Category: Log Cabin Construction

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.

 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.

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.

We build a lot of block houses in Ireland. I would say over 90% of all of the people who read this post have lived over 90% of their ives in block or concrete homes. People in Ireland are not familiar with building in timber; we see log homes as exotic dwellings from Scandanavia or Canada or Wyoming. But log cabins are definitely ideal for Ireland’s temperate climate, and there are many benefits to be gained from log cabin living.

How Long Do Log Cabins Last?

“How long will my log cabin last?” is probably THE most common question we are asked by visitors to our log house showrooms. Because nearly all of us were brought up in block or stone houses, It is only natural that we have doubts about quality log cabin timber. But we know that, when we were growing up, every door in the country was made of timber. And they make boats out of timber too! So as long as timber is minded well and treated properly, your log cabin home will last a lifetime.

People think that, due to damp Irish weather, that a log cabin might not last as long here as it would in other, colder countries. But that s a misconception. The damp weather is not detrimental to timber, as long as it is managed. By that I mean that the external coating of the log cabin – what stain you use – is ultimately the most important element in maintaining the longevitiy of your log cabin. Make sure you use the right stain (we recommend Sikkens, from Dulux – read our blog post here: How to Paint Your Log Cabin) And if you need more reassurance regarding log cabins and Irish weather, well, we live in the windiest country in Europe (did you know that!). And that constant wind is the perfect way to keep your log cabin walls dry in damp weather. Take a trip to the Boyle showhouse in a wet and windy day and you can see for yourself how well our log cabins can withstand the ravages of Irish weather. Its really not a problem to them – I would say that the extremes of Scandanavian or CAnadian winters is a lot more detrimental to log cabins.

Some benefits of Timber in buildings

Log cabins have a very low carbon footprint

Because we do not use steel or concrete in construction of log cabins, the carbon footprint of the building is very low. An enormous amount of energy goes into creating concrete and steel, and of course in the generation of this energy, huge amounts of carbon are emitted. So, keep it clean and keep it green, and build a log cabin :-)

The timber for all of our log cabins comes from sustainable Russian forests. In fact, Russia has been growing forests sustainably for centuries – replanting trees for every tree that has been felled. It is a law that has been in effect for over a hndred years, and of course, it makes gret sense. Russia is one of the World’s main timber exporters because of its great forestry industry.

A2 BER for log cabins

Your log cabin can have an excellent BER (Building Energy Rating). As long as a building is sufficiently well insulated and air sealed, and with the correct renewable energy system (in line with the new building energy ratings regulations) there is no reason why you cannot get the BER or you want for your log cabin.

Healthy timber home environment

Because there are no chemicals, additives, plastics or formaldahyde used in the timber of our interior walls, and no dust generated through the use of plasterboard, the environment in a Timber Living log cabin home is ideal for anyone looking for the healthiest home environment. And since our buildings are breathable, there is no condensation, giving further benefits and a better home environment.

Environmentally friendly building waste from your log cabin

When we complete the building of a log cabin, there is very little waste. Normally, there is a lot of timber left over, because we always send more timber than we need to a site in case of problems. As our client, if you are interested in keeping the excess timber, we are glad to leave it with you. This timber can be used to for firewood or to build furniture. (All the beds in the Boyle showhouse are made from excess timber. I also made two cat houses and a hen house, and I still have wood left over!)

Also, with block building, one of the main headaches for planners and builders is where to deposit the environmental waste from block building – leftover steel and concrete, plastics etc. With our log cabins, the only real waste we have to deal with is the plastic wrapping which we use to cover the timber during transport. And that plastic is very recyclable – we have a very straightforward, quality assured method for disposing f all of our environmental waste.

Log cabin wall insulation

By default, all of our log cabin walls have a 100 millimetre (four inch) cavity.

Overall, our walls are over even inches thick – the 100mm (four inch) cavity is made up of an external wall of 45mm (nearly two inches) and an internal wall of 30 millimetres (about an inch and a half). (This cavity size can be increased if you wish.) But the key point is that your wall is doubly insulated – firstly by the insulation itself, but, as we all know, timber is also a good insulator – so the walls re insulating, unlike plaster walls, which draw heat out of a room.