Log cabin recommendations

After using the existing brick built outbuilding in our new place for upholstery work for a few months I think I've come to the conclusion it's not really fit for purpose.

It's suffering from horrendous damp with mould growing on the walls, the windows and doors fit like crap and water leaks in through the walls in heavy rain. Overall just a bit of a miserable place to work (I moved the upholstery work back into the house before Christmas).

So my current thought is to just demolish the whole thing and put up a log cabin from the likes of dunster house (my parents had a cabin at their old house and it always seemed to be a nice place to be). Does anyone have any particular recommendations of companies to go with/avoid?

I'm not really looking to build something from scratch as I don't have the time/interest to do it, so the log cabin approach seemed like the sensible approach.

I did consider trying to repurpose the existing building (which could still be a potential option) but I can see that getting expensive.

 

Skinner sheds

 

Wooden clad..
and insulate the existing building ..

 

Personally, I wouldn't demolish a brick built structure to replace it with a wooden one. Maybe as art b says above, or pehaps have insulated render applied to the outside?
Might even be a grant available locally to do so?

 

This thought did cross my mind and could still be an option. I need to do a bit more research. It looks to be built from concrete block.

 

Cladding it would look quite nice to be fair. I best get reading!

 

I was looking at doing the same thing and have been watching these guys on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/@oakwoodgardenrooms

Look to be very well made, they also sell kit's to DIY.

 

Knocking down and removing is a lot of work..

 

Avoiding work always sounds good to me!

 

I have the same problem but with my log style shed that I use as a workshop and for my tools and am looking to try and solve the damp and condensation issue

You can probably solve your problems easier on a brick wall and then you can wooden structure.

 

Jim, having seen you existing structure, I would try to work with that rather than going for new timber shed. If you can insulate and damproof from the outside, then you won't loose space. Obviously, it depends what is causing the damp. That would be my first port of action if it was my place. Good luck!

 

...as long as it's not built 1/2" from an existing property fence/wall/boundary in which case there would be a whole wall you couldn't clad?

 

We had a local guy build us a garden room shed (12'x15') - I then (over a period of a few weeks)put in an inner skin of boarding (actually veneered wood floor panels) with insulation between and also light weight interlocking plastic boarding as a ceiling also with insulation - it is very snug now.
But it replaced our previous wooden one which was 20 years old and gradually rotting away and had rats burrowing underneath . I would keep your brick one (rodent proof) if I was you and board out and insulate the walls and ceiling

 

My old office/summerhouse would have been ideal for you. £600 + £6k by the time I'd moved it 50 miles and rebuilt.

 

The left side of it is hard up against the fence so that side would have to remain unclad.
Your office does look rather lovely!

 

Some tanking and timber cladding should keep the elements out, not on the fence side though obviously

 

It was a lot of work, but I'd been paying £5k/year to rent an office nearby so was soon back in the black.

 

Several houses around us have had Covid-era garden rooms built up against their boundaries, some just took a section of fencing down so the wall of the garden room becomes their boundary. No issue with that, you don't have to have a fence/hedge/wall at all......

 

Good idea.