James Log Cabin Studio 4m x 3m

 
21 Reviews  

5 stars
 
4 stars
 
3 stars
 
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1 stars: 
 




Reviews

Mr. Phil Mill-Irving
Aug 23, 2023
Kit arrived within 2 weeks all intact with a great delivery driver. Fairly straightforward to construct, sturdy and good quality. Definitely recommend them. Also recommend the rubber membrane for roof as without it won't be water tight. Also very easy to install.
James Horsfield
May 23, 2022
Erected this log cabin myself and have to say its absolutely amazing quality. Instructions were in most parts straightforward. In others not so much but even so and with my average DIY skills I was able to overcome. The structure is solid and we love this which is now a cinema room/dance studio for my 2 girls .
Dr N Mitra
Apr 24, 2022
Thank you, Tuin for the wonderful service.

Presale: Our queries about the product were quickly answered and we happily ordered the EPDM roof sheet separately.
Sale: There was an issue with payment by credit card but it was quickly addressed. Prices of logcabins have gone up significantly but still the product was well-prriced.
Delivery and product: This is the second time we used Tuin. The James cabin is a lot bigger than what we had ordered before. The product was delivered on the agreed date and took 3 weekends to put together for one person -- it was a lot of work but totally worth it.
Now waiting to paint it and put the electrics. From the looks of it, the cabin should stay for a long time!
Mrs. Denise Warneford
Jan 4, 2022
Extremely pleased with first class service from Tuin.
The cabin was fairly easy to erect and has proved to be a very welcome retreat in our garden.
Everyone who has seen this has been amazed at how sturdy it is. Extremely comfortable inside.
Absolutely love it .
Highly recommend Ed.
Bruce Miranda
Nov 30, 2021
It's an easy build, just take your time and use common sense. There is a lot of unrequired packing material that looks like parts for the cabin, so don't get worried if you have loads of timber left over. There are dowels that need to go between key parts in the logs, watch out for them. The thin log columns on either side of the door are almost solely held together with them. Definitely Do Not try and put the doors and windows in while you are building the walls, the seals are so tight you will struggle to slide the logs in - remove the architraves and hang them up later, especially if you are going to treat the cabin. If there are any bowed logs, use them as soon as you find them at the bottom so that the weight of the top logs straightens them. The only bits that I thought we not as well engineered are the log fillers at the top between the last log and the roof. I need to seal the gaps with sealing strips. I opted for the floor and roof insulation kit, this is where most of the head scratching comes in because nothing is precut and everything supplied assumes almost 0 wastage. And when you use this kit you need to not put the upstand on the roof that comes with the kit. Instead you use the roof battens from the insulation kit. I used some EPDM roof pva for the bulk of the roof deck and used the contact adhesive just for the edges, much easier to work with. I then finished off the edges with a flat roof check kerb on 3 sides and then put a normal half round gutter and down pipe at the end.
David Robert Johnston
Oct 19, 2021
I ordered the James Log cabin, but due to high demand and Covid, I had to wait longer than normal. However, the wait was worth it. I was kept well informed of the delivery date and it arrived on the date. There was a lot of wood, and at first felt as though I'd let myself in for a difficult job. However, having read the instructions a few times, and then actually building the cabin, I found it fairly easy to build. I was very impressed with the quality and workmanship and I am extremely pleased with the finished cabin.
Nicholas
Sep 13, 2021
Our James cabin (known as The Solarium) arrived on schedule, was beautifully packaged, and proved a breeze to put up - until we got to the roof! Humping what felt like a dead weight whale skin ‘up and over’ and securing it down was far from easy. The instructions for the main part were okay once deciphered. Watch out for the dowels! They help solidly the shorter lengths of wall. Hefting the windows was made a lot easier by removing the glass first. Everything slotted into place beautifully. The roof instructions I found incomprehensible. We made it up as we went along. It was as we were doing this that we decided to deviate from the plan. Rather than cover the generous overhang at the front with pine cladding, insulation and roofing membrane, we terminated the regular roof just above the door and improvised corrugated plastic over the rest. We wanted to maximise light penetration. We then used the saved roof cladding for part of the floor. Overall, we’ve ended up with a lovely outdoor space that I’d rather spend time in than any room in our house. Out of the whole package, only one piece was at fault - a broken door flush bolt. An email to Tuin brought an immediate replacement. I’ve now had a hand in building four cabins from four different vendors. All have worked out well but I think the overall wood quality of the James pips at least two of the others. In conclusion, I found the least pleasant part of the entire build was the painting, particularly the second coat, as it was so difficult to see where I had been.
Mr. Simon Annals
Aug 29, 2021
I am thoroughly delighted with my James Log Cabin. It was exactly what I hoped it would be and it is now a fantastic addition to my garden.
It was delivered on time and It fairly straightforward to construct even though I did pretty much on my own. When I had a query, I emailed TUIN who provided me with satisfactory solutions.
I would definitely recommend TUIN to anyone thinking of purchasing a Log Cabin.
Alastair
Aug 9, 2021
Great Purchase , once i worked out the drawings and the instructions which aren't the easiest to follow i got the structure up and water tight in a weekend , definitely a two man job minimum. Be aware of Dowling the front small section s between windows and doors m there is nothing the instructions to state this. Also do not screw down the first two front pieces leave them floating for door frame fixing. The Two side base pieces should however be screwed down to your base by at least 5 x 6 inch No 10 screws each side. Once up and rubber roof lining glued down ( could do with an extra two canisters of glue) it looks great !! Good space , well constructed , nice heavy glass units for doors and windows. Only con is the concealed door latches are very cheap and one came damaged . Ordered heavier better constructed ones from Amazon. Over all a lovely Cabin that will be well used by all. Highly recommend buying the drain pipe for the roof and fitting prior to rubber roof is laid down.
Mr O Garsed-Bennet
Apr 3, 2021
We purchased 4 of these units for use as visitor testing cabins at our Care Homes (they are much nicer than the Elizabeth lodge which has low doors and is much darker inside). They go together very easily and both staff and visitors have been very complementary of them.

They go together very easily (don't try and slot the windows down into the opening after though as the seals on the newer model are too tight, build them in as instructed) and the new instructions are quite easy to follow.

The improved version has well thought out improvements like dowels next to openings and improved window seals and hinges, the roof pitch of the newer model is very low though (about 1:120) and I am concerned about how long the roof trim pieces will last being untreated timber, even after painting (we seem to have had two of the original model and then two of an improved model after a few weeks delay).
Colin Leppard
Feb 24, 2021
We are extremely pleased with the log cabin. It was delivered on time by a very helpful and friendly driver. It was erected without problems and the quality and appearance of the product exceeded our expectations. Thank you Tuin.
Dicky Welsh
Feb 21, 2021
Turn were fantastic to deal with, even during lockdown. The package arrived really well packed and protected and the timber and accuracy of machining is outstanding. Simple enough to put together although the front wall of glass does make you scratch your head a bit - but great support again from Tuin if you get stuck. simple DIY skills and tools is all you need. The finished summer house is fantastic and great quality. I opted for floor as part of the package and cannot believe the quality and thickness of the floor boards. Well worth it. I opted for a local roof company to lay a rubber roof but now I know I could easily have fitted their rubber option.
Great summer house at a very affordable price, delivered to your door. Fantastic.
Derek Neilson
Jan 4, 2021
The James is a really stunning building and worth every penny. Very spacious, solid construction and excellent quality. Delivery was seamless with delivery driver taking the package off the truck and round the narrow roads to the house. Was very impressive.

I was quick to unpack and lay out all the pieces after looking at the instructions. The flooring I ordered with it was at the top as well as the roofing felt. After opening up the package you then begin unloading the roof boards. It's then the logs with the windows and doors packed tight in the middle. When unloading I placed all the logs in their sections (A, B, C and Ds). Only the logs are numbered as they are in the plans - all other pieces, roofing / facia boards aren't and I'll be honest it took me a while to feel confident in this. However, once you start with the numbered pieces, it goes up quick. You'll be left only with the other bits and at that point it should be obvious where the remaining pieces go.

As others have mentioned the instructions aren't the best but as Tuin point out, if people are able to build it then the instructions can't be that bad. My feedback would be that there is lots of information available in many different places (website / videos etc) but it would be helpful if these were clearer and in one place. An example being if you look really closely at the plans you can make out that there should be dowels in-between some boards but it is far from clear and I only noticed when I was 5 layers up that there was a small hole in some of the logs and that it was obvious that's where the dowels should go. Tuin even have a page dedicated to dowels and how customers often don't realise what they are for - I only came across this when googling afterwards.

It snowed pretty heavily the night before and on the day I started building and to be honest it wasn't the most pleasant experience but that's Scottish weather for you. Two (short) days was enough to get the cabin up and roof on but I did take time doing the insulation and flooring inside a couple days after this.

Overall incredibly happy with the building itself. It is really solid and incredibly well constructed. It's a really nice structure as well and if you are thinking of going for it all I can say is you definitely won't regret it.
Pauline stevenson
Nov 28, 2020
Ordered cabin mid May took delivery in early August and it is the best purchase we have made. My husband took 2 days to build by himself and didn't have any issues. We did put it on a concrete foundation. He said it fitted together really well and would recommend this cabin from Tuin. Many happy hours have been spent in it and hopefully many more to come.
Philip Pegg
Nov 17, 2020
I took delivery of the James log cabin in September 2020. I chose this particular model as I liked the large windows/doors and the modern design. It arrived as expected. I built the majority of it solely just needing a hand with the windows and doors due to there weight. It took me about 4 days to build although I was in no rush and didn't work all day long. I think two competent diyers could have done it in two days. The instructions were basic although it was just like a big puzzle really and not difficult if you take your time. The only part of this I would say could be improved on would be to make the instructions more bespoke for each different cabin. At one stage the cabin appeared to be leaning to one side at the front and I was a little concerned however once it was built up above the windows and doors it was pulled true and then the roof made it solid. I insulated the roof and floor which was also simple. Although I'm yet to apply the finishing touches I'm very satisfied with the product. I will add a few extra safety precautions such as locks, alarm, etc but this is personal choice.
Craig
Nov 17, 2020
Overall we are very happy with our cabin. We are complete novices in construction but we took on this challenge and really enjoyed it despite the Scottish weather weighing on us during the process. We didn’t have any issues with the doors just the weight of the doors and windows but making sure the sides are squared during the build helps. Would we do it all again? Yes. When you sit back and see your finished cabin it makes you smile and you know you built it. Delivery was delayed due to COVID and some items were missing however Tuin customer service was really good and quick to sort this out. :)
Kevin
Sep 26, 2020
Would agree with others door is an issue seems to be 15mm out to square door am thinking about how to resolve probably will use some beading to fit under door. Also instructions are pretty minimal and mine came with a spare horizontal beam 4m long but I KH realised when roof out of alignment. The felt supplied is pretty poor quality and needs to be carefully handled and this resulted in ours having a small leak after fitting so went for,the rubber roofing but lost half a day fitting felt, removing felt and then fitting rubber compound. You need to be careful constantly squaring to the base and also need to be prepared to hang windows and doors and few times to get them squared. Other than that and a near 5 month wait due to Covid the actual lodge is excellent and worth the money
I Mr. George Buchanan
Aug 27, 2020
Would recommend tuin. from start to delivery was kept up to date what was happening with my summerhouse .i was informed that my delivery would take a few days later due to the virus ..this was not a problem as they told me this and came on date I was told so alll in all good customer relations .
Stuart Anderson
Jul 31, 2020
I had the same problems as others. The space above the door frame I solved by cutting a spare log. Doors and windows were difficult to fit due to their weight - you need two strong people. However, had I thought about it beforehand I would have lifted the glass out of the window frame and hung afterwards. I ripped the plan for the fascia and drainage at the rear and made my own version. Another issue is floor height re door threshold - take time to think this out if you want to add laminate etc. End result is nice looking cabin, although I don't know why it has full-length opening windows either side of the double opening doors.
Julie Small
Jul 14, 2020
We have exactly the same issues as Andy Cadman, so I won't repeat them, which is a shame as my carpenter has lost a day in solving the issues, it would be nice that the factory takes note, it's not a DIY build. My cabin will be a studio and looks fantastic and modern and I have a small log burner in it. I love it. Thank you Tuin
Andy Cadman
Jul 2, 2020
I purchased a James Log Cabin online.
Overall I am impressed with the log cabin and with all the support and advice from Tuin. The materials arrived on schedule, everything was in good condition and the instructions were mostly clear enough for a competent DIY-er to put the cabin together.
My only real complaint is that the design of the cabin didn't match the instructions when it came to the door. There was no way to align the door correctly by following the instructions and with the pieces provided. I contacted the out-of-hours helpline, who were incredibly helpful and acknowledged the issue with the build. They also provided a couple of suggestions for fixing the problem, both of which involved cutting a relatively tricky bespoke piece of timber from one of the 'spares'. For those who don't have all the necessary tools or DIY experience this it would be a real challenge. I also think that if you spend such a large amount of money on a cabin, you expect it to have been thoroughly build-tested and to be provided with the correct instructions and correct pieces. I was advised that I could wait a week for the factory in Holland to produce a new piece - again this is a reasonable solution but shouldn't be necessary.
The only other issue I had with the build was that it was quite challenging to get the door and window frames to hang square. Because of the large gaps around the frames and the weight of the windows and door, when the windows and doors were opened it pulled the frames out of perfect square and meant they would not shut properly again. Since it is not advisable to attach the frames to the timber surrounding the frames, I have fixed this by installing holding 'rods' to keep the frames square, but again this is an extra layer of engineering that shouldn't really be necessary.
My advice to anyone buying this cabin is to be prepared for extra bits of engineering and to have to improvise some fixes. This is only really suitable for someone with some DIY experience and a decent set of tools.
Having said all of that, once the problems have been overcome, the log cabin looks great and is hopefully going to remain that way for many years to come.
Finally, I would be fascinated to know whether the factory in Holland has now come up with a more permanent fix for the build issue.