Texas Big Little Cabins

General Shelters: because YOUR building matters!

Tag: hill country

  • This “Guest House” is ready for full-time living

    All of the stock model floor plans have unlimited possibilities for customization, and the Guest/Office cabin is another great example of this feature. While the original can be easily converted between either use, we added eight feet to the length. This extra room was utilized with a full galley kitchen and a relatively huge bathroom for a tiny home. Here is the stock model floor plan.

    And here is what we did by adding the eight feet:

    The monoslope roof gives a modern feel, while the 30 guage steel accents and white sides reinforce a rustic, clean look. This is a picture of the cabin at the 2025 Washington County Fair.

    At 14×32 ft, the cabin has 448sf (including porch). As with all General Shelters cabins, it is wood-framed and roofed/wrapped in high gauge steel (26/29 respectively).

    The galvalum ceiling, barnwash panelling, and grey vinyl floors give a rustic, cozy feel without emulating living in a log cabin. Four large windows in the living space bring in a lot of light.

    The galley kitchen comes with a refrigerator, stove/oven, and a dishwasher. The cabin uses white Dallas granite throughout.

    For a tiny home, the bathroom is relatively huge. We made sure to have a 36″ door, and low-step-in shower.

    Here one can see the water-on-demand electric water heater, and full-sized stacked washer/dryer.

    Fully insulated, one can see the 15,000 BTU air conditioner/heater on the wall by the front door.

    Here is a very short walk-through of the cabin:

    Be sure to visit our YouTube channel for other short videos about cabins, and our home page at Trees of Central Texas to learn more about us. Call 979-836-7225 to chat, email us at info @ treesofcentraltexas . com

    We will always have custom buildings for viewing, but be sure to call so we can be ready to answer questions.

  • General Shelters has added two new awesome floor plans to their collection

    When General Shelters says that the options for customization are practically limitless, they really mean it! Having manufactured finished portable pier-and-beam cabins for nearly twenty years, one would imagine that there is nothing new to offer. But the design team at General Shelters have done it again, adding The Farmstead and The Haven to their collection.

    Like all other cabins, these are stick-built structures clad and roofed in steel. Portable, but not mobile homes or trailers. Designed to last generations, these are perfect cost-effective solutions delivered at a fraction of the time as built-on-site homes.

    The Farmstead is an 18ft by 60ft (1080sf) two-bed/two-bath cabin with barn-style roofing. Featuring two dormers, the Farmstead is an open, bright model that feels much larger than its square footage. With doors on the front and back, it is ready to add a deck to either side. If you want a country themed cabin, the barn-style is perfect for you!

    The master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, and features a soaking tub, with a linen closet housing a stackable washer/dryer. The guest bedroom has a convenient Jack-and-Jill bathroom, with the commode available from the living area.

    This model features the attractive Barnwash paneling, Galvalum ceiling, and brown vinyl flooring. White Dallas Granite is used throughout. Here is the spec sheet which lists all materials used in the construction of the Farmstead.

    The kitchen is a chef’s dream, its huge island with its inset double stainless-steel sink perfect for meal prep, service, and clean-up. Conveniently, the island has room for seating four people.

    The Farmstead includes a three-ton central HVAC, refrigerator, microwave, stove, oven, dishwasher, the aforementioned stackable washer/dryer, and in-line water heater. It is insulated floor to ceiling.

    The Haven is a mono-slope one bedroom/bath cabin. Measuring 18ft x 36ft (648sf), windows at the top of the front wall allow plenty of light inside. Love that covered porch! [NOTE: the top windows are not included in the stock model.]

    Part of General Shelters’ ‘Efficiency’ series, the Haven is built to limit costs. Toward that end, counters are formica, with spray sheetrock ceiling. Here is the spec sheet for the Haven.

    Another cost-saving move is eliminating insulation beneath the floor, and including two window-mounted 12k BTU air conditioners in place of central HVAC.

    The bathroom features plenty of space. While not ADA spec, the door is 36in wide, and features a step-in shower with seat. Featured throughout are Bianco Romano formica counters – very attractive and money-saving.

    The bedroom looks dark from this angle, but there is an entire wall of windows on the front wall.; you can see them in pic below. Featured in this model are Pallet paneling for an especially rustic look.

    Appliances include a stackable washer/dryer combo, 18cf refrigerator, 30in slide-in range, vented microwave, and the two wall-mounted 12k BTU air units.

    As with other General Shelters buildings, they can be ordered to any level of finish and customization. Once you have submitted your changes, we submit those to the engineering team at General Shelters and they will advise whether those are possible or what can be done to meet your need.

    We are excited to introduce you to these new floor plans! If you want to visit the homes we have on site at Trees of Central Texas, give a call at 979-836-7225 and swing on by. As a Platinum level dealer for General Shelters, we have helped hundreds of people design their perfect buildings!

  • Modular Buildings vs Portable Pier-and-Beam Buildings

    When being introduced to General Shelters buildings, a common question we are asked is if they are modular buildings.  This makes sense, in that they are manufactured elsewhere and brought to the installation site, same as General Shelters buildings.

    While they share this similarity, there is a larger, major difference,  While modular buildings are manufactured elsewhere, brought to the installation site, and then joined together, General Shelters buildings are brought roll-off-ready.  There is no crew or assembly required post-delivery.

    This turn-key approach is what makes General Shelters buildings fairly unique in the industry.  A follow up crew will visit the building to tie down anything that may have shaken loose during transport, if necessary. The simplicity of this one and done approach brings down costs, especially when the site is remote.

    Like everything else, there are exceptions.  For General Shelters, the exception is that customers can order buildings to join together for larger areas.  This would all be done post-delivery by the customer’s own contractor.  Below is an example of a skilled contractor adding a room and bathroom to a custom Maverick we delivered last year.

    While not a weekend project, the process is fairly straighforward.

    Please visit us at Trees of Central Texas, meet our design team, and see what we have immediately available for you!