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Mike Shero was running out of garage space. In his search for a permanent garage shed, he found Ulrich Barn Builders. He wanted a building with a lot of storage that looked beautiful in his backyard and coordinated with the exterior of his house. Mike visited an Ulrich facility to look at various models of garages. Because of the esthetics of the Craftsman Garage series, he chose a 12×30 Craftsman Garage for its custom features such as the charming outside details. The garage was delivered right on time. Mike says, “They placed the garage in the backyard exactly where I wanted it. As far as delivery, unloading, and leveling, it was about two hours to have it on-site and leveled.” The Craftsman Garage was delivered to the Sheros’ property as a shell. They had it insulated and added electricity and lots of shelving. They added a Trex decking ramp up to the garage door and covered the foundation with gray stacked stones for a finished look. The garage shed is big enough to store their lawn mower and patio furniture, as well as all the tools, supplies, and equipment needed to maintain their yard and pool. Mike says Ulrich Barn Builders was both professional and personable to work with. “Something we’re lacking in our society today is customer service and taking care of the customer,” Mike says. But Ulrich, he says, “is a great company to deal with. They take care of business, and I have nothing but great things to say about them.” #Garagespace #MikeShero #Backyardgaragestorage #Poolequipmentstorage #Lawnandgardenstorage

Andrew and Callie Whitwell of Coppell, TX, dreamed for several years about giving their daughters Emerson (7) and Payton (6) the perfect playhouse. They wanted a gift that would get the girls and their friends playing outside and get them off technology. Callie searched online for a playhouse and found the 8×10 Premier Hideout at Ulrich Barns. The Hideout was the right size for their yard, and she loved the looks of the front porch. The Whitwells appreciated working with their Ulrich salesman Nasar Sailab because of his quick service. He compared options and customized the playhouse, and their experience with him “couldn’t have been better,” Callie reports. Andrew and Callie wanted the playhouse to be a complete surprise from Santa. Ulrich Barns worked with them to create that memorable moment of amazement and awe for the girls, delivering the playhouse on Christmas Eve. Fitting the playhouse into the backyard required taking down then replacing a fence, but the team at Ulrich Barns worked smoothly and carefully, completing the job in less than two hours. On Christmas morning, the girls woke their parents early.  Emerson said, “While we were waiting for the cinnamon rolls to bake, I found a note in my stocking. It said something about a gift that was too big to fit under the tree.”  Out in the backyard, the girls found the playhouse. “I was so happy on the inside, and I was screaming on the outside. I loved it so much! It smelled like a brand-new home,” Emerson said, her eyes shining. The girls have plans to put a library up in the loft and paint paw prints on the floor. Andrew and Callie look forward to watching the girls and their friends enjoying the playhouse for years to come. #AndrewandCallieWhitwell #Christmas #playhouse

Jim Laferney grew up hunting and fishing, and wanted the same experience for his grandchildren. A medical professional, he needed a place to recharge. When Jim and his wife Claudia bought 386 acres, they wanted a cabin to stay in so they could spend more time together. Jim considered building a cabin. But when his son told him about Ulrich Log Cabins, Jim visited the factory. Impressed by their workmanship, he realized an Ulrich cabin would give them a nearly instant but high quality home. The Laferneys worked with a cabin designer to choose a 16×56 Homestead cabin. Jim says, “The designer was courteous. He didn’t mind our changing the floor plan.” He wanted a cabin that appealed to Claudia. He knew that when the cabin was set up, Claudia would want to spend time together at the ranch. “It made it a lot easier to get her out here once I had a place that she could call home away from home,” Jim says. Now Claudia and Jim enjoy reading on the front porch and spending time with their grandchildren, surrounded by mesquite, cactus, and wildlife. Claudia says, “Our front windows overlook a lot of our land, and it’s so wonderful to be here and see land—no traffic, no other houses.” Jim says his wife has done such a good job making their cabin a beautiful home that when the weekend is over, it’s hard to leave and go back to the city. He says with the quality team at Ulrich, “you’re going to have quality products.” “This is going to be a cabin for a lifetime,” he says. #HomesteadCabin #JimLaferney

Gordon Cook and Jennifer Green have been motorcycle enthusiasts their entire adult lives, so they know a thing or two about where to find the best motorcycle roads. One of those roads is near Pipe Creek, a small town located about an hour northwest of San Antonio. The couple noticed, however, that there didn’t seem to be any good places to spend the night in this area. So they decided to solve that problem for other bikers with a motorcycle themed cabin and RV park. It’s called Al’s Hideaway, named after Jennifer’s grandfather Albert, who was a WWII Prisoner of War. The park features six of our Ulrich Log Cabins. Each cabin is 14×20 ft, with a 6 ft covered porch. Inside, the cabins feature king sized beds, a large shower, microwave, and mini-fridge. Each cabin has a large headboard with a unique design. One of the headboards, of course, showcases an image of a motorcycle. Gordon and Jennifer also built a spacious pavilion for group events. It features an outdoor kitchen area built with reclaimed pallet lumber and burned wood plywood. Gordon and Jennifer didn’t want their guests to have all the cabin fun, though. The couple purchased our spacious Moose Creek series cabin for their home, as well as our Bear Lake series cabin for Jennifer’s mother. Both cabins are situated on the same property as the cabin park. #GordonCook #motorcyclecabin #AlsHideaway

Kathy Ballard used to live in a metropolitan area, but increasing property taxes and a desire to retire in the country made her start looking for other options. She found a one-acre lot for sale and quickly decided it was the place she was meant to be. The plot was completely undeveloped, so Kathy needed to bring water, septic, and electric service onto her property. Kathy had been thumbing through the Ulrich Cabins catalog for several years, dreaming of buying the perfect cabin. With the help of a sales consultant, she settled on a 16×40 one-bedroom design with a loft. While Kathy lives by herself most of the time, being able to host her children and grandchildren was very important to her. The loft serves as the guest quarters, which her grandkids love. Although the cabin is compact, Kathy doesn’t really feel like its a tiny home. After all, she has a full bathroom, kitchen, and guest bedroom. A small breakfast bar is tucked in at the end of her kitchen, and the space under the stairs has a storage nook. Windows high on the side of the cabin allow natural light to illuminate the living area. For her garage, Kathy purchased a 12×24 Premier Garage from the Ulrich sheds division. Not only does it protect her car but it provides additional storage space too. Kathy loves the feeling of peace and serenity she experiences in her cabin. “At my age, I’ve lived in more than a few homes,” she says. “I’ve never had a home that I have that same feeling every day when I walk in, of complete gratitude.” “Ulrich has been fabulous from start to finish,” says Kathy. #KathyBallard #Tinyhome

Pat and Jerry Bivens live on a pretty property in rural Grandview, Texas. While they needed some storage space, they wanted much more than a storage shed. They wanted a fun building to host family and friends. Pat worked with Ulrich Garages design consultant Dustin Young to select a 30 x 20 Raised Center Aisle Barn. The Bivens’ home has a cedar exterior, so they selected a wood-look siding for the exterior of the barn. The building features a large porch, overhead door, and a red metal roof. The thick 2×6 walls are insulated with polyurethane spray foam, and lined with pine boards and cedar wainscot. The temperature is controlled with a mini-split ductless HVAC system. Pat really enjoyed working with Brian Seaman, the Ulrich director of on-site construction. She says he did a great job communicating and guiding them through the construction process. The ground floor is a combination storage area and game room. The lawn mowers are parked off to one side, and the other side has space for a “cask” table, TV, and real pool table. Jerry has already had the guys over to play pool and hang out. The upstairs is a cozy loft with a sofa that converts to a bed, a TV, and a half bath for when family stays overnight or the great-grandkids have slumber parties. All in all, the barn looks really great on their country-themed property and provides a fun space to enjoy with family and friends. So far Ulrich has constructed two buildings for the Bivens, and they are considering the purchase of a third building. Jerry was impressed with the heavy-duty framing of the barn, and Pat really liked the Ulrich service. “I think the value was wonderful,” says Pat. “They told us what we were going to spend, and that’s what we spent. I think we got a great building for the price, and I wouldn’t be afraid to have them build a home!” #PatandJerryBivens #RaisedCenterAisleBarn #Barnforfamilyfun #UlrichBarn

John and his wife moved from a 100 acre ranch to a 1 acre semi-rural property. John wanted to keep his four wheeler, wood splitter, and a few other tools — so he started looking for a backyard barn. In John’s case, his backyard is a heavily wooded lot that slopes down from his home. He wanted to tuck his backyard barn away in the woods, keeping it out of view from the house. There definitely wasn’t enough room to deliver a 14×24 ft Ulrich Texan Barn between the many trees. Sales consultant Weston Ulrich assured John that we could carry the needed materials down the slope and build it in place. The day the construction crew arrived with a trailer full of building supplies, they began hand carrying the supplies from the driveway to the building site. A building of that size requires a lot of lumber. The crew worked for 3 ½ hours to hand-transport the supplies to the build site. John was impressed by the quality of the crew’s work. He’s a pretty meticulous gentleman, and counts his Ulrich backyard barn one of the few major purchases he’s ever made where there wasn’t an issue of some kind. “It’s just solid as a tank,” he says. One of the features he really likes is the loft. He has a lot of storage items up in the loft.  This helps keep the floor clear for his large, heavy equipment. The heavy duty ramp makes it easy to move his ATV in and out of the shed. John enjoyed working with sales consultant Weston Ulrich. “Weston was great. He was just very upfront and matter of fact. No B.S. kind of stuff, no hard sales. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience — really liked him.” John is very happy with his Ulrich experience and his new backyard barn. “It was actually way better than my high expectations,” he says. #backyardshed #TexanLoftedShed

Tom and Emilia Mason wanted a weekend home near relatives. After eight years in China for Tom’s job, Emilia wanted to reconnect with her grandchildren. She had a piece of family land cleared for a home near her relatives.  It was the beginning of a home building experience. While visiting Tom’s granddaughter who had an Ulrich cabin, Tom was impressed by the craftsmanship. The Masons made an appointment to tour model homes at the Ulrich Cabin Builders sales lot. Within five minutes of walking into the first model cabin, the Masons felt comfortably at home, convinced they also wanted an Ulrich cabin. Sales associate Chris Fenn patiently guided the Masons as they worked through customizing their 32×44 Moose Creek Cabin, explaining possible options. Emilia has a large family, so she wanted a large living room and space for a big dining table. “Porches are one of my favorite things. I love my porches,” she says. Tom does the cooking and wanted a big, custom kitchen. “Chris was great to work with all the way through,” Tom says. “The customer care that Ulrich provides is beyond anything that a normal contractor would even think about. Ulrich has done everything we’ve asked.”  Ulrich strives to provide a better home building experience. While the Ulrich team was building the porch, Emilia realized she wanted certain details changed. The crew immediately figured out how to accommodate her wishes. “Not only does Ulrich build the product correctly, their sense of pride and the way they handle themselves with their customers is pretty unique,” Tom says. “If something is not exactly right, we’ll discuss it,” finding the best approach to fix it. The Masons say their Ulrich Moose Creek Cabin fits them perfectly. Laughing, they explain, “This is our last home. This is where we’re going to stay.” #MooseCreekCabin #TomandEmiliaMason #WeekendHome

Jim Rolewicz co-owns Scenic Hill Vacations in Brenham, Texas. Jim is no stranger to cabin construction. His company has built twelve cabins on location for their vacation rentals which makes him a cabin expert. When it came time to build a cabin for his personal use, Jim didn’t want to go through the hassle of building a cabin from scratch on his property. He started looking around for cabin builders who offered a prebuilt solution — something he could simply move onto the property, already finished out. He liked what he saw online, and visited our headquarters in Cleburne for a factory tour. He was impressed with the construction quality and attention to detail. Brian Pokrifcsak, our Vice President of Cabin Sales, worked with Jim to customize the windows and interior layout. Rather than selecting a two bedroom cabin, Jim purchased a separate Ulrich cedar cottage to serve as his office and laundry room next door. About three months later, Jim’s new cabin rolled up to his property. Given the recent rain and narrow driveway, getting the cabin into position was a challenge. Our crew persevered, and soon Jim’s cabin was set up and ready to use. Jim wishes they had known about us years ago. It would’ve saved this cabin expert a lot of hassle and headache if they could’ve skipped the on-site construction, and instead had their rental cabins pre-built and delivered. #JimRolewicz #portablelogcabins #finishedoutcabin #logcabinsforsaleintexas #UlrichCabinsforVacationRentals

For Bill and Sheree Williams, Christmas 2019 was special. It was the first Christmas in their Ulrich log cabin. Christmas decor is a big deal for the Williamses. Bill pointed out that the placement of the windows along the front of the cabin was designed specifically to showcase their Christmas tree. Sheree has a flair for interior design, and she transformed the interior of the cabin into a “Hallmark” cabin, replete with lights, her collection of Santa figurines, and a tree that brushes the ceiling. On the outside, Santa waves beside the front door, and lights wrap the rustic cedar porch railings. Bill also outlined the roof in multi-colored lights. Situated on 20 acres, the cabin looks across a scenic valley. The front and back porches offer a great view of beautiful sunsets. The Williamses are very pleased with the energy efficiency of their cabin. Their cabin is the Ulrich Moosecreek 101, a 32×44 cabin. At 1,400 square feet, the cabin is the perfect size for Bill, Sheree, and their dogs. The Williams’s love their cabin. While they did need warranty work on their cabin, they are pleased that we took our warranty commitment seriously. They continue to recommend Ulrich Cabins to their friends. #BillandShereeWilliams #ChristmasCabin

Bill and Brenda Piganelli spend their workdays serving people as a firefighter and as a Family Nurse Practitioner. During time off, they enjoy spending time in the country caring for their livestock and pets on their 12-acre mini ranch. Some years ago they purchased a small Ulrich Barn Builders cabin so they could stay on the land over weekends. Eventually, they decided to move to the ranch permanently in order to better care for their animals and enjoy more time outdoors. The Piganellis wanted the cabin built more quickly than regular contractors could. They toured the Ulrich Barn Builders lot, then spent several years dreaming over house plans for their mini ranch. “When we met with the salesperson, it was a breeze. We got all our options, the way we wanted all our rooms to be,” Brenda said. Bill and Brenda were happily surprised by how individualized the Ulrich cabin could be. They chose a 28×42 Moose Creek Cabin, eliminating the hallway and one closet, swapping out a desk in the kitchen for more cabinets, and modifying the bathroom. “We always wanted a log cabin, but not necessarily the log look,” Bill said. Because Ulrich Barn Builders can customize any building, the Piganellis were able to get the cabin feel with cedar wainscot on the bottom half of the walls, with pine for the upper half and the ceiling. The couple was surprised at how fast Ulrich was able to build and deliver their new cabin. They were also impressed with Ulrich’s service. After the cabin was delivered, they found a few glitches with the electricity. These were quickly resolved when one of the Ulrich electricians stopped by on his way home from work the same day to fix the issues. The cabin is angled on a rise so the Piganellis can enjoy the view for miles out over the valley. “We’re just real excited about living here,” Brenda says. #BillandBrendaPiganelli #countrycabin #miniranch

Les Guyse and his wife Cathy built a house in the quiet, peaceful community of The Orchards on the Brazos River near Cleburne, Texas. They planted a salsa garden with several varieties of tomatoes and peppers, which Les spends a lot of time tending. He needed a shed for his garden tools and equipment. They chose to visit the Ulrich Barn Builders lot because of their good reviews. He and his wife were impressed with the quality and precision of the storage sheds. The Guises’ worked with sales associate Westin Ulrich to customize a shed for their needs. Les says Westin was knowledgeable, never pushed to make a deal, and was clear about expectations. The Guises’ chose a 12×20 Premier Portable Garage, the perfect size to house their three mowers and a small garden tractor. The garage was custom painted to match the siding and trim of their house. Due to the size of the shed, it was built onsite. About the building crew, Les says, “There’s nothing about the shed that I was unhappy about. They were quick, efficient and kind.” The building crew did exactly what they said they would do. Because the area is sandy, the garage later shifted. Ulrich quickly came back out and releveled the building. The Guises’ added a Texas star to the gable end of the garage. They plan to add racks and storage for garden tools that they use in their salsa garden. About his experience with Ulrich, Les says, “If you want a good shed, quality materials, you know where to go.” #LesGuyse #SalsaGarden #PremierPortableGarage