DIY Home Building with Salvaged Materials

The tiny house movement has led to very creative use of space to meet our living needs and desires in a few square feet. That generally means fewer resources used for everything from heating and cooling to furnishing and decorating. But many who practice DIY home building don’t stop there: they also incorporate reused/recycled materials into their structures. That makes not only for an environmentally-friendly build, but also a low-cost one, as these materials are often available for the cost of picking them up.

Good buddy Jo Borras found just such a concept at Derek Diedricksen’s blog Relax Shacks, and shared it with his readers at Insteading. I don’t know that Diedricksen’s $300 cabin would work for year-round living, but it’s definitely a great DIY option for a getaway space. Take a look at Jo’s full post below, including the great photos, and let us know what you think: would you consider building a tiny cabin like this?

This Tiny, Off Grid Cabin Was Built For Just $300

Building an off the grid, tiny house style cabin is a dream for many Americans, but money is always a huge obstacle to putting up any building. At least, that’s the conventional wisdom. Derek Diedricksen, however, doesn’t subscribe to that notion, and built his tiny, off grid cabin for just $300 using recycled and found materials.

Really.

“the cabin was made with a large portion of recycled and free materials, and I was thereby able to build it for only $300 USD,” Diedricksen explains on his blog, Relax Shacks. “Counting all the decor and such- a few items I made, some Ikea stuff, and free and/or yard sale items- the decor budget was under $100. Its a mere 8′ by 8′, covered in a combination of metal and (clear) Tuftex polycarbonate roofing, and built atop a base of local cedar from (a local lumber mill).”

Diedricksen has built several tiny house type cabins throughout the US, and offers a number of workshops to help teach people the skills they need to build their own off grid cabins out of inexpensive- and, sometimes, free!- materials. His next workshop is in November …

Tiny House Workshop

… but if you’re not yet convinced that Derek’s site is worth checking out, take a few seconds to take a look at this $300 cabin he calls his “backwoods reading room”, below. If you can’t get enough of it, click here to check out even more photos over at Derek’s site. Enjoy!