625sq ft I want your feedback on a cabin

I'm going to have to get a hold of someone at the planning commission office. Apparently NB used the national code and applies its own exemptions. This 625sq ft rule is one of them. 
This is a summary of another regional planning office in the same province but it's pretty vague.

First off, New Brunswick has an interesting legal framework for building and construction. Under current provincial regulations (Regulation 2021-02, clause 8), those living in rural areas may be able to construct a small personal-use residential structure of up to 625 square feet of occupied space – a camp, essentially – without having to meet building codes, as long as it is not used for "public congregatation." (Note this 625 square feet is not the footprint alone; so, for example, loft spaces are included in the calculation of area.) Any structure rented either on a long- or short-term basis is NOT exempt from the Code, and must meet all egress, structural and life-safety requiremen

As for the ultra modern designs. I'm just Leary of 90* angles. Ice build up does very funny things in the winter and good roof covering that covers the whole structure can solve a lot of issues. 
Also as guessed at above I'm kinda conservative when it comes to building design. 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

Just out of curiosity, why is it so important to sidestep the building code?

Ok, none of us like regulations. And there can be some cost increases (which aren't usually prohibitive).  But long term, building to the code will likely give you many more options. 
 

First off, you will get the eyes of a professional inspector to confirm you've done things well (since it's your first time).  Later, it could significantly impact your resale value. But even if you decide to never sell, it gives you the option to rent it on AirBnB. Trust me, this can be VERY valuable (I have a lake house with a $200K mortgage on it that is being paid for ENTIRELY by guests. I get to use it for free whenever I want to).

Im not sure I see the value of sidestepping the building code just because it's annoying. 

You said part of this was a bit of land speculation...

If I was a potential future buyer and was looking at a building with no foundation, no permits for its construction, and no inspections for the work completed, I would not consider it a value added to the property. I would consider it an expense of a shack I potentially needed to tear down and have hauled away. 
 

I love the idea of a small cabin getaway for weekend family vacations. Just don't see the value of so many contortions to avoid a few inspections. 

The regs you posted say:   Any structure rented either on a long- or short-term basis is NOT exempt from the Code, and must meet all egress, structural and life-safety requirement  

I'm gonna agree with SVrex this could really hurt you.  This might make the house unsellable and potentially un-mortgageable.  Further more, imagine Mr. Money Bags wants to buy it.  His plan is to add-on and make this a 3,000 sqft retreat, but...  He can not add on a single sqft because making it larger makes it not code worthy.

If you make your place "weird" it will be hard to sell and not really code-worthy makes it weird.  

In reply to SV reX :

Mostly because the cost of construction and the cost of taxes to follow. 
 

I'll likely have it framed by a local contractor who's a friend of mine. So it will be safe. If it gets electrical and plumbing they will likely be done by pros as well. 
 

I'm not anti regulations I'd just like something small. 
 

I do not want the hassle of a short term rental. Even if one weekend a month would pay the mortgage. 
 

In 15 years the 20k camp on the lot will be a small part of the value of the land. 

In reply to John Welsh :

...and WHY would ANYONE want to build ANYTHING that didn't meet the egress, structural, and life safety requirements?

And why would ANYONE want their kids to stay there?

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I didn't want the hassle of short term rentals either at a different time in my life. I do now. 
 

Things change. 

Truthfully, even if I buy the land now I likely won't be building until 2025. I've got time but I don't really want to spend 150k to build a small cottage. Nor do I have that kind of money. But given a couple years I could save up 15k to put up a camp then pick away at finishing it out of pocket. 
 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

So why can't you build it slow like that in stages WITH a permit?

SV reX said:

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I didn't want the hassle of short term rentals either at a different time in my life. I do now. 
 

Things change. 

Things sure do change. That's why I'm looking to buy now. Most people building in the area now are building 500k-1M "cottages". It's driving up the lot prices like crazy. I can swing the lot not and still have breathing room financially. If I ad 150k to the mortgage that's not the case + insurance + a big tax bill for non primary residence + the upkeep on a big structure .

I'm extremely frugal and this land deal is huge for me. I can't see justifying the cost of a big cottage in the next 5 years. 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I didn't say big, and I didn't say $150K

SV reX said:

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I didn't say big, and I didn't say $150K

Ok, I'm going to go all Canadian and apologize. Not sure where I picked up building bigger from your comments. You know I think it will be a valuable exercise to see the cost difference in materials between building with rough cut vs regular lumber as I think that would be the single largest saving point. I think you may be onto something on the additional resale from having something that can be added to...

Good food for though, again sorry if I came off as a bit combative. 

Are there minimum size requirements for something that you do build with proper permitting, etc?

In reply to 1SlowVW :

No problem!

Unless you have access to a mill at a discount, I don't see the price difference being prohibitive on a building this small. And rough cut material has its own difficulties in construction 

i'll be interested to hear the price difference.

A friend of mine once said "they stopped building dirt a long time ago". You can put an exclamation point on that for dirt next to water. If you can swing buying the lot I'd say do that and figure out the rest when you can. 

In reply to SV reX :

I have friends with portable band saw mills I could rent for quite cheap. Not much for big trees on site other than poplar though...which isn't ideal. I could raid my fathers wood lot and come out with half a dozen nice spruce then bring them to be sawed. Not sure if it's worth the hassle. One of my work customers also runs a mill on the side. It's quite common up here in the boonies. 
 

Nick, 

My single greatest motivator is that I've seen prices just keep going up and up and up. If I don't by the dirt now my paycheque may never get this close to me being comfortable with the purchase again. This is the area I have family and friends in so it's where I want to be or as close to it as I can afford. 

1SlowVW said:

Truthfully, even if I buy the land now I likely won't be building until 2025. I've got time but I don't really want to spend 150k to build a small cottage. Nor do I have that kind of money. But given a couple years I could save up 15k to put up a camp then pick away at finishing it out of pocket. 
 

 

Now now now everyone take big deep breaths and count to ten.  No need to argue about a "if I Buy it" dream.

  Borrow a camper and visit that place with the kids. Fish camp etc.  When have the land paid off you can decide if you and the misses want to build a cabin. Why sweat it now?

In reply to MyMiatas :

Already performed breathing exercises and made my apologies for any real of perceived confrontational slights.

I have a small hybrid camper now so I'm not worried about using the land as early as this summer once a pad can be cleared and a lane put in.

Really I'm just more interested in alternate small cabin designs and I was shocked at how little I was finding online. I guess I'll have to order a book or two and go to my local hardware store. 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I think John is onto something. At the size you are considering, you should be looking at Tiny Houses, container homes, and pocket neighborhoods. You don't have to build to those constraints, but they will give you ideas for very small layouts. 
 

The plan books will usually have cabins that are a bit bigger. 

In reply to SV reX :

both of these would need to be scaled a bit, but maybe the answer is a larger downstairs with only the master bedroom upstairs. After all I wife and I are both short. 
 

From the just a thought file, is there building movers that sell buildings for moving? As an example local to me there is Nickel Brothers and they are a Google search away.

In reply to 1SlowVW :

What do the ordinances say about manufactured homes (mobile homes)? I would think that most tiny houses require a concrete slab to sit on which would be the cabin's finished floor or a crawlspace if it has a wood framed floor (You need access to the underside of a wood floor for repairs and plumbing). If you can use a mobile home, find a trailer frame and build your tiny cabin from scratch on it. Most single wides are 14' wide and you can shorten the frames as needed.

Later on you can encase the thing inside a larger structure. (Just kidding, I have seen that done. Never do that) 

Next, you have to figure out water and sewage.

In reply to Rons :

Not sure but definitely worth looking into I suppose.

Volvo,

I'm not sure about mini homes but I known most people just use travel trailers then have utilities run to a baby barn. Property is taxed on the baby barn as it's the only permanent structure.

Also thinking about this option now. Although I realize framing alone is only a portion of the building cost.

Garage precut post and beam frame kit on Kijiji

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-buy-sell-other/saint-john/garage-precut-post-and-beam-frame-kit/1625869618?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sms

Rons said:

From the just a thought file, is there building movers that sell buildings for moving? As an example local to me there is Nickel Brothers and they are a Google search away.

Those guys often have houses on the '$1.00 for the house and you pay to move it' deal.

I used to drive past one of their yards every day.

There's a few YouTube videos of guys using the bigger Home Depot shed kits for cabins or tiny homes.

We're thinking about it for a farm store sometime down the road.