Whilst your new building may be sitting pretty in your new spot of luxury, the work does not stop there! Log Cabins require regular maintenance to make sure you do not encounter any problems, if you keep up to date with the maintenance your building will last much longer than you expect! Whilst a no-maintenance building would be wonderful, this would lose all the characteristics of timber that we know and love.
In this simple guide, we aim to provide you with every ounce of knowledge gained over the many years of supplying products all over the country from our timber experts within the company - to help you keep your building in top condition and looking fantastic!
Timber & Log Cabins Explained:
The timber used in all our log cabins will be nordic spruce and/or pine. Every single part of our Log Cabins will be made from this timber except for some metalwork and any optional extras you have purchased.
Our Log Cabins are made of prefabricated interlocking timbers that fit together to create a heavy-duty tongue and groove system that is fully weatherproof. In order to use this clever design of building with timber we must expect regular expansion and contraction of the timbers - as they are interlocking this means that each individual timber is its own and expands at it's own rate. You can expect each individual log to expand up to 2mm each throughout the seasons, this is the same concept for our tongue & groove roof and floorboards.
Why Does Timber Expand? - In short, we like to think of timber as a sponge. If you look closely at your new building, you will find small grains running along the wood that were once a large tree in Estonia, Lithuania and other surrounding countries. These grains of wood were once used to collect and drain water and as the timber is now completely unprotected, these grains of wood act like they once did. The timber will absorb moisture during the wet and cold seasons whereas it will expel moisture in the hot and humid seasons.
To allow for expansion, each individual timber of a log cabin is noffat actually fixed to one another as we feel it is trying to fight nature. Only when we have a warped or bowed log, will our teams fix down an individual log unless otherwise requested prior to the purchase by the customer. To let the timber move freely our windows and doors are actually fitted using a floating frame system where they are not fixed to the building itself in anyway, they are simply held in using the surrounding timber fascias which created a U-profile around the logs!
The factory that manufactures all our Log Cabins dry out the timber as much as possible - normally to around 12% moisture content so that the logs fit together as best as possible but remain 'alive' and moving. This does mean that the logs will continue to expand and contract for as long as your building remains.
Initial Treating of your Log Cabin:
If you have chosen to have your building painted by one of our teams, this section will simply explain the steps we have taken to make sure your building is well protected. If however you are looking to treat the building yourself we have listed below every important factor when doing so. May of our customers also find a local contractor to treat the building for them and if this is the case, please pass this guide onto them.
Please also be aware that until your building is treated, you may find small droplets of water making their way through the knots of your Log Cabin in mid to heavy rainstorms. This is completely expected of untreated wood and will be most noticeable on the timber of the windows and doors, where the water will run down the glazing onto the timber threshold.
Firstly, you will need to choose a suitable and high-quality treatment for your Log Cabin. Both the inside and outside of your building will need treating in different types of treatment, a basic fence or shed paint will unfortunately not be adequate to provide the best of protection for your purchase.
For the exterior of your building, we recommend either a solvent or water based product with a life of 8-10 years that requires multiple coats. The type of finish that you want will decide which product you choose, a solvent-based stain such as Sadolin Classic will mean the knots and characteristics of the timber remain visible whereas a water-based paint such as Sadolin Superdec can be mixed to any solid colour to suit your garden. We believe either product will give your building the protection it needs. From years of experience, we do not recommend the use of a clear treatment on the exterior of your building as this rarely offers much form of UV-protection and will eventually cause the timber to grey and water ingress will begin to show - it is also extremely hard for even the best decorator to see where you have been.
For the interior of your building, we recommend Sadolin Polyurethane Extra. This coating provides a protective layer that prevents dirt marks and stains should you spill any liquid as well as protection from greying and rot. Should you wish to paint the inside of your building in a colour, we recommend using Sadolin Superdec with a topcoat of polyurethane coating.
The exterior of any log cabin needs to be coated as per the required coats mentioned on your tin of treatment, our teams will normally apply any treatment with a brush so we recommend any customers do the same as this will allow you to get into any small areas where any bare timber is exposed however a sprayer can still be used if prefferred. Try treating the building within the first 2 weeks from installation of your log cabin if the weather permits, we recommend protecting the doors and windows first to prevent any warping that may be caused by the elements.
When treating both the outside and inside of your building, it is imperative that the fascias around the windows and doors are removed and painted behind. This ensures that all untreated wood is protected and when the building expands and contractors, you do not find an untreated line of timber above and around the windows and doors. All fascias will be screwed so they can be removed simply, we suggest you do not fill over these screw holes because if the windows and doors ever need to be adjusted, this will prevent us and you from being able to do so.
BE CAREFUL - as mentioned, our doors and windows are designed with a floating frame system so are not physically fixed to the building. Therefore, we recommend only taking one fascia off at a time when painting otherwise your heavy windows and doors will fall out of place. When putting the trims back on, we have found it beneficial for the longevity of the building to seal behind them once treated with silicone or another alternative sealant.
With the fascia boards fitted to the roof of your building, we recommend also removing these when you come to treat the building and treating on both sides. The roof of your cabin will take the full force of our British weather so this is where any timber will be most vulnerable.
The corner/ears of your Log Cabin are also an area of the building that can be considered vulnerable as they are the only area that do not have any form of tongue and groove. You will not find water pouring through these corners HOWEVER if they are not treated so that all area of bare timber is covered, then you may find small areas of damp beginning to show. We also recommend sealing each individual log ear with a silicone sealant once the building is fully treated.
The foundation floor bearers will already be pressure-treated by the factory as you will see in mostly a green or brown colour, this is to prevent any water rising through the base into the untreated Log Cabin walls. Whilst these bearers are already pressure-treated we do not recommend treating these on the exterior of your building to help match the water content with the rest of your Log Cabin.
We find the best help with getting your building looking at it's best, all metalwork, hinges and draft excluders can be simply unscrewed or removed by hand and painted behind. This will not only save on cutting in but also mean the timber behind the metalwork is treated for extra protection.
If you have purchased a building with decking, we recommend purchasing a separate small tin of decking oil for this area as the exterior treatment you have purchased for your building will not be suitable for this flat horizontal timber.
Small splits or cracks in the timber are expected with a natural timber product such as this. For cosmetic purposes, these can be filled over with a natural wood filler, sanded down and painted should you wish.
REMEMBER - It is not too late for our teams to complete this work for you, if you would like a quotation for our professional painting service, please do not hesitate to contact our office! We can also supply the treatment too!
With buildings such as garages that do not have a floor, you will be required to seal around the bottom of the building to avoid water entering underneath the walls. This is further detailed in our terms and conditions.
Seasonal Treating and Maintenance:
As we have explained, over the seasons each individual timber will expand and most importantly contract. During the summer following on from when the building has had it's initial treatment and protection, as the wood will have dried out large amounts you will likely notice parts of the tongues and bare wood becoming visible. We believe that once these tongues become visible it is important to treat them with a touch up coat, not only for protection but for cosmetic purposes, no longer will you have to see bare wood every summer.
There is also no harm in applying a touch up coat on the windows and doors in the hard-hit areas.
You may notice in the months after your building has been fitted that a few splits may appear. As with already present splits, these can be filled over, sanded and painted if you wish.
On occasions you may also notice small sap pockets appear with drips. Whilst these may be unsightly for some you can easily remove them by allowing the sap to dry and simply using a scraper to peal the sap from the walls. White Spirit is also another option customers use for removal of the sap.
IF your Log Cabin is fitted with a supporting post internally or for a canopy, this post will be fitted with an adjustable bracket at the foot. Should gaps appear in your building between the wall logs near the post, this will be due to the logs below those being held in by the post, since it will have contracted excessively. A simple adjustment of the nut on the bracket will lower the post and therefore the gap will close.
Window & Door Adjustment:
With Log Cabins being designed with floating frame windows and doors, it is expected that sometimes the expansion and contraction may cause them to move from correct alignment or out of square. To allow for this the doors are provided with simple-to-use adjustable hinges, these can be used as demonstrated in the diagram below with a small allen key.
In many cases the window hinges will be the same as the door hinges however sometimes they are supplied with alternative metalwork which normally means there is enough tolerance that they allow for movement in the frame itself.
DO NOT WORRY - If you have excessive movement and are not able to adjust the windows or doors yourself our teams that fitted the building for you will be able to either provide you with advice over the phone or even pop out and adjust them for you. It is a quick and simple job.
If you are finding a minor bow in your doors at either the top of the bottom that is letting a very small amount of daylight into the building, we recommend purchasing a turn button or sliding bolt that can be simply be fixed to the top or bottom - this is only in the case of not being able to remove the daylight with adjustment of the doors. This is a very occurrence with our doors however with it being a natural product this can happen sometimes. If you do fit one of these to your door it will eventually warp back to where it should be if it is kept closed when not in use.
Electric, Signs, Shelves & More:
We want all our customers to be able to use our buildings for whatever they need, whether it be a workshop, office or even a hobby room! In many cases for the functionality of your extra space electrics may be needed as well as objects to be fitted to the walls such as shelving. It is important to take note of this section even if you are fitting just a sign for your garden pub.
As the logs expand and contract, this means that the entire building will move up and down as the seasons go by. Anything fixed to the wall will need to be fixed to only one log, otherwise this will create gaps where the logs have expanded at different rates. If you need to fix any object to the walls over multiple logs, below is a diagram explaining how to do so.
Please make sure that when fixing any blinds or curtains to the window and doors that the fixings are only used on the actual window and door themselves or the fascias surrounding. If anything is screwed or nailed to the surround fascia, please ensure the correct size screws are used.
PLEASE AVOID fixing any signs above any of the windows or doors. These signs will hold the logs at the same height as the door or window and with just a bit of contraction will create gaps.
In terms of fitting electrics to your Log Cabin, as there is no wall cavity most customers will use conduit or trunking for the wires to connect to plug sockets and lights. When your electrician does this, we recommend using a round conduit with clips that allow the conduit to move up and down with the expansion of the timber as well as leaving as much additional length in the fixings as possible - this is just so that when the building does expand there is no exposed wires that are cosmetically unappealing and the trunking does not bend outwards.
Glazing:
In order to prevent breakages in transit, the glazing in all our windows and doors are supplied with a small amount of sealant behind the beading - this is to allow the windows to move slightly when on the lorry whilst keeping them as watertight as possible for when they are fitted. If for this reason and once the windows and doors are treated you notice a small amount of water coming through them, a small bead of silicone sealant around the beading and glazing will rectify this.
Guttering:
This section is simply to provide customers with something to think about with regards to the drainage of the water from the roof of their cabin. We find that if you are using the building throughout the year, even during the train then guttering would be a suitable option to prevent water from dripping onto your head and splashing up the walls of your cabin. If your building is near grass, you may also find that dirt is splashing up your building. Some customers however do feel it is unnecessary when they have good drainage around the building and rarely use it when the weather is not great.
Our team will always be happy to provide you with a price for fitting guttering should you require it.