Vitola's Smoking Den - or MLW Summerhouse.....

[gojira]

It's coming along very nice Alan!

[Vitola]

Timber............!!!!

All the timber has arrived for the summerhouse - and typically 5 minutes into unloading the heavens opened - still doesn't wipe the smile off my face

An hour to check off the delivery and make sure all is in order. Hoping to start the build soon, when we have a clear few days of good weather

[Stevieboy]

All the timber has arrived for the summerhouse - and typically 5 minutes into unloading the heavens opened - still doesn't wipe the smile off my face [emoji2]

An hour to check off the delivery and make sure all is in order. Hoping to start the build soon, when we have a clear few days of good weather

Very exciting! I'm enjoying the progress of your project. Keep posting loads of photos
Have fun

[Cubist]

All the timber has arrived for the summerhouse - and typically 5 minutes into unloading the heavens opened - still doesn't wipe the smile off my face

An hour to check off the delivery and make sure all is in order. Hoping to start the build soon, when we have a clear few days of good weather

That really is some project. Looking forward to seeing it progress. Great thread.

[Vitola]

Day 1 of the build

Morning BOTL, so today in between making calls and attending a couple of meetings, I managed to crack on -

First job was to layout the Flooring beams and secure the frame - Will order the remaining insulation next week for the floor and roof areas





Next was laying the base logs and securing the whole thing to the foundation. I also used a wood preservative and sealed the base logs at this point
( A tip for anyone wishing to build this make sure you invest in a good quality electric impact-torque driver and have spare impact driver bits, (they can and do break with the loads encountered securing some of the very long screws) and finally, make sure you use long driver bits for securing the initial base logs as you secure the base logs between the grooves in the logs )





On to the the first few logs - They go together really easy and just need a little encouragement and knocking together using wooden banging blocks



Ok I'm pooped for today, it's carting the logs about that wears you out - I reckon I could do it on my own, but hopefully a friend should be around over the weekend, so we should be able to crack on quite quickly. So far apart from the groundwork and electrics, I've managed this far on my own.....

[gojira]

It's coming along well Alan!

[mackem keith]

Fantastic thread one I'm keeping a very close eye on as I'm going to have to have something outside very soon..

[Vitola]

Day 2 of the build......

Ok guys - umm'd and arr'd about contnuing with the build today, but thought if I can get the main structure complete, we should be in a good place.

With help carrying boards we soon cracked on up to the level for the window and door frames ....





The frames went in pretty easily - and you could see the strength of the construction as the build progressed



Getting the door frame square and secure helps further with the rest of the build




Tip if you're building one yourself - make sure you have spare sacrificial boards you can put down inside the construction on top of the joists. After the midway point of the windows, you spend 80% of your time working from inside the construction using ladders/platforms


I am pooped again, so we called it a day - protected the floor area inside - the main build so far is 95% complete - then on to the joys of the roof - weather permitting

[oskihen]

Ok guys - umm'd and arr'd about contnuing with the build today, but thought if I can get the main structure complete, we should be in a good place.

With help carrying boards we soon cracked on up to the level for the window and door frames ....





The frames went in pretty easily - and you could see the strength of the construction as the build progressed



Getting the door frame square and secure helps further with the rest of the build




Tip if you're building one yourself - make sure you have spare sacrificial boards you can put down inside the construction on top of the joists. After the midway point of the windows, you spend 80% of your time working from inside the construction using ladders/platforms


I am pooped again, so we called it a day - protected the floor area inside - the main build so far is 95% complete - then on to the joys of the roof - weather permitting

Looking good, well done

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[Hookmaker]

Wow, coming along nicely

[gojira]

Wow, coming along nicely

I second that! You put in quite a lot of work today Al!

[Vitola]

I second that! You put in quite a lot of work today Al!

Cheers Mike. Having a second person helping, certainly speeds things along.


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[mcdee]

Well impressed with this.

[moteyi]

Looking good. I've been looking at log cabins myself, and so would be interested to know which company you went with in the end.

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[Vitola]

Looking good. I've been looking at log cabins myself, and so would be interested to know which company you went with in the end.

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I read up a lot online and did a fair bit of research, before embarking on this project. Most UK shed manufacturers prices are within 5-10% of each other.

Tuin is a really good online resource and probably has the best support blog covering pitfalls, instructions, materials, insulation types, tools etc....they are at the top of the price range along with Dunster

Decide on a size and shape you want to go with, and compare online between the different manufacturers, I ended up going with Sheds.co.uk after comparing the model we wanted - competitive price, good reviews, and relatively quick turnaround.

Bear in mind when comparing prices the log sizes. We settled on a 44mm thick log and Sheds offered this as standard. With many others the standard log was 28mm.