Monthly Archives: December 2019

Insulated Timber Frame Garden Room 7.5 m x 4.5 m (29.55 sq meters)

What is an insulated timber frame garden room, because there seems to be a mass confusion on this subject generally throughout this industry.

Size

cabin 3394

Cabin size – 7.5 m x 4.5 m (29.55 sq meters)
Decking – 4.2 m x 0.9 m

Window size – 2x 150 cm x 113 cm
Window size – 1x 75 cm x 113 cm
Window size – 1x 50 cm x 50 cm

Door size – 3x 80 cm x 193 cm (inside)
Door size – 1x 240 cm x 195 cm

Bedroom – 2.8 m x 1.95 m
Bedroom – 2.8 m x 1.95 m
Bathroom – 1.0 m x 1.6 m
Lounge – 2.4 m x 3.0 m

Ridge height – 2.47 m
Wall height – 2.0 m

Now there are many kinds of Insulated Timber Frame Garden Rooms, there are solid log cabins that are insulated internally and if you get a company that really truly knows what they are doing, ( how to put up false walls that move with the cabin shrinking) and are not using quick grown pine as the cabin body as this will shrink and the internal wall will crack and break before long, then your OK, then there are twin skin glulam cabins which are the best choice, as you can either twinskin them and add huge amounts of insulation between the walls also hide the wiring and services, pipes etc, and the shrinking is minimal.

OK.. Insulated means, insulation, but what kind of insulation should you use, and what kind of stud wall, or log would suit your budget the best. And this word budget seems to be the most dirtiest word in the business.

I have asked many customers what’s their budget, and they always say, OK, 99.9% of them say, I do not know, and this makes me smile, because i know that their thoughts are that if they say 20, 30 or even 70.000 we are going to take advantage of that and try and get as much from them as possible, and as I said it makes me smile, it also makes me angry slightly, because not all of us are crooks, and we need to know budget because we have a Massive Selection of different kinds of buildings available that would suit their purpose, but all come at different levels of pricing, we are also very busy people, all of us, customer and manufacturer, and offering this and then that and then this and then that, just takes up time and eventually we find out 90% of the time what they wanted was so far out of their budget the whole exercise has been a waste of time both ends. So it is helpful from first call, to tell us how much you want to spend, and what size of a building you are looking for and we will try our very best to get the into your garden or field, camping site, Holiday park the building or buildings you desire to price.

There are so many choices, but the best in my books is a Timber Frame Garden Insulated Office each and every time, as it takes very little time to erect, and when its finished it looks amazing and it really is insulated, quality and without doubt the best choice.

There are many many companies offering timber frame buildings for the garden, but the ones you must stay clear of are the ones that build it from scratch in your garden, you must only purchase made panels that are weather tight and if it rains will not hurt the interior of the build in any form., you do not want your building to rot from the inside out.. Fungus and rot are harmful to your health and are unseen if covered with plaster board.

Thank you for reading.

Log Cabins LV team

enquiries@logcabins.lv

Family Log Cabin Accommodation.

Sometimes your house is just not big enough, and you need extra space, then you either think, dreaded BS 3632 Caravan, ( the most expensive garbage sadly our country has ever invented) or a Quick Grown Pine Baltic Cabin from some company that sells crap at low prices and calls them residential which are manufactured from fast grown baltic pine, or you think, quality, and sustainability and you think logcabinslv.co.uk. Not so cheap but quality and quality that will last, and prices that will astound you.

Its easy to make a quality log cabin, you just need the right ingredients, and the right machinery, the right lumber and the right management that like us wants to manufacture the best of the best, and keep pricing low, unlike sadly 99.9% of cabin companies in the Baltics/ UK that can charge as much as 5000 to 10.000 more for a cabin than us, pure greed and now rather stupid. Brexit means, European Cabins will cost more and more, and from us, well, less and less.

Quality log cabins and timber buildings ar low low prices. Please contact us if you want to find out more.
Passive Timber Frame LV design Houses.

If you are looking for a quality passive timber frame solution we have it, as we have a full CNC line and also a full bespoke service that is able to offer not just quality log cabins for sale in the UK, but also timber frame buildings, that are much needed for the housing market at the moment at a fraction of the costs that are being banneded about by most manufacturers in the UK, 1000 pounds per sq meter for a A++ house is F—-ing disgusting and stupidly overpriced .. actually Greedy. Like most UK companies that import from abroad, who actually know nothing about the product, just sell it on and hope for the best, we at LV know our product, and lets not forget, the timber that the UK companies use to be able to purchase now can’t, which means home grown, quick gown timber will be used in timber frames in the UK, LV use only graded Russian, tight Grain C24 , which means quality from the inside out, do not forget LV manufacture it, and design it, and truly believe in it. If your looking for quality, then speak to us…

Thanks for reading..

enquiries@logcains.lv

Log Cabins LV.co.uk 2020

Today we are going to talk about the logcabins and timber buildings that we designed and helped the market to improve week after week and month after month and now years on how our designs have shaped the cabin market to what it is, and now why we are changing the way we do things because of the mess which has formed in the UK because of utter greed.

The Cabin above is called the Clock House Aurora, it is an offshoot, the big brother, the sister of the first ever 5.5m x 4.0 m Clock House in 44mm, which i would like to add we designed. This Cabin was designed by me for one reason, and one reason only, so that the amount of sunlight that came into the clock house log cabin was immense.

Then we came up with Cabins with terraces, which at the time i thought was a novel idea, however, the planners got hold of this eventually and decreed that if the veranda was attached to the cabin it counted as part of the 30 sq m rule.

Of course we have customers that wanted to bespoke our designs, and this triple clock house was a big hit, sadly none of the customers liked showing us the end result, which is a pity as i would have loved Bob in Northern Ireland who was the first to design and buy this one, and then sold it to his customer to have sent some photos over, but dealers being as they are, keep finished projects to themselves.. Greedy Bunch! ( love em really)..

Then their comes our timber frame, Larch Clad, Glulam Beam constructions that come to either full build regulations or fully Passive.

These are without doubt the best money can buy and their pricing would shock you actually, as their quality of build, the workmanship that goes into these buildings is just amazing, we use only the very best C24 timber for construction, Northern Siberian Larch for cladding, Engineered glulam, for roofing, and the windows and doors are all CE , Trada certified. Quality of build is so important to me, and of course design. I have over 7000 different designs which is the most I believe in the business!

Let’s talk small houses, perfect for Airbnb ( Micro Houses) now this is a sore topic for me, as in America they came up with this and claimed to be the first to offer this kind of construction, which i am in disagreement with, as i designed these well before anyone decided to put them on a trailer and drag them around, which honestly unless they have core steel construction, will rattle and fall apart so quickly it’s not even funny. A timber building is supposed to go on a firm flat concrete bed, not on a trailer to bounce up and down the road. This little 2 bed building is in ever respect a quality little house, and a perfect Airbnb

More tomorrow..

The LV Team……….

Thanks for reading

Kate Log Cabin – 3.5 m x 5.6 m

Kate Log Cabin – 3.5 m x 5.6 m is without doubt the best 44mm log cabin that gives you so much outside covered space which is airy and a great place to relax in the summer out of the sun, and to keep all your deck chairs , seats, tables, etc, safe and locked up, and on those rainy days read a book or just chill.

And all for such a ridiculously low price, please ask us for details on pricing if you are a dealer. we are not public orientated,.

Sadly unlike most companies that sell directly to the end user and to dealers, we do not, we respect our customers (dealers) and their hard work, dedication, and we believe in local dealer networks, servicing the public.

The reason most companies and if you look about you will notice that only we do not display pricing, this is because we do not want to use our dealers to get the brand name out there, then undercut our hard working dealers and take the business ourselves, this is what we call in the business, the LLE ( Lithuanian, Latvian ,Estonian way!) Not good for business, and shows deceit on every level of business. But if you have no business ethics from the start, and money is your driving force, then what can you expect. which explains why we remain when others die and wither away.

The Kate Log Cabin is offered as all our BL range of quality tight grained Scots Pine cabins with normal quality windows and doors or our heavy duty log cabin windows and doors, that also can come painted or lacquered. Depends really what your customer wants and needs.

Quality Log Cabins at sensible pricing, please ask us for pricing, it will knock you off your feet, and also you will be asking your current supplier why they have been overcharging you for so long. Please ask Ash for our pricing at ash@logcabinslv.co.uk

Thank you very much for reading this.

The Log Cabins LV team…..

Anastasia Log Cabin ClockHouse – 5.5 m x 4.0 m

The Anastasia Clock House which is under 2.5m tall, which falls into the permitted building rights, meaning no need for permission to erect in your garden in the UK is the most superior clock house of its kind in the UK, and the price of this clock house out beats everything in quality, and price.

Let’s start looking at the windows and doors, there are multiple choices, you can have the box standard ones that are amazing quality, but really are the same as everyone else’s, they are waterproof, made to last, but really just normal every day windows and door cabin quality, the same as all the other companies, then there are our Deluxe range which we tend to call the standard range, as most people want them, they cost a bit more but in reality the extra you pay is slight compared to the level of quality you get. Please press to follow link to Doors, Windows.

OK thats the windows and doors sorted, as you will have seen by following the link, Nothing, nothing is better than these in the market to date for a garden log cabin, nothing, and with all the german hardware attached, manufactured with joinery glulam timber, and with our new designed attachment system so no more windows that just sit inside the walls or rock about, our windows and doors screw in , the first time, this system has been available in the cabin industry, I can hear you all shouting why, well it took a Clever Chap, (me) to figure out what was wrong, fix it and make it work.But seeing as I am the longest running company in this industry and was the first to sell into the UK and also design most of everything that is sensible and works in this market, it was only time that i would attack the windows and doors and make them slightly better, actually the best they can be.

As you can see by our drawings here, our under 2.5m clock house is not just built with a strong roof, OH! no its built with a roof that thor could throw his hammer at, and it would bounce off ,with purlins that are 60mm x 160, yes 60×150, not the dreaded 45mm by 130 , and if you count there are 8 solid purlins holding up your roof.

And that’s Not all that makes this Clock House that’s under 2.5m tall so special, its manufactured from the tightest of grain Scots Pine, not some fast growing rubbish which is called ( wastelogs) or as the Companies out there in fantasy Cabin world call Pine.

Precision cut, and using the latest technology we are talking about hand crafted, extreme quality log cabins. And with 33 on the range at the moment you are very spoiled for choice.

Thank you for reading this, I hope you understand that now you truly are looking at the best of the best cabins available in the UK at stupidly low pricing compared to everything else on the market.

Bets Regards,

LV Team.

Baltics and the New Manufacturers of Log Cabins From Belarus

This is the beginning of a new era in Log Cabins where the prices go back to sensibility, the timber is not quick grown rubbish, and the timber quality is better than anything you have seen to date. This is not a joke, but you are paying at the moment over 800-1600 euro per cubic meter depending on the thickness of the log and what species. ( FACT) And the timber is in every sense quick grown pine-spruce,…. Read on……

The Baltics timber is OK… some of it is excellent, if the tree is 60 years plus, but there is not much left., and sadly now most is FAST GROWN and thats why its sold cheaply in bulk by the governments, IKEA pay per cubic meter if you look what per hectare yields that being 250 cubic meters of unseasoned logs approx, give or take 2% , the price per cubic meter is 7 euros, YES 7!!! you pay per cubic meter for your log cabin a massive 800-1600 euros plus. that is for a finished board ( you must remember that it goes through quite a difficult process to make it a square edged ,cabin log) ( kiln drying and and and ) .! However Ikea does get it cheap, and the reason for this is simple, the timber is fast grown crap! ((FACT))… Which is why 70% of it it made into board.. Ikea uses 1% of the worlds timber a year! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2357216/IKEA-uses-staggering-1-worlds-wood-year.html , and do you know what’s funny, they have a FSC badge….. talk about deforestation. I would love to see the fuel bill from all the people and all the cars used and trucks used to haul that amount of timber out of all the forests, and see how much fuel that came to, and then the trucks and people and and replanting if they do??? I think the ECO ethos of this company was lost long ago.

We have been looking for the replanting photos,can’t find any, found millions of their products though, I think we should all think about how green Ikea really is?

And it’s not just Ikea!!!! We are not singling out this company. just putting facts down as they really are.

www,logcabins,lv.co.uk, realise its difficult to change your supplier, who has actually been ripping you off for more than a few years and have gotten very wealthy , and each and every year rise the price of the cabins without actually making your cabin quality any better in any way at all, especially after so many years of lies being told to you about best prices ( which is absolutely shameful lying ) , but everything you have been purchasing lately ( that’s for more than 7 years) is extremely overpriced, and the quality is in our regard crap, its shameful. Most glulam cabins from the baltics are made on vertical presses, and are in essence just loads of finger jointed off cuts , I have seen finger jointed timber manufactured one log that is, from 4 bits of timber, thats madness, that means the log has four joints at the end, and its massively finger jointed through out the log, because of the lack of quality timber, the mills are sticking together whatever they can to manufacture what they call Glulam from, and is sold to you as quality glulam, and what we call here at LV a waste made log (wastelogs) ! It’s not what i would call a beautiful log by any means. many cabins are manufactured from (wastelogs)…

All you have to do is purchase one building of our small 3x4m cabins lets call it a , a “PUNT” and then you will see that what we are telling you is the truth, and why not try it in 80mm Glulam, the prices are near on the same and a Baltic 44mm, but you get so much more for your pound.

Our standard windows and doors will come from our specialised window and door manufacturer for log cabins, and we can honestly say hand on heart our windows and doors are better than anything on the market to date.

Glulam Logcabins , Glulam 2 bed room log cabins, Glulam Garages

Timber Cabins Super Factories

To explain the market takes a lot of reading and believing what you read, and then watching for the signs, the first sign we saw were last year when Belarus stopped selling all unseasoned timber to the Baltic’s, this was a sign that the Belarusian government had seen the light thank god, and understood that the Baltic’s were getting seriously fat and extremely wealthy from their timber resources, ( Belorussians now will reap the rewards and the money once coming into the Lithuanian government coffers that was just wasted on guns, tanks, Army, and stuff that they have never really needed will now be spent on Belarusian schools and, kindergartens, and pensions and higher wages as they were only earning a fraction of the actually value of their timber which was being exported to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

This was a very smart and clever move by their President. Alexander Lukashenko

However there are extreme consequences to come to the Baltic nations because of the lack of now raw material NOT coming over the border.

Firstly, the price of the cubic meter went up drastically, as Belarus now will only sell timber that is kilned, molded and possible notched. Which means that the waste material that comes from this timber is now not available to the Baltic’s to use for their kilns, this makes a huge difference, no more Eco heating pellets in bulk, and plus the Lithuania government have from the first of January 2020 upped its price of gas by a huge 15% plus electric, and to make matters worse for the Lithuanians the tariff is on amount, so the more you use the higher the tariff. Some say unfair, but when you have a country that only has a Police Force that is not corrupt, but everything else around you is, then you have problems. I am all for the Lithuanian Police Force, they will even arrest a President. But sadly they do not make the policies. It would be perfect if the chief of police of Vilnius Renatas Požėla or someone of this man’s rank was elected President. Then Lithuania would be a just and serving country to all. ( Nothing political here, just observations).

So as you can imagine this will increase prices drastically next year and the years to come, which means you either pay more for your log cabin and earn minus or look for a different cabin supplier. The customers will not keep earning And as we were the first in the UK to sell cabins, designed pretty much every design now offered by everyone, including our Clock house, twin skin system etc, we think that we have the right to share with you, the customer the truth.

Fact, Belarus planted 145.000 hectares of Pine /Spruce since 2014. And it’s a fact that the country is 49% forest. Also fact is that The Belarusian President believes his forests to be the jewel of the country and understands the value of replanting and conservation and forest management. This is Fact……… Fact, Belarusian timber if we pick Scots Pine is in my opinion one of the best in this end of the world.

None of this is guess work, or fantasy, its fact, and life for the cabin industries in the Baltic’s will change and sadly not for the better.Over the next 10 years will be gone at the rate the government is selling off forestry land to large and hungry customers like Ikea!

As you have read on previous blogs associated to this topic, the Baltic’s countries have been totally mad and have sold all their forest land to IKEA, not trees, but land that they sit on, so the Lithuanians who were once proud of their forests will in the not so distant future see massive price hikes at the government timber log actions for the logs that are left, and trust me, the ones that are left will not be the best ones.

Which means a price hike in every area. And means, you the cabin seller, will see a a 3×3 in the not so distant future costing in 28mm over 100 euros to buy ex works.

Log Cabins LV .co.uk have over the last few years seen this coming and decided to change our buying, manufacturing keep our Eco credentials  and manufacturing in a country that has one of the largest forests in this end of the world, are FSC certified, and where the timber is the best, plus there timber management system is flawless, also we are now able to offer 2002 pricing on our buildings, be them glulam, timber frame, and solid wood cabins starting at 44,mm and above. Just ask us and we will oblige.

If you are interested in joining the winning team then please do not hesitate to send us an email. Thanks for reading folks, I am not a journalist, so if this is a hard read for some, apologise, but sometimes it’s hard writing facts and making it enjoyable at the same time. (Actually this is for the Lithuanians a sad day because it means honestly an end to the cabin market here).

Best Regards, Have a nice Day!!

The Log Cabins LV Team….

enquiries@logcabinslv.co.uk

British OAK!

Hello, to all those out there that like Oak, Hello you do not have much left, actually you don’t have anything of anything left, so when i see a picture like these British Oak Trees cut down, I ask myself one question, is everyone in the timber industry in the UK , as they say if you cut Oak your on Coke!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/27/are-englands-trees-disappearing

NO OAK LEFT!!!

I hope that people understand the significance behind this….. it means none, it means leave it alone, it means don’t cut, it means use something else. Do not buy anything with OAK!

Stop cutting Oak….. Stop!!!

Deforestation in the Baltics.

Carrying on from yesterdays Blog I have a few facts that might be of interest to you that care as I do about this industry and about quality/pricing and raw materials.

And Why the Log Cabin market will move away from the Baltic’s in the coming years completely. And why it is a very sensible choice to buy your Log cabins from LV..

Firstly, because we care about the forests, we care about your customer, we care about you and we understand that making a profit is essential.

Here are some facts about what is happening in the Baltic countries, and this will shock you.

Last year, IKEA bought a total of 72,000 hectares of forests in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Romania for at least 115 mln euros, this is from an article Bloomberg has done research on, then said with reference to Sweden’s farmer daily ATL.

IKEA did not elaborate on the share of forests purchased by the Swedish concern in Lithuania and the sum paid for the holdings in Lithuania.

IKEA’s subsidiary IRI Investments last summer purchased 33,600 hectares of forest in Romania, becoming the largest forest owner in this country. According to Romania Insider portal, the sum of the deal was EUR 50 mln. Thus, the estimates suggest that forests for EUR 65 mln have been purchased in the Baltic States, Verslo Zinios reported.

ATL said that IKEA plans to continue purchase of forests in order to reduce dependence on fluctuation of timber prices.

Also we must not forget that in the Baltic States there are rumors, because the governments from each state will not put on record how much forest is replanted, but in 2012 there was a survey done by Yale university that Lithuania (its where I am so I care about this country a little more than the other Baltic states) but none the less I care very much about sustainability.

So Lithuania in 2012 got the best score for being Super Green, now we are 84th on the list of countries that manage forest well!

I have added a few photos of how sadly deforestation is happening at an alarming rate.

This Photo shows one of the oldest massive forests in Lithuania in 2005/ 2006

The same massive forest in 2018/2019…….. GONE……………… This is not how you harvest a forest… And why is it now fields?

This is not the way to cut forest, and if you are truly a company that cares about where your log cabin timber comes from , and how it is sourced, then a rethink of your supplier is seriously needed. Just because you see FSC you think its ok, its not!

Tomorrow I will try and show how forest management in other countries really work, and how other countries understand the necessity of replanting . Sadly some countries fall foul to greed not ECO management. Also there should be limits on how many cubic meters of timber companies can cut each year! Also if they are bragging that they only use FSC then they should be made to replant immediately. Not 4/5/6 years later. And to replant 2 trees for every one they cut.

Forests are not just a resource for log cabins, timber buildings etc, they also help the Ecosystem, for example, flowers, birds and all wild life, Deer, Boar, foxes, mushrooms, berries, so much , yet as you can see by these first photos i have shown, the ECOsystem is completely destroyed. And yes our Team care, which is why we are moving our full production of manufacturing of our cabins to another country that one has better timber, two cares about its timber resources and three replants more than anyone else. Last year alone 145.000 hectares.

We hope you join us and not buy or overpay for cabins that are manufactured from timber that should never ever have been allowed to be felled.

More tomorrow…..

To contact the team on any issues please send an email to

enquiries@logcabins.lv

Baltics Log Cabins 2020

Baltic Timber

Russian Timber

The Truth!

Today is going to be a hard hitting blog, and one that will upset the majority of buyers and manufacturers in the Baltic states, but it’s one of truth and the lies that are told frequently about log cabins. I have been quite silent on my blogging for a few years as I have been planning to change the way the UK buys its log cabins and timber buildings.

Firstly, Bespoke Timber Frame Buildings are manufactured I would say here in Lithuania the best anywhere in the world, and I can gladly state with hand on heart, I believe for a bespoke timber frame house, A++ or Passive, I have the very best of all production which can be found.

But Log Cabins, that is another matter all together, you see I have been in the timber industry so many years I know what timber should be used to manufacturer from and what should not, I understand that there are quality cabins, and poorly manufactured ones, I understand that there are those that are designed to last, and others that are designed to fall apart in 5-10 years so you must buy another.

And it is with sadness in my heart that I say that the Baltic’s are now producing Log Cabins that are (SO) over priced, and not worth the money, they are being sold for.

There are many reasons why this is, and I will explain some of them to you.

Firstly, Belarus has stopped all sales of unseasoned timber to other countries, so now the cabin  companies must either buy already manufactured logs, moulded and dried from Belarus, or buy Lithuanian unseasoned logs (the tree) , cut them, dry them, sort the good from the bad, and then use that timber to manufacture your log cabin from.

The Baltic’s have since independence from Russia been slowly cutting forest and turning it into farmland, so the decrease in forest area is quite substantial, and companies like IKEA buy at public auction massive areas at a go of Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, forestry to supply their needs for board and such like, so timber is now quite expensive, both sides of the boarders in all Baltic countries.

Plus and this is a very large negative, the soil here in the Baltic’s is very good, extremely good, one reason for growing food, not trees, and the trees that grow in the Baltic’s grow quickly, which means, this timber is quick grown, spruce, pine, which is bad!

All the Baltic countries are governed by the EU, and as we know the EU like to order everyone to do as they please, and their demands for higher wages, and that in particular that Lithuania had to shut down its Nuclear power plant, meant electricity came from Sweden and other surrounding areas, so the price to run the machines in the Lithuania mills  increased drastically and put up the price of your cabin by almost 100%, or more.

Many years ago I saw this coming, and have tried to find a way to manufacture cabins that were worth the money to the end customer, my mills were asking monthly, for higher and higher prices for their production of log cabins, and their reasons for price increases was honest and fair, as I could see the pressure they were under to pay higher and higher bills.

Which is one reason so many mills use such poor quality timber from the Baltic’s now, as it’s home grown. And many mills now import their unseasoned fresh cut boards from Sweden or other countries that still allow the sale of this raw material., which as you can imagine is expensive, and also takes the Eco Friendly part from your log cabin , as the movement of the timber from one place to another costs and also means many trucks, ships etc. So the whole ethos of what a log cabin is, has gone, apart from a very expensive, Baltic Box.

If you look at my previous blog you will understand why the glulam is so bad now!

There are many companies in Lithuania that do produce excellent glulam, but most is for construction, beams, purlins, roofs, posts, and their timber is all graded C24 and is excellent, but Cabin companies do not purchase C24 timber, just the run of the mill unseasoned, which they use the off cuts, stick them together, and re-stick and you get a glulam log of kinds or what we say here at LV a pile of crap.

So what can we do to solve the dilemma of over priced log cabins and bringing back quality and price to this industry we started in the UK over 18 years ago.

Please read tomorrow’s blog.