A Brette Haus cabin leaves the factory finished, wiring and plumbing included. On site, two jobs are left: set it on the foundation and connect it. Here is how that goes.

Production takes 12–14 weeks and delivery about two more. On site, a Tiny D or a single-module Æqua is set on its foundation in 2–3 hours. A Rustic takes 3–4 hours, because it also unfolds. Connecting electricity, water and drainage then takes minutes: all inlets are already brought outside the building.

Production: 12–14 weeks, depending on the factory's workload.
Delivery: about 2 weeks. To remote parts of Europe and to islands it can take up to 4 weeks, because of ferry schedules.
Installation: 2–4 hours on site, depending on the model and the site.

Æqua: 2.5 m wide, 2.8 m high. Æqua Core about 2,400 kg, Æqua Cella about 2,800 kg. Up to four modules per trailer.
Tiny D: 2.9 m wide, 3.9 m high, about 3,500 kg. Two per trailer.
Rustic: 2.9 m wide, 2.9 m high, about 10,500 kg. Two per trailer.

Weights change with the specification, and length varies by layout; it matters less for transport than width and height. Æqua modules are about the size of a shipping container, so they are the quickest and cheapest to ship. Tiny D is 3.9 m high and needs a low-bed trailer. In the season when farm machinery is moved, low-bed trailers are in demand, which can add a short wait.

1. Unpack the lower part of the cabin.
2. Fit the lifting bars: steel tubes under the cabin that take the slings, so the slings do not touch the walls and damage them during unloading.
3. Attach the slings, lift the cabin and move it to its place.
4. The installers line the cabin up with the prepared foundation and guide it down.
5. The crane leaves. The team removes the remaining packaging, fits the parts that travel separately, unpacks the furniture and checks that everything arrived undamaged.

The whole process takes 2–3 hours. It can stretch to about 4 hours when the site adds work: closing a city street to unload, for example, or lifting the cabin over an old manor house to set it behind a 200-year-old oak.

Rustic is a foldable building. Between landing on the foundation and the final checks, it is unfolded on site. That takes about an hour if nothing gets in the way, so a full Rustic installation takes 3–4 hours. It is a multi-stage process that is hard to get right without preparation, so Brette Haus always sends its own team to install Rustic.

It depends on access and on the distance from the truck to the final position. On open rural sites a forklift often does the job: a 20-tonne forklift unloaded and placed a Rustic in Limbaži, Latvia. When there are obstacles between the truck and the site, use a crane.

The crane needed depends on two things: the weight of the building, and how far the crane stands from the truck and from the final position. If the crane can stand right next to both, a 10-tonne truck-mounted crane, such as a Palfinger, is enough for unloading. Every extra metre of reach quickly raises the crane size needed, sometimes by a whole class. Lifting a cabin over a two- or three-storey house looks dramatic but is routine. A long distance between the truck and the site is the harder problem.

To choose a crane, call a local crane hire company. Their manager will work out the capacity and reach, and may visit the site to check that the crane can get in, set up and stand without sinking.

We recommend a team of three: two people work with the cabin and the crane, the third coordinates and brings tools. Rustic is always installed by our team. A Tiny D or a single-module Æqua can be installed by a local contractor or by the hotel's own staff. We provide detailed instructions and online support, and we usually send our installation supervisor to advise on site.

Foundation. Ready before the truck arrives and level within 5 mm per metre. Our team carries thin shims to correct a larger deviation. Leave at least 15 cm of clear space between the ground and the underside of the building, so air can move under the floor. With less than 15 cm, our warranty does not apply.
Crane or forklift. Booked and paid for by the client. The crane company gets the permit for where the crane stands; the transport company agrees where the truck stops to unload.
Power on site. Preferably available, for charging and running tools.
Electrician and plumber. Booked locally for the connections.
Access. Checked for the truck and the crane: width, slope and ground.

Connections are made by a local electrician and plumber. Every building comes with a flexible drain pipe brought outside, a water inlet pipe with spare length and a heating cable so it does not freeze in winter, and an external conduit for the power cable. With those in place, connecting takes minutes.

Access roads. In spring and autumn a dirt road can turn soft after rain, and a steep climb can stop a heavy truck. In winter, ice does the same. Transport companies carry traction mats for these cases.
Wind and rain. In strong wind or heavy rain the crane company may refuse to lift. Extra costs from rescheduling are paid by the client.
Cold. Once, on the Baltic coast in winter, at −25 °C, during a custom multi-module installation, our crane froze on site. The next day a second crane arrived and froze too. Leave time in the schedule for winter installations.

See the models: Tiny D, Rustic, Æqua. If you are planning guest cabins, read how to calculate payback.