Dunster House warmalog wood treatment

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,715
Location
Royston, Herts
Hi folks,
I've just ordered a Dunster House "Severn" insulated log cabin (https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/severn-warmalog-cabin-w4-8m-x-d3-0m) and they recommended using Bedec barn paint as the wood treatment. They made a point of saying it needed specialist stuff because of the penetration into the insulated logs but I'm always curious about such claims.
Has anyone else treated a warmalog cabin and, if so, what did you use?
 
Tea Drinker
Don
Joined
13 Apr 2010
Posts
18,416
Location
Sunny Sussex
I've got a dunster house cabin, not a warmalog though. You'll love it.

I suspect they are concerned about any treatment reacting with the polyurethane. What they recommend at a guess won't react with it.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,715
Location
Royston, Herts
Cheers Macca, I'll follow their suggestion then.
I'm quite excited about the whole thing but it's a major project for me as the entire back garden is being redone (involving building one shed, emptying another into the new one, dismantling the old one, building up the cabin, fitting a new gate & path, etc). But it does mean my wife will be able to teach from home and her commutes will be of the order of seconds. Plus, it'll come in handy for drinkies with our mates while the kids hog the XBone. :)

I must remember to take some photos along the way.
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2003
Posts
6,914
Location
Northamptonshire
You wont regret it fella,

We have a 5m x 3m as large as we could go without planning permission due to the size of our garden, its Fully insulated and is my wife's office.

We built it ourselves and she loves it.

Was pretty straight forward to build and then got a sparky mate to hard wire and sign off on the electrics, i then installed Cat6 at various points into it and plumbed that into the house.

Was a fun build in the amazing summers heat we had last year.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Apr 2012
Posts
1,179
@checjb just a bump to this thread. I am looking at ordering this exact model but can't decide if it worth the extra for the warmalog version.

How are you finding the cabin? Do you use it all year round? I would be using as a home office so will be occupied and used every day.

Thanks
 
Associate
Joined
15 Jun 2020
Posts
4
Hi folks,
I've just ordered a Dunster House "Severn" insulated log cabin (https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/severn-warmalog-cabin-w4-8m-x-d3-0m) and they recommended using Bedec barn paint as the wood treatment. They made a point of saying it needed specialist stuff because of the penetration into the insulated logs but I'm always curious about such claims.
Has anyone else treated a warmalog cabin and, if so, what did you use?

Hey Wise Guy
A year on from your comments on the Severn Insulated Dunster House Log Cabin - how have you found the cabin since then? I'm thinking of buying one so any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2003
Posts
5,521
Location
Bedfordshire
Wouldn't recommend them. I'm sure they're fine if you're fortunate enough to get what you ordered but they are not very accommodating if there's any issues with their production quality or the failure to supply correct parts.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,715
Location
Royston, Herts
Hi. To be honest, it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. It still looks absolutely brand new and had been a godsend during lockdown (both for her now-online Pilates teaching but also for your family 'PE with Joe' workouts).
The only issue is that the doors need adjustment every so often as they flex. That only takes a couple of minutes though.
We use it all year round. I put a 2kW fan heater (quick heat boost) and another 2kW oil radiator to keep it at temperature. Both are set to give a comfortable temp and controlled via smart plugs. Even in the depths of winter it still hovers about 10C and takes about 15 mins to warm up. Leaving the double doors and windows open in summer helps if it gets a bit toasty and it's comfortable again in minutes.
Going by Steeps' comments I was obviously lucky as I did indeed get everything exactly as ordered.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Jun 2020
Posts
4
Thanks checjb
That's really helpful and good to hear some positive feedback. We really like the appearance of the cabin and the fact that it is insulated enough for winter use is great for us.
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
Thanks checjb
That's really helpful and good to hear some positive feedback. We really like the appearance of the cabin and the fact that it is insulated enough for winter use is great for us.

https://www.tuin.co.uk/

These guys have very good prices. They also have a very good no BS, nor marketing crap blog. Which explains why they don't sell insulation and where you can get it for cheap yourself seperately and how to insulate them.

I'd recommend reading their blogs.

They also have recommendations on what to use to protect them.

However they do say a well ventilated log cabin from them will last a lifetime with zero protection.
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
Thanks Sonny
Very helpful

https://www.tuin.co.uk/blog/log-cabin-treatment-panic/

that is the blog about treating a log cabin

"We give a ten year guarantee on our logs cabins against rot. There’s conditions and they have to be treated regularly blah, blah. If it was up to me I’d give a twenty year one and no treatment. It’s impossible for timber to rot!

Ok, maybe that’s a stupid thing to say, I’ll add a note to it: It’s impossible for timber to rot as long as it is always VENTILATED and allowed to DRY.

So I reckon our guarantee is safe. If you get any rot in 20 years time please let me know and I’ll pay for your replacement out of my own wages. It won’t happen though if she’s allowed to breathe, and, that’s the key with all timber products – ventilation. If it gets wet and it’s allowed to dry out it will NEVER ROT and that’s an inherent property of timber. Not just ours but any timber providing it is timber of a suitable quality for it’s intended use, especially for log cabins watch out for where the timber comes from, slow gown, cold climate etc."

sounds like the type of place I'd trust with my hard earned


https://www.tuin.co.uk/blog/insulating-a-log-cabin-floor-and-roof/

That's the blog post to do with insulation

"If you were one of my customers and you were buying a lovely new log cabin from me, especially one of our thicker wall log cabins such as 50mm upwards, I would be strongly urging you to insulate at the least the floor of your new log cabin. I would also try to nudge you to insulate the roof as well."

"Lots of retailers supply ‘insulation kits’ with their buildings, we don’t, but we could, we could make a bit of money out of it as well. But seeing as the cabins are costly enough as it is do you really want to add more cost if you can help it. So, instead of me supplying you a special insulation package and making some money from it I’ll tell you how to do it yourself and save money or better still spend the saving on better quality insulation. All the insulation I talk about is ordered through any builders merchant, most of which will deliver to you at the fraction of the cost of a retailers special ‘Insulation pack’."

Again - sounds like the type of place that isn't ripping off it's customers
 
Back
Top Bottom