iSelfBuild

Marketing wise the more boxes I tick the better and I would love to have it fully disabled compliant from an ethical standpoint. I'm definitely going to change it. Bath in the en-suite sounds good, I will slightly move the partition. Does anyone know of a well thought out side entry disabled accessible bathroom floor plan? Considering I likely will move the store position to the bathroom then the accessible clear floor space eats into half the room straight away!

I don't believe mobile homes legally have to be fully disabled accessible? Correct me if I'm wrong though. However I am aiming to make it fully compliant so I shall consider that also. No change of use is required. The planning permission granted is for holiday homes/rentals - they actively encourage this in Dumfries & Galloway. There is a restriction on it being a main residency - no restriction on occupancy though.

3048mm to be exact and that's designed into the unit. This results in a roof pitch of 13*

Haha yes I have seen that done on a few projects. These guys have a really good method statement -

Great ideas yet again I will give that some thought!

1. Good plan, that window in the en-suite definitely needs some tweaking! Yes the roof is vaulted but I was planning to avoid roof lights due to the shallow roof pitch and purely the extra cost. 2. Again really valid point, should be shown as a fully glazed door. Probably a good idea to have a full height glazed sidelight as well. Thanks!!!

9 years to recoup cash in cash out. That is considering land and build costs, furnishings etc - no provision for my actual time and labour though. It will be about 11% Yield. I am a property investor and I usually look for 20% ROI and aim to pull out all of my money out of a deal through buying below market value, refurbishment and refinancing. If this was mortgageable I could quite easily pull all of my money out of the investment and make an infinite ROI. Unfortunately I have to leave all of my money in unless I use some creative refinancing. Considering it's my show home for my business and I will hopefully do further log cabin projects for clients then I'm happy to have the money tied up.

Yes my company is VAT registered and the supply of BS3632 mobile homes is 0% rated. Oh yes, and I have the structural calculations to prove it is possible. Originally I explored doing the construction in one piece, but it definitely has to be 2 pieces. It's quite funny there is a few people doing this I know of and they do it in one piece and on a concrete raft... I think it's very questionable if that is truly compliant!

Hello Build Hubbers, So over the last year I have been meticulously researching and setting up a new business. The design and build of log cabins - my first project is a model which complies with the Scotland caravan act. Thus it is treated as a mobile home and 0% VAT rated. This is the second set of plans I have come up with after starting from scratch. I'm now very happy with the result. It's a 200mm round log cabin and this will be my show home and rented out to holiday makers. Can't wait to start building it and I plan to follow the whole process with a video blog. Really keen to hear peoples thoughts in terms of the design and suitability for holiday makers, any tips for making their stay extra special!? I will also be fitting a wood fired hot tub and BBQ hut with sauna extension. From research... it's not uncommon to achieve £1,000.00 rent a week for something of this standard - solid oak kitchen and furniture - going for a very high end standard. Scottish cottages gave me market data and their best performing 2 bed properties within 10 miles have an annual rental of £32,000.00 - they take 20% fee. If I could achieve anything like that I will be over the moon. PLOT_-_7-_FULL_SHEET-7 (1).pdf

I stick framed our lodge, loads of photos here - www.facebook.com/LakelandDBG

This chap will help you out and give sound advice - https://www.samhawking.co.uk/

I recently looked at some cladding on a log cabin effect park home - they used http://www.canexel.co.uk/ looked OK - quite a deep wood grain texture. It's resin mixed with wood fibres. Probably pretty cost effective if it's used on park homes too.

They are also covering up our 75mm XPS which covers the block plynth and runs all around the outside of the timber frame and roof. I keep on seeing a local builders work on Facebook. The absence of a splash zone makes me stressed out every time...

We used slates: The ground level is being raised about halfway up them later on.

Our compressor, coil nail gun and framing gun (50-70mm from memory) is sat gathering dust up in Scotland. I don't need it for a couple of months and my dad is banned from doing anything more than putting his socks on for the next 8 weeks after his operation. I can ask him if he minds lending you it as it will speed the job up massively! I'm heading up there next week, do you have a compressor? That won't fit in my car unfortunately.

Just had the surveyor round, a loft kit won't work due to poor layout, it wouldn't really be effective for the rest of the house. I'm going to replace the bathroom fan with a more powerful one and link it so that it comes on with the light. Also going to duct in a proper fan in the bathroom and link it with the recirculating cooker hood so that it comes on with that. Add in an small air vent in the bay window in the lounge. Under the stairs the surveyor is thinking he can fit a loft PIV system (wall mounted) 200mm vent into the hall which will be inline and will need to core out to the outside. Seems to think the ones designed for flats are nowhere near as good as the loft versions so would rather fit a wall mounted one. I do quite like the Nuaire system with the heating fan.

I thought they looked a bit dodgy at first but when you zoom in on the first picture they look nice and tight! It just looks like the little 90* brackets on the sides are fixed a little bit high on the rather than sitting flush down on the wall plate?

We added noggins between the rafters and ladders above the wall plate to stop any twisting. I think you would be best with a bit of bracing but since you ordered a timber frame they would have surely done it at that point as part of the package if it was necessary?

This isn't through building control thus isn't eligible for VAT reclaims. The 0% VAT rating is applicable to the sale of caravans conforming to BS3632. If it only conforms to the EN standards it is 5% rated.

Don't really want to go down the SIPS route as I have bought in to a log cabin company and this is going to be a show cabin also. It's widely done elsewhere at the moment and building control say as long as it can theoretically be lifted then they are happy. The entrance is a boot room and pretty critical as the local area is a tourist trap for walkers, holiday makers with wet smelly dogs and mountain bikers. Yep already have a set of plans split down the middle but my business partner who has 10 years experience building cabins is not so keen on the idea in round log.

They could be but I thought it would look really odd if they were thin and take away from the feel of the cabin... I might have to look at this though. It will be in the region of 30 tons! Building Control are aware of my plans and I have to provide structural calculations to say it can theoretically be lifted in one piece. The critical part is the timber ring beam so I am trying to find a chartered structural engineer to do the calculations at the moment. I have also planned it in two sections but my manufacturing partner is not 100% comfortable with the idea.

I would appreciate some advice from the community on this floor plan. I am building a log cabin in accordance with the caravan act in Scotland. The prime purpose is as a holiday rental business and to act as a show log cabin for my development sites. The Scottish size restrictions are a little bit restrictive compared with England - 6.1m x 18.3m. I decided on 200mm round log construction as I feel that it will set it apart in the local market and this achieves BS3632 status (all year round use) which makes it 0% VAT rated... plus it will be a warmer and more comfortable space. The size restriction and wall thickness makes it really difficult for a 3 bedroom cabin layout to work. I did some market research with Scottish Cottages and their best performing properties in the local areas typically have 43 weeks booked occupancy throughout the year and the average yield after their typical 20% fees is £26,000 for a 2 bedroom cabin and £27,000.00 for a 3 bedroom cabin. They suggested that a 2 bedroom cabin is more popular and 3 bedroom cabins typically have twice the wear and tear as 2 families like to stay in them. Sofa beds don't count in the listings, blow up hot tubs don't count etc - they were actually really helpful so that's why I have come up with this design. The reason the utility and entry hall is placed in that position is because that area (looking out) would eventually have a neighbouring property built on the adjacent plot so there would be no view out of the forest. The end wall sliding doors out of the lounge area will just sneak a sea view (on a clear day) and the lounge and dining room sliding doors will look out onto the forest. Feel free to let me know any improvements, I will also be installing a wood fired hot tub and a BBQ hut with adjoining sauna so hopefully it will attract customers with those features!

When I think about it then I'm not shocked there is a problem here. Did the refurbishment 8 years ago now so forgot how bad it was. All the windows are double glazed upvc, the walls will be red brick cavity - either no insulation or blown in insulation. The only ventilation is by an extract fan in the bathroom. There is an extract in the kitchen as well... but that's a recirculating one as the hob is on the wall adjoining the next property. She also has a freezer in the bedroom! This looks a great unit! Thanks for the recommendation. So the unit basically just sucks fresh air in from the loft and heats it if it's below a certain temperature. We could fit that in the access hatch in the kitchen as there is just enough loft space. Where would all this fresh air escape? Do you think it's wise for me to also fit some sliding air vents in the lounge and bedroom as this unit would pressurise the house or do you think there would be enough natural escape?

Has anyone come across EnviroVent? They claim to solve damp and condensation problems: https://www.envirovent.com/products/positive-input-ventilation-piv/ One of the ground floor flats that we rent out is suffering from bad condensation and mould growth. We have tried to educate the tenant in opening windows when they are cooking or having a shower but it seems to be unmanageable for her, it doesn't help that there is no curtains (just blinds) and just laminate throughout so nothing can absorb the moisture it's just sitting there. I think there has also been blown in cavity insulation in the walls so that's not helping. I was wondering if a small MVHR unit would improve things, seems you can get them for about £350.00 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blauberg-DIY-Small-MVHR-Kit-For-1-Bed-Flat-Or-House/132915124708?hash=item1ef25bd9e4:m:mMoRQ5RO3d5S4v15tExXW6w&frcectupt=true Although I think we would struggle with running pipes etc. I have Enviro Vent coming out to do a survey so will share our experience, they seem to have good reviews on Trust Pilot - has anyone any experience with them?

Does anyone have a copy of SPONS that I can take a look at? I'm sure there was an electronic copy floating around on eBuild that I once had.