Cabin Built by Jeff Waldman, Molly Fiffer, and Friends

We spent a year salvaging the big door and over half the windows, which we designed the cabin around. The rest of the design was informed by our lack of capabilities and by the constraints and logistics of the site and property. The build then took another year.

The solar-powered cabin was 280 sq. ft. plus a 100-sq. ft. loft. The deck tripled our square footage with the intention of opening the two large doors most of the year. The redwood timbers and siding came from a neighboring sawyer and the interior was mostly plywood with exposed doug fir timbers. Shelves were made from slabs of madrone we milled — trees cleared from the cabin site.

A hundred feet down the trail was an outhouse and the weekend property, shared among friends, also featured a series of suspended tree decks, elevated outdoor shower, wood-fired hot tub, and host of camp activities.

Unfortunately, it all burned in the fires of 2020. Cleanup was a group effort and a minor amount of rebuilding has happened since then. We built a new outhouse and just this last weekend a tiny A-frame, just big enough for a bed for two.

Here’s a little more context:

A longer video of the build and camp vibes

Tiny A-frame we just built this past weekend. I’ll post more photos, and maybe put together a short video, once we finish it this weekend. Still need to do a little trim and install a door.

My book TOOLS (from Chronicle Books) is now available for preorder here.

–Jeff Waldman