Monday, September 22, 2008

Log Cabins at GLEE

A 4a.m. start yesterday to head down to the NEC for the Garden and Leisure Exhibition. A huge collection of suppliers of all things garden related with products which will no doubt add a little something extra to our website in the near future.

A distinct lack of Barbecue huts but the search is still on and plans are afoot to launch a range soon.

We have found a a few companies to supply garden sheds, arbours and other garden structures which we will start advertising shortly.

Not a great deal of awareness with regard to the new planning rules due to come into effect in England but we have sourced a compnay which will supply cabins which fall below the 2.5m height rule and will therefore not need planning. Keep an eye on the news items shown on our front page for more details coming soon.



log cabins

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Log Cabins and Planning...the dust settles

Trying to build a log cabin in your garden may just get a little more tricky. Now that the dust is beginning to settle there are good and bad points to the planning changes. The big advantage of the new system is the relaxing of the rule with regard to positioning your log cabin within 5 metres of your home. This now does not require planning whereas before the changes such a location for your log cabin would mean it was treated as an extension. Even putting it within 5 metres of a garage that is close to your home would require planning. As of 1st October in England this will no longer be the case.





The biggest problem with the changes is the fact that any log cabin over 2.5m high must be sited more than 2m from a boundary. This is likely to be an issue for many of us as we would rather tuck the cabin in a corner of what might well be a small garden anyway.

Ofcourse we are working hard to find a solution to this. There are two possible routes. Seek Planning permission with which we can certainly help in terms of drawings and relevant information for submissions but we are also looking at developing a range of cabins particularly for this boundary problem which do not exceed 2.5m in height. At the moment we can modify almost any log cabin to meet the new height restriction but in the near future we hope to supply factory produced solutions.

If you have any questions regarding modified cabins or the new planning rules please contact us on 0845 427 3927.

Please note the amended rules only apply in England both Wales and Scotland continue to follow existing planning orders.

log cabins from Cabin Living

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Log Cabins Planning permission changes

Below is the whole of Class E changes to the The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order 2008

This comes into effect on October 1st and has serious consequences for most people considering installing a log cabin in their garden in England.

The key point is that any building more than 2.5 metres high must be sited more than 2 metres from a boundary. Previoulsy it had to be 5m from the main home but could be sited close to a boundary...this will soon no longer be the case..so either contact your council now start work on your base or face having to seek planning permission for your log cabin

Class E
Permitted development
E. The provision within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse of—
(a) any building or enclosure, swimming or other pool required for a purpose
incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse as such, or the maintenance,
improvement or other alteration of such a building or enclosure; or
(b) a container used for domestic heating purposes for the storage of oil or liquid
petroleum gas.
Development not permitted
E.1 Development is not permitted by Class E if—
(a) the total area of ground covered by buildings, enclosures and containers within the
curtilage (other than the original dwellinghouse) would exceed 50% of the total
area of the curtilage (excluding the ground area of the original dwellinghouse);
(b) any part of the building, enclosure, pool or container would be situated on land
forward of a wall forming the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse;
(c) the building would have more than one storey;
(d) the height of the building, enclosure or container would exceed—
(i) 4 metres in the case of a building with a dual-pitched roof,
(ii) 2.5 metres in the case of a building, enclosure or container within 2 metres of
the boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse, or
(iii) 3 metres in any other case;
(e) the height of the eaves of the building would exceed 2.5 metres;
(f) the building, enclosure, pool or container would be situated within the curtilage of
a listed building;
(g) it would include the construction or provision of a veranda, balcony or raised
platform;
(h) it relates to a dwelling or a microwave antenna; or
(i) the capacity of the container would exceed 3,500 litres.
E.2 In the case of any land within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse which is within—
(a) a World Heritage Site,
7
(b) a National Park,
(c) an area of outstanding natural beauty, or
(d) the Broads,
development is not permitted by Class E if the total area of ground covered by buildings,
enclosures, pools and containers situated more than 20 metres from any wall of the
dwellinghouse would exceed 10 square metres.
E.3 In the case of any land within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse which is article 1(5)
land, development is not permitted by Class E if any part of the building, enclosure, pool or
container would be situated on land between a wall forming a side elevation of the
dwellinghouse and the boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse.
Interpretation of Class E
E.4 For the purposes of Class E, “purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse
as such” includes the keeping of poultry, bees, pet animals, birds or other livestock for the
domestic needs or personal enjoyment of the occupants of the dwellinghouse.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Log Cabin Builders toolkit.

At Cabin Living we specialise in building your log cabin for you. That said many people choose to install a log cabin by themeselves. We do offer supply only but our advice is that you have to be a confident diyer to tackle a log cabin assembly.

In the next few articles I'd like to run through some of the problems you are likely to encounter, give away a few trade secrets and give you an idea of the types of tools you'll need for the job.

Basically the two main parts of an installation are the base and the log cabin itself.

First of all lets just make an inventory of the tools we carry and use to do the job.

Spade,
Garden fork,
Shovel
Two cordless drills
Handsaw
Cross cut saw
Skil Saw
Cement Mixer
Brad Nailer
Jigsaw
Staple Gun
assorted fixings,
Chisels
Claw Hammer
Pincers
Nail Punch
Rubber Mallet
Sledgehameer
Lump Hammer
Adjustable spanner
The Magic spanner (i'll explain it later)
Gazebo
Platform 3-4 feet high
Step Ladders
Tool Belt
Stanley Knife
Bull nose plane
Electric Planer
Extension Lead
Lever
Ear Defenders
Paint Brush
Lorry Strap

There may be a few I've missed (I will add more as they spring to mind) and indeed some you could cope without but that just about covers it. Next time we'll consider the problems you might encounter when you tackle the log cabin installation.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Manchester log cabin installation

Sometimes we are asked if we install log cabins supplied by other companies. The short answer is Yes we do!

It does mean however that we are relying on another company to supply the right components. We were somewhat surprised when we arrived on site and found this cabin was supplied without the glass. The company that supplied it (who shall remain nameless) were also surprised when they did finally get round to answering the phone.





This log cabin was sitting outside for some time prior to assembly as the purchasers couldnt find anyone prepared to build it. With joiners walking off site when they saw it and others saying it could take weeks to build.

When we were contacted the customer was pleasantly surpised to find out we could do it and that it would only take three days to complete.



We would point out it is not a good idea to have a cabin sitting around on site for weeks or months prior to building it as the timbers will swell and warp as they take on moisture making assembly slightly more challenging. Basically if you can assemble your log cabin a day or two after delivery then this is ideal.



So conclusion of day one we have the basic framework of the log cabin in place. Despite a few time consuming timbers that were reluctant to go together we are pretty much on schedule.



Conclusion of day two and we have installed the tongue and groove roofing, fitted the flooring during one of several downpours and then when the sun came back out we installed the bitumen roof shingles.

And so day three dawns and it is a question of fitting the windows and doors, fitting the decking and finishing timbers.


The timber has certainly not benefited from being stored in damp conditions for so long and is certainly not something we would recommended.

However an application of preservative will ensure this log cabin is a great addition to the garden.
So please don't delay if you need a log cabin installer to build a log cabin or garden office building in your garden contact us the log cabin builders