Log cabin offices

Posted on April 21, 2011 by peterblogs

Log cabins make a great opportunity for office space, either in your garden, or on a commercial site.  And whilst, they are not Mayfair office space, they do provide a comfortable working environment.

We offer a great range of log cabin offices and these are not limited to the stock items.  Whether you have a base already prepared, and want a building to fit it, or have a special requirement, like an odd shape, length or even partition walls, we can help.

Advantages of log cabin offices

Here are several, that come to mind immediately:

  • Flexible design – as said earlier, we can make the office to your required measurements
  • Log cabin offices make a nice working environment – the offices are great open spaces with a good roof area, giving the feeling of space to work in.
  • Good heat retention – The walls of the office can be provided in thicknesses to keep you nice and snug.  Alternatively, they are easy to insulate. Walls of 44mm thick and above come with double glazing where windows are ordered, and we also have an optional roof insulation kit available
  • Log cabins are easy to build – they are very quick to construct and take only limited DIY skills – or you can get a local handy man or even our team to build them for you if you don’t want to.
  • Easy to maintain – just use a regular treatent of preservative stain, like you would use on a fence or other wood in the garden, and your office will give you many years of use.

So, remember to consider a log cabin office if you decide to work from home.

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Log cabins with hot tub

Posted on April 20, 2011 by peterblogs

The hot tub is becoming a more and more common addition to UK gardens.  There is a lot of activity on the web regarding log cabins with hot tubs, and so we thought it prudent to mention them.

And, it is easy to see why hot tubs in log cabins are so popular - log cabins provide a great place to sit and relax, whilst in a garden environment, away from the hustle and bustle of the house.  In the Summer, hot tubs are ideal for relaxing during those cool evenings or to cool off on a hot day (if you turn the heat down!).  During the Winter, hot tubs can provide welcome relief from the cold weather, and an ideal place to relax and unwind after a cold and hectic commute - all the more reason to have the tub in a log cabin.

Can log cabins have hot tubs in?

The short answer is yes. Many people have the hot tub out in the open, or in a gazebo, but this has the obvious disadvantage of it being cold getting to and from the tub.  If you have it in a log cabin in the garden, it allows for the space, some privacy and, if you go for log cabins with wider doors and plenty of window, you have a tub which is ‘almost’ outside!

It allows you then to have a nice place to change, somewhere sheltered to get in and out of the tub and it means you can shut it away securely from young children and animals (same thing? :-) ).

Can we supply hot tubs with our log cabins?

Although we don’t have tubs in our catalogue yet, it is certainly planned for the near future, and so please call us if you have an immediate requirement, as we may well be able to help you.

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Log cabin kits

Posted on April 19, 2011 by peterblogs

This article relates to log cabins for the garden.  See also our article on granny annexe planning permission.

Log cabins provide a radical alternative to the usual garden shed.  They are generally more substantial, and provide a more appealing looking structure when built. 

Because log cabins are supplied in kit form, with each layer of the cabin made of a single (or dual skinned) layer, it makes assembly easier, as you are not handling larger elements until you get the the gable ends, which generally come as a unit.

Because the walls are thicker on the kits, with walls of 44mm thick or greater, you are able to have double glazed windows, and these help with heat retention in the cold weather.  As it is in kit form, the glass is already fitted within a frame, and this slots into the wall at the height of your choice.  Because of the nature of the log kits, the windows don’t have to be in the originally planned area either – you can play around with the log elements and have the window at a different end of the wall than you planned for, or else, on another wall entirely, provided the lengths of wood allow for this. 

Doors tend to be more substantial too, as you slot these into the initial element of the wall, and build up around it.  Again, this allows for a thicker door and one that can also be partially or fully glazed and can have double glazed windows.

The kits are fun to construct and it is very satisfying to see the end result and indeed how quickly they are erected once you get the initial frame laid out.

Click here to see our range of log cabin kits for the garden or our kit houses.

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Ideal home expedition

Posted on March 15, 2011 by peterblogs

On your expedition to find the ideal home, here are a few suggestions. 

We offer a range of log cabins, and before you turn your nose up at the idea, remember they come in a range of sizes and different materials and so rather than being restricted for use as houses, they can provide a useful function in the garden too.

  • As a granny annexe – These days, a lot of people downsize for retirement, or want to move their children into their houses, whilst living in the garden, in order to help their families to progress on the housing market. Similarly, a granny annexe can provide a means of an older person maintaining their independence, whilst close relatives are only a few moments away if needs be.
  • As an extra room - games rooms and outside rooms, suitable for overnight stays and sleepovers, needn’t cost the earth.  They are easy to errect and provide added space for a house. Planning permission is often not required – see our article on permitted development for outbuildings.
  • Temporary accommodation / storage during building projects- Log cabins can provide a useful base for people who are building their own home, or doing drastic alterations or refurbishments.  They provide useful storage space and somewhere to sleep on site if necessary.  One the work is done, they provide a valuable addition to the house, for use in a myriad of ways.

We hope you like some of our ideas.  If you are looking to build a house, see our log house prices. 

If you’re looking for the ideal home exhibition, then click here.

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Planning consultant london

Posted on March 11, 2011 by peterblogs

How to choose a planning consultant (London / UK).

First of all, check out your local yellow pages and the search online, to see how established the consultants are. Look for recommendations from land agents or architects and then to check out references.

A few MUST ASK questions.
They need to tell you what experience they have

Ask the planning consultant the following questions:

  • Have they worked in your local planning office? 
    - It’s no good if they have just moved into the area and have no prior contact with your local planning officers.
  • Do they work/live in your area?
    - This is good to know as you want someone who actually knows your street/plot/ field.
  • Can they give you contact details of someone that they have done work for?
     - You only want to hear from people who have had a successful outcome in
    their planning process, it is of no use to talk to someone who has failed to
    get planning, you need to know that his consultant has a winning formula.

They should, in all cases, give you a half an hour for you to explain your
project to them free of charge, and then they can give you a quick idea as
to the likelihood of getting it passed. This can be frustrating as with
many planning issues it’s not always cut and dry.

If you don’t like what they tell you try another one get a second opinion!

But remember using a planning consultant throughout London and the UK is the best way to go.

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Planning consultant fees

Posted on March 11, 2011 by peterblogs

Using a planning consultant – is it worth the fees?

If I had a Pound for every person that rushed down to their local planning
offices with some of our plans and drawings and ask a local planning officer
to give them advice and an opinion there and then on the prospects of
building one of our kits, I would be a richer man!! Can you guess how many
people get a positive answers by doing this?

Firstly, the planning officer cannot give you an answer, other than tell you
to put in a planning application.  Alternatively, he/she will say, ‘thats looks very
interesting’ or ‘thats very nice’ or ‘I would love one of those myself’.
What he/she will not say is this,’ I can so reason why you shouldn’t go
straight ahead and build it’.

They may however ask you a myriad of questions and you may give the wrong
answer or an answer that may prejudice your chances of getting it approved
and you may not even know you have done it!

Secondly, Planning officers know that when a member of the public walks in
with their plans and pictures in their hot little hands its means mostly one
thing, time spent giving a 10 minute potted education session on the
planning rules.

So the best road to take is not the one to the local planners’ office but the
road to a planning consultant.

6 reasons why the planning consultant fees are worthwhile…

  1. They are experts.
  2. They already know all the local planning officers - in fact many consultants were planning officers!
  3. They will be able to present your information in a way that brings you
    the best result.
  4. Your local planning office will be happy that you are taking it seriously
    enough to employ someone who knows the rules already.
  5. You have a much better chance of getting the planning sorted by using
    a planning consultant.
  6. They they may be able to sort out your issue without the need for full planning!
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Granny annexe designs

Posted on March 7, 2011 by peterblogs

See also our post on Granny annexe planning permission.

With the flexibility of a log cabin, designing of granny annexes needn’t be  a restrictive process.  Rooms may be of any reasonable size and in any layout, and therefore you simply need to work out the layout that you require.

Common annexe design features
The typical granny annexe usually consists of one or two bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area, bathroom and sitting room.   We have several standard models and designs which have proved popular as the basis of an annexe, but we seldom ship a standard model.  Flexibility of design is the key to satisfaction, and we will happily assist you in the layout planning for your ideal solution.

Within the structure of the annexe, you will also want to plan the layout of windows.  These can be placed at many different heights and positions within the walls, and it is important to consider the light and position of furniture and fittings within the layout.  Don’t forget to plan the internal layout of kitchen and bathroom facilities, cupboards, storage and amenities, so that you can plan where windows and doors are best suited.

Building types
Although we produce round log cabins as houses, we are also able to take our cheaper, garden houses and thicken up the elements or even produce double skinned units.  These have the advantage of allowing a cheaper build and also for someone with rudimentary woodworking skills to assemble the structure to roof level, thus helping to reduce the overall costs of building a granny annexe.

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Granny annexe planning permission

Posted on March 7, 2011 by peterblogs

This is the third in our recent series regarding permitted development.  Please also see our first article with the government planning website link and our new article on granny annexe designs.

Planning permission for a granny annexe?

It is not possible to use outbuild­ings to create new independent dwellings – this would be to estab­lish separate building plots needing planning permission. How­ever, this does not prevent the use of existing out­buildings for additional accommodation pro­­vid­­ed it is used in a close associa­tion with – and not indepen­dently of – the main house. If an out­build­ing is used to house an elderly relative, with their own kitchen and bathroom, provided they are genuinely depen­dent on the occupants of the main house and spend time within the main house, planning permission should not be required for the annexe. We would always advise getting written consent from the planning authority before embarking upon a project such as this however.

There are obviously grey areas involved and it does to some extent depend on the behaviour and nature of the occupant of the annexe as much as the size and separation of that building from the house. So, whilst the use of a detached out­build­ing as a granny annexe to house an 85 year old disabled dependant relative would not need planning permission, to rent that building to an unrelat­ed 18 year old student with their own car and separate life would. For peace of mind, residential uses of this kind should be formally agreed with the planning department as not needing permission.

Disclaimer:
The advice on this page is an outline of permitted regulations.  It is important that you notify your planning authority of your intentions and we would not advise you undertake the erection on an annexe without getting written consent from the council firstly, as there may be local rules or restrictions that apply, that you need to comply with first.

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Permitted development outbuildings

Posted on March 7, 2011 by peterblogs

Outbuildings
This is our second article on permitted development in layman’s terms.  See our first article for a link to the government website on such matters, so that you can consult the rules yourself.

We all want the rules set out in a language we can understand, so, in plain and simple terms here is a potted summary of what you should be able to do with home offices.

Planning permission is not required to run a small business from your home,
provided that the primary and predominant use of the house remains as a
dwelling.

It is very difficult to make hard and fast statements as to when
running a business from home would cross the threshold and actually need
permission. This is because a lot depends on how it could affect neighbours
or change the char­ac­ter of the house. For example, having a small office
in an outbuilding that contains little more than a computer is very
different from running a car repair and spraying busi­ness from that same
building.

The amount of noise, traffic, visitors and the existence of
employees are all highly relevant. In today’s hi-tech world, many businesses
can exist invisibly within houses or in outbuildings in the garden without
involving any change of use in planning terms.

So, best of luck with your project and remember you can do a lot more than you think you can do without formal planning.

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Permitted development in layman’s terms

Posted on March 4, 2011 by peterblogs

The rules on permitted development are a bit of a grey area and the
legislation is probably one of the worst drafted in recent memory, I get the
feeling that it was intended to be like that!  Here is a link to the government
website on such matters, this will bore you senseless:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/responsibilities/planningpermission/permitted

But I know that what we all want is the rules set out in language we can all
understand. So, in plain and simple terms here is a potted summary of what
you should be able to do;

Detached Buildings
The construction and use of detached buildings in the garden of a house
offers huge possibilities for the creation of additional space. Although the
right to build outbuildings is restricted in Conservation Areas and AONB it
is not restricted in green belt areas and offers real potential to make
other­wise very restricted plots much more useful. The only limit to the
floor-space is that they do not cover more than half the garden area or
exceed four metres in height with a pitched roof or three metres with a flat
roof. The uses that they can be put to are very wide and limited only in the
same way as the use of the house itself. This is provided that the house and
its garden and outbuildings are only occupied as one residence.

So the best way of thinking about outbuildings is to consider them as parts
of the house – simply detached and located in the garden. Their uses can
include a games room, study, home office, additional lounge, work­shop,
laundry, guest bedrooms etc. The fact that such outbuildings can be built to
resi­dential standards, with cavity wall insulation and so forth does not
affect the need for planning permission and as I say, provided such
outbuild­ings are further than five metres from the house, not situated
between the house and any road and do not cover more than 50 percent of the
garden there are no limits in the area of floor space created.

It’s hard to understand why more people do not take advantage of the possibilities they
offer.

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