The Top 10 Tips on Choosing a Cabin

Vienna Log Cabin
Many of our customers feel slightly intimidated when it comes to choosing a cabin, that’s why we have come up with this handy guide, to help take the stress out deciding a log cabin. We are always available to assist, so if you are still feeling unsure – just contact us.

1. Appearance

First, look for a cabin that appeals to your eye. Why?Because you will probably look at your cabin every time you look out into your garden. You want to be proud of what you see. At Log Cabins Factory Direct we offer a broader range of style than most other companies. More windows, transverse roof ridges (left to right, not front to back), recessed doors, single or double doors, central or offset doors, cabins with many windows, and a choice of additional windows in many cabins.

2. Flooring

Don’t accept OSB, sheet or chipboard for your floor. Natural timber is a great looking material, and we use it for our flooring as standard. But the thickness is also important. Look closely and you will find most cabins from other companies use 19mm or 22mm flooring. If you choose this thinner flooring you will bounce around like you’re on a trampoline.And if you buy a cabin online, you’ll never know this until after you have built it. That’s too late.If you want to buy a solid cabin, and not a trampoline, choose 28mm flooring.

3. Windows, Doors and Glazing

If you intend to use your cabin as a home office or garden room, you will be looking for double glazing as standard. The exception might if you want only a 28mm cabin, and probably for storage, where single glazing is perfectly adequate.At Log Cabins Factory Direct, we have re-defined the word quality when it comes to the windows and doors on our cabins.Why? Because we have listened to our clients, who do not want shed windows on their beautiful garden room or home office.How? In the basic price we include double glazing on all cabins with a wall thickness of 34mm or more.BUT, that’s not enough for us. We offer inward opening, double seal, 5-point locking, tilt-turn double glazed units. They are amazing quality for a cabin, and every time you use the doors and windows you will feel the quality and be proud that you chose Log Cabins Factory Direct.

4. Insulation

All our standard cabins can be insulated under the floor. They can also be insulated in the roof with some competent DIY skills. But for regular office use, or for temporary or permanent accommodation, you will want an insulated cabin.We can construct this in the form of a twin-skin cabin. That includes an inside wall and an outside wall, the same thickness to provide rigidity and avoid distortion, with a gap or cavity between ready for insulation.Typically this might be 44-50-44mm, but we also offer 34-50-34mm, and 70-100-70mm on our bespoke residential cabins.

5. Size

Then look for the size that suits your needs, and that nicely fits into your garden space.

6. Choose your walls thickness

Log Cabins are constructed in various wall (log) thicknesses. Typically this might be 28mm and 44mm. Our advice is to buy the thickest logs you can afford.Why? A cabin built with thicker logs will be more robust, will keep its heat (and cool) better, and will last longer. Log Cabins Factory Direct offers you the widest choice of log thickness options on most of our cabins of 28mm, 34mm, 44mm, 70mm, 90mm, 34-50*-34mm and 44-50*-44, and  44-100*-44 on custom cabins.NOTE* indicates the middle figure is the cavity thickness on our dual-wall insulated cabins. See ‘Insulation’ for further details.

7. Roof finish

Although roofing felt is included free of charge on all of our cabins, we recommend spending a little more money for a roof that will look great and last. Also, our advice is NOT to buy it from a local DIY store. Roofing is a specialised material, and you want to choose a quality that will last. You’ll get a better product, confirming to relevant standards, and at a better price, from Log Cabins Factory Direct. Our personal pick is the Firestone RubberCover Roof, which includes a 10 year manufacturers warranty.We also love our felt shingle tiles, which you can see a sample of below.

8. Treatment

Wood is a natural product and will look absolutely great. And of course wood needs a little care. We do recommend that the cabins are treated with a quality stain, including a UV filter, obtainable from any good DIY store. We always recommend using Protek Wood Preserver as a first coat on our cabins, followed up three coats of Protek Royal Exterior.

9. Shipping & Delivery

Make sure you buy a cabin that is delivered by HIAB lorry. That’s a flatbed lorry with a crane mounted behind the cab. The poor alternative, offered by other cabin companies, is to offload by hand. This will often result in breakages, and leaves your cabin uncovered in an unsightly heap. A HIAB offloaded cabin is delivered complete with the pallet and waterproof coverings, meaning no lost pieces, no chance of rainwater, and you can open and build your cabin to suit your own timeframe.

10. Erection

Yes, its true that a competent DIY team can build the smaller cabins. But if you make a mistake, you will be responsible. And that mistake is typically at the bottom of the cabin, so it’s a big mistake.If you are not 100% certain of how to build a cabin, or if it’s a large cabin, or a multi-room cabin, or an insulated cabin, then we highly recommend that you get one of our fitting teams to build your cabin. It will be quick, typically inside a day. It will be quality workmanship, so the cabin will look great. And it will cost less than you think. Our top tip is: Spend your time and effort building a quality base, and staining the cabin, and get the pro’s to build your cabin.