Derksen made barns/cabins/sheds?

[Lebowski]

Anyone here own a Derksen built structure?

I am thinking of buying a 10X20 cabin and am wondering what you all thought about them, if the quality is good and they hold up well or not. Have found a couple reviews online but not much. I know they have dealerships all over Texas so I was hoping I'd have found more but figured someone here may have one or be more familiar with them.

Thanks.

 

[Vaquero]

Gimme a day or so.
My buddy got a cabin delivered last fall.
It's really nice. Not sure on the brand though. Came from DFW area.

 

[V-Tach]

I have a Derksen 12X20 building I bought in December. I Just completed the interior/wiring ect. They did a good job on it and I have no complaints, thus far. They built it exactly as I requested, no windows, metal doors opening out instead of in. I did have to add 1 2X4 stud in each corner so I could have something to nail the paneling to. My building has 16 in. on center wall studs and 24 in on center ceiling trusses so that standard sized insulation installation was easy. I went with regular shingles rather than a metal roof, due to being on the coast.

$4997.00 delivered and set up. Tie downs were extra an $200.00 and well worth the money letting them do it.

Not that it matters, but Derksen buildings are built in Uvalde by Mennonites ....They are some nice folks, imho....

 

[vmax]

I was in the market for a cabin last year and spent alot of time looking at the Dersken buildings.

I wanted the lofted barn style, so I was concerned the with way the rafters and trusses were built and how much weight they could hold when I finished the ceilings out with insulation and finished treatments.

I think the engineering behind them is fine.

A couple of things to consider if you are planning on finishing one of these out for a cabin:

What is the center measurement on the wall studs? Many of these buildings are not build to housing standards with 16" center studs.
Many of them are 20" and I've even seen some 22". If you are going to add weight to the interior like sheet rock, or paneling, and drill holes in studs for plumbing and electric, you need the strength of standard spacing, in my opinion.

Secondly, the T1-11 natural siding on many of the Dersken buildings is just exposed natural wood treaded with something like Thompsons water seal. The siding looks nice for a year or so and it must be retreated every year to remain water repellant.

The Derskens I have seen around here look bad after a few years, the T1-11 turns greyish looking from the bottom up and looks bad. I wouldn't be happy with that if it were me. You can paint that stuff I guess, but it would take 100 gallons of paint at the rate that would soak it up probably

I ended up having a building built on site by a guy who had previously worked for one of the major portable building manufacturers and ran the on-site building division where they build to suit on your site.

 

[Lebowski]

Thanks fellas, I do appreciate it.

For what it's worth, I plan on 'living in' one of these cabins temporarily after I move down to Texas while I build a house next door to it. I'm moving to a remote/secluded area and there are zero rentals in the area it seems unless I want to drive back and forth hours on end and that's no good. Plan on dropping a cabin on site, insulating the hell out of it and doing a real rough interior 'finish'... just enough to make it safe/livable while I build something more appropriate.

Planning on using a sealing, sunshield radiant barrier paint on the exterior over the treated wood and getting some shading set up for it as well. That should help keep the exterior in good shape as well as reflect the sun and help (some) keep it cool.

 

[vmax]

Thanks fellas, I do appreciate it.

For what it's worth, I plan on 'living in' one of these cabins temporarily after I move down to Texas while I build a house next door to it. I'm moving to a remote/secluded area and there are zero rentals in the area it seems unless I want to drive back and forth hours on end and that's no good. Plan on dropping a cabin on site, insulating the hell out of it and doing a real rough interior 'finish'... just enough to make it safe/livable while I build something more appropriate.

Planning on using a sealing, sunshield radiant barrier paint on the exterior over the treated wood and getting some shading set up for it as well. That should help keep the exterior in good shape as well as reflect the sun and help (some) keep it cool.

radiant barrier is a good idea. Since I had mine built on site, I added a Dupont/Tyvek product called Theramawrap
http://www.dupont.com/products-and-...arrier-systems/products/tyvek-thermawrap.html

It is in a class of radiant barriers called "Low E" - Low Emission and it reflects solar heat out away from the interior.
it has a silver reflective side that faces out. My builder installed it over the rafters before the metal roof and siding went up.
Then I did the interior with R-13. My cabin was heated with a small oil type radiant heater this winter and I bought a 17500 BTU AC unit and it cools it with ease. I have high open ceilings with the loft style roof, so I installed a ceiling fan to move the air some.

Here is the wrap going up

Here is the finished ceiling and loft

kitchen area

I was able to fit the bathroom into a 4X7.5 corner

 

[Lebowski]

That's awesome! I want to finish my roof the same way actually, except there would be a wider "flat spot" down the center.

When delivered on site they just look like this inside:

Adding a solar gable fan to keep air moving out of the top. Was going to add the metal sheeting like you have done as well to the ceiling after insulation. Mine won't be finished in the inside as nicely as yours, at least not initially. Will add additional shading outside in the form of a self built pergola with shadecloth similar to this:

That way the sun is off the walls and if needed I can remove the shade cloth in the winter and get some heat on the walls.


Since this will be an off-grid cabin I'm trying to do as much as I can to insulate it and radiate heat away from it so I can make it liveable without having to run an AC 24/7 or heat 24/7 in the winter.

 

[Fox51]

I will say a metal roof needs be insulated or when it rains hard you will hardly be able to talk with another person. Been there done that.
You definitely want to check the regulations of where you intend to have the building. The building might not meet restrictions or codes for the area.
I went to the library and got a book on house framing. I then built my own house and it came out pretty good. Personally I would build a building that size myself and save a bunch of money.
Is there water, electricity and sewage on land? These things can become very expensive to get if they are not already on the land.
Where in Texas are you relocating to?

 

[vmax]

I doubt that he will have to worry about code compliance where he us going

 

[Lebowski]

I doubt that he will have to worry about code compliance where he us going

True.

Pretty sure I could build a house out of popsicle sticks and insulate it with gas soaked rags and heat it with an open flame in the center and the local county wouldn't care.

As it should be.

 

[vmax]

True.

Pretty sure I could build a house out of popsicle sticks and insulate it with gas soaked rags and heat it with an open flame in the center and the local county wouldn't care.

As it should be.

10-4 to that.

 

[Glockster69]

True.

Pretty sure I could build a house out of popsicle sticks and insulate it with gas soaked rags and heat it with an open flame in the center and the local county wouldn't care.

As it should be.

You may want to get a professional's opinion on those materials. Or a lobotomy.

 

[Lebowski]

You may want to get a professional's opinion on those materials. Or a lobotomy.

LOL. Maybe. Or maybe I'll use lincoln logs instead. Those seem more structurally sound than the popsicle sticks I was going to use...

 

[Younggun]

I will say a metal roof needs be insulated or when it rains hard you will hardly be able to talk with another person. Been there done that.

Rain on a tin roof is the best thing about having a tin roof.

I slept through the storms the other night like a baby. My dad actually considered calling to make sure we knew about the tornado warning but figured there was no way anyone could sleep through the storm, I slept better than I have in weeks.