This review put a smile on my face for various reasons, so I’d like to say a big thank you to Mr H for sending me your installation process and review on your Blackpool Log Cabin. Interested in how they got on? Read on to find out more:
Mr H writes as follows:
We live in a old house that has been converted. With the top two floors to ourselves we found that, despite having a pretty sizable garden that we didn’t use it nearly as much as we thought we would. The main barrier was the need to carry everything up and down a couple of flights of stairs. Not a huge task in its own right but a real hassle on a traditional UK summer’s day where the odd shower passes through. For this reason we thought a summerhouse would help us to get outdoors more and use the space we have.
I am a born researcher and spent a good few months looking at the many sites on the web that sell Log Cabins and wooden buildings. There were a few trips to the local garden centre which has an extensive array of timber sheds on offer. After a lot of research it became obvious that TUIN was the supplier of choice. The extensive information on the web site, the how to videos and the support that was so clearly evident made me confident to buy from them.
Planning the Blackpool Log Cabin
In planning a cabin base I sent a couple of quick e-mails for advice. Despite this being non urgent, and not having purchased anything from them yet I was amazed to get replies almost immediately which reassured me. Cross referencing information on the Tuin site with other sources consistently showed that this was a company and team that know what they are talking about.
After measuring the site and marking out a few layouts we settled on a Blackpool Cabin in 58mm logs.
We live in a conservation area so planning permission was needed something that I know most customers won’t have to worry about. None-the-less get permission and we used the plans supplied by Tuin in advance to achieve this easily without the need to hire an architect.
With planning permission granted we cleared the site and got to work on our base.
We opted for a hardcore base of 150mm topped off with reinforced concrete. The frame was built and levelled in 6×2 timber, lined with a membrane and rebar mesh added on upstands. We used a mix on site company locally. They borrowed the concrete in for us and then finished it with a hired power float.
Delivery of the Blackpool Log Cabin
The day of delivery came and we were very excited to receive our huge pallet of timber parts.
I kept it wrapped up for a couple of weeks until we had a window to build it. This was a winter build so we used the remnants of the roll of damp proof membrane to keep the site clean while we sorted the timbers.
The Build of the Blackpool Log Cabin
I am an experienced DIYer. However to fess up, I got a little help from a few friends who are cabinet makers to trade. Given the precision that achieve everyday in their work I did not expect the to be particularly excited by the kit. They were both however very impressed by the quality of the timber, the accuracy of machining and the simplicity of the build. So here is the build in pictures from 10am when we started.
Base layers set out and hardwood foundation beams fitted back below them. We used an additional layer of DPC here too. The base had been calculated so that the foundation beam would just overhang the edge and no more. It was an anxious time until I could see that my measurements and setting out were right. Again getting the base poured to an accuracy of +/- 15mm this would have been a lot harder without the excellent support from Tuin by e-mail.
Pizzas consumed we were off and on a mission. Getting the roof boards on was and involved a LOT of nailing but was straight forwards. 2 of us covered this while the third built the door frame. Again we were amazed to find hand drawn pencil marks to guide you on the timbers at tricky points. This + the web site made the door construction pretty fast.
Roofing the Blackpool Log Cabin
Shingles installed the following morning, wind and watertight in 8 1/2 hours
Amazing! Choosing the colour for the paint took more time.
Flooring
Floor going in.
We laid a second DPM below the floor with insulation locally sourced as per the advice on the Tuin website.
In the photo you can see the many additional boards in the flooring packs that were left over laid on top of the floor to protect it. These have since been used in other to add details to the cabin.
Conclusion
So in summary, as a prospective customer of Tuin what do you need to know? You can trust your instincts and buy with confidence from this company. The product is head and shoulders above anything at a similar price. The kits are well thought out, well designed and well manufactured. More importantly the team provide great support and take even minor hic ups seriously. Support is easy to get if you need it.
As a reasonably experienced team we found assembly a breeze but the construction is well within the capabilities of any diy’er. Just remember to watch the videos in advance. From doing so I knew the pitfalls to watch out for. I even had to rein in the professionals that were helping me a few times when they wanted to add screws to parts of the assembly. From the website I knew that this simply was not necessary AND might cause problems later. Our summerhouse has been looked at by many in the trade and they all conclude that is is a really solid, high quality piece of kit.
Final Thoughts
We are really delighted with the end result. As a means to get my two young children outside, away from television and computer games it has worked. We now have a great outdoors space that is comfortable, inviting and tranquil right in the middle of the city. The quality of the product and advice along the way gives me confidence that this building will outlast many that look similar but fail to perform as well.
Even if the paint selection took longer than installing our IKO Shingles… It was a process well thought out- The colour pairing is superb! Did anyone guess the factors of this review that made me smile? It was the in depth review and the mention of Pizza (now I’m craving some pizza…).
I’d like to say thank you on behalf of Tuin for this review on the Blackpool Log Cabin, we hope that you enjoy it as well as your thank you gift for many more years to come!
Want more in depth reviews like Mr H’s? Read them at: Pictorial Customer Reviews.
