Are you building your own home? A cabin makes a great on-site office

Jul 4, 2019

Speaking from personal experience, we built our family home five years ago. One of the first things we did, was install a standard cabin (2.4m x 3.6m) onto the property to enable us to have a secure and clean space away from the building site.

We installed a large desk that kept the site plans available with quick access for everyone involved in the building process. Not only site plans, but also our Health & Safety Manual, our first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and all those extra things that go with building a house.  The cabin was lockable, which meant that documents were safe and secure.  We didn’t need to transfer them home each night, and risk forgetting them the next day, or worse, losing them altogether.

Before long we realised that this was so much more than a site office.

The perfect spot for a break.

The builders enjoyed a clean, dust-free space for their lunch breaks. The cabin had power so they could make themselves hot drinks. With a microwave inside, they could heat up their lunches. It was the perfect solution in looking after the people building our home. And I know they appreciated it (along with the muffins!!).

The perfect spot for an on-site meeting.

This was particularly helpful before the roof went on. And mixed with one of the wettest winters on record, we were completely over being wet and rained on! Seriously, in that month, the cabin was a sanctuary for us all!

It was great when the architect and builders needed to discuss the plans, or when the council inspector needed to discuss the plans and the requirements with the team. And even better was not having to walk around with soggy plans!

Keeping valuable builders gear secure.

Unfortunately building sites are now being targeted by thieves. The old days of leaving tools on-site in a building that isn’t yet closed in are gone. Building tools are massively expensive. So, it was great to be able to provide a secure space that they could put them in overnight. It was also great that they didn’t need to drive them to and from home each day.

So that was our experience. Having an on-site cabin was one of the best decisions we made. It just made everything so much easier.