Cabana Build Scheduled

I’ve finally set a hard date to frame up the guest house, which I’ve begun referring to as “The Cabana”. It’ll be the end of April, and all of my neighbors have already volunteered to help put it up. This is good, because I have no idea what I’m doing!

There are a couple of things I need to do to prepare prior to the build. First off, I made a few changes to the interior walls of the house, and moved the entrance door. As a result, I needed to get approval from our local building inspector beforehand. He’s great to work with as long as you discuss changes prior to implementing them. I sent him an email with the new layout attached (which I created with Floorplanner.Com), and he emailed back his approval. Hooray!

The next thing that I need to do is drop off the plans at a couple of local lumberyards to get a quote for a lumber package and trusses. I’m going with local places because they tend to be cheaper than the big-box stores like Home Depot for stuff like this. Basically I need the lumber, sheathing and trusses, but not doors, windows, or roofing material. One of the local places delivers free, which is a huge advantage as well. The plans get dropped off the next time I head to the Ranch, which is tentatively scheduled for March 6.

Then the foundation that was put in place nearly 4 years ago needs to have trenches dug out around and behind it, so I can fill them with gravel and put in French drains. The soil at the Ranch is heavy clay, which holds a lot of water and can damage the foundation. Drains will help keep the foundation from cracking too badly. Sometime between now and the end of April I need to have those drains in place.

Finally, after I get the quotes from the lumberyards and place my order, I need to make sure I have all of the necessary extra items, like nails, screws, wire, and so on. My neighbor, who has a great deal of experience building houses, has agreed to look over my lumber quote and let me know what else I’ll need to get to ensure that we can start work first thing on Saturday morning.