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Builder Eric's quick tips

Builder Eric: Gaps in the log cabin

Log cabins can be installed at any time of the year. We are still busy in Autumn and Spring as well as Winter. Then it comes to the summer and the hottest months of the year like July and August. This is when we might see the occasional customer comes back to us about their cabin. Now our cabins are made from wood. We purposefully aim to choose timber from the heart of the length of tree. This is better quality and less prone to shrinkage and indeed it does not shrink much in length. However, it can shrink in height from the installation to the summer. You might ask where these gaps are coming from and why are there complaints coming from customers? Well it is an easy question to answer. What you do with your log cabin during installation can truly affect the way it performs late… (More)
Builder Eric: Mold And Condensation Problems With Log Cabins

So What About Mold? If there is one thing to tell you about mold, it is that it loves moisture. Exposure to natural elements can cause moisture problems that can in turn lead to mold. If moisture is present due to a leak or it seeps into a surface like wood, mold can grow easily. Mold can therefore become present in log cabins for this reason. So What About Condensation? Log cabins are created from a natural product, in the wood and timbers used. Depending on the treatment that has been used on the wood, these timbers can naturally increase and decrease in size throughout the seasons. This is also dependent on the climate; as the climate around it changes, the moisture in the cabin changes. Think about when you are at home on a cold day. The outside is cold, but you have built up the… (More)
Builder Eric: Water Ingress and Log Cabin Treatment

Water ingress is the entry of water to the inside of your building. This is a highly undesirable thing to happen as it can irreparably damage your space and cost a lot of money to repair or replace. It is easy to say that there can be different reasons for water ingress. However, the most likely with a wooden building is that either a poor-quality treatment has been used, or there has been no treatment at all. If a treatment has been used, perhaps this has been done in a slapdash way or water based treatment was used. The corners and end grains of timbers are particularly important to treat. If untreated, then water can move throughout the timber with its natural capillary action. As this follows the course of logs across the building, we see water ingress where parts have not been tre… (More)
Builder Eric's tips on Expansion and Contraction

When speaking to customers, highlighting the benefit of a good treatment is something we always do. It is a small cost compared to cost of the timber building, but repeatedly, customers choose a poor quality product. No wonder they get in touch the next year to point out cracks or uneven, shrunken logs. Unfortunately, this is fully related to the poor treatment that has been used and is difficult to fix. This could be a poor quality treatment or one that it has not been allowed to penetrate deeply into the wood or has virtually washed off in the first spell of rain. A simple truth - wood is a product that absorbs. It is a natural product that moves and warps in various ways, which is one thing. However it also has the properties of a sponge and absorbs moisture to a high level. Think o… (More)