From order to handover: the assembly process

Before anything is confirmed we need to know three things about the site: how level it is, how we get materials to it, and where water goes. These are the questions that decide whether a job runs smoothly or turns into an argument, so we would rather ask them before the quote than after the deposit.

In many cases photographs answer them — the garden, the approach to it, and the gate or side passage with something in shot for scale. Where there is doubt, or on a sloped or awkward-access site, a visit is the sensible step.

Once the order and specification are fixed, your cabin is machined: wall logs cut and notched, joinery made up, roof components prepared. This is most of the lead time, and it is why the on-site phase is so short.

It is also the window in which specification changes are still cheap. After the wall logs are cut, moving a window is no longer a drawing change.

Concrete foundation blocks are included with every cabin and are set and levelled by our crew as part of the assembly. On a reasonably level site, that is the whole foundation story.

Where there is a significant fall, or the ground is soft, peaty or holds water, more is needed — cut-and-fill, a stepped base, or raising the building clear of standing water. That work is quoted separately because its cost depends entirely on the site, and it needs to be sorted before the delivery is scheduled rather than discovered on the day.

The materials and the crew arrive together. What we need on the day is vehicle access as close to the site as the road allows, a route to carry wall logs to the garden, and somewhere to set materials down near the base.

On tight rural lanes or narrow urban approaches we check the route in advance and, where necessary, transfer to a smaller vehicle for the last stretch. This is worked out before the delivery date, not on it.

The build follows the same order every time, which is what makes the programme predictable.

At handover we check that every window and door operates correctly, that the roof and gutters are right, and we walk you through the maintenance the building needs — particularly the first-year checks, which matter more than people expect while the timber settles.

Two things typically follow our crew. Electrical installation is quoted and carried out separately by the electrical contractor we work with, because it has to be certified by a registered electrician. And if the cabin needed planning permission rather than falling under an exemption, the certification process for the works sits with your own architect or assigned certifier.