Wow those are pretty cool, thanks for that!
Building a Log Cabin
- Thread starter Lt_Red
- Start date
Wow those are pretty cool, thanks for that!
Well, I'm Ok with using excavators, chop saws, mastic guns and paint brushes, but electrics I have no idea whatsoever - plus I need an electrical installation certificate for the insurance, and its a nightmare getting one issued on installations completed by a noob. I have budgeted for a sparky, if only I could find one willing to do such a small job. I'LL PAY CASH DAMNIT!
Last edited:
Now that's a bloody good point - would have saved me a lot of grief *facepalms. Anyway the router will be out there so...
Yes we have loads of garden left, there's another 32 meters from the back of the "shed" to the bottom fence.... Small house, big garden
Well, finally found a sparky who bothered to show up on the fourth attempt. He took one look at the armoured cable running to the "shed" that had been laid and shook his head. "You can only run a maximum of 6 sockets on that sir."
Arse. This of course means I now need to lay another beefier armoured cable to run the planned electrics which means TEARING UP THE BLOODY PATIO AGAIN. It is true to say that like most of this build, I am a noob.
Also means, like the busted Cat5, it can no longer run discretely under the concrete base and I have to make another penetration in the external wall. Which will of course expose the timber to rot unless properly sealed.
****in' 'ell. Oh well up and at 'em as they say, looks like I'm getting me spade out tomorrow.
Note to self - when undertaking projects, ensure you are fully aware of the capabilities of the services you lay, before laying a bleedin' patio over them. Thank god I did not concrete it in
Arse. This of course means I now need to lay another beefier armoured cable to run the planned electrics which means TEARING UP THE BLOODY PATIO AGAIN. It is true to say that like most of this build, I am a noob.
Also means, like the busted Cat5, it can no longer run discretely under the concrete base and I have to make another penetration in the external wall. Which will of course expose the timber to rot unless properly sealed.
****in' 'ell. Oh well up and at 'em as they say, looks like I'm getting me spade out tomorrow.
Note to self - when undertaking projects, ensure you are fully aware of the capabilities of the services you lay, before laying a bleedin' patio over them. Thank god I did not concrete it in
Last edited:
Well, first off its baking hot here today yet it is quite cool in the cabin.
Obviously I cant tell you what's its like when its cold yet.
Go for the thickest logs you can afford.
Re: Cavity wall; Keops sell a sliding bracket system which can be used to a fix batons to the inside of the cabin vertically and allow the wood to expand naturally, so you can stud partition it and insulate so long as you use a vapour barrier.
Obviously I cant tell you what's its like when its cold yet.
Go for the thickest logs you can afford.
Re: Cavity wall; Keops sell a sliding bracket system which can be used to a fix batons to the inside of the cabin vertically and allow the wood to expand naturally, so you can stud partition it and insulate so long as you use a vapour barrier.
Ok here we go; what a day, totally cream crackered. Got up and took the missus to the station then by 8am had a spade in the ground digging out the trench for the upgraded armoured cable. Power was on by lunchtime, tested by 2.30, I did some of the smaller jobs and the desks arrived! Getting there....
Huge progress today, here's some images;
The cable runs under this area of turf as I just could not face any more slab laying. You can just about see where I have relayed the turf aftyer backfilling, it then goes left in front of the blue-ish bush then hard right at the boundary fence...
... and then down the side of the cabin and tidies up in to a bit of 24mm poly pipe before going through the wall. Mastic in all the holes and a fillet around the join to the wall.
Here's the consumer unit!
Laid the tiles the other day, still need to grout them but the powers on so get the washing machine back in, I'll work around it for the grout;
Back in the office and the laminate floor is laid and the plugs are in with a ring main running around the flooring shoved into the expansion gap. I just need to do the skirting boards to hide the cables;
Blinds are up on the windows, the ones for the doors were all the wrong size, the manufacturer is replacing them on Monday with a big SORRY;
Here's the extended rainwater harvesting, now with an overflow as it just seems to be filling in a day or two in the recent weather and there's 800 litres capacity out there. (mind you been boiling hot here today). Theres also a double external plug fitted between the butts for garden lighting and a mower.
Huge progress today, here's some images;
The cable runs under this area of turf as I just could not face any more slab laying. You can just about see where I have relayed the turf aftyer backfilling, it then goes left in front of the blue-ish bush then hard right at the boundary fence...
... and then down the side of the cabin and tidies up in to a bit of 24mm poly pipe before going through the wall. Mastic in all the holes and a fillet around the join to the wall.
Here's the consumer unit!
Laid the tiles the other day, still need to grout them but the powers on so get the washing machine back in, I'll work around it for the grout;
Back in the office and the laminate floor is laid and the plugs are in with a ring main running around the flooring shoved into the expansion gap. I just need to do the skirting boards to hide the cables;
Blinds are up on the windows, the ones for the doors were all the wrong size, the manufacturer is replacing them on Monday with a big SORRY;
Here's the extended rainwater harvesting, now with an overflow as it just seems to be filling in a day or two in the recent weather and there's 800 litres capacity out there. (mind you been boiling hot here today). Theres also a double external plug fitted between the butts for garden lighting and a mower.
Last edited:
The service penetrations, the one on the left is the Cat5 Ethernet, the one on the right is the Mains Power;
External lights fitted. I really don't like the white PVC drip guards at the bottom of the windows. Going to paint them black (add that to the list Red);
Now for the money shots;
External lights fitted. I really don't like the white PVC drip guards at the bottom of the windows. Going to paint them black (add that to the list Red);
Now for the money shots;
Last edited:
Looking damn fine
What size was your original mains supply supply cable? I'm planning a 20amp supply (with 4mm twin and earth in armoured) into a consumer unit that will be sparked up for both lighting and mains
I have no idea, but it was on a 32 amp breaker back at the mains board in the house and the sparky insisted it was not up to 11 double sockets, lighting and externals. Its now on a 40 amp breaker.
Jesus - a 40 amp supply can give 9600 watts or so - just what the hell are you running in there - are you growing stuff that needs hydroponics and lots of light and heat?
I'd still be interested to know what your initial cables thickness was - this can really affect how much current draw/wattage you can draw
I'm sorry Quink I have absolutely no idea, but when you consider the freezer, washing machine (which pulls 2250 watts when heating) and a tumble dryer which no doubt the missus will have on at the same time as the washer in the winter, plus my office equipment, PC, a kettle etc, external lighting - basically I am moving most of our household electrical equipment out there so it had to be done.
a log cabin to me should be made from big chunky logs, but that's personal choice.
Cracking job on the design and build though
Thanks mate, but this is Kent, not Kansas
I used a premixed flexible tile adhesive from Topps Tiles suitable for wooden floors. I will be using a flexible grout from Homebase (which I will have to mix). For bathrooms you should first lay down a 5mm layer of marine ply, screw it down in a checker board type style every 10cm or so, then coat with PVA solution, then tile onto it. This is because the boards will get wet and will twist.
DOH! *facepalm
I'm not telling you
Thanks. I have a plan to put a tap on the bottom fo the barrels feeding into the overflow so I have pressure on demand and then run a hose pipe aroun the garden with holes in it so I can water the entire garden at the twist of a tap
hmmm...
1. I would have had the door to the utility hinged from the other side. In fact it was drawn hinged from the other side in the original sketches I sent to Keops. To be honest I didn't notice for about a week it was wrong. Oh well small issue really.
2. I would have planned the services laid in the concrete better - the only one remaining is the TV cable, I have replaced the rest.
3. I would have followed bitslices advice.
4. I would have checked the price of the paint a little earlier.
5. I would not have laid the patio and path until I was finished.
The good news is I am typing this from within the cabin. I am in! A few more bits to move down then you'll get some images tomorrow night.
Then on to the more important bit, the Nursery...
Fair play, white + gungy = PVA in my eyes, but yes it should be SBR diluted. I used SBR on my bathroom floor and on the ply partitions inside the shower unit before tiling. I HATE tiling.
Good plan pulling up the floor boards and replacing with thick ply.
Good plan pulling up the floor boards and replacing with thick ply.
Yeah my bathroom floor is 18 months down and its developed a really annoying squeak. Its screwed down to hell and back and the grout is still OK, but that damned squeak! Maybe I'm a perfectionist but squeaky floor boards really wind me up.
One day I will tear it up and re-do it. Right now I have other things on my list.
One day I will tear it up and re-do it. Right now I have other things on my list.
Here we go I have tried to stitch together some images of the inside of the office after the skirtings, architrave and desks have been installed. As you can see I am not very good at this image stitching lark...
[edit] found a free bit of software which does it for you... [/edit]
[edit] found a free bit of software which does it for you... [/edit]
Last edited:
I'm not sure in green field land to be honest. I think as long as its not more than one storey, is below 2.something meters in height, does not have a veranda or balcony and is not within 2.5m of the fence then yes, but I could be wrong.
Its a complex field, have a look here: http://www.logcabins.co.uk/latest_n...to-planning-permission-permitted-development/
In any case a building of over 30m^2 of floor area will need building regulations and that complicates log cabins in terms of fire protection and insulation.
I am no expert though.
I bet it smells awesome inside.
Actually it smells quite strongly of Cuprinol Wood Preservative at the moment
I jest, its a lovely new pine smell, the solvent aroma is almost gone.
Last edited:
Its just suddenly struck me that I have not considered the rainwater harvesting freezing in the winter. The overflow pipes are OK as they are never full, but what if the hoppers freeze? The snow melt would likely overflow above the ice in the hoppers and down onto the concrete base and under the cabin, potentially causing damp/rot issues.
The DPM the cabin is laid upon (in addition to the one in the concrete base) is lipped up at the back where the hoppers are located so any water collecting on the "shelf" would be diverted away from the pressure treated bearers, so that's not all bad, but a direct overflow out the top of the hoppers may cause damage to the external walls.
Also, the final downpipe of the gutter is below the water line, so the melt water may back up the downpipe and the gutters themselves may overflow. That ones easy to sort though.
Hmmm.... Anyone know anything about this stuff? I guess I could insulate the hoppers with foil backed rockwool and gaffa tape...
[edit] I have just had a look at it and I think if the downpipes into the gutters are above the water line and that water freezes, the melt water collected by the gutter system would flow over the ice in the hopper and into the overflow system anyway... so long and the melt water does not exceed the capacity of the overflow pipe it should be OK. I think... I will cut the final downpipe section off to a few centimetres above the full water line. [/edit]
The DPM the cabin is laid upon (in addition to the one in the concrete base) is lipped up at the back where the hoppers are located so any water collecting on the "shelf" would be diverted away from the pressure treated bearers, so that's not all bad, but a direct overflow out the top of the hoppers may cause damage to the external walls.
Also, the final downpipe of the gutter is below the water line, so the melt water may back up the downpipe and the gutters themselves may overflow. That ones easy to sort though.
Hmmm.... Anyone know anything about this stuff? I guess I could insulate the hoppers with foil backed rockwool and gaffa tape...
[edit] I have just had a look at it and I think if the downpipes into the gutters are above the water line and that water freezes, the melt water collected by the gutter system would flow over the ice in the hopper and into the overflow system anyway... so long and the melt water does not exceed the capacity of the overflow pipe it should be OK. I think... I will cut the final downpipe section off to a few centimetres above the full water line. [/edit]
Last edited:
Yeah I know you mentioned it Nightglow, I didn't quite click that you were referring to freezing.
Thanks for the reassurance.
Thanks for the reassurance.
People wanted to see a breakdown of costs.
This has been a scary exercise for me... here we go:
Planning Permission: £150
Hire of mini excavator: £160
Groundworks: £1400
Cabin: £9100 (incl. insulation, double glazing, multi-point locking doors, roof shingles, fitting and VAT)
Flooring: £300
Electrics: £700
Paint: £600
External Lights, misc power fittings, Lan, TV etc: £125
Total: £12535
I got 9500 sheets for my car, so I have effectively spent £3035 to complete the project, and I don't have a car anymore - but I have a fast motorbike so who cares and more importantly we don't have any more debt.
Its been worth it, the nursery is now complete, we have an extra utility room which means we have a lot more room in the house as all the white goods are out, a huge office/sleeper and at about a third of the cost of a similar extension (a fifth if you look at the extension we would have hoped for).
Not only that but it looks, feels and SMELLS fantastic
We are getting the property valued soon, I bet a copy of Arma 2 this will have re-payed itself in terms of house value alone....
This has been a scary exercise for me... here we go:
Planning Permission: £150
Hire of mini excavator: £160
Groundworks: £1400
Cabin: £9100 (incl. insulation, double glazing, multi-point locking doors, roof shingles, fitting and VAT)
Flooring: £300
Electrics: £700
Paint: £600
External Lights, misc power fittings, Lan, TV etc: £125
Total: £12535
I got 9500 sheets for my car, so I have effectively spent £3035 to complete the project, and I don't have a car anymore
- but I have a fast motorbike so who cares and more importantly we don't have any more debt.Its been worth it, the nursery is now complete, we have an extra utility room which means we have a lot more room in the house as all the white goods are out, a huge office/sleeper and at about a third of the cost of a similar extension (a fifth if you look at the extension we would have hoped for).
Not only that but it looks, feels and SMELLS fantastic
We are getting the property valued soon, I bet a copy of Arma 2 this will have re-payed itself in terms of house value alone....
Last edited: