I love it when customer join in on my blog and Dr K kindly sent in a review of his journey with his Stian 58mm Double Glazed Log Cabin, his comments after he sent it in made my day:
Introduction
I’m glad that the reviews might be useful and would of course be happy for you to use them as you see fit. Thank you for your generous offer, it’s very kind. However, one of the main reasons that I chose Tuin above the various competition is your blog. Partly as a useful resource, but also because of its honesty and detail. Also, that you admit flaws and genuinely appear to care that your customers are happy and not mislead about them. If I can contribute to that in some small way, I am happy to.
I am very happy with my Stian Log Cabin. My intent was to use it as a workshop, but now that it’s built, I think it might end up being the second house at the bottom of our garden! I certainly don’t think that it will be any sort of refuge from the children – they love it.
The quality of the cabin is excellent – the 58mm logs are reassuringly substantial and the whole structure feels very solid. The one caveat on this is that the door-frame is not engineered to the same beautiful standard. (As a word of advice, make sure you at least offer the doors up before you mount the frame. It is easy to get the two vertical panels swapped and upside down. That can be annoying when you come to hang the doors. Don’t ask me how I know this…)
The service I have received from Tuin has been unimpeachable – the response times (at all times of day) are fantastic. Unfortunately, there were two items in the pallet that had suffered minor damage. Advice was given on how to repair and use one and a replacement for the other was quickly shipped.
The Delivery
The delivery service is pretty impressive. The delivery company were able to give me a pretty good estimate, on the day, of what time the lorry would arrive. That is useful and something that more mundane delivery companies could learn from. The lorry was huge and couldn’t get onto our little cul-de-sac, but that proved not to be a problem because of the excellent fork-lift truck it came with. Under the skilful control of the driver, it’s exceptionally manoeuvrable, could drive sideways and spin on the spot and managed to drop the (very large) pallet neatly on the drive.
The pallet packs up cleverly to minimise the size ( a considerable 5.4m long, weighing 1.3tons!) Although this shuffles the cabin pieces a bit.
You really need to unpack it and sort the timber by type/length before you start the assembly. Once you have done that, everything is pretty self-explanatory, although I would definitely watch all the instruction videos on the Tuin website.
I looked at various sheds of similar basic design from other manufacturers, but I am happy that Tuin offered the best value for money out there. Reading the Tuin blog, there is a genuine passion for log cabins, things made of wood and for customer satisfaction that I found very refreshing and reassuring. There is a lot of useful technical insight there too – well worth reading.
Building the Stian Log Cabin
Regarding the build, I would suggest that you don’t underestimate the amount of work involved. The construction of the cabin itself is a pretty straightforward (and really rather good fun) days work for two. That is providing you are basically fit and know how to swing a hammer without smashing your own fingers. That said, the preparatory work of clearing the ground, laying a proper (square and level) base, unpacking the pallet and sorting the timber is pretty taxing. Inexperienced individuals may consider employing a builder to assist.
In my case, the total time taken so far is 4 days. 1.5 days to clear the site, put up square and level shuttering; 0.5 day to lay the concrete base; 1 day to erect the cabin, 1 day to fit the shingles. I have yet to paint the cabin, but would imagine that will take another solid day..
Stian log cabin completed other than the bargeboards
All in all this is an excellent product, from an excellent company and I am very happy with my purchase.
One final word of warning – you will engender shed envy in your friends and neighbours. Be warned!.
Stian Log Cabin – Video Review
Thank you Dr K for your contribution to my blog. Reviews and insights help us and other customers greatly and it is very much appreciated. Please let me know when you would like to order the extra shingles we spoke about. We can apply the discount for you as a thank you.
Other customer experiences, build and ideas are here:Pictorial Tuin Reviews
