Construction start to finish of a modern ICF mountain cabin.

This video documents the one-year journey to complete the construction of a modern mountain cabin. As an owner-build, the goal was to create something high-end, unique, maintenance free, and modern, using only the best materials.
To discover more of what's unique about the cabin you can find us on Instagram:
@zenplicitycabin
Also, watch highlight video here: • Zenplicity Cabin
Want to stay here? Find our listings here:
www.vrbo.com/3309360?unitId=3...
www.airbnb.com/rooms/72744274...
Construction materials:
Exterior ICF (insulating concrete forms) walls (12 inches thick)
Black 16"inch wide, 26 gauge, standing seam metal roofing and front wall.
trex decking
Feeney cable rails
Stained concrete slab with variegation and mottling
Stem wall foundation/gravel backfill
Fiber cement siding
Zip wall system
Low E double paned windows
Interior wood frame
Special features:
Eco-Luxe
Architect Designed (Modern exterior, minimalist interior)
Diakin 18,000 Btu 17-seer ducted mini
split heat pump with 8 kw heat
strips. Unit is ducted so there are no hanging wall units.
Propane powered Navian tankless water heater (NPE-210A2) with a recirculating pump (Instant hot water)
Passive solar design
Smart home technology
Modern black stainless steel appliances
Trimless recessed lights
Floating vanities
Built-in Electric Fireplace
Modern Tile
Triple Bunk
For questions, you can contact me at [e-mail]
#cabinbuild #architecture #ownerbuilder #ownerbuild #ICFconstruction #ICF #moderncabin #moderndesign #zenplicitycabin #financialfreedom #passiveincome #incomeproperty #shorttermrentals #diy

[@pierre.a.larsen]

The cabin looks great and solid. It will last a long time! The outside terrace in the back is amazing.

[@johnwolson]

Yes, we love the terrace.

[@SternDrive]

i am wondering if the floor will shift and sink in the middle. This gravel will settle, so what will happen to the floor?

[@angeloc700]

That’s a nice robust build and I hope you and your family enjoy it for generations to come! Can’t wait for the cost breakdown video. I bought land on a slope in VT and am planning on building something similar. Cheers!

[@Louie359]

I'm a now retired residential and light commercial builder with 30+ years of custom construction experience. That said, I am very impressed with your building of this mountain cabin for you and the family. Great Job!! Like others, I will be eager to see your cost breakdown. Hopefully you'll have multiple categories and break out labor and materials in those categories. It is obvious that you spared no expense in doing everything in a high-class manner and succeeded in an outstanding finished product.

[@beefquiche]

I love to see no expense spared. What a joy this cabin will be for the family.

[@cameronbun]

grsdgseges

[@cameronbun]

hgtdrhdrhr

[@hibahprice6887]

@@beefquiche Sparing money is stupid, why else are they needed?

[@Kay.D]

for sure costed over $800k

[@wayphun72]

Wow, good job, looks like a great space! Thank you for sharing this John.

[@leegordon861]

Thanks I do love the way the building looks.

[@magnoid]

Thanks for sharing this with us!

[@FEV369]

Thank you for sharing a process like this.

[@tonyseck8025]

Great Video. Thanks for sharing. Just curious as to the decision to go with a slab foundation vs. a crawlspace. I assume this had something to do with the the overall ICF design and energy efficiency but wanted to get your feedback on that. Obviously you had to bring in a ton of material to backfill the foundation so I was curious as to the tradeoffs. Thanks.

[@archistudio4723]

wow I love this home and the vision behind it.

[@markmazza135]

Beautiful sturdy construction…well done, love it!

[@dennisemery07]

Enjoyed this, thank you🙏

[@dancarpenter2526]

Spent parts of the last 4 days to watch your full build here--John, amazing job buddy. Beautiful area, incredible modern design, and just a really well thought out home. The deck is my favorite part by far, but the fire pit, the hot tub, and all the other little touches really take this place from being solid and serviceable, to extraordinary. Really well done man. p.s. spent a few years living in Western N.C. and will hopefully own a piece of dirt out that way again sometime soon.

[@johnwolson]

Thanks for the compliments.

[@dancarpenter2526]

@@johnwolson Absolutely man. Did you keep loose track of costs? So curious to know what each phase came in at (I could PM you too if you prefer not to post publicly). Anyway, really inspiring.

[@annaschmanna1]

Very interesting to watch your house build. We just finished almost same build but ours is a 2 storey 8 inch ICF in a small town in Canada. Thank you for sharing.

[@harrisedgar]

I'm having a blast looking at your construction..!!! (Gracias)

[@nagilum]

Lovely. 👌

[@kenji_29]

wow..i never knew black and yellow looked awesome😀

[@Chief-]

Cool place John, thanks for sharing. I appreciate how you “overbuilt” the place, should be solid building for a long time. Good luck!

[@johnwolson]

Thanks 👍

[@TheUndisputedGodFather]

Love the design! Love the result!!

[@johnwolson]

Thank you! 😊

[@davidjondoh8671]

Nice build and great commentary. The only thing lacking IMO would be radiant heating in the slab floor.

[@wthomas253]

Makes sense especially since he already installed a recirculating h20 pump for the hot water tankless.

[@SegoMan]

Agreed, have it heated from a boiler and or fireplace

[@davedude250]

YES INDEED! and i wouldnt have minded exposed ductwork, which i find imho very beautiful. ..thin i would have used wood board & batten siding to soften up the feel of the entry

[@johnmcdonald489]

I LOVE the yellow entrance! And I love the build. One of the best I’ve seen

[@richardatten]

I am a General Contractor..... I love that you applied so many newer material applications like Zip Wall and Roof systems, ICF, Mini Split AC, etc...I did not see Solar or rain collection from the roof, but either way, really nice build. Maybe move the trash can and build an enclosure so it's not the first thing you see when pulling up the driveway. congratulations on a job that was exceptionally well done! Great details.

[@johnwolson]

Thank you very much!

[@johnwolson]

Btw…there will be solar added. This will likely be a project next year

[@PoetClbrown]

That was so interesting i actually sat through the entire thing. I sometimes think I may have chosen the wrong career as a software developer because i love building things and working with my hands. This was very impressive. Beautiful build. I love Northern GA so that was a plus. That foundation is SOLID

[@JoeGreenDigital]

Me too. :)

[@approots]

I've done both programming and building and it really is surprising how similar they are. You work with your hands for both, but it's mostly decision making. The result is a tangable thing that's hopefully very useful and valued by people.

[@Utah_Samson]

I love the cabin, Thanks for shaing all of the details of your build! I'd also love to hear a recap of what it cost to build.

[@_.caviar]

I’m glad I stuck till the end of the video,that house is magnificent & the finishing especially the colors you chose are just great.Great job John,really inspiring

[@jockejohansson5957]

i am impressed of pouring of the slab. It looked really flat and smooth

[@ADHD_Art]

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS 😍 WHAT A VIEW❣️

[@betty1631]

Beautiful home.

[@kenjohnson5498]

Them boys did some damn good looking concrete work! That's a hard thing to find these days

[@johnwolson]

Agreed. The concrete work was done very well!

[@gparsr]

Question- was all that the gravel backfill necessary? It looks great but that was a lot of material… ok, going through more of the video I see what you did there. Another slab on top… nice! I

[@jcdcsc]

Fantastic! Extend that deck out another 12'. Perfect outdoor space.

[@tedtimmis8135]

Even another 2 feet of width would make a huge difference.

[@D.N.R.911]

Love it, thanks for sharing.

[@justbecause9645]

Simple. Smart. Welldone.

[@ferrodell2194]

Great appearance for a modern cabin with all of the modern amenities 👍🏼 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@steveddavis]

Strong and great looking foundation! Well done 👊 I love the ZIP System. The whole project is amazing - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@bobbydelcavallo7181]

Absolutely gorgeous 🥳🥳🥳

[@joes5096]

I like most everything you did with the exception of your water take away and lack of rear overhang. It's my personal bias as a carpenter that all houses deserve roofs with a perimeter overhang more so in harsh climates as it provides so much in extending life of structure. No idea what state or elevation this may be located at but I've been seasoned at 36" annual rainfall and or 2 foot snow loads. Between the roof shedding and the flat drive, seepage at the sill plate just seems to be a matter of time or season. Contemporary style is pretty down on gutters but got to give them their due for water take away. Having a 18in rear overhang could have provided much function and some cool under soffit down lighting to prevent light pollution. Great color/material selections!

[@SternDrive]

You should have watched the whole thing! They did plan an over hang. On the South side it looks to be 2 or 3 feet out, and a bit shorter on the East side.

[@timgoodliffe]

@@SternDrive there are sides of the building with no overhang (thats what i think hes pointing out)

[@jonothandoeser]

Georgia

[@travisshrey6720]

This. 1800 sqft of rain will run down the back wall of the cabin and splash onto the concrete. I can't tell how the driveway slopes at that point, but this sees like a pretty good way to put your sill plate under water in a heavy rain.

[@stediasse]

@@travisshrey6720 Being ICF, is there still a sill plate? Not sure how they attached the siding to the ICF though. Still can't be good. I was expecting a drain along the driveway right next to the house to take all the water away.

[@007diego2]

Intriguing building techniques and materials, a beautiful structure.

[@anthonymarafi8160]

Tanks for sharing. Learned somethings from the project.. 😀👊

[@hapaboy0808]

Currently building a similar shaped cabin on a very similar type of lot in the N GA mountains, except we will have a daylight basement. This cabin is built like a tank!

[@kensai0626]

I love it. Thanks for the video.

[@TheBehnny]

Amazing cabin!

[@wthomas253]

I really like the overall finished cabin. Very chic. I might have actually built it on the upper level of the driveway with the deck extending over the current driveway so instead of dead ending the driveway at one point into the house, the deck would act as a car port and extra level of usable space. Basically shift the whole thing about 25 ft up the mountain slope. That is, if you owned the property. Of course, there's a reason behind everything. Kudos! Enjoy your new seasonal home! The Firespit is great!

[@SA-qx7fx]

I was thinking the same thing but then they would not get the great views from the deck, unless you mean building the deck top of the car port

[@HamandisheMpofu]

The best construction 🚧🏗️ video by far. I absolutely loved it. The commentary is very audible and every single step of the construction have been covered. Well done.👌🏿🤜🏿

[@HoangThiHaoFarmLife6368]

A very nice cabin. The surroundings are very fresh.

[@jmfarrell5]

Great build project. Congratulations.

[@lpmj2619]

Awesome video. Great narration.Thank you. 👍🏽✌🏽

[@RobertWilliams-mk8pl]

Informative. Excellent documentation.

[@johnwolson]

Thanks Robert.

[@qball2000able]

Very beautiful!

[@davideyres5799]

What a well made video your house is well built and in a beautiful location and i hope you and your family enjoy your time spent there All best wishes from ENGLAND UK

[@adroid1127]

Man, if this is your CABIN I really wonder what your home looks like?! Amazing project!

[@dorianmode69]

Really nice, love it.

[@tkwashea30]

Beautiful ❤

[@jeffpettitt9438]

Nicely finished!😊

[@patty109109]

Yellow entrance is just fantastic. I just did cable railings and they are so good. Barely obstruct view, but don’t need cleaning (or cost) like glass.

[@gcntech142]

I appreciate your comment 👍Congratulation you just won a prize💐💐🎉 !! Helpline is projected above feel free to reach out for personal guidance via Telegram 📬.

[@Re5ist_ance]

Awesome build and video. Thanks for sharing.

[@johnwolson]

Thanks for watching!

[@raimundoivo9440]

congratulations, beautiful Home.

[@maryl.8281]

Very nice design and layout.

[@daniellemoore-porter6032]

wow this is amazing!

[@Bootzey73]

Beautiful!!!!!

[@RanLaw_]

Thanks, great video 👍😃

[@jamesbroady3604]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing.

[@user-pj4ys2qp7f]

Very interesting, I like to stay in the quiet environment.

[@bisowat]

im a civil engineer and congratulate you on your lovely mountain cabin

[@unapologeticallycreative8365]

This a very nice modern cabin.

[@LTUSATV]

Beautiful construction, love the build quality too!

[@daveblack6951]

That contractor is top-tier 👌

[@jagsfanrick]

Thanks for the video, very nice.

[@kinseycheung5423]

Wow very nice and sound, thanes showing the perfectional works.

[@araspel2007]

Love it 💙

[@JellyBean-vs4dw]

Absolutely stunning journey! It's incredible to witness the dedication and craftsmanship that went into creating this modern mountain cabin. Consider looking into the Buildovate CRM for streamlining the management of construction projects similar to these!

[@sjohnston1487]

Well Done!

[@tiphill4957]

Nice job. Beautiful house 👍😎

[@lamarwilliams185]

Nice build

[@asaturn]

the little tie-off guns on the rebar are cool

[@joseignaciojuanenarodrigue3086]

Very clean work

[@PENTHESILEIA1000]

Very nice video. The cabin is fabulous and I like the modern style of it. Well done. I would like to add some ideas: the balcony could be extended, each room could have skylight, there would be a cellar in the basement and a playroom ...

[@johnwolson]

Thanks for the tips!

[@wthomas253]

It just occurred to me that if blue had been chosen in place of black, it would look like a woodsy IKEA showroom. For discriminating clients, of course. Lol. You just have to put it all together yourself.

[@EddiTaru]

I can only imagine how much it would cost to build something like this! Amazing.

[@crcurran]

ICF is not prohibitively expensive. Assume a house would cost another 10% on total price to build to make it near passive house products and techniques with ICF walls and SIP roof. To gain the same energy efficiency of ICF you'd have to build a 2x6 or 2x8 double studded thick lumber framed walls and then fill it all with insulation while avoiding thermal bridging. It's not easy. With ICF it's easy. Like really easy to avoid thermal breaks. You can still screw up the thermal breaks at doors, windows, etc but you build those to be very efficient too with high energy efficiency. With ICF you also gain the benefits of sound proofing, fire resistentance, tornado and hurricane resistant, and bug/pest proof which all lower home insurance costs. You're living in a bunker but it can be built to look like any style home you want. The 6" to 8" thick concrete ICF walls with outer layers foam become thermal sinks by soaking up heat in the Summer and in the winter ists releasing heat if the air is cooler. So if for instance you opened a sliding glass door to the outside for a few minutes and then close it you'll notice the temp hasn't change much in the home; the home air temp balances with the concrete.

[@chris-ib2lc]

It the labor that that cost 90% of the home, if you can built which is not difficult, the only you have to worry about us materials and a few labors

[@roveriia6334]

For those on a budget or just don't want to be reasonable with the cost and timeframe a post and beam suspended floor construction, stick framing and not using ZIP would get you the same house for 1/4 the cost and 1/4 the time. Enjoyed the video. BTW did you calculate the weight of this structure? In my head I think it is over 1/2 a Million lbs of building!! 10 truckloads of compacted gravel to just to have a slab floor then you covered it with flooring. I do not understand. Your house and I can tell you are happy and proud and that is all that matters when you don't care about your bank account. Lucky you!

[@seanmcguire7974]

Nice build. Ngl, I was hoping for a 2nd floor n more retaining walls instead of the slope. Great vid!

[@musiclovers363]

Thanks for sharing this build, quite enjoyed it and its well built and beautifully set

[@aday1637]

All that then the view of the huge u-store-it complex below. Wonderful planning. Must have purchased this lot when the trees were full of leaves. Now if you could move this to a really nice lot with a really nice view that would be 'nice'.

[@carloshatzopoulos1015]

Hello John , really a beautiful project , amazing house and place !! The nature around is fantastic...! Good luck for you and congratulatios from Brazil ! Sorry for my bad english , i'm still learning , thank you .

[@dan596]

Thank you for this detailed video. Well done. I was curious why you went with filling in the foundation instead of creating a basement.

[@sikosis999]

because they're clueless

[@user-xi1ql7oj4f]

Great job...just wondering about maintenance/upgradeability for the plumbing and electrical which is buried under concrete and rebar versus a more traditional crawlspace....

[@Tastewithnewdrinks]

Great review.

[@tvs3497]

Very nice. I'm about 40 miles due west of you and in the planning stages of a similar type home. That is one well-built cabin.

[@jason.r9273]

You should have done a walkout basement. Such the perfect spot for it. 6inch thick walls are all you need if building with stick wood & 2x10 lumber FLOOR/ROOF(what i will probably do)(Maybe even 8inch block water sealed on the outside(low cost diy insulation filled blocks)(floor tube heating w/diy ground insulation). Steel columns are way cheaper than concrete wall supports. I like this modern style layout(Orca prefab alternative | theflatsofcumberland). I will watch more.

[@hichamslawi]

So mush foundation for size of the building over all great job and beautiful result 👍

[@johnwolson]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@SternDrive]

Don't forget he has ICF concrete walls all around. Those walls are heavy. The foundation is absolutely necessary for ICF walls.

[@robertgonzalez8419]

Very nice congratulations God bless

[@saintejiksmithz8428]

Very informative video, thanks for taking your time to make this. I would like to suggest showing the viewers some architectural diagrams of what u wanted to achieve at the beginning of the video. Great job anyway!

[@wthomas253]

Yes please. Even if it's a link or something that you regularly edit in to show what area you are talking about at times.

[@sitechca70]

Very nice (and entertaining). Thank you for sharing. One small thing just gnaws at me - the electrical service panel is the first thing you see driving up to the cabin and your electrician didn't bother (or forgot) to put the line to the AC disconnect in the wall, so you have ugly (and crooked) flexible NM conduit from the service panel to the AC disconnect that everyone's going to see.

[@marianfrances4959]

Awesome!!! 👍🇨🇦😎

[@macleanclassics]

That was the perfect opportunity to double the sq footage and add a walkout basement....

[@damaciolara4600]

That's what I thought, why not a future basement??

[@BUILDITHOME]

😍😍🤩

[@BHARATHKUMAR-nf9yb]

Cool cabin man, I hope you will add some overhangs to protect doors from rain

[@borisperez3129]

About time someone build a house out something other than wood, paper. Metal roofs or tiles are a must for my build in S Colorado. Fire country deserves bricks or concrete houses

[@ismailhamurcuer6791]

Great work

[@kathmandoo]

Pretty cool place.

[@manolocalifas6488]

slate rock entry would be killer!

[@gcntech142]

I appreciate your comment 👍Congratulation you just won a prize💐💐🎉 !! Helpline is projected above feel free to reach out for personal guidance via Telegram 📬.

[@bobbybillings4259]

Rich people stuff. Awesome.

[@labarumba]

Hi John, you did wonderful job, verry classy. I wonder if you have the breakdown of the cost for foundation, electrical, etc. I will appreciate if you can give me idea. I am about to build a 1500 sqf. in a slop lot.