Log Cabin Alternatives


What are the alternatives to a log cabin?

A log cabin makes a good home office, studio, workshop, store or garden room. It fits in well to the garden scene being made of a natural material, it’s relatively cheap, straightforward to put up, and can be built to conform to planning regulations. On the other hand, it’s not a ‘proper’ brick built structure and whilst quite quick to erect the timber takes a huge amont of time and effort to treat effectively. In addition, though the manufacturers advertise that the cabins can be dismantled, for example, if moving house, in practice the base and roof are not portable and the ceiling and floor timbers are unlikely to be reusable if nailed down.

If you require a truly portable garden building you might want to consider more practical alternatives. It’s possible to rent or buy small mobile office units that can be towed or craned into position and have built in electric points. These require no preparation, are maintenance free and can be removed or relocated very easily.

You can also find a range of high-end home office garden buildings which are made in a variety of ways using synthetic panels or steel-framed and clad in timber. If your budget is larger, as these are significantly more expensive, you will likely take possession of a garden home office which, unlike a log cabin, requires little or no treatment or maintenance. It’s not all about the cost here because these synthetic building materials will not appeal to everyone though their ease is undeniable. Purchasers would be well advised to think long and hard about whether they can commit the time to treat, paint and maintain a log cabin; if the answer is likely to be no, then choose a garden building made of materials which require no treatment and very little maintenance and avoid log cabins altogether.

A lower tech but time-served alternative to a fixed log cabin is a gipsy caravan or shepherd’s hut. If you cannot locate an original to restore, don’t worry as a handful of companies are again hand-making attractive, traditional gipsy caravans which make great garden buildings. A shed on wheels makes good sense if you need true portability. Can’t do that with a log cabin!