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Posted on July 16, 2020May 8, 2025 by admin — 6 Comments

Planning Permission for Log Cabins – YES!

Planning Permission for log cabins – it’s a bit of a chore. And you’re going to hear lots of opinions about it, so the best thing to do is to talk to a planning expert in your local area.

YES! You CAN get planning permission for log cabins!

Let’s be clear – YOU CAN GET PLANNING PERMISSION FOR LOG CABINS!

Here is an interesting article from the Irish Times about planning.

Do I need planning permission for a log cabin on my land?

Lots of people come to us at Timber Living to buy log cabins – and one of the main questions we are asked is about planning permission for log cabins. You need planning for anything over 25 square metres that you intend to live in – even a mobile home! But don’t worry – A lot of people have been given planning permission for our log cabins.

How long does planning permission take for a log cabin?
Can I build a log cabin on my land in Ireland?
What size can you build without planning?
Planning permission for a log cabin on agricultural land?

A lot of people have built on their own land without planning. It depends on the area you’re in sometimes. Some people have argued that they’re a flat-pack build, and not fixed to the ground so they’re a temporary structure, although this statement might not be an accurate reflection of the current planning regulations.

Can you get planning permission for log cabins?

Yes, you can get planning permission for log cabins.

If you do go for planning permission for a log cabin, best to apply for a “timber frame” construction rather than a “log cabin”. Anecdotal evidence suggests that planners, in general, are averse to the term “log cabin“. But there’s a strong environmental argument for building log cabins. The fact that the carbon footprint of one of our cabins is minuscule compared to a block-built house is a strong argument.

You will need to contact an engineer to work on your log cabin build if you go for planning. The engineer will need to certify the construction method for the building – how the walls, floors and roof are constructed. This certification is required in order to demonstrate that your building complies with the latest building regulations.

Timber Frame Houses from Timber Living

We have developed a range of timber frame buildings at Timber Living, to cater for people who want to build an affordable, stylish, comfortable home, and who are going for planning permission. The main differences between our log cabins and our timber frame houses are as follows:
higher insulation levels in walls and roof
Cement board finish on the exterior
PVC windows and doors
The steeper slope on the roof

timberframe building will get planning permission

Log Cabins and Building Regulations

With the new NZEB regulations, (that’s Nearly Zero Energy Building Regulations), the insulation levels in our timber frame buildings are a lot higher than in our log cabins. Our timber frame buildings have 300mm of wall insulation:

100mm Ext Insulation (EPS),
150mm Metac Insulation
52.5mm Insulated Board
compared with 100mm of METAC insulation in our log cabins.

Log cabin wall types for planning permission

Because of the required higher level of insulation, the overall cost of your build will be higher than that quoted on our website, unfortunately. That’s due to the requirement for more insulation in the build, improved air tightness and “greener” heating systems.

Can I build without planning permission for log cabins?

Lots of our customers have built their log cabins at the back of an existing house, or in a farmyard, without planning permission. There are some restrictions in relation to maximum log cabin sizes, which are addressed in the next paragraph.

The beauty of building close to an existing structure is that there are generally connections to water, sewerage and electricity, which means your log cabin can be built a lot quicker and cheaper than otherwise.

Many of our customers have told us that getting an ESB connection is not a problem – of course, it is not free, but you do not need to have planning permission to get a new ESB connection for your cabin.

What is the maximum size I can build without planning permission?

There are some restrictions when it comes to building a log cabin without planning permission. You can build a cabin up to twenty-five square meters in area if it is not connected to your house. But a better option might be to build an extension to the house. With an extension, you can build up to forty square metres without planning permission, as long as the house has not been extended previously. Our Roscommon Log Cabin (click here) is a good example of a cabin that fits under the 40-square-metre limit for house extensions. It is also an ideal fit for many extensions. One minor change would be required in order for this cabin to work as an extension – moving the windows from the front to the side of the cabin. As long as the existing building was suitable – wall length, position of door and windows etc. – this might be a perfect fit for your extension!

Of course, if this cabin did not suit, there might be another cabin in our collection that is ideal, or we could build you a bespoke model.

Appealing a Planning Decision

While the planning process in Ireland does seem to be overly cumbersome, at least we have an appeals system through An Bórd Pleanála. (Click here to visit their website.) It is important to appeal a planning decision if you are refused by your local council. We have heard of a few examples where log cabin planning refusals have been overturned.

The environmental argument is always a very strong one with An Bórd Pleanála. Although we cannot say this about all county councils, there seems to be a bias against timber construction, and in particular, timber exteriors on buildings. If you make the argument that the carbon footprint of a timber construction is minuscule compared to a conventionally built block house, this can help your case immensely. As already stated, the sustainability/eco-friendly/environmental argument has won quite a few cases for log cabin owners.

Please remember that planning regulations vary over time and between regions. What we state here is just general information. You need to check the finer details with your local council.

If you are thinking of going for planning permission, we would be glad to chat with you about all of the different options – type and quantity of insulation, internal and external wall coverings, and heating systems. Make sure you bring your plans with you when you come to our showrooms.

Posted on July 8, 2020May 8, 2025 by admin — 4 Comments

Building yourself the best bespoke Log Cabin

A bespoke log cabin is a big investment, and it is going to be there for a lifetime, so make sure you get the design you want.

A Residential Log Cabin

If you’re building a log cabin to live in for long periods, you will want a number of things:

easy to heat
low maintenance
stylish
affordable
built quickly

All of these are strong characteristics of Timber Living’s Log Cabins, and they’re headings we use all of the time when we write our marketing material for Facebook, google ads, and all of our other marketing projects. But there are a couple of things we never mention, and they are always FIRST on our clients’ list of priorities.

Your Log Cabin checklist.

When you’re choosing a log cabin, there are a couple of points you’ll put on top of your log cabin checklist. In fact, they’re so obvious, they’re rarely mentioned. They are, of course,

size,
number of rooms and
budget.

And if you cannot get the combination of these three right, you probably won’t be happy and probably won’t buy (which means we won’t be happy…)

Do you need that guest bedroom?

So often, we get people struggling to include a guest room in an already small cabin, for visitors who might show up for a night every eight or ten weeks. When you do the sums, you’re paying a lot of money to accommodate these visitors. (Now, we’re not suggesting it would be cheaper to forego the extra room and put your visitors up in the B & B down the road…)

But a decent sofa bed can be an excellent alternative to the spare room. And you can be sure that any visitors to your cabins will be quite happy to take the couch. The atmosphere in any log cabin is so comfortable and inviting that they are sure not to complain. That’s how I find the extra visitors to my cabin anyhow…

One Bed Log Cabin

If you’re really pressed for space or finances and considering a one bed log cabin like the Brittas, you might be better off considering removing the bedroom wall, and making it an open plan, studio-style cabin, with a foldaway bed. Initially, it goes against the grain for Irish people, but the extra space you’d gain in the living area of the cabin would be well worth it.

I spent a year in France (many years ago) and we had a small studio apartment. It was a simple set-up – kitchen, bathroom and living room, which converted to a bedroom when the foldaway bed was unfolded! Cheap and cheerful!

Stretch that Two Bed Log Cabin

The Limerick Two Bed Log Cabin is our best-selling log cabin. Most visitors to the showhouse need little convincing when they see the size of the living area that the Limerick is the log cabin they’re looking for. Sometimes, though, bedroom space is an issue. The simplest thing to do in that case is to add a meter onto the bedroom end of the cabin, making both bedrooms quite a bit more spacious. It’s a simple, affordable solution, that often makes our clients’ minds up for them.

Your Log Cabin, Your Way

Of course, we’d all like to build a fine big bespoke log cabin to our own design. Over the years we’ve built some really nice, individual cabins. Let me show you a few.

Three Bed Cabin Living Area — Classy Interior to Log Cabin

Log Cabin Designs

We’ve included some bespoke log cabin designs in our catalogue of residential log cabins because the designs are so good. Here’s a quick list of those luxury log cabins for sale from Timber Living.

Blackrock Log Cabin. A very dramatic looking premium log house, with the gable end, at over 16m long with a large overhang, giving this cabin great character It’s one of our favourite bespoke log cabins.

Callan 3 Bed Log Cabin

This Callan 3 Bed Log cabin has a very appealing large verandah and overhang. It was originally a bespoke design for one of our customers. The layout inside is something that a lot of people are looking for, incorporating a long hallway and large bedrooms. Definitely one to be considered if it’s within your budget.

Spiddal Two Bed Log Cabin.

This cabin is modelled on an old Irish country cottage, with a main living room and a small bedroom off either end. The design has been modernised with full glass doors. A great design of you’re looking to set up a small, countryside getaway.

The Kilmore Two Bedroom log cabin is a revised and extended version of our Tullow three-bed log cabin. The living area is the same size, but the windows have been changed around and made larger. The main bedroom in this is also quite large, with a walk-in wardrobe, and the main bathroom has also been extended.

Posted on June 24, 2020May 8, 2025 by admin — 3 Comments

Building a Log cabin in Ireland

Log cabins are long-lasting, stylish, very affordable, and are built VERY quickly. Let me show you how we can build long-lasting, quality homes in a short amount of time.

How long do log cabins last in Ireland?

Before anyone starts the process of building a log cabin in Ireland, they have to ask themselves the question “How long do log cabins last in Ireland?” And its a perfect question. There are some illusions that Ireland’s weather is worse for log cabins than elsewhere in Europe, but this is just a perception of the situation. (I believe we’re just feeling sorry for ourselves because we don’t get as much sunshine as othe countries in Europe!)

But Timber Living has been building log cabins in Ireland for over twenty years, and we’ve proven their longevity – even our oldest cabins are stil as good as new, as long as they’ve been treated properly on the outside. (You can read all about “painting” log cabins here: https://timberliving.ie/post/how-to-paint-your-log-cabin)

How can log cabins be built in such a short time?

The secret to the speed of build of log cabins is down to the fact that most of the work is done in a factory, by precision Austrian-built machines, using the latest in high-tech software. Stringent management and quality assurance levels ensures that every piece of timber has been dried to the right level, machined to the right dimensions (with extremey tight tolerances) and is loaded safely and correctly, ensuring that there are no delays on site due to incorrect or missing elements of your log cabin.

Now, that’s the easy bit! But what are the stages that you will see happening when your log cabin is being built?

Log Cabin Base

Take a look at our blog post all about log cabin bases: Blogpost – ,,Log cabin bases and foundations.

Your log cabin is going to require a five inch concrete base. Building a log cabin on anything else (stilts or blocks or whatever) is a mistake – any movement in just one of the points would lead to serious undermining of your build. So, a five inch base is what’s needed. Here’s the spec for the builder: 5 inch 804 hardstone and 5 inch 30-33 N concrete.

https://youtu.be/vL0PlN9aaFw

Build schedule for your log cabin

For this section, I am going to discuss the build schedule for the Limerick Two Bed Log Cabin, which is the one that was built in Boyle as a show house for Timber Living. There are four phases to the build, which take about three weeks to complete.

Week One – Monday and Tuesday

First stage build – the log cabin exterior is built. You can see in the video below how, over two days, we build the exterior log cabin walls and ceiling boards, so that we can leave an enclosed space for the electrician and plumber.

Week One – Wednesday to Friday

Its time for the electrician and plumber to move in and do their first fix. It should only take the electrician a day, and the same with the plumber depending on the extent of the plumbing, heating system etc.

Week Two – Monday to Wednesday

We return to do the roof insulation and cover, the insulation in the walls and floors, and complete the internal walls and floor.

Week Two – Wednesday to Friday

Its time to protect the new floor in your log cabin, before the electrician and plumber return. So get varnishing, or carpeting, or timber flooring – whatever your choice. Its important to protect the fresh timber floor before the electrician and plumber move in with nails and screws aas wellas other, heavier items. While the wood in your floor is reasonably hard, it is not unscratchable, so best to protect it before any damage is done.

For that matter, there is nothing wrong with putting timber flooring on top of your new Timber Living floor, if that’s what you want. Flooring is very much a matter of taste -for one person, carpet is the creme de la creme, while another will INSIST on keeping the original timber flooring. Then again, there are lots of very interesting linos available on the market now…

Once your flooring is down, get the electrician and plumber to complete their work. This stage shouldn’t take more than three days. For the electrician, all that will be needed is to fit sockets and light fittings, a final wiring of the plug board, wiring of whatever water heating system you’re using, and possibly wiring of your cooker. For the plumber, there’s final fitting of rads, stoves, showers, toilets, sinks and taps, an again, whatever water heating you’re using.

Now you’re ready to put in the kitchen and move in your furniture. Enjoy!

Come see us at Timber Living Log Cabins

If you’re interested in seeing one of our log cabins in real life (!) give us a call at our,, log cabin showrooms. in Tullow, County Carlow, Carrigaline, County Cork and Boyle, County Roscommon. We’re always glad to show you around.

Posted on June 15, 2020January 24, 2024 by admin — 4 Comments

How long do residential log cabins last?

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.

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

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

Tullow, County Carlow (Phone 05991 81039)
Boyle County Roscommon, (086 817 0429)
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

Posted on June 12, 2020May 8, 2025 by admin — Leave a comment

Log Cabin Electrical Wiring

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.

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 Lighting

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.

Posted on June 1, 2020January 3, 2023 by admin — 2 Comments

Can I install a 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Posted on May 26, 2020January 3, 2023 by admin — Leave a comment

Log Cabins article in the Irish Times

Cabin fever: Why the humble garden shed is having a moment

This is a great article in the Irish Times, which talks to writer and historian Turtle Bunbury about his Timber Living Garden Office

http://www.turtlebunbury.com/

Thank you to the Bunbury Family

Posted on May 20, 2020October 5, 2023 by admin — 2 Comments

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!

Posted on April 30, 2020May 9, 2025 by admin — Leave a comment

Granny Flat – a log cabin is the perfect solution

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.

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.

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.

Posted on April 23, 2020May 8, 2025 by admin — Leave a comment

How efficient are log cabins to heat?

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.

Log Cabin 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:

Your insulation is wet, and doesn’t insulate any more.
The gathering moisture in the insulation can lead to rotting of your floorboards
Your interior floor is going to be very cold, and will draw heat out of your living area.
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.