Frequently Asked Questions About Our Products

For over twenty-five years, Merit Timber Products has been providing an array of buildings to domestic and commercial clients. Our delivery range spans nationwide and particularly includes the Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire areas. While we specialise in garden offices, our team can construct everything from small garden offices to luxurious bespoke log cabins. Over the years, our staff members have received an array of questions about our garden buildings, services and other products. That is why we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions for potential customers to browse. If your query is not answered, please don’t hesitate to contact us today for more information!

Log Cabins – Questions

1. Are the logs treated?

Our log cabins & buildings are made of natural planed timber and are not treated, with the exception of the bearers, which are pressure treated to protect the building.

2. How should I treat the buildings?

We recommend that the cabins are treated as soon as possible and within 14 days of installation with a product or products to prevent them from rot, infestation and weather damage. We currently recommend and sell a range of products (a high quality trade range of treatments and paints). When choosing your treatment, ensure that it is suitable for natural planed wood and not for sawn wood.

3. Why are the Doors & Windows not fixed to the walls?

It is important that the windows, doors and any other fitting are not screwed to the walls. Doors and windows are, in effect sandwiched into place to allow the wall logs to move naturally. Anything that restricts the natural movement of wood due to humidity & temperature changes may cause gaps in the walls or cause the walls to buckle.

4. What fittings can I attach to my log cabin?

We strongly advise against installing any fittings or fixtures that will restrict the movement of the building. Our partition walls are specially designed to allow the log cabin to move naturally. If a unit is fitted to the walls without taking care to allow the log cabin to move, then it will cause large gaps to form between the logs. The only way to rectify this problem if it does occur, is to remove any fixings from the walls and allow the log cabin time to settle back into position.

5. Do the buildings come with a guarantee?

All buildings come with a 6-month warranty on the workmanship. Whilst care is taken in selecting materials, timber is a natural product and is liable to shrinkage, cracking and warping: therefore an unqualified guarantee cannot be given for timber products. The warranty DOES NOT cover accidental damage made to the building or weather damage.

6. What planning permission do I need?

New regulations came into effect on 1 October 2008 relating to outbuildings, sheds & log cabins. Generally they are considered as permitted development. However there are new limits & conditions, which mean you may need to seek planning permission. IF IN DOUBT WE DO SUGGEST YOU CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY; We suggest that you look at www.planningportal.gov.uk for further advice or contact your local planning department for advice.

Examples of where you may need to seek planning permission are:

No outbuilding on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation.
Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof.
Maximum height 2.5 metres within two metres of a boundary.
No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
No more than half the area of land around the “original house”* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
In National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites the maximum area to be covered by buildings, enclosures, containers and pools more than 20 metres from house to be limited to 10 square metres.
On designated land* buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties will require planning permission.
Within the curtilage of listed buildings any outbuilding will require planning permission.

*The term “original house” means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so.

Designated land includes national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites.

Building Regulations

If you want to put up small detached buildings such as a garden shed or summerhouse in your garden, building regulations will not normally apply if the floor area of the building is less than 15 square metres.

If the floor area of the building is between 15 square metres and 30 square metres, you will not normally be required to apply for building regulations approval providing that the building is either at least one metre from any boundary or it is constructed of substantially non-combustible materials.

In both cases, building regulations do not apply ONLY if the building does not contain any sleeping accommodation.

Merit Timber Products Ltd cannot accept liability in any cases where a Wessex Log Cabin or Merit Timnber Building has been erected without the necessary planning permission or where the necessary building regulation rules have not been followed.

Woburn Garden Studio – Questions