If you have a home that needs more space, you have probably considered adding a room to your house. While adding a room is often a great decision, you should also consider a detached building. Detached buildings are often called mother-in-law apartments because of an old custom in which mothers-in-law would live with their children. These buildings now serve just about anyone who needs extra space. Most typically, they are used for storage space or living space. If you are using them for storage space, you will have fewer requirements than you would for a living space.
If you build a living space on your property, however, you can give your guests somewhere nice to stay while they are visiting you. Alternately, you can apply for the proper permits and become a landlord who rents out the space for extra money. Whatever the case may be, log cabins are one of the best choices for your building. They are affordable and reliable without looking cheap.
Storage Space
As a storage space, your cabin has a few requirements. You have to think about what exactly you are storing in that space. If you are storing lawnmowers, tractors, garden equipment, and such, then you need enough space to get such things through the door. When you are designing a bespoke cabin, you can design the door to be as wide as you need it to be. So make sure to measure your lawnmower and whatever other tools you plan to fit through the door.
You also need to make sure that it can hold everything that you need it to. Many people, in an attempt to save money, make their cabins too small. You will save money, but you might not be able to store everything needed. Even if you can store everything, you will have a very difficult time getting something out of the cabin unless it is right by the door. Build your cabin big enough to move everything around comfortably.
Living Space
As a living space, your cabin will have more requirements. You will need to make sure that it is properly insulated against changing temperatures. Fortunately, wood is actually a very good insulator. Wood traps heat and does not allow a lot of heat to transfer from inside to outside or vice versa. Furthermore, the space needs to be climate-controlled. To properly climate control it, you need to have air conditioning and heating. Depending on how close the building is to your home, you might need a totally separate HVAC system.
Many people choose solitary units for the heating and cooling in their cabins. If the cabin is small enough and the unit powerful enough, you can heat and cool it with just a window unit. They are not always as efficient as a larger central unit, but they generally suffice to control the temperature of one or two rooms.
You also need to consider how big you need your cabin to be; if it’s going to be a living space, it needs to be comfortable enough for about twice as many people as you intend to actually stay there. These are some of the bespoke choices you need to make.