Garden building

andy1886

After any advice , please . Getting garden landscaped including 90m2 of slab to house outbuildings including a summerhouse or log cabin . Has anyone any recommendations for companies to use and spec for this building ie roof and windows , log thickness etc ? Want to use the building as an extra room so year round use and it is in a south facing garden . Electrician has run cable from fuse board to garden for electric supply . Many thanks everyone 

Section62

andy1886 said:

After any advice , please . Getting garden landscaped including 90m2 of slab to house outbuildings including a summerhouse or log cabin . Has anyone any recommendations for companies to use and spec for this building ie roof and windows , log thickness etc ? Want to use the building as an extra room so year round use and it is in a south facing garden . Electrician has run cable from fuse board to garden for electric supply . Many thanks everyone 

Have you checked whether you'd need planning consent for the building(s)?  Don't rely on any company you pick for the building to give you planning advice - they often get it wrong.

subjecttocontract

Make sure the concrete slab has a DPC membrane installed to stop rising damp. Any wooden building will last much longer as a result.

onomatopoeia99

Section62 said:

andy1886 said:

After any advice , please . Getting garden landscaped including 90m2 of slab to house outbuildings including a summerhouse or log cabin . Has anyone any recommendations for companies to use and spec for this building ie roof and windows , log thickness etc ? Want to use the building as an extra room so year round use and it is in a south facing garden . Electrician has run cable from fuse board to garden for electric supply . Many thanks everyone 

Have you checked whether you'd need planning consent for the building(s)?  Don't rely on any company you pick for the building to give you planning advice - they often get it wrong.

Ususally PD unless rights have been withdrawn.  Main things to worry about if not in a conservation area or listed building are not using more than half the area around the original dwelling for outbuildings.  There are also potential building regs for anything over 15 square metrrs (or 30 if "substantialy non-combustible") and within a metre of a boundary.

Planning portal has clear guidance about what you can and can't do planning-wise.

Doozergirl

andy1886 said:

After any advice , please . Getting garden landscaped including 90m2 of slab to house outbuildings including a summerhouse or log cabin . Has anyone any recommendations for companies to use and spec for this building ie roof and windows , log thickness etc ? Want to use the building as an extra room so year round use and it is in a south facing garden . Electrician has run cable from fuse board to garden for electric supply . Many thanks everyone 

Not logs, but www.gloriousgardenrooms.co.uk are registered with the government Trustmark scheme and accredited by the Federation of Master Builders. 

They will work to ensure that the building meets Planning legislation and meets Building Control requirements - better than your house does if you want to go that far.  

So many of these companies pretend that you don't need to consider these elements!  

casper_gutman

If you're having a log cabin, then ideally you want the base slab to be dead level. Many landscapers/contractors will habitually provide a fall for rainwater runoff, but this is unhelpful for a log cabin as the wall logs will gradually develop an increasing lean as you build up the layers. Ideally, you want the slab dead level and sized just right so it fully supports the logs without extending too far outside them and causing rain to splash up onto the walls and make them damp.

ETA: you DO want it to be dead level. No idea why I typed don't!!

Section62

onomatopoeia99 said:

Section62 said:

andy1886 said:

After any advice , please . Getting garden landscaped including 90m2 of slab to house outbuildings including a summerhouse or log cabin . Has anyone any recommendations for companies to use and spec for this building ie roof and windows , log thickness etc ? Want to use the building as an extra room so year round use and it is in a south facing garden . Electrician has run cable from fuse board to garden for electric supply . Many thanks everyone 

Have you checked whether you'd need planning consent for the building(s)?  Don't rely on any company you pick for the building to give you planning advice - they often get it wrong.

Ususally PD unless rights have been withdrawn.  Main things to worry about if not in a conservation area or listed building are not using more than half the area around the original dwelling for outbuildings.  There are also potential building regs for anything over 15 square metrrs (or 30 if "substantialy non-combustible") and within a metre of a boundary.

Planning portal has clear guidance about what you can and can't do planning-wise.

Hence "Have you checked whether you'd need planning consent for the building(s)?"

The planning portal has generic guidance, but can't help with confirming the specifics.  This is where people usually get caught out.

andy1886

That is brilliant , thank you everyone . I know about height restrictions under permitted development but not about building regs so will keep to 15 m2 maximum . Landscaper knows what the slab is for so hopefully will be flat and although I had thought about insulation had not thought of a membrane so again thank you . Finally as much as I would love a composite or SIP constructed building I’m afraid it is way out of my budget and in fact probably cost as much as the house is worth so I am left with looking for something decent enough to use but without wasting our money on a glorified shed .

ThisIsWeird

Are ground screws a good alternative to such a large slab? 

TELLIT01

casper_gutman said:

If you're having a log cabin, then ideally you don't want the base slab to be dead level. Many landscapers/contractors will habitually provide a fall for rainwater runoff, but this is unhelpful for a log cabin as the wall logs will gradually develop an increasing lean as you build up the layers. Ideally, you want the slab dead level and sized just right so it fully supports the logs without extending too far outside them and causing rain to splash up onto the walls and make them damp.

That advice/information is contradictory.  In the first sentence you have in italics that you don't want a flat base for a log cabin, but later on say that ideally the base should be dead level. Which is correct?

stuart45

I think he meant that the slab should be level.