Lugarde Cabins Garden Centre

...ranges of cabins within the Lugarde Brand. I chose one from the Arizona range. There are a number of standard sizes and specifications but you can also have what they call a "Matrix" design, which essentially allow you to design your own building, selecting from a wide range of Window and Doors types and position them as suits yourself.

Price varies according to your spec, but a standard 3M square in 44mm timber is £2K.
...construction, and both Taylor's and Lugarde were excellent at helping to resolve them. We were rather puzzled by extra timbers but apparently they always send these, it being cheaper to give extra at the start than replacing any later. Everything we got was perfect.

Taylor's are based in Norwich and Lugarde in Holland, but this is no problem wherever in the UK you are, they deliver direct from Holland. The package delivered contains ... more

I bought one of these from www.taylorsgardenbuildings.co.uk . If you look at their web site you will see there are several ranges of cabins within the Lugarde Brand. I chose one from the Arizona range. There are a number of standard sizes and specifications but you can also have what they call a "Matrix" design, which essentially allow you to design your own building, selecting from a wide range of Window and Doors types and position them as suits yourself.

Price varies according to your spec, but a standard 3M square in 44mm timber is £2K.

Apart from Taylor's web site it is also worth looking at Lugarde's own web site at http://www.lugarde.nl/english/index.html

You need to be careful to check your local planning rules, but in my case everything was OK as long as I made sure it was more than a certain distance from the house, otherwise I would have had to go through that long process.

We chose a 44mm thickness, a single width, double glazed door and two double width double glazed windows. They are also available in 28 and 68mm.

I placed the order with Taylor's via the telephone and email. They were very obliging and helpful and sent me a drawing to confirm the details. I placed my order at the start of November 05 and they gave me a delivery date of Mid Jan 06.
On the appointed day a huge wagon arrived from Holland. I wondered how a single driver was going to unload such a large item, but he quickly unloaded his fork lift truck and asked me where I wanted him to place the three packages - each around 10 feet long and very heavy. Within 20 mins he had deposited them exactly where I asked and was driving off.

I had already laid a concrete base so it was just a question of getting on with it. Each "plank" comes separately and they are just built up one on top of the other. They are heavy though so this is quite a big task. You need to unpack all of the pieces so you know what you have and get the right one in the right place.

The windows and door were very heavy and my wife and I could not lift them together, so we had to enlist the help of a neighbour with this. The quality is superb, each piece precisely machined. The windows and doors far better than I have in my house!

Once we had got to the top it was time to put the roof joists in position - again these were heavy and you certainly need two people to do it. Once in place the tongue and groove roof timbers can be nailed in place. When you have the wooden pieces in place you need to assemble the Roof "shingles" which protect the shed from the weather. This is quite tricky and I would advise reading both the instructions that come with the cabin and those on the shingles pack very carefully. The key point is that the first row goes on back to front! You need to stand on the roof to do this - it's quite strong enough but if, like me you are a bit nervous about standing on a 45 degree angle on a smooth slippery surface 15 ft above the ground, then get someone else to do it!
If you have opted for the optional floor then the tongue and groove wood needs nailing on to the floor joists at this point.
We treated the wood with clear preservative while we were building the cabin. Then painted the outside with a proprietary Wood finish.
Although the sides are 44mm pine the floor and roof are only 10mm. Plenty strong enough but maybe needing more insulation. I used boarding designed to go under laminate flooring, then plywood, carpet underlay, and finally carpet for the floor. As yet I haven't done anything extra to the ceiling.

We use it as an Art studio, it is very easy to heat, but as a precaution I use a dehumidifier to keep everything dry since we have a lot of paper in there. It would be great as a workshop, home office, or just an extra room. The only potential problem is that it can get very hot in summer unless you have the windows open. In the Winter it is easy to heat, but think about the path between your house and the cabin!
It looks superb, everything works just as it should - a really impressive product, highly recommended.

We had one or two minor problems with construction, and both Taylor's and Lugarde were excellent at helping to resolve them. We were rather puzzled by extra timbers but apparently they always send these, it being cheaper to give extra at the start than replacing any later. Everything we got was perfect.

Taylor's are based in Norwich and Lugarde in Holland, but this is no problem wherever in the UK you are, they deliver direct from Holland. The package delivered contains everything you need, nails, screws etc. All you need is the usual hand tools, a power drill, varnish/paint and a week off work!
 

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