Man Builds Dream Quonset Hut Home in Hawaii

After purchasing five acres of land in Hawaii, Pete G. was excited to build a new home. When he stumbled upon a Quonset hut for sale on Facebook, he was intrigued.

“I emailed [the seller] and they linked to [SteelMaster’s] website,” Pete said. “I looked at your site and thought ‘These things are great!’ I watched all of the videos and that afternoon I emailed for more information.”

Shortly after he emailed SteelMaster, Pete purchased a 30’W X 15’H X 36’L Q-Model Quonset hut home, and After Market Specialist Travis Ashley was able to offer him free storage for a few months.

“The fact that they gave me free shipping and were able to store it for me was perfect. It was unheard of, I was like ‘What company does that?’” he said. “It worked out perfectly as my permits were going through.”

Obtaining a building permit can be a complicated process for residents of Hawaii looking to build a Quonset hut. Thus, having the appropriate documents was very important in Pete’s process.

“Whatever plans that come with it, they have to be permitted. I told [Travis] this is what I needed from the county and the certain requirements,” he said. “It can take anywhere from three months to three years to get your plans back in Hawaii.”

During the months of back and forth with his county on the permitting process, Pete got to work on the plans for his dream Quonset hut home.

“As I waited for my permit, I went on Pinterest and looked for anything Quonset. There were some really cool ones that looked expensive and small ones that just had a door or window,” he said. “There was no feel to them, they were sort of utility minded buildings. I wanted this to be a cool home and make it very bright and clear and airy.”

As soon as Pete had his plans in his hand and he was good to go, he started his build his Quonset hut with his friends that helped him with his concrete foundation.

“In four days, I was standing under my hut. Once it got all together it was pretty cool, I was like, ‘Wow this thing’s huge.’”

After the shell of the building was assembled, Pete worked on designing his custom endwalls and floor plan.

“I drew it out and brought it to a guy that could do a CAD drawing. He gave it a few little tweaks based on what the county wanted,” he said. “Once the endwalls were up, I kept it very open floor plan. There are only two or three walls just around the closets, hot water tank closet and the bathroom.”

Now, Pete is waiting on his final electrical permit for his final housing inspection.

“Then, it will be my home instead of just my house project.”

Pete says from start to finish, his total experience with SteelMaster was positive.

“It was the easiest that I’ve ever had to deal with anybody. Customer service was awesome,” Pete said. “It was super painless. It worked out perfectly, exactly how I was hoping it would work.”