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How long do residential log cabins last?

Easkey Log Cabin

Residential log cabins – there’s a growing trend for them in Ireland. But the big question is – How long do they last? Log cabins are a sizable investment, albeit a very clever and cost-effective one. Nevertheless, for the amount of money you spend, you want to be sure that your investment will last. And last it will – for a lifetime.

Comfortable residential log cabins

Cosy Residential Log Cabin

Log Cabins are durable, strong and reliable

How long do Residential Log cabins last in Ireland?

That’s a good question, and a very important one. People in Ireland are not familiar with living in log cabins: they’re only becoming a common option for living in now. (Although TimberLiving has been selling log cabins in Ireland for over twenty years…)

All you need in a residential log cabin
Space and convenience

If you’re Irish, you almost certainly grew up in block-built houses. Or an old stone building – freezing cold on the inside, both Winter AND Summer! So it’s understandable that Irish people might be inquisitive about the longevity of log cabins.

We all know that timber building is very, very common as a housing material all over Europe. But there is still an understandable reticence about trusting a timber building to last a lifetime. Many people have the notion that log cabins won’t last in Ireland because the Irish climate is a lot more damper than any other country in the world (wrong!)

We do get wet winters, of course, but we’ve also got the windiest climate in Europe, and wind dries things, and Irish wind dries things very well.

Painting a log cabin

As regards dampness, the proper stain protection on your log cabins will prevent any degradation due to dampness. Have a read of our blog on staining your log cabin here: https://timberliving.ie/how-to-paint-your-log-cabin

But with residential log cabins, built with the highest quality timber, and with the highest quality design, will last you a very long time. As long as you maintain the exterior of your log house, keeping it dry, it will last a lifetime.

They make boats out of wood

Spacious log cabin kitchen

They make boats out of wood, and they last a long, long time, putting up with the ravages and corrosiveness of seawater. So why not make log cabins out of timber? Timber houses are half the cost of block-built houses because the on-site labour is so much less. All of our houses are produced in a Hi-Tech factory, using precision engineering methods to produce every piece of wood required for our log homes, cut accurately to the millimetre.

All of this means there is little to no onsite cutting, and the highly accurate machining and fitting also means reduced draughts and air leakage. This leads to a more rigorous building, which will not allow excessive movement of timber beyond that expected from a natural product.

But don’t take our word for it. Dermot Bannon did a programme on Scandinavian Log Cabins, and we were delighted with what he had to say about the durability and longevity of timber houses. As we say, a log house will last a lifetime if it is built properly and treated well.

Come and see for yourself

Warm, easy to heat log cabin
Contemporary style log cabin

Visit our showrooms and see if you can find any piece of timber that was hand cut during the construction. You’ll be searching for a long time! So, whether you’re looking for budget residential log cabins that are a quality bargain, come and see us now.

Can you paint a log cabin home?

Cosy Log Cabin Kitchen
Home sweet log cabin home

Once the exterior of your cabin is treated properly, your cabin will last a lifetime. But what about log cabin paint? Actually, you don’t use paint for your log cabin, you use a stain. We recommend using Sikkens. Have a read about our Log Cabin blog in relation to log cabin paint here.

TimberLiving log cabins Ireland have a lot of residential log cabins for sale and provide the highest quality, best spec cabins in Ireland. We have been in business for over 20 years, and in that time we have built thousands of log cabins.

Would you like to visit a show house? We have show houses based in

  1. Tullow, County Carlow (Phone 05991 81039)
  2. Boyle County Roscommon, (086 817 0429)
  3. Carrigaline County Cork. (087 6464 280)
If you’re looking for a quality log cabin, we are the company to contact.

We have a wide range of cabin styles, from garden offices to Granny flats to 1, 2 and 3-bed log cabins, And we can also produce bespoke designs. If you’re going for planning, we can provide you with a long-term residential cabin with an A3 BER rating.

So do yourself a favour and visit us today to see Ireland’s finest and best-value log cabins.

#logcabinfinishes #logcabinquality #howlongwillalogcabinlast #logcabinmaintenance #logcabindurability

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Log Cabin Electrical Wiring

log cabin electrics

Electrics in Log Cabins? Your electrician is going to love to hear you need your log cabin wired. Its such an easy, clean, quick job compared to a block built house.

Log cabin lighting

What electrics will I need in my log cabin?

There are no restrictions to what you can put into your log cabin. From an electrical point of view, a log cabin is just like any other building. Sauna anyone? Hot tub? Electrical underfloor heating? We’ve done them all.

But realistically, in the average log cabin, the range of electrical items includes all of the obvious ones:

  • Freezer
  • Refrigerator
  • Water cooler
  • Cooking
  • Cooker
  • Double Oven
  • Microwave oven
  • Washing machine
  • Clothes dryer
  • Dishwasher
  • Water heater
  • Panel heaters
  • Storage Heaters
  • Electric Shower
  • Power Shower
  • Immersion Heater
  • Extractor Fan
  • Fan Heater

Water Heating in a Log Cabin

When considering water heating, you have two main demands:

  • Water for a Shower/bath
  • Water for Bathroom and Kitchen Sink

Water heating for showers, baths and sinks is a simple, very straightforward task for your log cabin. Thera re two basic options, particularly when we are dealing with a smaller cabin, and the shower is the deciding factor. You need to decide whether you are going to go for an electric shower, or an immersion heater and gravity fed shower (with a pump included, as an option.)

ELECTRIC SHOWER & UNDER SINK WATER HEATER

Installing an electrical heater into a log cabin is a very straightforward business from the plumbing point of view. It only gets complicated when it comes to where your electricity is coming from. If you are taking a power feed from an exiting house/meter/electrical board, and there is already an electric shower in the main house, then things get a little complicated. The problem is that electric showers use a lot of power. Usually, there is not enough power for two electric showers going into the one house. (Normally, you will only ever find one electric shower in any house – ask around – you’ll see!)

If you want an electric shower in the cabin and there is already one in the main house, you will have to get an isolater switch installed. This is straightforward, and it just insures that the two showers cannot be turned on at the same time.

Once you have your electrical shower installed, all you need is an under-sink instantaneous water heater to heat tap water for the kitchen and bathroom sinks.

IMMERSION HEATER

An immersion heater is also an option, and can be a requirement if you are putting in radiators. It is again a simple operation to install an immersion heater. You can get very reliable water heaters on eBay for a very reasonable cost.

log cabin bathroom

Log Cabin Lighting

Stove in a two bed log cabin

Because of the shape of the ceilings in our log cabins, recessed lights seem to work very well, and are used by a lot of our customers. They are very reasonably priced, coming in at about €9 per light, and they are extremely economical to run. Using te latest LED technology, these lights do not get hot, and use very little electricity. Unfortunately, they cannot be dimmed, so you will need some other lamps around your rooms for atmospheric lighting. The photo above is of the living room in the Log Cabin Showhouse in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. Feel free to come and visit. Just call 086 817 0429 to make an appointment.

Cost of Log Cabin Electrics

Depending on the amount of wiring/lights/plugs/appliances/heaters you want installed in your log cabin, the cost of the wiring is going to vary, of course. But I can tell you that it cost me €1900 to fully wire the two bedroom log cabin show-house in Boyle, and that included:

  • 11 double sockets
  • Connections for Cooker, Immersion and Washing Machine
  • 16 recessed ceiling lights
  • One outside socket
  • Set of outside lights with sensor
  • One panel wall heater
  • One Extractor fan connection
  • One strip light for kitchen area

Visit our log cabin showrooms.

You can get details of all of our log cabin showrooms here: https://timberliving.ie/showrooms

Why not come for a visit? O phone 0591 81039 if you have any questions. You’ll also get lots of information on our Log Cabin blog page.

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Can I install a stove in a log cabin?

Stove in a log cabin

A burning wood stove is a beautiful thing: warmth and comfort in the cosy surroundings of a log cabin.

It’s a common question: can I put a stove into my log cabin? And we’re delighted to tell you that the answer is yes!

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You can install any type of stove into your log cabin: wood burning, wood pellet stove, natural gas stove – even an oil burning range. Whatever stove you decide to install in your log cabin, you can see from the video that making an opening in the roof of your log cabin is a straightforward operation.

https://youtu.be/LLkMm5sTZmQ

Fitting your stove into a log cabin

Any experienced fitter will be able to install your stove in your log house in 3 or 4 hours. it is important that you use a double skin flue when going through the roof section of the cabin. it is also very important to have a heat shield fire screen behind the stove so that the heat cannot discolour your timber walls. You can get specific fireboard, imitation stone effect tiles, and many other alternatives to install behind your stove.

And there is no restriction on the log cabin size – you can fit a stove into any cabin in Timber Living’s Range of Log Cabins.

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Log Cabin Stove Safety Regulations

It ia very important to follow all of the guidelines when fitting your stove, and to use an experienced fitter. When we fitted the stove in the Boyle showhouse, there were detailed instructions with the stove relating to minimum flue length, flue bore, distance from surrounding walls, flue draught etc. There’s quite a lot to fitting the stove correctly so that there is no risk or hazard, and also that you have a good draught when the stove is burning.

We asked Adrian Hunt of AJ Installers (086 441 2269) to fit the stove in the Boyle shwhouse, and we were very impressed with the care and detail with which he completd the installation. He spent a lot of time squaring off our wood-buring stove, and thats not easy, since the base is oval!

Can I put a back boiler on my log cabin stove?

Because our cabins have cavity walls, it is very straightforward for your plumber to run a back boiler off your stove too. as in any house, what’s your stove is operating, you can run radiators off the back boiler full stop it is important to size the boiler and Stove correctly for the heat requirement of your log cabin full stop your heat requirement will depend on the level of insulation in your cabin. Again, any competent installer will be able to size your stove and boiler for you.

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Gas Stove in your Log Cabin?

A balanced flue gas stove is an interesting option for a log cabin. The beauty of a gas stove is that you can fit a horizontal flue, going out the wall, and there is no need for it to go above the roof of the cabin. There are many benefits to this, particluarly the cost, since stove flues are quite expensive per metre. Of course, the cost of the stove itself will probably be more expensive, so at the end of the day, overall costs might be quite similiar. Fuel costs will vary hugely, depending on whether you’re using turf, coal or wood in your solid fuel stove, compared with gas. Butthere is the adde cleanliness of a gas stove, and the fact that there’s no need for regular cleaning out of ash, which is always a consideration.

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Do you have any questions about stoves in your log cabin?

whether you are looking for a recommended fitter, or recommended stove please do not hesitate to contact us to ask about stove installation in your log cabin. we are always happy to help and advise on any aspects of log cabins.

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Log cabin foundations – what’s best?

Log cabin foundations – what’s best?

Your log cabin foundations are key if you want your log cabin to last a lifetime. The only way to be sure that there will be no settlement in your log cabin over the years is to put in a flat slab log cabin foundations. So, what are your log cabin foundation options? Building a log cabin on a set of piles or strip foundations is over complicated and costly.

Foundation for a log cabin – get it right

I have often heard the story that a few years ago there was a very good carpenter in West Munster who was hand-building bespoke design log cabins.  He was doing a beautiful job, using the best timber and putting the finest care into the construction of the cabins. They were a sight to see when they were first built.

Unfortunately, this builder did not have the correct log cabin foundations. He built his cabins on an array of blocks which are not property-footed. Over a period of time, the blocks shifted as the log cabins settled. This led to severe structural deterioration of the cabins and of course, the customers were very unhappy. The carpenter was soon out of business.

How to build a foundation for a log cabin

Any reasonably competent builder will know how to build your log cabin foundation. Just tell them you’re looking for a concrete slab for a log cabin. Your base needs to be level and square and to specific dimensions which we will supply to you. Your log cabin foundations will be 10 mm shorter than the cabin on each edge. Your cabin will therefore overhang the base by 10 mm all around.

We also ran a throated sill all around the foot of the cabin to throw the water away from the log cabin base. This means that water will not pool underneath the cabin. This ensures that there is no opportunity for rot to start developing in the base timbers.

You will need to put a Radon barrier and venting system beneath your log cabin foundations. Again, this is something your builder should be very familiar with. We will supply a damp-proof course which goes onto the surface of the base.

Along with the base dimensions, we will also supply you and your builder with detailed drawings of the cabin itself, so that you can decide where you want to locate all inlet and outlet pipes, for water and sewage.

Log Cabin Base Specifications

For a standard, single-storey cabin, we require a base 6-inch 804 hardcore and 5-inch concrete. (30-33 N concrete.)

This log cabin foundation specification will suit all of Timber Living’s Log Cabins Ireland, from our one-bedroom log cabins, all the way up to the four-bed bespoke log cabins. Our timber-frame buildings, designed for planning permission, require a different base.

All of our log cabins require a base that is ten millimetres shorter on all sides than the wood which sits on top of it. In other words, the log cabin will overhang the foundation by 10mm all around. The purpose of this overhang is to ensure that the log cabin is never sitting in water. To further guarantee this, we include a throated rain sill which runs all around the base of the cabin, throwing water which runs down the walls away from the base of the cabin.

Foundations for smaller single-room log cabins

If you’re building a single-room cabin, less than 25 square metres, you can build a simple timber frame base for a log cabin.
You will need rows of blocks, maximum of one metre apart. On top of this, you will need log cabin foundation beams – lengths of 4″ x 3″ treated timber, at 800mm centres, running perpendicular to the rows of block.
On top of this, we need a marine plywood platform to the dimensions required. The function of the plywood is to support the underfloor insulation. This platform needs to be level and square.

Log Cabin Base Drawings

If you decide to buy your log cabin from us at TimberLiving, we will supply you with drawings of your cabin, including an accurately dimensioned drawing of your log cabin foundations. so that you can determine where you want to bring in water and sewerage lines. If you have any questions about any of these technical details, be sure to give us a call.

Or you can discuss any of these issues with our teams around the country

  • Fergus and Valerie in Tullow, Co Carlow (05991 81039)
  • Conor in Boyle, Co Roscommon and Galway (086 817 0429)
  • Donal in Carrigaline, Co Cork and Limerick (087 6464 280)

Building the correct log cabin foundations is just the first step in creating your log cabin. You will need lots of information on painting (actually, staining) your cabin, installing electrics and plumbing, guttering and ongoing maintenance of your log cabin (which is not a particularly big task, you’ll be glad to hear!)

We have articles on all of the most important questions that people ask, and some more obscure articles too! And if you find we haven’t discovered a particular topic related to log cabins, please let us know.

Check out our blog for all of the information you’re going to need. Or better still, come and visit us at our nationwide showrooms in Cork, Boyle,  Tullow, Galway and Limerick.

You’ll find our staff extremely helpful and knowledgeable on all subjects and details around log cabins – including log cabin foundations!

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Granny Flat – a log cabin is the perfect solution

Brittas One Bed Granny Flat

Your granny flat needs to be easy to heat, low maintenance and inviting. You’ll get all of these from a Timber Living Log Cabin. Take a look at our range of One Bed Log Cabin Granny Flats here.

cosy log cabin granny flat with verandah
The perfect granny flat

Log Cabin as a Granny Flat – The Benefits

If you’re lucky enough to have a large garden, there are huge and obvious benefits to building a granny flat. Of course there’s the emotional support (which goes both ways, we find, with customers of ours who have built Timber Living Log Cabins for grandparents), but we will steer clear of that discussion.

But there are lots of other benefits worth considering when contemplating building a granny flat:

  • Cost: The cost of building a free-standing log cabin is going to be roughly half the cost of a block-built lodge or extension of similar size. The main reason for the reduced cost is a big reduction in the labour element when building the cabin. Most of our work is done by machine at the factory, and that’s where the main savings arise.
    And of course, the financial side of moving into a granny flat, and selling the home place, or avoiding Care Home bills hardly needs to be stated.
  • Speed of Build: Your cabin can be built in three weeks, from breaking ground to completion. How long will it take a builder to build a block building of the same size? Four to six months maybe. That’s a big difference!
  • Cost of Heating: A timber cabin, with a four inch, insulation-filled cavity – now that’s a great combination when it comes to heating. Lots of insulation, and timber walls that also act as an insulator, and don’t have to be heated up in the way block walls have to be. Just thinking about it makes you feel warm!
  • Space and Comfort: We have a wide range of cabins of all different sizes and configurations, so you can as much space as you can afford, the only restriction being the size of your garden. And since the price per square foot is half that of any alternative, its going to be a lot easier for you to get what you’re looking for.

One Bedroom or Two Granny Flat?

Deciding on the number of bedrooms in your log cabin is an important decision, for a number of reasons. For obvious reasons, if you’re in the position to afford a larger cabin, you need to decide whether or not you should go for a two bed and a reduced living area, or a one bed with a larger living area. At the time of writing, our Limerick Two Bed Log Cabin is coming in at €38,000, and is a real bargain. If you have the space for it, and the budget, its the one to go for.

two bedroom log cabin plan

Of course, there is the initial cost of buying and installing the log cabin. And then there’s the additional costs of furniture, fixtures and fitting, and decoration. (The fewer curtains you need to buy, the better!) Don’t forget that the area available to you for building might be the main restriction on your number of bedrooms – no point in buying a 10 metre by 6 metre log cabin if you only have a garden big enough for a 6 metre by 4 metre cabin!

Log cabin granny flats are easy to heat

Heating is usually a main concern when it comes to Granny Flats, and indeed, any log cabin we produce. “How efficient are log cabins to heat?” is a question we often have to answer. Well, you can put most forms of heating into a log cabin:

  • Oil or Radiators
  • Solid fuel or gas Stove (with or without back-boiler)
  • Electrical storage heaters
  • heat pumps
  • Underfloor heating, even!

From a cost point of view, heating your log cabin is easy. We can supply you with a seven inch wall, which includes a four inch cavity, filled with insulation. We also have four inches of Kingspan insulation in the roof, and Kingspan in the floor too. All of this is included in the price on the website. A well-insulated log cabin means low heat loss, and low heat loss means low heating costs.

Another important factor in heat retention in any building is the air tightness. By default, our log cabins pass the air tightness test. I had the Two Bed Log Cabin Show house in Boyle tested for air tightness, and it was well within regulations – in fact it was about one and a half times as air tight as regulations demanded at the time. This is very good from a heating point of view. If you have a draughty building, those draughts will remove heat from your building, and Granny certainly does not want that!

Can I fit a stove in my log cabin?

You sure can! Have a read of our blog “Can I install a stove in a log cabin?” You’ll get all of the stove answers you’re looking for. We have a log burning stove fitted to our log house showroom in Boyle, with the flue going through the roof, but there’s no reason why you wouldn’t put a gas stove in, with a horizontal flue. Wood pellet stoves are also a good option, with their high efficiency, and timer and thermostat options.

Stove in a log cabin
A stove is the perfect addition to a log cabin

Additional Costs when Building a Log Cabin

You’ll get a price for delivery, build and insulation of your log cabin from our website. (Make sure you give us a call and ask for our BEST PRICE!)

Extra costs which are not included in our price are, among others, the base (5 inch concrete base), electrics, plumbing and heating.

Visit our log cabin showrooms

We have show rooms in Tullow, Co Carlow, Boyle, Co Roscommon and Carrigaline in Cork. Come and visit us soon to see how good our cabins really are. Give us a call 05991 81039 to arrange your visit.

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How efficient are log cabins to heat?

snow on a log cabin

Energy efficiency in your log cabin home is something we are all interested in, whether it’s for environmental reasons, or simply to save money. The better insulated your log cabin is, the less heat you need to keep yourself warm.

Cosy cabin interior

Log Cabin Insulation

log cabin wall with insulation

Timber living log cabins are very easy and cheap to heat. From an energy efficiency point of view they are top notch.  Our standard log cabin insulation levels maintain a nice warmth within our cabins during the winter, and actually help to keep them cool during the summer. It is remarkable how cool your cabin will be in the summer even  with the dark roof cover. That’s because we provide, as standard, 100mm Kingspan Insulation in our roofs. We also, as standard, include 100mm insulation in the walls.

Floor insulation – take note

And it is very, very important to use kingspan Insulation in the floor as well. Some companies offer rock-wool in the floors:  this is always, always a mistake. Do not buy a cabin with rock-wool insulation in the floor.

Putting your rock-wool insulation in the floor, on top of a concrete slab (even though there is a damp proof course in between) is a huge mistake. In the winter months, when the slab is colder than 4 degrees centigrade, the damp winter air condenses on the cold surface of the slab, and on the top of the damp proof membrane. The rock-wool insulation soaks up this dampness like a sponge!

This creates a number of problems:

  1. Your insulation is wet, and doesn’t insulate any more.
  2. The gathering moisture in the insulation can lead to rotting of your floorboards
  3. Your interior floor is going to be very cold, and will draw heat out of your living area.
  4. Unhealthy moulds can start to grow on both the underside AND interior face of your floor!

Log Cabin Airtightness

Of course, insulation is not the only element to be considered when discussing log cabin heat. We also need to consider air tightness. There is no point in insulating to the max and then leaving the window open! I am not suggesting you would leave a window open, but if your cabin is not reasonably airtight, then you might have the equivalent of an open window when you add up all of the draughts in your cabin.

We carried out a blow door test on the log cabin in Boyle and found that the cabin was well within building standards for air tightness, by a factor of 40%, which is very reassuring.

Log Cabin Insulation upgrades

Of course, we can increase your insulation levels if you wish. If you’re going for planning, you will need To increase your insulation to upto 8-in or 200mm in the walls, floors and roof. We also improve the air tightness of the  log cabin building.

There are many different ways to increase insulation. The walls are the obvious place to start. Here is a list of different options for increasing insulation in log cabin walls:

  • Increase the cavity. We can always increase the cavity size to eight inches (two hundred millimetres).
  • Insulation Material. Also, the material you use to insulate within the walls is a factor. We have upgraded our default wall insulation – we are now using Metac which is a high performance quality thermal insulation roll which has a higher better U Value than standard rock-wool insulation.
  • External Insulation: This solution is often insisted upon by planners, who, depending on the area, want buildings to have a rendered exterior finish in place of the horizontal drop log exterior which is our default.
  • Dry lining. Dry lining the interior of your cabin to increase the overall insulating value of the walls is another obvious solution, but of course, you loose the interior timber walls. This is not a problem for everyone, and is down to personal choice.

What about the floor insulation? One alternative for the floor is to use Quinn Lite thermal blocks to insulate the slab. Quinn Lite blocks are Thermal AAC Blocks designed for thermal excellence and ease of construction.

Either way, we can give your new log cabin home an A2 BER without any problem.

Log cabins are cheap to heat

Once your residential log cabin home has been well insulated,  it is going to be as easy to heat (or easier) that any other type of building. (Are Log Cabins Easy to Heat Blog entry) The  function of any buildings envelope (walls floor and roof) is to keep in the heat, keep out the rain, wind and cold. a log cabin envelope is exceptionally good at this, as long as there is sufficient insulating value in the Fabric of the envelope, and that the envelope is relatively airtight. Timberliving  log cabins fulfill all of these requirements. So, whether you’re looking for a one bed log cabin, a 2 bed log house, a 3-bed timber home, or a bespoke design log cabin, you should make your first point of call one of our timber living show houses.

Timber Living Log Cabin show houses

We have show houses in Boyle, County Roscommon (086 817 0429), Carrigaline Co Cork (087 6464 280) and Tullow, Co Carlow.  Please don’t hesitate to call us straightaway to organise a visit.

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Can I get insurance for my Log Cabin?

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Like all good things in life, your log cabin is going to need insurance. Insurance is a bill we pay every year, for house, car, health, even pets, and if we all hope and pray that we never have to use the policy!

Your log cabin, like all good things in life, is going to need insurance.

Log cabin with verandah

What insurance companies cover log homes?

But insurance is not a problem for log cabins Ireland. Most companies will give you insurance for your log cabin, log home or garden chalet, log cabin or granny flat.

We did a quick google search and found the following:

Non-standard home insurance from OBF: https://www.obf.ie/non-standard-homes/

Holiday Home Insurance from Allianz: https://www.allianz.ie/holiday-home-insurance/

Log cabin insurance form Intasure: https://www.intasure.com/logcabin/

Log cabin insurance form Assetsure: https://www.assetsure.com/homes/log-cabin-insurance/

As usual, its important to shop around for insurance. Money is money, as they say, and its beter in your pocket than theirs, so be sure to spend a bit of time on the phone. If you spend an hour calling and save a couple of hundred euro, you won’t earn that hourly rate too often! Why not reward yourself with something special if you make a big saving? A nice botle of wine if you save €75, a meal out if you save €150 – you get the idea :-)

Insuring a Log Cabin Granny Flat

Often, if a log cabin is built in a garden, it is possible to include your log cabin or log cabin granny flat on your existing home insurance policy as an outbuilding. This is a pretty painless process, and, depending on your company and the size of your log cabin, might not cost you a penny!

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Get your log cabin insurance through us

Some insurance companies have not listed the building technology that we use in our log cabins, and so maya refuse you insurance.  But this is not a problem. We have brokers who are quite happy to offer you insurance on your log cabin, and at a rate equivalent to regular house insurance.  Just give us a call at our head office in Tullow (05991 81039) and we will be glad to put you in touch with our broker.

Quality Log Cabin Construction

Our log cabins are built of the highest quality material and methods. We are quite happy to give a 10 year guarantee on all of our log cabin homes,  because of the high quality of the production, the timber materials, the specialists craftsmen, and how our log cabins are built. Most of our craftsmen I have 20 years experience or more in the building of our log cabins, so they are well able to anticipate any potential problem with your build and eliminate the issue at the building stage.

log cabin interior with varnished floor

We have a wealth of experience between our installers and our representatives around Ireland. we have been building log cabins in Ireland for over 20 years, so we have  come across (and solved!) every single problem that might occur with your log cabin home. so if you’re looking for a log cabin that will last and last, talk to us at timber living log cabins. Come and visit us and see the quality of our buildings.  Talk to our representatives and you will understand the death of our knowledge of the business. If you come and see us you will leave our showrooms reassured that a TimberLiving Log cabin is a long-lasting log cabin, which is easy to heat, easy to maintain, is long lasting, stylish and durable.

Call TimberLiving log cabins now

We have show houses in Tullow, Boyle and Carrigaline. Come and visit us at one of our Log Cabin showrooms and see the quality of your new log home. You’ll get all of our details on our Contact Us page.

Log cabin show houses

If you come to our Tullow showrooms, you can see both our Tullow three bed log cabin and a two bed Limerick log cabin. Give Valerie or Fegus a call at 05991 81039 to discuss a visit.

We have a beautiful two bed log cabin show house in Boyle, Co Roscommon. Give Conor a call at 086 817 0429 to arrange an appointment.

And if you’re in Munster, you can also organise a visit to our show house in Carrigaline in Cork. Give the Head Office a call to organise 05991 81039.

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How are Log Cabins constructed?

Building a log cabin

The timber in your log cabin is most important element of your new home, but it is worth nothing if your cabin is not built by experienced log cabin builders.

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Of course, while the materials used in your log cabin are of paramount importance, we must not forget that the method of construction and the intrinsic design of the building envelope are also key features that make timber living log cabins Ireland the best quality and value log cabins available in the country.

The Best Log Cabin Timber

We use only the highest grade Norway Spruce timber in our log cabin homes. This timber is sourced in Siberia, where the trees are 150 years old when they are harvested. They are extremely well suited to timber for construction  of log houses Ireland. Because they have a very short growing season, these trees have extremely tight grain, and and will not twist, warp or buckle overtime. Have a read of our blog post all about log cabin timber here: ,,What timber should a log cabin be built with?

Building a log cabin

The double-glazed, tilt-and-turn windows and five-point locking doors in our log houses are made of extremely high quality, and will endure for a lifetime. We also offer a wide choice of different log cabin windows, including white or coloured PVC windows. Read our blog post here: ,,Which windows for your log cabin?

Log cabin insulation

We use high quality Kingspan log cabin Insulation in our log cabin homes. Our log cabin in Boyle was built for us in the spring of 2018. The summer of 2018 was a great summer – really hot for weeks! (Will we ever forget!) Anyway, we were really amazed at how cool the cabin remained all of that summer, despite the sun beating down on our black roof. The coolness was due to the quality of insulation in our log cabin roof. (And also due to the positioning of our cabin – we get very little sun in through our windows. Come and visit us at the Boyle Log Cabin Showhouse and you’ll see…)

Our  standard log cabin  insulation thickness is 100mm, but this can be increased according to the customers wishes or planning specifications.

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Log Cabin Roofing

We use a quality pressed Steel tile effect roofing panel which is sturdy and enduring. These panels are quick to fit and storm proof. we have a cabin on the Aran Islands for the last number of years, and it is still there! – a very high performing roof on that log cabin.

Our roofs are fitted with a minimum of 100 millimetres (four inches) of Kingspan PIR insulation, which, combined with our 19mm ceiling boards provide a great level of insulation.

Common Mistakes of Log Cabin Construction

It is a common mistake of many log cabin installers to use rockwool insulation under floors. This is a drastic mistake.  In wintertime, at temperatures below 4 degrees, condensation forms on the concrete slab and rockwool insulation soaks this condensation up. Your installation is not insulation when it is wet. You have a cold floor or and damp problems. You must have Kingspan Insulation in your log cabin floor.

Another drastic mistake is to opt for single wall construction, especially if your cabin is being heated during cold winter nights. A cavity construction is vital in these conditions to avoid condensation, damp and mould on interior walls. A single wall, even a 90 millimetre wall, is insufficient insulation for a residential cabin, and will need to be dry-lined. The surface of a single wall cabin will form mould on cold nights in unseen places, such as behind wardrobes. This is because these areas are not heated – the wardrbe does not let the heat in behind. So the wall surface is still cold, and the damp air in the cabin condenses on the cold surface, and lo and behold – mould! Not what you want in your cabin. That’s why you buy from a company sch as Timber Living Log cabins, who have been building cabins for over twnty years, and have seen every conceivable problem in Log Cabin construction, and solved them all.

 

 Installing a stove in your log cabin

There are no restrictions on the heating system that can be installed in a log house. Stoves with or without back boilers are straightforward installations. Of course, oil and gas central heating systems are also an option as our underfloor heating and inverters. Just contact us at TimberLiving and we can fill you in on all of the technical details required.

How long does it take to build a log cabin?

We always tell customers that, at a push, you could move into your log cabin four weeks after breaking ground. Now, that’s at quite a push, and also depends on the size of the cabin. But the speed of construction is one of the great benefits of buying a log cabin.

Lets look at ow the timeline could pan out for one of our Limerick Log cabins.

Week 1: Pour the base.

Week 2: Monday/Tuesday. Build the exterior of the cabin. Wednesday first fit electrics. Thursday First fit plumbing.

Week 3: Monday-Wednesday complete the cabin construction. Thursday/Friday floor coverings

Week 4: Monday Complete electrical. Tuesday/Wednesday complete plumbing and install heating. Thursday Friday install kitchen.

Okay, its a bit of a push, but it does illustrate how quickly your cabin can be built. We always say, if you order today, you COULD be in in three months, if you line up your ducks properly…

Come visit us in our show houses, or give us a call to organise an appointment.

Call Tullow 05991 81039

Call Boyle 0868170429

CAll Carrigaline 087 6464 280

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Which windows for your log cabin?

Log Cabin Windows

Choice is key when it comes to log cabin windows, because everyone’s taste is different

Windows are a very important element of your log cabin. They let the light in: they’re an architectural feature: they should also keep as much heat inside the cabin as possible. So, which windows do you choose when buying your cabin from Timber Living Log Cabins Ireland?

Full height PVC windows for your log cabin

We have the best log cabin windows

“The eyes are the windows to the soul”. Sounds like a completely irrelevant way to start this article, but bear with me! Of course, you’re going to need windows in your log cabin, but the windows do a lot more than just let the light in. Depending on your window size, they might not let enough light in. Then again, they might let too much heat out! Window choice is important!

Get the right windows for your log cabin

As you can see from the picture gallery above, we have a host of different window sizes and shapes, all of which are available to you.

Take a look at our Sligo log cabin as a great example of how you can light up your cabin interior with the right window choice.

And our Cavan Log cabin is another interesting choice. This cabin would be ideal as a holiday home, if your location has the stunning views.

Window Size and Shape

There is no restriction on the window size and shapes we can produce. Just ask any of our representatives, in Tullow, Boyle or Carrigaline, and we’ll be glad to talk you through all of the options.

Log cabin Window choices

Make sure you get the right shape of window for your log cabin. What factors should you consider?

  • South facing? There’s no doubt but that you should, if at all possible, have your main window wall facing south, or at least between south east and south west. You’re going to get the best light of the day, and also benefit much more from solar gain.
  • Balance Solar Gain with Heat Loss. If you’ve got a beautiful view, you’re going to want big windows to take in the view. There’s lots to consider here. Big windows are great, but they can lead to heat loss at night, so they need to be heavily curtained. And your curtains need to close off at the ends, so that the cold air behind them is trapped. Curtains that are away from the wall are ineffective, especially with large windows. The large window surface area can generate a draught, which will get the warm air in the cabin moving, and make it uncomfortable. So, by all means go for the large windows, but you’ve got to get a bit unconventional with your curtain-hanging. Want o know more about heating a log cabin?
  • Big Bedroom Windows? You don’t need a lot of light in your bedroom window, unless you’re the sort that likes to stay in bed til the sun is high in the sky. So, its probably best to keep your bedroom windows small, and, by reducing heat loss, cosy. This also means that you can put your bedrooms on the north-facing side of the building, and leave the living areas in the south-facing rooms.
  • Traditional Vs Modern Window frames. Wooden frames or pvc? Its a conundrum. Our wooden timber frames are very high wuality, amde from the best quality timber, sourced in Russia, so they are slow growing, and very strong and durable. They will last as long as you maintain them. But that is the key word – maintenance. Whie the beauty of timber cannot be fully replaced by PVC, the issue of maintenance cannot be avoided. So, if you’re going for a larger building, with lots of windows, the best advice is probably to sacrifice a bit of the traditional for th convenience of low maintenace PVC windows.
  • Double glazed, heat retaining. The major factor in double-glazed windows, besides the quality of the build – seal etc – is the gap in the window between the two panes. Always take a look at this gap – the bigger the better, the bigger the more heat is retained.
  • Cabin character. This is a difficult one to be definitive about, because it boils down to people’s tastes. Some people like a traditional looks in a log cabin, while others want something a bit more modern, more individual. But needless to say, your cabin windows really do define the character of your cabin. Usually, the choice is immediately clear to someone who is buying a cabin – as soon as they see what they like, they know it straightaway. The problems start when two people are buying, and they each want something different. But, at Timber Living, we have a wide range of log cabins, and we’re very good at finding you exactly whatyou’re looking for. Contact us now to arrange an appointment and a viewing of our log cabin showhouses.

Quality log cabin windows

At Timberliving, we realise the importance of high quality windows in your log cabin. If you come to any of our showrooms you can experience for yourself the high quality of the hardware in our windows. All of our windows are tilt and turn, double glazed timber frame windows. Notice the gap in the double glazing. This determines how well your in windows insulate you against the cold.

Timber frame or PVC windows in your log cabin?

The standard window in all of our cabins is timber. but if you are interested, we can also offer you PVC windows. PVC windows come in a wide range of colours. Of course, white is the standard colour and is a lot cheaper than a coloured PVC frame. This is because quite PVC windows are very commonplace and and the expected colour in the marketplace.

Coloured PVC Log Cabin Windows

You can see REHAU’s range of PVC windows here: https://www.rehau.com/download/1893282/standarddekore-kaleido-foil.pdf

We offer a beautiful range of natural colours in coloured PVC windows from REHAU. Follow the link above to get a clear idea of the colours that are available. Coloured windows can look great in a log cabin – it all depends on personal taste. we have had come customers who have been adamant that they want the timber frame windows particularly for inside the cabin. timber windows painted white still look like timber windows, rather than PVC windows full stop and when you’re building your own log cabin, you should of course build it the way you want it. PVC has the benefit of low maintenance, but many people feel that you cannot beat the natural beauty of timber windows.

Window colour choice

Come to our log cabin show houses

Whether you’re looking for timber or UPVC windows, one, two or three bed cabins, a garden office or gym, you should come and visit us in our timber living show houses. We have show houses in Tullow, Boyle and Carrigaline. You will get all of our details on our contact page. Look forward to seeing you soon.