I ordered a log cabin kit and organised a group of friends to build it. The kit arrived on time, as did the team. However, after we'd unloaded the 5x 6.5m long pallets it became apparent that approx 50 substantial log pieces were missing for the inner walls. The insulation and metal roofing sheets were also missing.

 

I contacted the company to arrange for the missing parts to be delivered (nearly 4 weeks wait time), in the meantime the team decided to build as much of the log cabin as possible with the parts provided (so that I would be left with the smallest headache possible after the team left). We built the timber-frame base on PVC pedestals and half of the log cabin inner walls up to the rafters. We also added the floor insulation and put floor boards over the top (we couldn't build the roof without the missing parts).

 

One day the build site got exposed to rain. The floor got a decent soaking and water got under the floorboards (between the insulation board and the floor boards). The skirting boards haven't been added and the floor is raised approx 50cm above the ground / separated from the concrete base via PVC pedestals.

 

Now that the half finished cabin is protected by tarpaulin, here's the question:

 

Will the moisture escape from under the floor boards through the untreated floorboards, via the gaps where the skirting boards haven't been installed and through the spray foam gaps between the insulation board and the timber frame base? Or will the water remain trapped, meaning that the floor boards should now be removed until everything has been dried out?

 

I'm aware that it would have been best to install the floor boards after the roof was installed, but the team decided to add them as there wasn't anything else left to do due to missing parts and the team had all booked time off for the build, so we were trying to make the best of it! Unfortunately the weather had other plans!

This might not help now, but going forward, in situations where carpentry might have to be removed, it’s helpful to use screws rather than nails, but it’s slower of course.

 

I’d be on to the log cabin supplier making a fuss…