Another thought that entered my brain after reading everyone's comments. With what you will be spending on this "cabin" and the fact that you are 50 years old with a goal of building your dream home in ten years or so, why not build the dream home now?
You don't need to finish the dream home, or even build all of it, but why spend the money on a slab and everything else for a building that you don't even want to live in for the rest of your life?
Have you drawn the plan of your dream home? How big is is?
Lets say that you either build it all and make it weather tite, but only finish off a small part of it. One bathroom, one bedroom , the kitchen and a living space. The rest would be just exposed walls that you could get to at any time.
The other option is to just build part of it and then add on to it when you are ready. Metal roofs would be real easy to extend. The same would be true with the slab and walls.
I forgot about getting old and stairs. A client that I did a house for last year has MS and expects to be in a wheelchair one day. I made her halls 4 feet wide and opened up her bathroom with a shower that she can roll into. My Dad just had one of his knees replaced. He's been stuck downstairs for a month now. When he gets the other one done, he'll be unable to climb the stairs again.
What was the plan for this building when you build the one you really want? Convert part of it into a bigger shop? What about the upstairs area? Is that just going to be dead space? Will guests use it? Do you have guests or people that come stay with you that won't stay in the house that you are living in?
If you build this building, or one like it, will you really build the house of your dreams when you are in your 60's?
Eddie
