Tag Archives: Log cabins

Buy log cabins

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What is the process of buying log cabin homes or smaller log cabins? With log cabin homes   you need to consider planning permission, and so have to go through the normal route of planning applications.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPZxqAdFvFo&feature=plcp[/youtube]

There are situations where full planning is not necessary, and permitted development rules apply such as with certain garden buildings and some granny annexes – see our granny annexe range article.

Log cabin in the gardenOnce you have a site and have spoken with the council and decided which route is appropriate, then you need to choose a model, or talk to us about bespoke log cabins, where we make the cabin to your plans.

Once you have chosen the model and have the relevant permissions, you can contact us to order.

A specification of all items to be delivered will be sent with a contract / order form for larger buildings and a confirmation of order details with smaller buildings. Once you are happy with the details, the next stage is to supply a deposit. Depending upon the project, a deposit of varying size is required and stage payments upon manufacture and delivery of the building. If we are erecting the cabin for you, we will then require payment stages for the build.

An idea of delivery date will be discussed at time of order and this will be tighened up as it gets closer to the date and a definite delivery date can be established. As each cabin is manufactured to order, there is always a delay of some weeks before delivery, as there are many logs to cut and assemble for all but the smallest of cabins. For all cabins you will need to have some sort of foundation work (small log cabins use hard standing / concrete / slabs). We will discuss the requirements with you and smooth the process of you buying and erecting the cabin of your choice, if you require help or are having the cabin erected by us.

Log cabin foundations

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We are often asked about the foundations needed for log cabins. We always provide guidance and specifications for larger log cabins, with the plans, but here are some notes explaining about the different considerations when laying foundations for log cabins.

The video below shows use of concrete piers on a granny annexe building foundation:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csul1LsLUYM[/youtube]

Types of foundations for log cabins

Several different types of log cabin foundations; the type you can use is determined by the topology of land, slope, and by soil conditions. For instance, this can be demonstrated with the difference between sloping and flat land.

Sloping sites for buildings

Log cabin foundation - pier typeIf you have a sloping piece of land, a concrete slab, or suspended concrete floor is less practical than doing a pier foundation. This is mainly because, if you consider a sloping ground, you have to do a lot of landscaping to level the ground and once you do that, you will often have a cut into the ground on one side. You then end up with a wall of earth and build a retaining wall to stop moisture coming running down slope onto slab that the building rests upon. On sloping ground, this option is therefore a lot more expensive.

If you build piers, this reduces the landscaping necessary. At the highest point of land, you have the lowest piers and lowest you have highest piers.  It is a more cost effective solution, as you don’t have to do a lot of landscaping and you don’t use as much concrete, so it is more environmentally friendly too.

Where you have heavy clay under top soil, you have to be careful with pier foundation, as you have to have much wider holes as clay is not a very stable substrate. If you build in limestone it is very stable, although you then have problems of digging holes in rock, but you don’t have to go down too far.

So, for sloping ground the pier is often the best option. Second best is to level out and build a retaining wall and then for smaller buildings, a decking frame on top of that for building to sit on.

For very small building, then there is less work to level the ground (such as with a 3 x 3 metre cabin), but as you get to larger structures, such as 8 x 15 metres, you have to move huge amounts of soil.

 

Level sites make the better option

On a level site, you can use a concrete slab, but you must take account of the soil substrate under-ground. Especially with larger buildings you have to be careful that foundation depths are correct. With clay soil, with significant clay content, you may need to dig out to the clay and put hard core down before you put down the slab and rebar into the slab to give it reinforcement. If it is rock or limestone, its’ a pretty solid base and you can dig out top soil and use a lighter cover of hard core and place the slab on that.

This is not intended as a definitive guide to log cabin foundations, and you will need to judge your foundations depending upon what the building inspector requires.

However, the building inspector will usually have a very good idea of local conditions. They will help to advise you as to what you will need to do. Otherwise, with significant log cabin sizes, you may need to take cores and samples to assess the foundation for your new log cabin.

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Bespoke log cabins

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What is a bespoke log cabin? Well, this is pretty much what we do for each customer; bespoke means that you get an individual design for your cabin. Now, how easily we can alter the design depends upon the type of cabin and we would need to know before we agree on a price, but in general, all of our log cabins can be altered to suit your needs, so you need not settle for something that isn’t quite right for you.

finished-building-lighterWith log cabin homes – slight alterations, such as room sizes and layout changes are possible, usually without any extra costs involved, apart from accounting for the extra wood used if more is needed. For a completely bespoke structure, there are design costs, but in general, only the houses would have a cost implication for design – a garden building or granny annexe are usually free for us to design.

Granny annexes and offices are two of the most commonly altered structures we do and so are bespoke by their nature. I cannot remember when someone last went for an off the peg model, and this is where our bespoke log cabin service really scores. Because we are happy to provide you with the length, height, width and partition needs for your log cabin, you will end up with just what is right for you, at no extra cost.

But surely bespoke it must cost more?

HB-3No. We only charge for the volume of wood we use and as each cabin is made to order for our customers, the fact that we make a bespoke design is just part of our service. So, although a cabin that is 5.5metres long and 3 metres wide, with a partition, will cost more than one without a partition, you know that you are getting great value for money and only paying for what your require.

What about windows and doors? Are these bespoke?

We have a range of windows and doors to choose from, and although these are usually off the shelf, you are able to have them in varying positions and quantities and to choose from single and double windows and doors (which can be partially or fully glazed too). This makes for some great personal touches to your cabin and means that your bespoke cabin is truly unique to your needs.

Call us for a quotation or make an online enquiry with your needs and we’ll call you straight back. Thanks for reading!

Holiday in a log cabin.

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Before you phone asking us: no we don’t offer holidays!  Why mention them then?  Well, we thing that if you want a really good idea whether you want to buy a log cabin to live in permanently, then what better way than to take a holiday in one.

With this in mind, we have started to develop a great little section on log cabin holidays.  Take a log cabin holiday - where better to relax?There are a great range to choose from, spread throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, at great destinations. They offer a great base from which to holiday, and the locations are often no less than stunning.  Please contact the holiday companies directly to plan your trip, as we are not associated with them in any way.  Once you want to buy a log cabin, then please contact us, as that we can help with!

We have been careful to select sites that we feel look nice, but we cannot make a recommendation as to the location or holiday destination – they are merely suggestions of places we thing are suitable log cabin holiday sites.  We hope that you find the directory useful.

Have you stayed in a log cabin?
Tell us if you’ve ever stayed in a log cabin, and if not, is it something you’ve considered? Perhaps you’ve been abroad an stayed in one there, or you like the idea of a Christmas spent in a nice cosy cabin with a roaring fire? All comments welcome and thank you for visiting!

 

What are log cabins suitable for?

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We get many calls regarding log cabins and their suitability for use as certain structure types.  But the truth is, that there are a whole host of applications for which a log cabin is ideal.

Amongst their uses, most people associate log cabins as houses, but are less familiar that they make great offices, are suitable for use as a granny annexe or as an occasional room in the garden for Summer use or as a games room.

Log cabin in the gardenFor the most part, the suitability of a log cabin for use as a particular structure type really depends upon whether it is of the correct thickness and structure type.  For instance, ou wouldn’t make a log cabin home out of the same form of log as you would say an office for someone working at home.  Log cabin houses are made from a large part of the thickness of a trunk (although there are also flat log houses and laminated log houses too). An office can be made from much thinner material, although careful thought as to the thickness and indeed whether you want extra insulation, or even a double skinned unit if you want to be snug in the winter and cool in the summer.

Anything you want to live in has to conform to building regulations and so make sure you tell us what you want to use a structure for, before you order it.  We will generally make sure we ask the right questions, but if you want a building as a salon, and not just to work at home, you might want a greater insulation on the structure.

See our garden house prices and here to see our log cabin prices. You can contact us, without obligation or send us a request online at any time.

Log cabins Yorkshire | Log cabins in Yorkshire

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If you are looking for somewhere to go for a relaxing long weekend or a proper summer break, you should consider something that is not as obvious. Just as rewarding as the more popular resorts staying in one of the many log cabins Yorkshire has to offer, is a different sort of holiday.

In Yorkshire there are numerous places of interest, from the canals developed through the industrial revolution to the stunningly beautiful Dales and the Scarborough seaside.

Log cabins Yorkshire

To help enhance your say whilst in Yorkshire, stay in a genuine and atmospheric Log Cabin. There is simply no other type of accommodation that brings together the feeling of being really on holiday with the pleasure of waking up each morning with the ambiance of scented pine and the twitter of birds bringing the whole of nature to our senses.

Staying in a log cabin will be so unlike your own home that you will feel like you really have been transported to a completely new level of holiday experience.

There is something enervating and uplifting about Yorkshire and the friendliness of its people and its countryside and no more so than the ‘getaway from it all’ Yorkshire Dales. A perfect combination of nature meets the natural a log cabin and the Dales.

Go to a little village of High Eldwick, Near Baildon and follow the road through the road over the cattle grill past the golf course on your right hand side. Follow on for about a mile of beautiful winding countryside until you stumble upon a dry stone wall which is the corner of Sconce Lane.  About one mile up Scounce Lane, is a village of beautiful log cabins of different shapes and sizes. Pop in and book a long weekend there , its called Faweather Grange and you can look on their website for details. Stay a while and feel the difference it will make to your mood, its practically hypnotising.

I would point out at this juncture that you will be seriously in danger of wanting to buy one of these log cabins and put it at the bottom of your own back garden, well I WOULDNT BLAME YOU! Many have done so and funnily enough have closed the door on their main house and wondered down the end of the garden and spent the weekend in their very own hideaway, they say that its like being away for a long weekend.

So if you think you are looking to buy a log home then why not take a trip to Yorkshire first and spend a week just testing it out, we think YOU WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED!

Log cabin offices

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Log cabins make a great opportunity for office space, either in your garden, or on a commercial site. As log cabin offices, they provide a comfortable and professional 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.

Log cabins with hot tub

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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.

Log cabin kits

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.