Cabin House Plan 452-3 1015 Sq Ft, 2 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Floor, 0 Garage

The High Sierra Cabin is an award winning design that has been featured in Sunset magazine (August, 2006) and Tahoe Quarterly magazine (2005 special mountain home issue). The original design overlooks a rugged wilderness high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This off grid cabin is isolated and snowed in much of the year. It is used almost every weekend, has self sufficient power and heating and is protected from deep snows and vandalism. The design is patterned after the humble mountain utility buildings common in the region. The owners required a rugged fireproof high security cabin contrasted with a very bright modern interior. The structure is made from structural insulated panels which were prefabricated then shipped to the job site ready to assemble. This process considerably shortened the on site construction time in this remote location. When a building project is many miles, (and out of cell phone range) from the nearest supplies it is convenient to have hundreds parts to handle (prefabricated S.I.P.) instead of tens of thousands (regular wood frame construction). Outside the S.I.P. walls are clad with zinc aluminum corrugated metal and the S.I.P. roof is topped off with standing steam metal roofing for textural variety. The surrounding porch, which nearly doubles the usable floor area, is constructed of native douglas fir and ironwood decking. The detailing is intentionally simple and unembellished. The windows and gliding glass doors are secured with sliding shutters secured from the interior. One hidden keyed lock permits access. Inside, the furnishings and detailing is Swedish Modern with laminate flooring, cable railings, and simple douglas fir trim. Clearstory windows and vent skylights give an extraordinary interior brightness to enhance the winter light and accentuate the art filled colorful interior. Electric power is provided by solar photovoltaic panels on the roof with battery storage. Propane is used for cooking, backup for passive solar water preheating and for the backup electrical generator. The S.I.P. weather skin is an excellent foil for the deep snows, heavy winds, and insulates so well that a small Scandinavian wood stove easily and quickly heats the interior. This tough yet elegant cabin requires very little maintenance and provides maximum comfort, security and fireproofing in an extreme climate. This cabin can be adapted to any aesthetic taste or neighborhood by finishing the outside with any kind of roofing from shingle to tile and the exterior walls with stucco, wood, cement fiber, lap siding, shingles or stucco. By using colored metal roofing and siding the design can take on the hues of sky, forest, desert or even camo if one desires.