Log Cabin - Massive Help Needed!!!!

You're probably better off building it from block and brick from a planning POV. Our cabin is a bit bigger, and factoring in cost of base and all materials, we were close to £8k all in (I built ours, but paid for the wiring and base). The walls of mine are 70mm thick, so it keeps warm quite well. Floor is insulated with 50mm Celotex, the roof with 50mm Celotex as well as 50mm (or 75) glass fibre insulation.

Paying someone else to do it properly for a good spec building, I'd be amazed if you got it under £10k all in. I doubt there'd be a huge amount in it between wood and brick.
 
wakadoo said:
as a teenager if my parents had suggested this i would have dropped to my knees and begged for it to happen.

well hello Gemma...
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Same here, when they said I could move into the attic at 15 I was almost literally too excited for words. My mates were massively envious too because it was effectively an isolated man cave with a big TV, dartboard, sofa, gaming set up etc etc. I loved it! A log cabin annexe would have been even better.
 
My parents converted an upstairs room in one of the outbuildings where i grew up, that was going to be my bedroom. Away from the house with my own oil stove and lots of space etc but they got divorced and sold the house before i could move into it :o

I was well excited and i imagine any teenager would be!
 
Sounds like a good idea to me, I would have loved that when I was a teenager.

I'd go for thinner wood with more insulation. Wood alone wont be enough to keep it warm, even at 44mm.
As PlentyO'Toole said, you'll want a pitched roof but I'd also go for a flat internal ceiling under it to create a bit of a cavity for insulating.
 
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One of my parent's friends built a log cabin for their son. It was the greatest thing for him. He had a toilet in there, it was insulated (so warm), it was probably six feet from the house. I disagree with booyaka, his siblings were envious if anything, no one saw it as him being excluded or ousted or getting the rough deal ; it was entirely positive.
 
touch said:
Sounds like a good idea to me, I would have loved that when I was a teenager.

I'd go for thinner wood with more insulation. Wood alone wont be enough to keep it warm, even at 44mm.
As PlentyO'Toole said, you'll want a pitched roof but I'd also go for a flat internal ceiling under it to create a bit of a cavity for insulating.
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It's quite difficult to insulate the walls of a log cabin owing to the fact that they move about quite a lot depending on environmental change, which can mean gaps open up in fixed panels, materials fixed to walls can compress and warp etc.. I think it's generally advised against.

A wood beam structure clad with ply and some kind of facing material would be much better suited to having wall insulation fitted. It'd be a lot cheaper and more stable.
 
danza said:
It's quite difficult to insulate the walls of a log cabin owing to the fact that they move about quite a lot depending on environmental change, which can mean gaps open up in fixed panels, materials fixed to walls can compress and warp etc.. I think it's generally advised against.
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I think OP must be talking about some kind of framework with wood cladding rather than an actual log cabin? The options suggested were 19mm/21mm or 44mm, surely at these dimensions it's some sort of cladding and not a structural wall?

danza said:
A wood beam structure clad with ply and some kind of facing material would be much better suited to having wall insulation fitted. It'd be a lot cheaper and more stable.
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This is exactly what I did for my shed/workshop. Timber frame skinned with OSB then a waterproof membrane and featheredge cladding on the exterior, fibreglass insulation and plasterboard inside.
 
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As a kid I used to get excited just erecting a tent in the back garden to spend the night. Erm, do you need planning permission for a tent?
 
Re planning considerations.

It must be built in the absence of planning permission as a study/studio/games room and if it contains said appropriate items including; computer workstation, guitar/keyboard/recording/DJ kit, darts board/pool table/table football/air hockey and a sofa (which happens to convert to a long mattress looking item for the occasional all night work and recording + gaming sessions) then it falls within permissive development for an outbuilding. You would install cupboards rather than wardrobes that thenmay house some office/studio/games equipment plus some clothes that can't fit in the bedroom wardrobes in your house.

You could even put fresh water into it to accompany a bar area. Especially if any occasional incidental use bedding / night time items were put away in the day and it retains its primary use. For example, there is nothing wrong with keeping your camping equipment like a sleeping bag in a cupboard.

A good fully insulated cabin of suitable size inc foundations, decent double glazing & security will cost you £10k upwards though.

You are actually better looking at the specific garden offices

https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/lienne-mkii-left-w5-0m-x-d3-9m
 
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touch said:
I think OP must be talking about some kind of framework with wood cladding rather than an actual log cabin? The options suggested were 19mm/21mm or 44mm, surely at these dimensions it's some sort of cladding and not a structural wall?


This is exactly what I did for my shed/workshop. Timber frame skinned with OSB then a waterproof membrane and featheredge cladding on the exterior, fibreglass insulation and plasterboard inside.
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44 is certainly structural not sure about the others. The 44mm will probably have 2x tongue and groove, plus the corners are usually crossed about half the height and with about 10cm or so overlap.

You can buy "pre insulated" cabins, they usually are 2 layers of wood with the insulation inside, so basically like a cavity wall. They are not pre insulated in that its not built already insulated but the design already accommodates that the insulation will be installed as part of the build.
 
I've been looking at a house where i'd like to stick a sizable cabin/shed. Mainly to be used as a workshop/gym

I saw this one which seems crazy cheap, even when specced up to 130mm thick walls and insulation.
https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/premiump...MIjK61_M_r2AIVbbXtCh0B8Q65EAYYASABEgKC-_D_BwE


Anyone have any recommendations for these things?

I've considered building my own, but without a second pair of hands i can imagine it being incredibly difficult and we live a decent distance away from most people i could ask.

Only issue is the above charge £3300 to assemble on site which feels excessive. I wouldn't have thought it'd take 2 people a week to build which i'd expect at that rate (£200 per day each)
 
Yeah i've just been looking at some time lapse videos, i think i was expecting a lot of it to be delivered as panels in a similar way to a shed, but it seems to be built from scratch on site.

I think that once the "frame" was built i'd be able to do the walls etc myself. Think i'll need to do a lot more reading into it to see how feasible it would be. The other option i suppose would be to build out of breeze block and then clad in wood,
 
booyaka said:
eh? You need another bedroom and your suggesting moving your son to the bottom of your garden in a log cabin?? Without sounding harsh - that sounds dreadful.....Most people won't put a dog outside let alone their own flesh and blood!!

This has to be a joke thread surely?
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Not a word of a lie, I came back from Uni one Xmas and drove to my parents house to find it unoccupied.

Turns out they'd moved into my Grandma's house after she died and they'd put both houses on the market to see which would sell first. They were both in the same village and nice houses so my folks weren't that bothered which one they lived in.

I was a bit more bothered as my Grandma's house only had enough bedrooms for my younger siblings so I ended up in a caravan in the garden.
 
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