Posh sheds/garden office – are Dunster House any good?

I am looking at putting a “Garden Office” in teh back garden.

I have no issues with space or planning permission and was thinking of something around 4.5m x 2.5m size wise. Maximum budget including installation electrics etc. is £5k, would prefer to do it for about £4k though.

Has anyone on here bought from Dunster House?[/url]

They seem to have a massive range and prices seem reasonable for the spec.

Any feedback?

Any other recommendations?

I used them for a small summer house log cabin.

I bought it in a January sale and only bought the basic structure, with T&G floor. I thought that I could get hold of insulation for the roof, felt / felt tiles, paint treatment, guttering etc for much cheaper than was offered on the website. I think I was wrong and given the faff of getting deliveries/shopping for these materials I would much preferred to have bought it all from one place and had a single delivery.

The cabin went together really well (plenty of spare wood/components – even some hefty bits of timber just used to assemble the thing) and after nearly 2 years has settled well – the logs sit nicely together now and the whole thing feels more solid than when I first put it together.

It’s a nice facility to have and warms very well with a little fan heater in the winter months.

I suppose the thing is that it’s spruce, so I have no idea what will happen over time as the inevitable rot begins – the thing with the log cabin ‘look’ is the extended eves which keeps the majority of the rain off the walls. The bearers under the t&g floor are tannalized (sp?) but I placed them up on slabs on top of the base, so they are well out of any water and allow for air to circulate under the floor.

Hope that helps.

Bought a shed / cabin from them six years ago.

Went for the 40mm thick timber option and treated every piece thoroughly before assembly (timbers are delivered untreated )which does take a lot of time and you need somewhere to stack the timbers and let them dry..

Build was straight forward and the multi grooved faces go together snugly with a rubber mallet.

You really need two people for the roof timbers as they are quite chunky and heavy.

Six years on, it’s not moved, no rot (but I did heavily treat the wood) has never leaked and yes, it was / is good value for money.

Re: Delivery. They did stress that it’s kerbside delivery so bear that in mind if you have to move a few hundred timbers from the pavement to where you are building the cabin.

I’ve just built one of their timber garages.
It went together OK and everything was there, but you get what you pay for.
Mate of mine spent an extra grand on a cabin and it does seem better quality.
Make sure if you do build one that your base is dead level or it’ll throw everything out during the build.
Also, shingles on the roof aren’t that time consuming and look far better than felt IMO.

I helped my brother build a summerhouse. It was the double-wall insulated model so there was quite a lot of it. At 3.5m some of the timbers were a bit awkward, needing two people to line them up. It all went together well.

It starts with several stacks of timber, so have some tarps available in showery weather to cover them. Plus one big enough to cover the half-built structure, with ropes to secure it.

As someone said, a solid level base is essential. Bro had a builder in to do one, and fixed an electric supply.

The design allows for a little settlement as the timbers adjust.

He is pleased with it.

There have been earlier posts.

Where abouts are you? A guy I race with is in this market for years but is just setting up in the premium shed side of things UberHouse I think they’re called, based Barnsley way.

They have some ‘interesting’ business practices I’m told by people in the industry (I have had built about 25 garden cabins and big lodges from a few different suppliers over recent years). One you might like (bought one myself a while ago) is http://fencingcentre.co.uk/penthouse-log-cabin-55m-x-40m.asp
For me this was the one for size/quality and price having done loads before and research. It’s gone up a bit since I did mine, plus me and a mate did the base, insulation, built it, electrics etc. Fab cabins and good size within planning regs. I think they come from Estonia originally, this place just imports them, other suppliers out there in the UK I think. Do smaller versions too if this one is too big. Cheers

Re: security. I guess specs vary but I have proper sealed double glazing. Door has a proper lock, don’t know what spec. I’ve put mirrored film on the side that can be overlooked so contents can’t be seen.

I looked at them but have plumped for one from Tiger Log Cabins. It’s a 28mm thick one, 14′ x 8′, based upon their Corbetti model but they’ve changed the design a bit to suit me (offset the double doors, solid doors and a double-glazed window).

It’s being delivered tomorrow morning, when Hurricane Gonzo’s at his peak – what brilliant bloody timing!

Wish me luck……

Talking of these log cabins/timber garages;

My current garage is single skin brick that needs repairing as it has cracks, two windows that need blocking up, a new garage door, a new rear door, and a complete new roof including the timbers 😯

Would a timber garage be any less secure than repairing my single skin brick one? Would a timber garage be likely to detract from the value/appeal of the property?

I reckon I can get a timber one for a similar price to repairing mine, the only downside is I’d quite like a Sedum/living roof which I could put on the current garage as the garden looks over it.

Surely £4-5k would get you a bespoke building by builders?

I built a 6×4 shed thingy this summer but I got carried away and it’s now like a mini house.
Concrete base, built with 4×2, fully insulated, lined with larch, corroline roof, power and data cables with plasterboarded internals and a wee breakfast bar for me to work from.
Total cost is sub £1k so surely you can get one made for £5k? Slightly skewed figure though as the concrete was hand mixed = Cheap.Wife’s Dad runs a sawmill = wood at cost price. My Dad is a retired joiner and ran the construction/maintenance dept of a hotel chain. I’m a sparky with a desk job = cheap cable. Labour = free

Need gutters to finish it and then plumbing for the washing machine/tumble dryer but I’m pretty chuffed with it, even the roof trusses were hand made 🙂

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/paul_murphy/library/Sharage?sort=3&page=1

@Murf

I planned to do the same thing this summer but work and a number of other things meant I didnt get past the prep stage.
I am now thinking of buying one of the insulated Dunster models and doing the rest myself including wood burner, power/data etc.
My mate has spent a few £k on his so far and he has access to cheap materials so building it from scratch is not a cheap option. As long as the materials on the Dunster models are of good enough quality then they would server as a base.

Would a timber garage be any less secure than repairing my single skin brick one?

Arguably yes – cos it’s made of wood and not brick. I think I’d repair the existing garage and take the opportunity to line it with kingspan and do a decent job.

I’m sat in my Dunster House garden office as I type this. Its the 4mx4m insulated version. Its been up about 4 years now with no problems. It does need retreating though. No special base – about 100mm of compacted crushed brick rubble and 16 dry laid paving slabs at the corners and mid points. Couple of days to build and another day or so to install wiring / carpets etc.

@Marcus

Is it warm over the winter? I was looking at a 4×3.5m one. The insulation adds significantly to the cost but mine will be multi use as an occasional office plus a chill out area for my teenagers and their mates and I want to use it all year round so being usable in the depths of winter is a must.

Surfer – Yeah, its pretty good. I’ve got a wall heater wired in and never been cold, even the other year when it was what -5ish and there was 3 foot of snow outside. On normal winters day, (say +5 outside) I don’t usually run the heater in the afternoon, as the place retains the mornings heat.

Bro has a small leccy heater in his. ISTR he contemplated a wood stove, obviously decided it wasn’t needed.

This thread needs McMoonter !!!

If it were me, I would be roping said teenagers into learning how to set concrete and lay breeze block 🙂 doesn’t that guy from the C4 building on a budget programme have a website about how to DIY this kinda stuff ??

tick

We got one of the TF range log cabins from the people in the link below

http://www.timber-cabins.co.uk/acatalog/TF-Range-Log-Cabin.html#.VEf9oIdp45Y

Went for 70mm timber and very glad we did as it’s very solid.

The TF range is made by this lot http://www.logcabins.lv/logcabins/product-range.html
They have make some pretty unbelievable cabins, some of them probably cost more than my house!