Cladding Log Cabin

Hi all

Last year I built a log cabin as a garden office from one of these kits that is all the rage.

It has 45mm thick wooden walls, and as 3 sides of it are not seen due to its location, I plan to insulate the outside of it with 50mm polystyrene on those 3 sides, and then clad over that with some more wood.

B and Q had an offer on decking boards at a very good price, 2.4m x 120mm x 20mm thick, so I had 130 delivered today.

I plan to put 3 x 50mm battons side to side (top middle and bottom) onto the existing outside walls, and then fit the PS sheets inbetween.

Then I will sandwich the PS in place using the decking bords, I will cut them to length so they are 50mm or so clear of the ground, and screw them to the battons.

My question is this:

Should I leave a gap between each upright deck board to allow for expansion / contraction?

If so how much? I am thinking perhaps 3mm, and can I fill the gap with silicon afterwards?

I am also looking to increase the soundproof properties of the building as my son wants to have a go at drumming (god help us).

Any advice from anybody who has done anything similar would be appreciated.

The cabin itself is very sturdy and holds the heat well. I have small electric heater which I occasionally use in the winter.

My only regret in hindsight is not insulating under the floor. I was wondering whether to get a load of those cans of polyurethane expanding foam and pumping the cavity under the floor (the bearers sit on a solid concrete base) full of the foam. Any opinions on that also??

Thanks

Johnny

Only comment is on pumping the underside with foam - be careful you don't stop airflow underneath the building otherwise damp may be an issue. They sit on bearers for a reason

You could always lay a thick commercial carpet/rubber style flooring for insulation

Inside personally I would have (and did) use tongue and groove cladding on the walls and on the ceiling with insulation between. Gives nice scandinavian type sauna finish!

With regard to the floor - I put 50mm kingspan down and boarded over this as a floating floor before laying carpet. Given that I have to step over a door threshold anyway, it made it less of a trip hazard and the loss of height to the building isn't noticable.