Planning a Guest House Build
While guest houses are perfect for guests such as friends, and family, and even for a little side income via AirBnB, it can actually go far beyond that as well. Guesthouses are also perfect if you’re looking to have family live with you permanently, but it still allows them to have their own independence such as for an aging parent or a young adult starting their career. If your property has the space, these essential tips are a great place tostart.
Getting Started
The best way to start building a guest house is by contacting a builder who has experience in this field. Once you have decided on the type of construction, you will be able to decide on the floor plan and budget for your project. After that, you can start with planning your budget and deciding what type of building you want. Builders will almost always be able to help you out such as where you can place the guesthouse, ordinances of it, electricity, right down to the septic systems if this is needed too.
Selecting Building Material
Generally, the best materials for building a guest house are wood, concrete and steel. These materials can be used for both interior and exterior structures of the building. However, it is always advised to use the best quality material for each part of the construction process.
The frame material should not be too thick or thin when it comes to framing the walls or roof of a structure. The thickness should also depend on the type of wood used in construction as well as its strength. Usually, if you’re hiring a contractor or even a firm that specifically specializes in guesthouses, they will be able to easily provide all the materials in the cost. This may not be cheaper (always) but it is a stress-free method of handling it.
The Foundation
When it comes to the foundation itself, it’s strongly recommended that the land be flat. There’s a lot of groundwork that has to be done such as surveying the land, flattening it, and sometimes even an inspection needs to be done before anything can be built.
Cost
This is going to highly depend on how you go about building the guest house. If you’re opting for a DIY project then you can expect the prices to be all over the place. However, if you’re considering going through a firm, the more stress-free right, then a one-bedroom guest house could begin around the price of $60,000, depending on location.
