Working from home? Has anyone bought/considered a log cabin for a garden office?

lexihayes

I live in a small 1 bed house - since covid I am working from home and will be indefinitely. I am looking into buying a log cabin of sorts to use as a garden office. Obviously I will get it insulated properly for the winter etc.. Has anyone else done the same? Where did you get the cabin from?

Hagar_uk

I have not done this, but have spent a lot of time looking I to it. 
Dunster House have lots of designs. And rage in thickness and types. A small log cabin can be bought for around a couple of Grand.  But if you  go for the Garden office ones this doubles up roughly in price. 
An alternative to log cabin is a Sip based building. Which is prebuilt sandwich units of Wood, insulation and Wood. Which slot in around beams and posts.  These are typically much warmer. These can be self build or companies can install. But appear to be more hands on to build up. 
Other things to bare in mind. 1. You will need a very good and flat base. Usually concrete. 
For login you will need space around it to keep the warranty. typically 1 M
The building must be 2m from border of your land. 

Marcon

What's your budget?

lincroft1710

Hagar_uk said:

I have not done this, but have spent a lot of time looking I to it. 
Dunster House have lots of designs. And rage in thickness and types. A small log cabin can be bought for around a couple of Grand.  

Dunster House have a lot of negative comments on the Praise, Vent and Warnings, and Consumer Rights boards

harz99

Try these people, Forest timber products have a good reputation, but are not cheap of course...
https://www.forestgarden.co.uk/product-categories/garden-buildings/log-cabins/

Savvy_Sue

Check whether you'll need planning permission, and also do something to make the cabin dual purpose if you want to avoid any risk of having to pay business rates on it, and (I think) of a Capital Gains Tax liability when you move. 

So if it's primarily where you work from, can you make some relaxation space in there as well (exercise bike?), or do the ironing out there, or whatever ... 

Hagar_uk

lincroft1710 said:

Hagar_uk said:

I have not done this, but have spent a lot of time looking I to it. 
Dunster House have lots of designs. And rage in thickness and types. A small log cabin can be bought for around a couple of Grand.  

Dunster House have a lot of negative comments on the Praise, Vent and Warnings, and Consumer Rights boards

True, but they also appear to be one of if not the largest suppliers in the UK, with offices spread around the country., Suggest anyone thinking of buying looks at one first. The log cabins I have seen online all look fab, but when you actually see one in the flesh, find there is a big difference between a log cabin somer house and a usable garden office.

BillTrac

Like all large companies who do a lot of business, some reviews will be negative and it's seems people are more likely to moan than praise.
We bought a Dunster log cabin last year. They have various sites across the UK where you can view assembled products, which is what we did.
It arrived during the afternoon time slot that they said it would. I paid a bit extra for two man delivery as it meant they would carry it (up to 50metres I think) so into the back garden rather than kerbside))  I chose to erect it myself. Started on it Friday evening, had the base and walls up by mid-evening and we were sitting in it Sunday afternoon. The only bit I had help with was the roof as you needed two people to lift it up due to having a large metal 'spider' which the roof joists slotted/bolted to. Everything was done except we then decided to paint the interior. We paid extra for the thicker logs, which meant double glazed doors and windows, as well as under-roof and under-floor insulation.
So easy to assemble, everything fitted well and they even give spares in case there was an issue. (I still have a 3m log and a floorboard if anyone's looking as well as lots and lots of screws)
I personally would recommend. I'd look to see if they have a site near you and book a visit.  

DCFC79

OP have a search of the forum as it's possible a similar discussion has taken place.

Might have been in DiY section.

jamesperrett

At my last house we ended up with 2 log cabins - one was an art studio and the other was a therapy room. They were manufactured by Lillevilla and sold by Inksters in Horndean, Hampshire. We were very happy with them although we added a little insulation in the roof to make them a bit warmer.