Garden Corner Log Cabin advice

Hi Folks,

My wife and I are contemplating getting a corner log cabin for use year-round (except really cold parts of winter I guess?). We are likely going to put a small bar into it. Probably looking at 40mm wood.

Currently, just pricing options and I'm keen to hear from others if they have experience of this and can recommend companies or any advice/things to be wary off?

Some things I'll need to price:

Getting electric to it (will likely need to be spurred from a plug in the living room or similar by an electrician as the mains board etc is at the center of the house and not in a convenient place for the back garden)
Getting internet to it (I already have external cat cable so I'll likely use the same trench as the electric)
Getting a level base put in (probably concrete slabs)
Getting the structure assembled

The structure will be about 6/7 meters away from the house. No idea what this will all cost as yet. It may be prohibitively expensive, or it may be acceptable...

I really liked this one or similar https://www.tuin.co.uk/Emma-Corner-Log-Cabin.html - but the 6-7 month wait is putting me off.


Keen to hear advice or see pictures of what others have done.

Electric - We paid under £200 for 2 double sockets + shed consumer unit from the main board in the house, mine is very close to the house though so no armoured was needed.

Internet - I use homeplugs over said electric sockets!

Really consider insulation, and get the electrics in BEFORE you insulate (use celotex or something and it's a fairly easy DIY job)

My joiner did the base etc, just concrete stands rather than a full base as it's raised off the floor slightly.

Try local joiners, I looked at shed companies who sucked air through their teeth when I told them my budget, local joiner just asked what size/type and got on with it. I asked for 4ft doors and thicker shiplap than he quoted so that bumped the price up a little (approx 3m*4m ~ £2k a few year back though and wasn't log obviously)

I know people who recently bought a similar thing to the one you linked to, seems an easy DIY job once the base was in, just take your time.

I imagine you'll need a proper trip switch for external wiring so will need to go back to the mains board. But ask a qualified electrician!

If you find a good external buildings company they might have local people they recommend/use for bases - don't want them tuning up to drop it in / assemble it and them to say the base isn't suitable and you won't get a guarantee.

They've become popular as home offices and you can spend a fortune getting a nice heated/insulated one. We looked at the option when moving if we couldn't find somewhere with a spare room for an office, but hard to find a place with a suitable garden and at a price that didn't just make finding a bigger house more sensible!

Were you thinking a wood burner in or something for heat?

We hadn't really thought about heating yet. I do like the idea of a wood burner. But I think this is something we would add later to be honest?

I will contact some local companies. The few I have contacted just don't offer corner cabins!

Thanks for the tips so far!

Heating wise just insulation boards + a 2500w oil heater will be surprisingly cosy but make sure you get well sealed doors, upvc is best obviously but bumps the cost up, I wish I'd gone with them.

OP are you still in Scotland? Check what planning regs are up there re max height and % garden area it is allowed to occupy.
Foundation options
1) concrete base with pavior bricks (think driveway blocks) to raise the wood well clear of the base so it doesn't sit in the wet, and to lift it clear of the splash zone, but without making too crazy a step-up.
2) steel ground screws with caps to take the wood frame - can be tricky to level but can help if tree roots etc to consider.
3) if the ground is good, small clusters of paving slabs stacked and overlaid with the pavior brick on top.

Check re wind and whether any uplift resistance is required. Bolt the thing down to prevent sliding/take off if necessary, and make sure the foundation has enough oomph to hold it. This sounds daft, but some parts of Scotland get serious winds and a pitched shed roof makes a pretty good wing at times.

All cables should be exterior grade and armoured - especially the mains cable. It will need its own isolation, and depending on the age of your mains board, an RCD (if not already provided at the board). It may be that a spur as proposed will not be allowed due to the distance and likely usage of the cabin. A sparky can advise though. Likewise the ethernet should be grounded, shielded and in a reinforced sheath/conduit, and protected to ensure you don't get shocks if water gets in and it shorts.

Get pressure impregnated timbers, then seal any cut ends use an end-grain preservative (usually very very fluid to aid capillary intake) like Ensele or similar, then treat all the timbers with a decent copper based preservative - and do this before you join anything together. Especially the underside We forgot and did our graden shed after the event and some bits were inaccessible, others you can tell the joints aren't perfectly sealed etc. Make sure window cills are provided (bizarrely our shed didn't come with any - not ideal).

Check what roofing waterproofing it's using. Treat the ply sarking before you let them lay any felt/similar. Make sure felt is properly overlapped and glued with at least two lines of continuous sealant, and the lap done so water drains away from it, not into it. Then use a bitumen adhesive sealer (or as appropriate to the roof finish) to cap any and all nail tacks, etc. It sounds fussy but a bit of faff up-front will give you many more years life out of it down the road.

If you want something really snug consider SIPS panels. Or DIY them yourself out of decent ply each side, timber batten/stud between and the gaps filled with rigid foam insulation. The nail some tongue and groove/lapped horiztonal board outside for the appearance if you want that kind of appearance (and improved weather resistance).

Consider your window choices - glass vs polycarbonate vs acrylic. Each have their own benefits. Check colour-fastness and whether they will discolour with UV exposure.

If you're going to put lots of beer barrels in the thing consider how you get them in, and where they will sit. Make sure the floor has good support, and do you need a ramp?

Will you need any drainage - external from the roof, or internal from a sink, floor gulley etc?

Adding a gutter will help prolong the life and also lets you hook it up to a waterbutt for use in the garden, and (if not kept permanently full) contribute to storm attenuation to help offset the loss of soft-landscaping.

We got our shed from a place in Newcastle - I imagine they will deliver to Stirling. I'll see if my wife still has the details. I think they did more fancy options than the basic shed-style we went for. They were quite flexible on how to customise it to go into our corner location.

Thanks, folks, I'm still researching and getting quotes etc. Lot's to think about..... And some prices come back eye-watering. For example, if I want roof and floor insulation, I'm being charged an extra (for 4m x 3m cabin) £1200 for insulation materials and installation. As well as £1000 to install the actual structure. Yet I can order enough ceretex 50mm boards for just £250. And it would be put in when the structure is being installed anyways. So I'm being quoted £2000 to install it. £1000 if I don't want them to lay the insulation. I had expected to pay a little more for this, but....

When asking why an extra £1000 on top of insulation materials is being added on TOP of the actual installation cost already being charged to build the structure, I'm being met with silence. Plenty of chancers out there.

I have an electrician coming out at the weekend to provide a quote.

Try Google" Nordic timber buildings " and see if that's any use. Failing that I know a chap near pitlochry/Falkirk way who might be able to do something bespoke, usually for a sensible price Vs silly money it sounds like you're being quoted.

Thanks for your help so far folks.

I currently have a quote from a local company for the following design: https://amrlogcabins.co.uk/garden-bu...poolhouse-4x3/

That design, plus installation, added floor and roof insulation, as well as a wood foundation the quote is coming in at £5705. They seem to be a well-reviewed company with lots of work etc on facebook etc and customer comments.

Also, I have an electrician coming on Sunday to provide a quote. One thing I'm not sure about, what options are there for electrical installation if connecting directing to the main house fuse board etc is out of the question?

In our house (2004 build), the main electrical board is under the stairs in the middle of the house. As such, I can see no way to get to it from the garden (unless I am missing something). I know you can spur from a plug, but I am unsure what the limits of this would be. Likely the cabin will have a heater (which won't always be on) a fridge and some other electrical appliances.

So, I currently have £500 budgeted for this work and I'm hoping I'm not vastly off :(

Under the floor probably, can you get the floorboards up anywhere?

Unfortunately not mate, not without damaging tiles, having carpet ripped up etc.

A friend of mine just got an artic cabin which he's happy with, he did need to get some cushions made up for the seating though as the seats were a bit hard on the bum apparently. So maybe consider your seating as well?

Have you considered installing a generator in case of a blackout? This has been very relevant lately. We purchased a Generac GP3000i for our own use and even turned it on 2 times during the winter.

So, we have ordered everything (12 week wait :( )

What we are getting:

https://amrlogcabins.co.uk/garden-bu...poolhouse-4x3/ This is the cabin we went for. The company is local. They also put in a timber base - pressure treated wood rested on wooden posts which have had cement poured around them and have been levelled. The same company providing the cabin did the base. We are also getting insulation in the floor and on the roof. Also, guttering. All doors and windows are double glazed. Cost of all of this is £5,905 installed.

We have been quoted £600 by an electrician. This will have 30m armoured cable (it's a long run-up exterior wall into roofspace and down through the house following the same path as the solar panel installations), 4 double dockets, 2 internal lights on a dimmer and 3 external lights on a switch. Also, an installation certificate.

What I am struggling to get my head around is what paint and or preservatives for the wood I will need. The cabin is not treated. I will need to do this myself. The final colour (that we want) is dark grey on the exterior walls and gloss white on the exterior window and door frames. Inside, a natural kind of clear colour.

How will I go about doing this? Do I need something to put on the wood before I then put a colour on it? I want to give the wood the best treatment possible and a finish that will last and really protect it. So really keen to hear advice and recommendations on this.

Thank you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by neonplanet40

What I am struggling to get my head around is what paint and or preservatives for the wood I will need. The cabin is not treated. I will need to do this myself. The final colour (that we want) is dark grey on the exterior walls and gloss white on the exterior window and door frames. Inside, a natural kind of clear colour.

How will I go about doing this? Do I need something to put on the wood before I then put a colour on it? I want to give the wood the best treatment possible and a finish that will last and really protect it. So really keen to hear advice and recommendations on this.

Thank you.

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YES. In short preservatives then primer then paint, with drying time in between each. Inside you might want preservative (optional) then oil or varnish. Oil will probably give the natural look and texture that you're after. You also have the option externally of going preservative (optional), exterior yacht varnish, then paint to the colour you want, though you may still need to sand the varnish surface and use a heavy-duty primer to get a decent finish on a paint coat at which point why bother with the varnish?

We got our shed pre-pressure treated and then coated it ourselves in a heavy duty preservative that incorporates a stain. It shows off the wood, adds a slight stain (you can get different colours depending on the shade you want) and two coats of that is all it needed after some initial ensele treatment to any cut ends.

Oh and a warning on the oils like danish oil, teak oil etc. They're great but they don't half honk for a few weeks when first applied. The smell will fade with time but that first few months - wooh. :confused:

Thanks for the reply! Very helpful. Can you recommend any types/brands to use for the preserver and the paint? I don't want to use something cheap that won't last, but ideally, I don't want to pay more if the extra money offers no real benefit.

Do I need to use ensele on the ends of ours if I am applying a preserver? I.e. is ensele needed as well as preserver and then paint is going down that route? Or does ensele do the same as a preserver?

Thank you.

yes, ensele end grain is like a very fluid preservative especially designed to be sucked up the grain from the cut end by capillary action. Most rot attack starts on the cut ends so two or three good applications of ensele is recommended. Then coat everything with the main preservative. Don't do it the other way around or the capillary action won't take place.

(you don't coat the whole plank with ensele, just the cut ends)

I will fish out some products we have used and been impressed by later

for now if you want a bit of info this may help: https://www.lonzawoodprotection.com/...ve-protection/

i think there are various suppliers of ensele - this is SFAIK the source company (they don't sell products themselves)

So, I ordered:

Rustins end grain preserver
Barrettine Premier universal preserver - Clear
Sadolin Superdec Satin Opaque Wood Protection - Slate Grey
Sadolin Superdec Satin Opaque Wood Protection - Gloss white - for windows and door frames

Hopefully these will be sufficient.... they were expensive enough!

sadolin has a reasonable reputation, I think we've used that in the past.

I still haven't been able to do this yet. Its rained the past two weekends none stop :(

Only the timber stilt base is down (the cabin is, like everything else, delayed!). The base wood is pressure treated but obviously the cut ends need redone. I imagine a few weeks won't do any harm....


I am thinking (when it dries up!) that I will use the end grain preserver for the cut ends. But I was going to put the barrettine preserver on it as well and then paint over it using the sadoline. Is it okay to do this over the wood even if its pressure treated?

My reasoning is, that once the cabin goes on, I'm never going to be able to get near the base again. Is this a good plan, or waste?

Also, another question ( I tend to have loads :D), under the stilt base is just my grass. The base is raised slightly to make it level (although one side is quite close to the ground as it wasn't level). Should I do anything with this grass area, or is building over it (the grass will die without light i'd guess) be okay?

Thanks! I can't think of anything else at the moment.....