Progress of building my little cabin at my family's summer place

(written on 6.2.2020, updated on 26.10.2023)

About this webpage:

The page is written in English because I originally made it to present it to my non-Finnish friends. Also note that the loading of the images might take some time because they haven't been packed in any way. The page is also not mobile-friendly. This website is in no way a representation of my web development skills. This page was put together purely for presenting this project!

Some stats and info about the project:


Updates on the project and some things I would do differently the next time:


First plans of sketching the hut on the ground (09/2018)
Hauling wood to the building site (04/2020)
Started laying out the foundation, it's nothing really fancy but appears to be sufficient for this kind of light build
Making the pallets level. The pallets are forming the base of the structure.
Installed the 2 by 4s in the corners, each one is 200cm (05/2020)
Hauling some more wood
Installed two horizontal planks (06/2020)
Installed a couple more of the horizontal planks
Installed the first tall vertical plank, ~235cm
Installed the second tall vertical plank
it's starting to form out already!
Started attaching roof planks
Sawn roof planks, ~150cm
First portion of the roof from below
Same view from top
Some more progress on the roof and you can also notice the two more vertical planks which the main window will be between of
Started figuring out where to put the door I found on Facebook markeplace for 20€
Most of the roof planks have been installed
Door has been attached to another 200cm plank
Roof nearing completion
Installed a place for the main window frame to rest on
I had to make the roof planks have small gaps because I hadn't measured everything perfectly but it's not a big deal in a project like this
Attached the first wall portion!!
Now one side has wall and door!
The wall planks are from a children's playroom and they've been in an attic for like 30 years waiting to be used
Started to install the bitumen roof material (07/2020)
Removing the cover on the roof
Installed horizontal planks on the ends of the roof planks
First patch of roof material installed
Had to quit for the day because it was gonna rain
Started building a little overhang over the door
Installed some little supports to the bottom of the vertical 2x4s
Overhang is now in place
Roof from below
Roof is over 50% done
Roof shot
Installed two more horizontal 2x4s in both ends to make the structure firmer
Installed planks in the slanted portions of the roof end
The door even opens! And that's a positive thing because you no longer can easily enter through the walls
Second wall portion installed, it's 200cm long 22x100 planks
Third wall installation started, but you can also notice that half of my first wall has fallen off because apparently some of the screws I used were too weak
The third wall is slightly slanted as you might notice, this is due to me not planning it well enough. But I made a fix to it later on due to other reasons
This is when I'm just about to fix the broken wall
Trying to fit the window in its hole but it appeared that I had made the hole too small somehow
Here's a good overview of the roof from below
Interior starting to form out
It's starting to look like something
Still one wall missing, but at least the broken one is now fixed again
Now I've installed all of the roof material, it's not that pretty but at least it's watertight
Made a kinda cheap solution on the upper portion of the wall but whatever, at least it's not just an open hole anymore
Now all four walls are in place, I also decided to make another small window from plexiglass and 22x100 wood
There's no electricity in the place so I had to use a generator for the powertools I used for making the window hole larger
Now window is in place. The window had a rotten portion but I cut it out and replaced it with a fresh piece of wood and glued it on. Sadly no documentation of that action.
This window is from an old sauna hut which got demolished but I got to save the window and had to pay 0€ for it. Here you can see the replaced portion, the horizontal piece in the bottom, on the interior side.
Started doing the 12V electrical wiring
Wood hauling on my roof racks (09/2020)
Hauling plywood for the floor and met an old Saab
Spontaneously bought a couple little signs for the door, it says "Smoking prohibited" in Finnish and in Swedish
Installed my 1€ temperature meter to my window
Now the floor is in place. It's not perfect but it's good enough. Might paint it later on. You can see the car battery and some led strip which I used in my electric system but later I mounted them better
Moody picture in the darkness of the autumn
Installed a fuse box
Installed my 1950s bakelite light switches which I got from the demolished sauna hut as well, for 0€
Installed my 70s kitchen/WC light which I got for 10€. You can also see the locking mechanism for the DIY window I made
Installed the car battery in it's final position and a master fuse. This wall has a plywood on the interior because I had a spare piece of plywood. There's no insulation behind it though because this is not supposed to be winter livable. That might change at some point tho.
First furniture
Started installing the exterior decoration planks
Also laid some sand around the hut to make it less muddy to walk around
Also dug a hole for the water line coming from the well to the sink in the sauna building and put some sand over it so it's not annoying me anymore
Made the remaining pallet my veranda
Installed entertainment systems. The Saab rear heater switch is to turn the radio power on or off, so that it won't drain the battery when in standby
There it is, sitting in the beautiful Finnish nature landscape (10/2020)
Only needs some paint and the rest of the exterior decoration planks but those are mainly just cosmetic stuff so at this point I consider the hut finished
Set up my gear for the first, cold night in the hut. The thing on the smaller window's sill is a radio antenna
Woke up after a decent night sleep, I kept this kerosene heater on at times so I didnt freeze to death. I woke up to rain though but not too early
Visiting the cottage before christmas, there's a little bit of snow (12/2020)
There had been loads of snowfall in Finland for the past week so I went to look at my cabin and see how it's doing
It wasn't that cold though
Did snow work for my little cottage, even though I wasn't gonna stay there, it was just a day visit

The project is mostly finished but there's some little cosmetic stuff I still have to do. That includes attaching the rest of the decoration planks on the exterior wall as well as painting some surfaces.

But you are able to stay in the cabin for the night, etc. so I thought it's finished enough to post about

© Vilho Syvähuoko 2021-2023