Log Cabin as Home Office

sniffydog

Need some advice on putting in a cabin to use as office/studio in the garden. We're renting for 12-18 months so it doesn't add up to spend £15-20k to do a proper office but also might add up to do a 'bodge' version compared to £5-10k renting a space to work from locally over the period. Renting feels like a waste and having it in the garden means more convenience and at least leaving it for the next tenant. We've already asked the landlord who are ok with it but don't want to contribute to it...

I did something similar with our current place in a rush between lockdown craziness : put in one of these https://www.noahgardenrooms.co.uk/product/don-marino-combi-contemporary/  with minimal 16mm cladding and single glazing. I got a builder friend to PIR insulate and plasterboard it. It's been OK but still pretty cold in winter - mainly the floor.

I was looking at doing something similar to the new rental but need to see if I can get it more liveable but without spending a fortune (for the reasons above!)...

One of these https://www.tigersheds.com/product/the-blake-44mm-log-cabin/?option=3009 are 'insulated' and have double glazing but the fine print says it's not actual insulation but that the 44mm log thickness is 'effective for all-season use'. All in including installation (not electrics) is about £5k

This https://www.tigersheds.com/product/the-blake-44mm-log-cabin/?option=3009 has actual foil insulation between panels, double glazing for about £4.5k + £1k to get builder to install (+ electrics etc). 

Or would it just be easier to rent one: https://www.boothsgardenstudios.co.uk/i-want-to-rent-a-garden-studio- which is proper insulated and £2.5k installation then £240pm to rent?    

Sorry for all the detail but I wanted to pre-empt questions! Any insights appreciated. Thanks  

   

subjecttocontract

The biggest issue by far is temperature.......to hot in the summer & to cold in the winter. Without serious insulation floor, walls and roof it will be uncomfortable at best and unusable at worst.

womble12345

Is it cheaper to find an rental with an extra room that you can use? You are talking about paying £240 per month to rent a shed, can you get a larger house with an extra bedroom for £240 extra rent per month?

sniffydog

Sorry, the link in the second option was wrong. This is the one that's actually insulated: https://billyoh.com/canvas-insulated/37791

womble12345 finding the right house in right area (for schools etc) has been a long journey so finding another with a spare room isn't really an option. But thanks for the idea! 

casper_gutman

I built a log cabin with 44mm walls and double glazing during the first lockdown. As supplied it only had 18mm tongue and groove for the floor and roof, but I added 50mm PIR insulation (Celotex type) in the roof and floor. I had planned to use it as a home office in the summer only, but have found it comfortable year round. It stays plenty warm enough with a 2kW electric heater, and the cost of energy for heating hasn't exceeded £25 in any month I've used it. It also stays perfectly pleasant in summer, probably helped by being in a shady part of the garden.

Personally I find the traditional log cabin construction reassuringly solidOn the second shed you posted, it looks like the panels are the same 44mm thickness as the other cabin but instead of solid timber there is 15mm cladding. Assuming this is both inside and out, it only leaves 14mm for the insulation. I'd want to see some figures for the U value of the panel construction for comparison with the solid timber, but if you're going to the trouble of making a timber clad sandwich panel I'd have thought 100mm or so of rigid foam would be a better way to go than a thin foil type insulation.

I like the roof on a timber building to have a decent overhang beyond the outer face of the walls, so I'd also be a bit wary of the minimal roof overhang on the BillyOh cabin - it almost seems flush with the walls on the sides and back of the shed. If water finds its way in there it will seriously affect durability and could also compromise the insulation of the shed overall.

I suppose the short time you'll be using this means that durability is less of a concern and the upfront cost will dominate your decision. That said, don't begrudge spending the money to get good paint. We used Jotun Demidekk which went on like a dream and looks like new three years later.

casper_gutman

Incidentally, the BillyOh cabin description doesn't seem to mention any insulation of the roof or floor. If it doesn't come with any, you will *definitely* need to add some. If the roof is in full sun and uninsulated, the interior will be like an oven, and conversely would be very cold in winter.

When insulating the floor and roof I followed the approach described here: https://www.tuin.co.uk/blog/insulating-a-log-cabin-floor-and-roof

onomatopoeia99

With Booths you can buy the thing outright and take it with you rather than rent , though you'd need to pay for it to be dismantled / moved / rebuilt (why not remantled?)

Why not use the money this or any other outbuilding will cost to pay for a bigger rental? 

I've got a 16' x 8'  garden office made from plasticoated steel sheets filled with insulation (including the floor and roof) and it works well. I have my server out there which is effectively a 300W fan heater that runs 24/7 so it's always warm in winter without any other heating and I have to open the french doors in summer to get it down to outside ambient.

Alderbank

onomatopoeia99 said:

With Booths you can buy the thing outright and take it with you rather than rent , though you'd need to pay for it to be dismantled / moved / rebuilt (why not remantled?)

Off topic, perhaps, but what a great question!

A mantle was a cloak or cape. In 1600 you would mantle before going out in bad weather and dismantle when you got back home.
Add just a little imagination and use the word when you remove the sails from a sailing ship which is no longer seaworthy, like taking that cape off your shoulders.

When engines replaced sailing ships, dismantle became the word for taking anything mechanical or man-made apart.

sniffydog

Thanks for the replies. 

casper_gutman that's very useful. If I can get away with 44mm walls and celotex in the roof and floor it makes it a lot easier. 
 
onomatopoeia99 I pondered just buying from Booths and potentially taking it with me when we move but if felt like a gamble that it will be the right size for the next house.