DIY Log Cabin

[thebraketester]

Hi.

Has anyone had success in designing and building their own Log cabin? Along the lines of the picture below but bigger?



Any ideas where you can get the T&G style "logs" from? I have looked online and not found anything outside the USA.

We are wanting to build one that is 7m x 4m keeping in the 2.5m height restriction. Most of it being a sound insulated studio and the smaller partition being an actual shed.

Thanks

Rich

[battered]

Not a log cabin but a big shed. My Dad designed and built it, I helped here and there. This being my Dad, it was built to a better standard than most houses. It had cavity wall insulation. No, I'm not joking. The outer skin was ~12mm T&G, inner OSB. Do not underestimate the labour involved, and you will probably need a table saw. You can get by without, but it's hard work.

[strath44]

We found big problems with this style of build and expansion / contraction of the timber leading to leaks etc, depends what the weather is like in your part of the country?

I would recommend a framework style of build which I think is easier to build and can be fixed more easily.

[thebraketester]

battered said:

Not a log cabin but a big shed. My Dad designed and built it, I helped here and there. This being my Dad, it was built to a better standard than most houses. It had cavity wall insulation. No, I'm not joking. The outer skin was ~12mm T&G, inner OSB. Do not underestimate the labour involved, and you will probably need a table saw. You can get by without, but it's hard work.

Sounds like the sort of plan we have. Double skin with insulation and a few sheets of plasterboard.

We are Herts so average weather conditions.

So we a thinking that a traditional Frame and TG&/Shiplap exterior would probably be a better way to go?

Thanks

[battered]

I stayed in a B&B where the bedrooms were in a vast log cabin, the size of a decent house, divided into flats/suites. It came from Poland in kit form and was assembled by a team of Polish carpenters in a few days. It was fantastic and about half the price of a similar brick structure. Don't know the suppluer details.

[mikeiow]

I vaguely looked int this many years ago, & found it wasn't worth trying: got a Dunster House log cabin for very reasonable price.
The bigger you go, the better the savings, I bet, & all the logs will be cut to fit - that's a lot of manual labour!

[thebraketester]

Thinking about it... it would take forever and a day to chop all the logs to slot in.



This is pretty much bang on what we want. 3/4 studio and 1/4 normal shed.

[battered]

They look a damn sight better with a low pitch roof and you can stay under 2.5m.

You could build that as a traditional T&G shed without drama, it would look very nice.

[thebraketester]

battered said:

They look a damn sight better with a low pitch roof and you can stay under 2.5m.

You could build that as a traditional T&G shed without drama, it would look very nice.

Cool. Got a handy neighbour who built his own shed, so he might be called to duty! :-)

[thebraketester]

Jesus.... Just had word back from the guy who made the one in the last picture.

He estimates around £800 per floor square meter.

7m x 4m ..... yep.... £22,400.

:-O

[21TonyK]

thebraketester said:

Jesus.... Just had word back from the guy who made the one in the last picture.

He estimates around £800 per floor square meter.

7m x 4m ..... yep.... £22,400.

:-O

Did he gold plate the interior?

[battered]

£22k? WTF is it made of? Gold?
A 5m x 3.5m (appx) with a shallow pitch roof will cost you about £1000 for the wood if bought as planking. Then you have to build it, bearing in mind it is just a pile of planks. Interior trim is of course extra.
for windows and roof trusses you can hang around your local merchant until something comes along that's close enough to what you want and you build it with that.

[thebraketester]

21TonyK said:

thebraketester said:

Jesus.... Just had word back from the guy who made the one in the last picture.

He estimates around £800 per floor square meter.

7m x 4m ..... yep.... £22,400.

:-O

Did he gold plate the interior?

haha... my thoughts exactly.

[thebraketester]

battered said:

£22k? WTF is it made of? Gold?
A 5m x 3.5m (appx) with a shallow pitch roof will cost you about £1000 for the wood if bought as planking. Then you have to build it, bearing in mind it is just a pile of planks. Interior trim is of course extra.
for windows and roof trusses you can hang around your local merchant until something comes along that's close enough to what you want and you build it with that.

Thanks battered.

I am gonna very roughly budget about £2500 quid for it. Including a concrete base and all the double skin insulation, electrics, lighting and finishing the interior.


Just had a quote of 680quid for a 7x4x0.2 poured concrete base. I presumed thats the best option. Maybe 20cm is too thick anyway

Edited by thebraketester on Monday 25th July 17:51

Edited by thebraketester on Monday 25th July 17:52

[magooagain]

Here are a few pics of mine thats nearly finished. Last time I posted a few pics it was slated for looking pissed or un level/upright.

I bought the cabin then made it my own so to say. Originally it had a pitched roof with felt. I then put rafters on top and insulated in between. Then close boarded finished with the tin. Wall were insulated then clad.
Floor is insulated and raised.
We are happy with it. [url]




[url]

|http://thumbsnap.com/BTsif63C[/url]

[21TonyK]

thebraketester said:

I am gonna very roughly budget about £2500 quid for it.

Man maths

I'm designing something similar size but with a large deck area etc. Planning for next year. I'm up to £3K for the basic structure fully insulated with a decent electrical supply, water and drainage for an outdoor kitchen.

By the time its finished I reckon on nearer £5K with a decent TV and BBQ

[thebraketester]

Electricity is already there and we dont have the worry of water or drainage etc.

Like you say... no doubt that budget will be firmly booted into outer space once we start specing it up.

Looks like a beefy cabin that one magooagain.:-)

[V8RX7]

Costs do add up.

I built a nice 4m x 4m shed with double doors using shiplap and 3x2 framing - but made it in sections so it could be moved.

It took me and a carpenter 1.5 days to build and cost circa £1k in materials using plywood floor and roof - however 8yrs on it's still pretty much as new.

[battered]

thebraketester said:

Thanks battered.

I am gonna very roughly budget about £2500 quid for it. Including a concrete base and all the double skin insulation, electrics, lighting and finishing the interior.


Just had a quote of 680quid for a 7x4x0.2 poured concrete base. I presumed thats the best option. Maybe 20cm is too thick anyway

Edited by thebraketester on Monday 25th July 17:51

Edited by thebraketester on Monday 25th July 17:52

I prefer 3x2 concrete slabs for a shed base, bedded on a couple of inches of sand. It doesn't need to be solid, slabs drain better. Probably cheaper, but 56 off 3x2 slabs need some laying and won't be for nowt.

[thebraketester]

V8RX7 said:

Costs do add up.

I built a nice 4m x 4m shed with double doors using shiplap and 3x2 framing - but made it in sections so it could be moved.

It took me and a carpenter 1.5 days to build and cost circa £1k in materials using plywood floor and roof - however 8yrs on it's still pretty much as new.

Thats good to hear. My neighbour is recommending shiplap too over T&G