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Cowracer
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2026 12:05pm - Edited by: Cowracer
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Ok, so.. I am not the fastest guy on earth at getting things done, lol.
Due to health issues (I'm pretty much fine now) we had our cabin plans on hold for 3 years. But we are now at a point where we are moving forward. A quick recap: We have a lakefront lot at a small private lake. We had a non-lakefront lot before, where we built a cabin and loved it. We got a chance to buy on the water at a fantastic price, and we sold the old lots and cabin. I have had pangs of regret ever since. We have been staying in our camper on our new lots since then, but the plan was always to build a new cabin, using lessons learned from the last one.
This time, rather than stick-building it from the ground up, we have had a custom 'shed' cabin made for us. We ordered it a little over a month ago, and its been sitting at the factory for a couple of weeks. We originally were just going to plop it on our lot where our camper sits, but decided we want to level things up as much as possible, and finding a reliable contractor for that has been problematic, but we are finally done, as the last 2 loads of rock are being delivered and spread out today.
Pics blow of the earthwork.
We should get it delivered in a couple weeks, then the actual work begins!
Tim
The "Before"
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Pile o' rocks
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More rock
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The "After"
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2026 12:36pm
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A render I did of the cabin, and a picture from the builder.
Tim
Cabin Render
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As-Built Notification
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2026 08:39am
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We did similar 2 years ago, I realized if I wanted to actually enjoy our property and cabin rather than be building for too long we needed a prebuilt, got a 12.5x28 milled log cabin. Turn-key walk in, it was a Great idea.
Yer gonna LOVE it!
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 23 Jul 2026 02:32pm
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It's not turn-key. Its just a shell. So we will have a bit of work to do before its finished. But the hard part is already done for us.
Tim
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 27 Jul 2026 08:11am
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Hey, its a dried in shell, so work at your leisure/convenience. Finish to suit.
Nice work cowracer 
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2026 11:18am - Edited by: Cowracer
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Man... A bit of a situation here.
long story short; There was a breakdown in communications between the sales company and the shed company. We went down to Paducah (3 hour drive one way) to look it over before shipment. I spoke with the owner of the company a couple of times, and while he had it all secured for shipping, he was more that willing to unseal it and set it it back up for us to inspect it.
I am glad we did, because it was all wrong. The built in porch was too narrow (supposed to be 6' and was only 4), and there is supposed to be a dormer on the roof. We paid for both, but the build sheet did not have either. I used their pre-visualization on their website to make a mock-up showing the window and door arraignment I wanted, and the dimensions of where to put them. The sales company sent that down, and somehow that became the gospel on the build. The website didn't have the dormer as an option at the time on their "Build it" feature, so I never put one one. They saw the mock-up and went with that.
The owner, Jarrod was very upset with this situation. He apologized many times and vowed to make it right many times. I was willing to forgo the dormer for a price deduct, but the porch was a deal breaker. He gave us the option of either swapping out the porch on the current unit and refunding us for the dormer, or he would build us a new one to our specs.
He seems a good kid, just gaining traction with his business and I didn't want to dump a huge loss on him, but he saw that my wife really wanted the dormer, and he insisted that we let him make a new one.
His response was the best possible one in what could have been a very messy situation. No blaming. No arguing. No histrionics. Just "There is a problem and I want to handle it in the way that makes you happiest". As we have no real timeline, waiting 3-4 weeks for the right one is not an issue. The one he already built will go into inventory. He said he'll have no problem selling it.
So far, I gotta give a shout out to Jarrod and Willow Lake Sheds. The build quality (minus the issues) was top notch and I know we are working with a good company. I think he will go far.
P.S. you can probably get a good deal on the original cabin if anyone is going that route.
Screenshot_20251011_.jpg
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2026 12:31pm
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Bummer
But, not near the bummer it would have been if it had been delivered!
The time will likely pass quickly and if at all like our factory built they might fast-track it and you will get a,"surprise, its ready" call sooner.
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 3 Aug 2026 05:56am
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Glad to hear he is going to make it right. Better to get what you want and wait a little longer, looking forward to seeing it setup!
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FishHog
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# Posted: 3 Aug 2026 07:54am
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People make mistakes. It’s how they deal with them that is important. Glad he is making it right
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Asher
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# Posted: 27 Aug 2026 11:31am
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Cowracer, was there a reason you didn't use the same builder that jjr used? We had great luck with them, just had them involved in another project we dreamed up. Glad to hear you're getting stuff worked out, and not criticizing just wondering if maybe you liked something better from this builder.
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