Frequently asked questions

Yes is the simple answer.

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Fire - yes, there is a risk this could send a spark out, which is why there is a small (and tall guard option) fire guard around it to minimise this. We also start you off with a fire extinguisher too.

CO poisoning - a very serious issue that we address with supplying EVERY cabin with a CO monitor (check your batteries in time). There are vents around the cabin so fresh air can always get in too. One of the enormous advantages of having cabins that do not need a fan, because they work on the natural draw of the fire, means that nothing can ever break, thus everything will always be sucked out from the draw of the fire and chimney.

Break-ins - all the doors and windows lock, and the glass is double glazed.

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As with all of these questions, there is an expectation of common sense and wit being present when you are in, and own a bbq hut. We advise that you go and learn about fire, how it works and what it needs, along with the many different kinds of wood and charcoal that can be used, what what they do to a fire too.

That can only be answered really by you.

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Do you bbq?
Do you like to bbq in the rain, snow, hail, wind?

Do you prefer to bbq when you are dry? Warm is optional

Do you like to have friends and family around alot?

Do you want to have a space where you can entertain, and not be in the house all the time?

Would you like a wee escape pod in the garden?

These are all the other questions that come after the main one, and if you are answering yes to most of them, then I would say give us a call immediately so we can get one to you asap.

If you are answering no to most of them, then maybe a garden room is a better option for you. Still give us a call. ;)

Yes, our BBQ huts and garden rooms offer several customisation options!

You can choose from different roof tile colours, wood stains, and hundreds of cushion colours to make your cabin uniquely yours. Each cabin is built to reflect your style.

On the bbq huts, you can choose 3 different roof tile colours, stained or not stained, and there are over 40 different choices for cushion colours.

With the Garden Rooms, there are 3 different finishes to choose from, of which with the cedral, there are 5 different colours. 3 different laminate floor colours, and a choice of where the windows and doors will do, as well as the design of these.

Yet to think of two garden rooms, or bbq huts, that are the same! Which is not bad for 10yrs in business.

Our 10㎡ cabin, and our 14m and 17㎡ cabins can have extensions added to them to create even more space for parties and hanging out.

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The 17m cabin is extended by straightening the walls, and then adding either a single or double walled extension at either 2 or 3m in length.

The 10m cabin and the 14m iare extended in a number of different ways, depending on the length of the extension, and whether you want this to be sloping or straight.

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You can also join cabins, although these must both be the same size, no mixy-matchy.

Yes, although we can't just pick it up, and plonk it back down again.

If you cabin has been up a while, the shingle on the roof will have stuck down tight and when we come to move a cabin, this has be redone. We will do our best to minimise this, but if we do not replace the shingle, the cabin will leak once put back up again.

The whole process, from dismantling, re-shingling and tidying the cabin up, and then re-installing takes 3 days.

We are able to store the cabin inbetween if also needed, please contact us about how long, and for prices etc.

We also only recommend moving a cabin once, twice at the absolute most.

Please contact us if you would like to do this – the investment in this really is worthwhile.

If someone else moves the cabin other than our team, this will invalidate any warranty on the cabin.

We do not recommend attempting to move a garden room once installed, it is actually pretty impossible, and would really be cheaper for you just to buy a new one.

Yes! Our BBQ huts are designed to handle Scotland's unpredictable weather, keeping you warm and dry, even on chilly autumn and winter days. They’re perfect for outdoor gatherings, no matter the season.

In fact, we would argue they really come into their own in these seasons, where you can get the full effect of 'hygge' in the bbq cabin

So long as you are within the rules - a metre away from the boundary, not in a conservation area/listed building, 30msq or under, then they can object all they like, but there will be nothing they can do.

While it might seem a total pain to adhere to this 1m rule, it is there for you now, and also as/when the property is sold. It can create all sorts of headaches later on if the paperwork and position is not correct, which could be highly costly to you at a time when you don't want them to be.

For a night or two, yes. As a long term solution, the rules say no.

In Scotland you need to have permission to plumb your garden building in. So unless you would want someone dashing to the loo at 2am across your garden, then the many practicalities of this become an issue. Where are they going to wash is another one.

You are also not allowed to rent out a space within the curtilage of your garden. So you can absolutely have a garden room style building to rent (up to 30msq), but it has to be outwith your garden.

Any building over 30msq is a building regulations standard building, and this is a different everything. This is also not something we do as a company.

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Well that is a loaded question if ever I heard one!
So contrary to popular belief, I would argue that no, they do not. The value of a house is based on the house, and land that comes with it, the location etc. Having a garden room, or a bbq cabin, or a summerhouse will not make any difference to that. BUT, it will be a fantastic additional feature which if you are leaving it with the house, could be a selling point.
A garden room, least from ourselves, is almost impossible to move without huge expense. However a bbq hut, or a summerhouse (as we do not sell this, I cannot guarantee this, but more suspect) would be able to be moved, and we have done this numerous times for people over the years.

So to sum up, no I don't think they make any difference to the value of a property, but they do make a great selling point, if you are happy to leave it.

Always a fun question to answer! Most of the time, no you won't. There are some rules, which we advise you to adhere to. These come from the document below which is what ALL Scottish Councils should work and adhere to when it comes to planning.

The main points for a bbq hut are (as we understand it):

It has to be in the back garden.

You have to be 1m away from your boundary wall

You cannot take up more than 1/2 of your outside area with your hut

The BUILDING is not over 4m, and the eaves not more than 3m

If you are in a conservation area, or a listed building, you will need planning permission

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If you are unsure, give us a call, or speak with a planning officer in your local authority.

Also please note that none of this stated is advice, it is just our understanding, and at all times, we will stand to be corrected.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/circular-1-2024-householder-permitted-development-rights/pages/4/#4.3

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In most cases, no you will not.

There are however some points from the document below that we would like you to be aware of. There are many a constructor of garden rooms who will not pay any heed to this, and build you whatever you wish, wherever too.

Just be careful, as there are rules, and planners do not like them to be ignored. If you are caught, then there will be little comeback on the installer, but you could end up having to take down that building you've just spent a few thousand £s on! It only takes that one neighbour.....

I will also say that planning in Scotland is much tighter than in England. Less people to keep an eye on I think. However, sizes of buildings, plumbing, conservation areas  and the like still have the same rules both sides of the border.

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Again, this is how we interpret the rules, and is not meant to be full advice or guidance. If you are unsure, ask your local planning department, or give us a call.

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You need to be 1m away from your boundary line - at all points of the building.

You cannot be higher than 3m

If you plumb your garden room in, you need planning permission (such as if you use this as a treatment room. This would apply for a toilet, sink and/or shower)

You need to be at least 1.5m away from your house (fire break)

The building must be in the back garden

You cannot cover more than 1/2 of your outdoor space

You cannot live in it, or have anyone else live in it, if it is within the curtilage of your garden.

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https://www.gov.scot/publications/circular-1-2024-householder-permitted-development-rights/pages/4/#4.3

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While it’s not required, we highly recommend visiting our show site in Abernethy! Not only do we want to show you the full range of cabin and garden rooms, we also want to get to know you too.

Seeing the BBQ huts and garden rooms in person gives you a true sense of their quality and comfort, especially as we head into the colder months.

If you really cannot get here, then we can do a Facetime chat and walk you through the different cabins and offices to give you as good a sense as possible of what they are like.
We can of course do everything else online, or over the phone if needed.
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100% they do. Absolutely.

A garden room is a lot more than a shed. A proper garden room is a great big heavy thing, that should stand up to all that the weather can throw at it, and last many a year. So yes, it needs foundations.

You have 3 options -

Using an existing hard area - by this we mean if you have had a building on there already and there is a hard standing such as paving slabs, monoblocks etc. Provided it is in good condition, a frame can go on this, and we can build from there.

Pegged base - this is OK if the garden room isn't too big. This is postcreted into the ground, left to harden, and then the garden room built on top. Up to approx 20msq this is grand.

Concrete - by far our preferred base. This is left to go 'off' and harden a while before we come to install. This is the most solid and secure base, and an absolute if you are going to use your building as a gym!

All of these depend on what is on the site you are looking to build your garden room on, so give us a call, and talk through the options so we can get the best option for you

Unless you are in a conservation area, or a listed building, you can building a shelter for a bbq or whatever you need it to be for, no bigger than 30 msq, or 2.5m high without planning permission.

Myabe not for a horse in the back garden though, that might cause a stir.

Always check with your local planning department though if you are unsure.

We aim, from ordering, to be in, or have been in, your garden within 8 weeks.  Whether this is a garden room, or a bbq hut. Or an outdoor classroom for that matter.

We will always talk about this with you when you order to manage your expectations. If we need to hold onto your building once it is here, we can do that as well.

As always, just talk to us about what the larger plan is, and we can work with you on it all. Life throws us all curve balls at times, but there is always a way to sort it :)

It depends.....

On what it is made of, and how it is made. Who makes it is pretty crucial too.

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If you get a single skin shed, and do nothing to look after it, expect at best, a few years. But that might be all you need. If you only need to store a few tools and bits, and keeping the rain off is all you need, then this is ideal.

If however, you are looking for a summer house (clue being in the word), you would want something a bit more substantial. Maybe thicker wood, better roofing etc. And also it should last a few years. It might be an idea to keep a heat source in their over the winter to keep the damp off for when the better weather comes around.

Now if you are wanting a full on, actual room, then this is where it can get interesting. There is very little to differentiate between any of the garden room/studio/office suppliers out there when it comes to materials. They will all be wood, insulation, laminate flooring, MDF, double glazed windows, all internally, and then there are an assortment of outer finishings. Redwood, Cedar, Marleyboard, Cedral, Radiata, the list is endless. These are all excellent finishes, and all last a long time. Some need more maintenance than others, but all should last well over one decade, if not 2. Ask me again in 2035 when we are 20 years old and I will have a better data set for you.

Always ask yourself, what do I want this room to do for me and my family? How will it make my world better? And then that will start to help you decide what level you want to come in at, and who to use to supply this for you. There are loads of excellent suppliers out there, (and sadly loads of cheap ones, who look good, but do they have any form of guarantee or warranty?) just always been mindful of the old saying 'buy cheap, pay dear'.

Garden rooms are incredibly versatile!

Many of our customers use them as home offices, craft rooms, personal retreats, or extra living space.

They’re also perfect for year-round enjoyment, whether you need a quiet workspace or a cosy place to relax. Being so well insulated too, that you require very little to heat them up, even on the coldest of days.

There are 3 options for the base of your cabin.  As our bbq cabins work on a natural draw, which allows them to be the safest on the market, the base is critical to this.

Concrete base

We have specific instructions which we can send you on receipt of deposit on how to construct your base to allow the air to flow.

If you are based on the islands, or coastal areas, we strongly recommend a concrete base.

Timber Frame Base‍

If you have an area (or are putting one in) that is hard such as monoblocks, paving, concrete pad or decking, a frame is needed here.  This lifts the cabin up off the surface to allow airflow, and also reduces moisture being absorbed from underneath.

Please note that Type 1 or hardcore is not suitable for a cabin to sit on.

Timber Peg Base/Composite pegged base‍

This is a great option for most cabins.  This base allows for loads of airflow, and copes with any lumps or bumps that might be in the area where the base is levelled off and then the cabin installed on top.

Please discuss your specific space with our sales team who will help advise you with the best option.

Any timber bases we fit are supported on “TANALISED” timber which has been impregnated with a preservative solution under high pressure in an industrial vessel. This treatment process ensures deep penetration into the timber cells, for a longer-lasting protective result against fungal decay and insect attack than the application of a surface coating. Pressure-treated timber is leach resistant, ensuring a long and trouble-free service life in a wide range of conditions, and assured performance in sensitive environments such as vegetable plots and areas of wildlife. Desired service lives range from 60 years for internal timbers and 30 years for external timbers such as fence posts in ground contact.

Studio Bases

These are either timber peg, or hard-standing depending on the area you are looking to put your studio.

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Our garden rooms are fully insulated, making them ideal for year-round use. Whether you need a cosy home office, a craft room, or a quiet retreat to relax in, our garden rooms provide a warm and inviting space, even in the coldest weather.
The level of insulation within them, means they are great year round, and a small heater will have your room as toasty as a teacake in no time when Jack Frost is about outside, so you can work from home, with the worlds shortest commute.

The bbq unit is a charcoal bbq, and that should be used to cook with too.  

There are some excellent companies who provide chips for adding to your charcoal to add flavour to your food  Traeger being one of them.

One of our favourites are Angus & Oink for rubs and sauces.

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If you are planning on using the fire pit as a fire pit, it is best to get a fire basket.  These can be bought very reasonably from Amazon.

With ourselves, you can add in, or take out, the following to your bbq cabin:

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It will always come with the bbq unit, unless you tell us otherwise and we then supply a solar pipe. Many have put in a wood burner stove instead. There will be a great supplier of this close to you if this is the root you wish to go.

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For the benches, you can have cushions, extender cushions for the sleeping benches, and/or sheep or reindeer skins.

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The cushions come in a huge range of colours and patterns to make your cabin really personal to you. Loads of solid colours, and also a range of plaids which have been exceedingly popular since we brought them into the range.

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There are LED lights that can be supplied.

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There is an accessory pack which is very Scandinavian and adds a lots of character to the cabin. This includes placemats, a clock, thermometer and a very cleverly hidden bottle opener.

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You can see all of these at the show site, and decide which of them, you would like to have within your own bbq hut.

We still get people who are most surprised, or not even sure, what a bbq hut/cabin is.

It is either a 6 or 8 sided building, with a central bbq grill in the middle, seating around the walls, and an all round immense addition to your garden.

You can also sleep in them, giving you the ultimate sleepover pad ever.

We have nearly all of the sizes possible here on the show site in Abernethy, so you can try them on for size and see which one suits you and your family the best.

On the cabins, this is Kerabit Shingle. It comes in 3 colours: Black, Red/Black and Green/Black. You can choose which colour you want when you order your bbq hut.

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It is not possible to mix and match the shingle, but if you wanted different coloured panels going around the roof, I guess that could happen? I might get shouted at for making such a proclamation now.

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For the Garden Rooms, this is a single sheet of Firestone rubber roofing.

Scotia Cabins have an extensive guarantee on their buildings, which are in part manufacturer, and other parts installation.

The walls, base, roof shingle and roof structure, (NOT the pelmets) are covered for 10yrs. That means should part of the wood fail in that time, it will be covered.

The porch, floor and benches, all 10 years.

Pelmets are 4 years

Door is 4 years

Other parts of the cabin - including the bbq unit and its parts are 1 year.

We do not cover time, travel, or parts such as nails, screws, glue, silicone etc.

Where external timber is treated with brown preservative from Sovereign (early 2020 and previous years), we would expect you to apply 2 more coats within 12 months and then at least an annual treatment is expected for the next 2 years and annual thereafter.

However, this can be overtreated with Cuprinol Ducksback as listed below, as long as any previous Sovereign treatment was at least 6 months ago.

Where external timber is treated with Cuprinol Ducksback, we would expect you to apply 1 more coat within 12 months and then within 5 years as recommended on the tin.

Locks, hinges and other window furniture should be kept clean and wiped with a lightoil annually. (eg WD40) Locks should also be lightly oiled periodically.

Failure to maintain air gaps may result in damage to the fabric of the building which will invalidate the guarantee

It is advised not to use rubber backed floor coverings as this could hinder ventilation

The cabin should be regularly used, at least once a month, and in the colder seasons this includes lighting the fire and getting the cabin warm. Where power is retrofitted into your cabin, the use of a low wattage oil filled frost heater is recommended.

Water ingress is not covered under the guarantee

If the customer is deemed to be responsible for any faults to the building, all remedial works will be charged for. Including not reporting issues within a timely manner from when spotted.

Any structural, cosmetic or remedial work carried out by the customer or a third party employed by the customer will invalidate all guarantees, and as such any remedial work done by us will be chargeable

The company shall not be deemed liable for subsidence to the building or surrounding installation site unless such subsidence is caused by the negligence of the company during installation

The guarantee periods all assume that you have followed the previous guidelines issued by us in this guarantee and our terms and conditions.

If any item out of guarantee is replaced and paid for, the guarantee for this item is reset back to the period as defined here.

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We do not recommend adding guttering to the cabin once you have your cabin installed. This can cause the water to pool near the pelmets and thus cause issues with them sooner. This can also track into other places within the cabin.
If your cabin is coated well with the preservative, splashback should not be an issue from water coming off of the roof. Alternatively, other have put chips around their cabins to reduce this (where possible)

30msq.

Any larger, and you need planning permission.

It also cannot be over 4m in height, and no higher than 3m at the eaves.

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Any further clarity needed, please speak to your local planning department, or give us a call and we will do our best to shine a light on it all for you.

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All of the timber we use in our buildings is sourced from FSC or PEFC certified suppliers. The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is a global organisation with the aim of ensuring the chain of custody of all timber products and that the sourcing forests are properly managed to ensure sustainability. This means that more trees are planted than those that are used. It also ensures fairness for the indigenous populations where these forests are located.

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) is the largest worldwide forest certification system with around 220 million hectares of certified forests. Their aims are all associated with the sustainability of the supply of timber and doing that in an environmentally friendly way.

Both processes tracks timber through each stage of the supply chain, from felling through milling, transportation, import, distribution and finally to the point of use. This provides a level of transparency and traceability to guarantee compliance with demands for ethically sourced timber products.

We also send all of our waste materials to our local waste management services company, who then deal with each product accordingly, and recycle where they can.

We offer a range of sizes to suit different needs.

Our BBQ huts come in sizes like 7m, 10m, 14m, and 17m, with options to extend on the 10m, 14m and 17m.  These can be 2m or 3m, and usually work best when the cabin becomes a straight-walled cabin

You can also 'double up' these sizes too, so for example: 2 x 10m cabin, with a join in the middle. You can technically add more than that, what you cannot do though, is add different sizes of cabins together due to size differences.

Garden rooms also come in a variety of sizes, so whether you want a cosy personal retreat or a spacious gathering spot, we have options for you. Starting at 6msq, these can go up to 30msq. Why no bigger? Planning. Beyond that size, you are into planning permission and building regulations. Alot more expensive and alot more faff. We do not go bigger than 30msq, so if you are looking for that, our recommendation would be Alba Bespoke Cabins who are along the road from us just outside Newburgh.

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We would be delighted to see you anytime! (within reason, not like 11pm)

There is always someone here Monday to Friday 9am to around 5pm

At the weekend, we are here as a family on the farm, so you can just drop in (but we might be up to something with the farm, so you may have to forgive us if we are not fully attired to be selling cabins!) or to ensure someone is definitely about, either call or email us to make an appointment so we can give you all our attention.

It will usually be Lynn that you see, or Caroline or Craig is she is not around or available. Lynn likes Border Terriers, and thankfully all other animals which is for a blessing as she has been known to be called in to assist with the rest of the livestock!