Self Assembly or Having Your Log Cabin Assembled for You?
Whilst many of our customers assemble their own log cabin very successfully and obtain a great deal of pleasure from the sense of achievement in carrying the project through from inception to completion, if you would prefer to have your log cabin assembled this can also be arranged.
Gudrum Classics Ltd does not offer an assembly service. We can however supply contact information for an independent assembly company who customers can contact to assemble the buildings.
If you choose to use the assembly service you would pay the assembly team on satisfactory completion of your building.
Please Note: Any service other than the supply of the products and their accessories forms a separate contract between you and the service provider and we do not warrant their work or services in any other way.
Prices for assembly start at £590.00 for some of the small items and will go upto over £3000.00 plus for the larger cabins – we are very familiar and confident in the work of the assembly company having worked with them for over five years and are happy to suggest that they can, and frequently do, undertake the following work:
The vast majority of comments and feedback from previous customers whom have used the assembly service are very positive however as we do not supply the service nor are we on site to monitor the work we cannot "recommend" their services but merely put you in contact with the service supplier. It is essential that you check their work is completed satisfactorily before they leave the site.
The buying process for a log cabin where our customer requires an assembly service is usually as follows:
1. Our customer will either purchase a log cabin/summer house directly through the website or contact us to discuss styles and designs and the various other options available and make the purchase over the phone.
2. As above – a most of our customers choose to assemble their own log cabin (see below for more information). This is perfectly possible for anyone with basic DIY skills and tools and can be a very rewarding experience. As a guide about 17/20 customers choose to assemble their own cabin.
3. However for those who do not wish to assemble their cabin part of the purchase decision may depend on the assembly service that we can offer. If this is the case this would be discussed at this early stage. We would also establish whether there would be other work to carry out at the same time. If the service requirement is simply and assembly service – we will give a price over the phone immediately. If the customer requires more work; i.e. site preparation – we would usually arrange for the assemblers to make a site visit to discuss precise requirements and agree terms.
Groundworks:
There are many different base types suitable for our ranges of garden buildings from compressed hardcore, tarmac, railway sleepers, concrete pad, concrete flag stones etc. However to ensure the long term durability of your new garden building we recommend that the following simple steps should be taken to prepare a good quality base:
A foundation that will not "settle" over time and that is solid and level is essential for the installation of any good quality garden building: Depending on the soil type and consistency this should be removed to a depth of approx 15 cm (6ins). The next stage is to fill in with a coarse sand or gravel, compact and then lay concrete slabs or put down concrete. It is important to ensure that the top of this base is level and above the surrounding ground level to avoid water collecting. This will prevent any unnecessary problems related to the building settling into the ground (i.e. windows and doors jamming) and assist with the long term durability and appeal of your garden building.
It is also generally recommended that you make your base a little larger than the stated dimensions of the building (Approx. 15cm) simply for strength and allow a margin for error and to avoid having the whole weight of a cabin on the very edge of your base.
Finally apply a layer of gravel around your garden buildings this permits water to soak away more readily and prevents splash back onto the walls.
Garden Sheds:
Garden Sheds and other Sectional Buildings may allow the ingress of water through wall panels in the first weeks after delivery. This is owing to the wall boards contracting in their dry stored environment. The wood will go through a natural process of regularization where the timber will absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere, the wood will slowly expand and any ingress should cease. If the process continues after the early weeks then the solution is to use a mastic sealant between the boards and in the joints. It is essential that the wood is treated as this will reduce any ingress of water and will protect the wood under any mastic that may be used.
The above processes are perfectly natural and do not affect the integrity of the timber or of the structure it is used in and therefore splitting, cracks & knots, expansion and contraction and any other feature / processes that are as a result of wood being a natural product etc are not covered by any guarantee. All dimensions are shown as within reasonable acceptable tolerances for the product sold. Garden buildings are not sold or presented as being exact dimensions owing to the nature of the material used in manufacture Timber thickness is the thickness of the timber as sawn.
Legislation In some cases there may be local authority, drainage and other considerations that relate to base preparation. We do not advise on any of these matter and you must ensure that any base preparation that you undertake complies with any and all legislation and regulations. The above information is advisory, it is not exhaustive and some or all of it may not apply in certain situations.
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Wood Treatment: Most of our garden buildings are delivered untreated (unless stated otherwise)- it is important to protect your garden building against the effects of wood boring insects (and other insects) sun, water and u.v. light. This should be done with the application of a good quality wood preservative as soon as possible, again after about 3 - 6 months, and then annually thereafter.
Many, although not all, of our log cabins and Log Cabin style Summer Houses are delivered with Pressure Treated Base Beams (Please check the product page - if it doesn't say that it is included it is probably excluded!). This means that with these buildings, the parts that are in direct contact with the Ground have been treated with a long term treatment. Please see here a link to information relating to the treatment used on many, although not all, of these base beams.
Click to view Information on one of the Brands that is used by our Manufacturers:
Info on Wolmanit Timber Treatments
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Planning Permission and Building Regulations Building Regulations It should be noted: The following text relating to Planning Permission and Building Regulations is information as we understand it only. It is not definitive nor exhaustive nor is it warranted to be accurate. There may well be local and other issues that require compliance which are not detailed here. We accept no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of this text. For full and definitive information on Planning Permission and Building Regulations please contact your Relevant Local Authority.
Please see a link below to information regarding Planning Permission. PLEASE NOTE: we canot warrant the accuracy of information on this link NOR can we state that it applies to any given area:
Permitted Development for Householders Technical Guidance as at April 2014
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Building Regulations in our experience, are NOT as onerous as may be imagined and most Log Cabins on this web site DO NOT require Building Regulations although that can depend on the use of the building. As a general guideline, Log Cabins with a floor area of less than 30 square metres which DO NOT require Planning Permission - do not need to comply with Building Regulations. This includes most of the Log Cabins and Garden Offices that are on this web site - However - there are exceptions: If the internal floor area exceeds 30m² or any part of the building is within 1m of the boundary, then building regulations approval will be required. If the building is to be temporary (temporary means not there for more than 28 days) then no regulations apply.
Please feel free to contact us to discuss any aspect of our Log Cabins including in relation to Planning Permission and Building Regulations. We have broad experience and even though our advice is unqualified and may not be complete, nevertheless talking through any project that you have in mind may well be worthwhile.
Our buildings do not comply with building regulations as supplied. Unless stated otherwise non-toughened glass is used and there is no floor, wall or roof insulation - all of which are required to comply with building regulations. Our roof insulation is a good material and provides a good level of insulation but does not comply with building regulations.
What is the difference between Planning Permission and Building Regulations?
We understand that Planning Permission is controlled by the Local Planning Authority and is ultimately governed by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The function of Planning Permission is to control development so that a general and locally acceptable theme of property development is followed for any given area. Fundamentally the focus of Planning Authorities is to guide and control development within their areas of authority.
Building Regulations are also administered by the ODPM. The purpose of Building Regulations is to control aspects of the building itself. This would include: Safety i.e. Fire Regulations etc, Insulation Standards and other environmental factors. The following links may be useful: Planning Permission Information Building Regulations Information
We do not advise on planning permission or building regulations.
We do not warrant the accuracy of information displayed here-with nor on the web site with regards to Planning Permission or any other regulatory / statutory requirements.
It should be noted: All text referring to Planning Permission, Building Regulations and any other statutory Requirement is information as we understand it only. It is not definitive nor exhaustive nor is it warranted to be accurate. There may well be local issues in your area that require compliance that are not detailed here. We accept no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of this text. For full and definitive information on Planning Permission please contact your local Planning Department.
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For any information please feel completely at ease to contact us at any time. Our phones are answered 8-00am - 8-30pm, 7 days per week.We are always very pleased to offer useful and practical advice on the whole process from start to finish from choosing the right log cabin kit for your garden and your purpose, type of roofing and discuss insulation requirements (many products have comprehensive details as links to the product page regarding roof insulation, roof shingles and other accessories), base preparation and requirements around that, through to assembling your new purchase in your garden, whether you choose to assemble the Log Cabin yourself, which many customers find to be an interesting and rewarding challenge, or if you prefer to have it assembled we would refer you to independent, very experienced assembling teams. We carry a large range of stock items in our Warehouse in Northampton and can often deliver within 7 days. For more information on this and any other questions that you may have please call: 01636 858290 .
MADE TO MEASURE SERVICE AVAILABLE: Please e. mail to info(at)gudrum.com above number.
In general it is important to remember that wood is a natural material. It differs from man-made materials each piece of timber will have grains and knots which will vary. Being a natural product wood will react to changes in atmospheric conditions. Wood will expand and contract. Most of this movement is across the grain of the wood so height dimensions will vary according to moisture content. All height dimensions are exclusive of roof insulation and at 15% moisture content of the wood. Some splitting of the timber may occur as it expands and contracts with changes of humidity and temperature. Many cabin kits will show some warp and twist in boards. This is more pronounced in thicker boards. It is common to see some some bruising to tongues and grooves on boards when unpacking.
Please see link to Lugarde Daisy Video: Lugarde Daisy Cabin and also a link to the Gudrum Derwent: Gudrum Derwent Video Review
Caring for your log cabin:
https://www.forestgarden.co.uk/help-support/caring-for-your-products/
