Buying a Cabin for Your Garden

Why Purchase a Log Cabin?

Log Cabins are a fantastic way to add an additional room to your property. Whilst they cannot be lived in, they can provide an additional bedroom should it be required as this would be ancillary to your house.

A very popular use of a cabin is as a home office, hobby room or a place to exercise/house your gym equipment. In particular for using such a building as a workspace, the cabin would be set away from the hustle and bustle of your home, giving you a quiet place to press on with your work.

Do You Need Planning Permission for a Log Cabin?

Before committing to purchasing a garden cabin or large summerhouse it is imperative that you speak to your local planning authority, as there may be restrictions on what can or cannot be built on your land. Restrictions in particular maybe caused due to your house being a listed building or in an area of natural beauty.

Our local authority, Cheshire East, advises that applications and queries must be submitted to them with all relevant details so that advice and approval can be given. A £65 fee is chargeable to make an enquiry and takes around 21 days for a reply to be given. This is worth bearing in mind if you’re shopping for a cabin.

Can You Live in a Log Cabin?

Without a number of planning/building applications it is not possible to live in your garden cabin.

You can only legally live in a permanent building, and for a building to be classed as permanent it must meet all UK building regulations. The cabins sold online on websites such as ours are only designed to a holiday grade.

You can, however, choose to sleep in your garden cabin. This is because you are allowed to use the structure as sleeping accommodation, as this is judged as being an extra room for your house. You can’t choose to build a kitchen or en-suite within this cabin though.

A way around the building regulations is by the way of the ‘Caravan Act’. This allows people to live in a caravan or small self-contained building on their land as long as said structure relies on the main house for utilities, such as water and electricity, and that the main property is the main residence and source of daily meals. The caveat for this act however, is that the structure must be moveable.

How Long Does a Log Cabin Last?

When properly maintained a log cabin will last for between 20-to-35 years. It has been known that a cabin can last up to 50 years.

We recommend fully treating the interior and exterior of the property at least every 3 years to keep it looking its best. If you spot any potential issues with your log cabin, such as mould, it is best to act on this quickly as delaying will allow the issue to spread and could result in an expensive resolution.

Are Log Cabins a Good Investment?

By adding an external building to your property you are adding value, as well as saleability.

If you come to sell your home it would be advantageous to have a cabin or summerhouse on your property, as this is a real key selling point. On average it can increase the value of your property between 5 to 15%.

Figures aside, if adding a cabin allows you to expand your home, giving you additional space, then the real investment would be the improvement to your lifestyle and home life.

What is a Palmako Cabin?

Palmako is a well know, European-based manufacturer of log cabins.

Manufactured in Estonia, all Palmako Cabins are made from sustainable North European Spruce. Designed to be straight forward to assemble, the buildings are finely sawn and carefully created to provide a fantastic space for you and your family.

Should you not want to build the cabin yourself an assembly service can be purchased so that you can relax and watch the structure be built for you.

Innovate designs, durability and renowned for their quality, Palmako also offer a 5 year warranty on all of their buildings for that extra peace of mind.

A fantastic example of the quality and design of these cabins is the Kylie BBQ Cabin. Having an almost ‘fantasy’ appearance with nods to cottages seen in Hansel & Gretel and other fairy tales, you can even include a grill stove in the centre of the building for cooking and to keep you warm when inside.