There are many myths regarding this subject. As a rule, small garden building don’t need to comply with Building Regulations (this is different to planning permission). Building regulations are concerned with structural stability, insulation values and generally how it’s built whereas planning permission is generally concerned with where you put it and how it looks.
Hortons 4×4 log cabins and smaller do not fall under any restrictions in a garden regardless of where site them (unless it is within a conservation area or ANOB, in which case you would need to check with your council). Most people know about the planning permission side of things (2.5m high if close to a boundary and less than 50% of garden area, plus some others). BUT most people aren’t aware of Building Regulations – these can get complicated if it’s going to be more than just a summerhouse / shed / game room type structure (ie, habitable or semi-habitable). All buildings over 30sqm “INTERNAL FLOOR AREA” are governed by Building Regs (quite a few people know this) which also includes the base as well – do not buy a Building Regs building and think you can just build it on an existing base – you may come unstuck! Bases will need to comply by using the standard Building Control specifications for your area (usually way over the top for a timber garden building) or employing a structural engineer to calculate what is actually required (this may cost a bit to start with but usually saves a fortune because the base can be proven to a much lower spec once the calculations are shown to the council official).
It can also be the case that some buildings between 15sqm – 30sqm also fall within Regs as well, but only for 1 specific set of circumstances – if sited closer than 1m to ANY boundary then it needs to be “constructed substantially of non-combustible materials”. We offer factory applied fire protection coating to Class B – s1,d0 which used to be universally accepted by all councils but this is not guaranteed to be the case any more (needs to be checked and signed off by your local Building Control department). Most companies either do not have a clue about this, or if they do then they keep quiet as they are much more interested in knowingly taking your order without either offering a solution or telling you to contact the council.
However, any garden building of less than 15sqm internally isn’t required to comply with this regulation either. Our log cabins are measured log end to log end, so by the time this is taken into account and the wall thicknesses (which vary) are taken into account then Hortons 4x4m cabins (16sqm externally) come out to be just less than 14sqm – although the external size is indeed 16sqm, the internal footprint for a 45mm wall log cabin is just under 14sqm, so it can be built anywhere in your garden (even right up to the boundary should you wish, however think about future maintenance before you decide to do this! This topic will be addressed in a later blog.). This is how to work out the internal measurement for one of our cabins –
There is a little bit more to consider if you are looking to buy a Twin Skin log cabin as there is another wall thickness and wall cavity to include within the calculations as well –
