Report Abuse

“My Realis 400 Bi-Fold Log Cabin. ”

written by DarrenBrennan on 24/11/2011

A great log cabin for the money. The 45mm walls are really strong and no problems with bowed timbers. I would however recommend some basic carpentry or construction skills as this is a fairly large building project for someone without any previous experience. As with all good builds a level and square foundation is a priority to get off on the right foot. Take plenty of time with this part as it will really help later on. I used my own concrete blocks bedded on sand and cement and leveled these in 1st using a 6ft long spirit level and a long straight length of timber from the delivery. The instructions did take some reading and I did have to keep referring back to them at times to ensure I was still on the right track. The position of the window at the correct height up the building was my first error which meant taking a complete row of timbers back off to get it right. Trying to work out where all the metal brackets went on the bi fold door frame was also a little tricky too as the instructions were not very clear for this. Apart from this I am extremely happy with the entire product and wish I had bought one years ago as I now have a nice workshop area with plenty of light to work in. I chose to insulate my floor with 2 inch thick polystyrene sheeting between the joists. This will come into its own this winter. Delivery driver was very helpful and knowledgeable of the various components he was offloading. Didn't have enough time to check everything at the road side but spent several hours after this going through the delivery tickets and was happy to find that everything was accounted for. My only niggle was a shortage of 2 inch nails to fix the floor boards and roof boards. I used 2 nails per board per joist and ran out before even getting to the roof timbers. A quick visit to wickes to buy more nails and I was on my way again. One big tip is to lay out all the separate components in different piles as it rapidly speeds up the build time when you start the build. Don’t worry too much about the quantity of roof and floor boards as I had several left over and was able to sort through the boards as some did have broken tongue and grooves on them on delivery. Recommend this log cabin to all. Thank you Dunster house :)