If you want to expand the space in your home, you have quite a few options. Many people think that they can’t expand their home because paying for contractors to build an additional room would be too expensive. In many respects, that is true; however, an addition to your home isn’t the only way to increase the amount of space. You can also choose to construct an outbuilding. These are buildings that are detached from your home but are still on your property. Sheds, guesthouses, and storage space are the most common types of outbuildings. When it comes to outbuildings, many people choose to build aluminium structures which feature inexpensive material costs. You should avoid aluminium if at all possible; it is a lightweight, strong metal, but it doesn’t insulate well at all. In order to insulate an aluminium structure, additional expenses will be necessary. Timber is your best option for an outbuilding.
The Kind of Timber
When choosing to construct an outbuilding, you should look into options from those who supply timber materials. Log cabins by Simply Log Cabins are made with the highest quality timber.
Some people make a lot of money by selling their buildings as “made from hardwood”, because many people believe that hardwood makes for a better construction material than softwood. That’s not the case; in fact, many softwoods are actually more rigid than hardwoods. These monikers simply refer to how the trees reproduce, rather than the structural integrity of the resulting material. Softwoods allow their seeds to naturally drop to the ground, whereas hardwood seeds have coverings such as fruits or acorns. The more important factors are how the wood is grown and how it is processed.
Cold Growth Timber
When you’re seeking a log cabin for your property, you should look for a timber that is grown in a cold climate. When timber grows in a hot climate, it grows very quickly due to the available natural resources, but a faster growth rate also means it is not as dense. Timber originating in a colder climate grows very slowly, and it grows to protect itself against hard freezes. This process creates a very dense, very hard wood. Timber grown in the cold is heavier than comparable timber grown in Western Europe. This makes it an ideal building material. It is denser, harder, easier to cut/shape, and features more natural insulation.
Pressure Treatment
Once the timber is cut, it should then be pressure-treated. It’s not necessary to pressure treat all timber, but it is good to have the option. Pressure treatment involves placing the timber into an airtight chamber. The air is then vacuumed out of the chamber. The timber is left in this airless chamber for up to a couple of hours. The idea is that the air is sucked out of the chamber, but also out of the wood itself. If an already dense wood has its air removed, it would become even denser and better insulated.
A log cabin is an ideal type of outbuilding; a dense, cold-growth softwood is a great natural insulator. It responds to shaping/cutting well, holds its shape, resists the elements, and is also very affordable. If you’re looking for an outbuilding to expand your storage or serve as an additional bedroom, a log cabin is a great way to go.
