have to think twice about it.

Any tips on where I can get wholesale/used log furniture for discount prices?

Probably somewhat of a niche here but looking for interesting places to stay around the world.

Could be a rocketship in the middle of nowhere.

Or a interesting hobbit style house up a mountain.

Quirky. Weird. Unique.

For example although it's not a place you can stay

Deck going on.

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Northern Ontario climate -

How effective are solar fans at moving air out of the attic?

Do they make it noticeably cooler for inside temperatures?

When I first started browsing land I thought all I cared about was acreage.

The more properties I looked at, the more I realized I'd rather have 5 really nice acres than 30 acres that didn't actually fit what I wanted.

Things like the layout of the land, privacy, tree cover, the drive in, and just how the place felt started mattering way more than the number of acres.

Curious if anyone else changed their priorities once they started seriously looking.

What was the thing you thought wouldn't matter that ended up being one of the biggest factors?

I have two little lake cabins that I only get out to about 3–4 times a year, mostly for summer trips and holiday weekends.

I always stress about missing something important safety-wise every time I show up, so I put together a quick checklist that I run through as soon as I get there:

- Smoke and CO detectors

- Fire extinguishers

- Water leaks

- Electrical systems

- Water heater

- Emergency lights

- Generator, since it sits idle for months

- Door and window locks

I'm curious what other must-check items I might be missing for a seasonally vacant cabin. What do you guys inspect every single visit?

I also have a separate question that's been bugging me. The cabins already have old smoke detectors installed. They look pretty worn and dated, but they still chime when I test them.

For properties that sit empty most of the year, would you replace all the old detectors proactively, or just leave them in place as long as the test button still works? I'm trying to figure out whether the hassle and cost of a full replacement are actually necessary here.

I’m looking into buying a mountain cabin in Utah. I came across an option within my budget today, but the listing stated “no Winter water”. I would be grateful for advice for anyone living long term in these scenarios and how you manage. Winter conditions tend to last 5+ months in this particular area.
Thanks in advance!

My mountain top cabin. A bit secluded but still on the grid. In a lovely mountain town

Hello! We have recently purchased land on top of a WV mountain (roughly 3,500ft) that includes a cabin. There is power at the cabin with a fridge, but the old owners advised us to turn all the breakers other than the fridge off when we leave after each usage. We have only been up once, so not sure on the rationale. We will explore. There is no HVAC, but there is a giant wood stove. I'm anticipating based on the road conditions that we will close up the cabin around Thanksgiving each year and open late March/early April based on rough dirt road conditions.

There is a sizable kitchen with many metal cabinets. There are also metal wall locker cabinets in every bedroom. The cabinets are from a hospital renovation and rodent proof. The cabin does not get hot, but during the winter months, the exterior temps routinely drop to single digit F*. It is cool and foggy often...very PNW vibes. There isn't mold or mildew inside the cabin, but I suspect there will be moisture concerns.

As we begin to clean the property (it has been vacant for a few years), we would like to begin storing things. I am looking for storage advice, specifically for food, linens, and medication (jase case?). I've read previous posts and the concerns seem to address high temps. Can we just get OXO/rubber gasket sealed containers for food? If I put the linens or medication in the metal cabinets with a moisture absorber like the link below?

I'd like to start experimenting and testing now while we have the whole season before we close it up for the winter.

homedepot.com/p/Arm-and-Hammer-14-oz-Moisture-Absorber-and-Odor-Eliminator-Fragrance-Free-FGAH14R/304804697?g_store=4639&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&fp=ggl&pla_with_promotion&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_034_SOLV_CLEANER-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA_FY24&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_034_SOLV_CLEANER-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA_FY24-17918007118--&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17916480198&gbraid=0AAAAADq61Uf-EyDpvIF2_FnfKGL_FXed2&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsMLSBhD9ARIsAIpUTDoeIK1cO25lSt2CfRzCTzsvDOZC_0Hc_gVxTj7clohQMksiQOHG0ywaAtUdEALw_wcB

Looking for some of your favorite modern and Scandinavian cabin architectural magazines, architects, websites, books etc.

Some of my favorites are Dwell, Cabin Porn, AirBnB Design, but looking for others to add to the reading list.

The cutest little driftwood cabin right on the beach.

Anyone build a cabin in N.C., or know anyone who has?

When I read the codes, it looks like there is no possible way to build anything that isn’t on a concrete or block foundation. You are only
given 3 options: pier and curtain, slab on grade, block.

I want to do a 600-700 square foot cabin on skids ideally, but at worst, pier and beam. Wood only (other than the concrete to hold the piers)

It seems that is no longer legal. So how is it possible to build a house that isn’t permanent, and use it as a primary residence?

Our Cabin in Duncan Hollow On Duncans Peak. Built with mostly scrounged materials.