Planning FAQs
Since October 2008, in England, outbuildings have been covered by ‘permitted development’ rights – a type of planning classification which means that you have automatic planning permission without application subject to certain restrictions.The main restriction is that your house is not ‘listed’, and that you’re outside ‘Designated land’ – which includes National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Conservation Areas and World Heritage Sites. So, if you’re not in one of those areas, you qualify for permitted development rights.Put simply, your Cabin should be sited at least 1 metres from any boundary (e.g. your garden fence) and should not take up more than 50% of your garden space. It should not be sited on land forward of a wall forming the ‘principal elevation’ (that means not in front of the house).Our Cabins do not generally need building regulations approval provided you do not intend to install sleeping accommodation. Of course normal safety standards should be adhered to, particularly regarding any electrical connections.Planning laws here in Scotland are different, but were similarly relaxed in February 2012. Please see here for more information click here.If you are in a Conservation area, or have a listed building property, please talk to your local planning department. We would be delighted to help you where we can with this.
Our 10㎡ cabin, and our 17㎡ cabins can have extensions added to them to create even more space for parties and hanging out.
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 is extended in a number of different ways, depending on the length of the extension, and whether you want this to be sloping or straight.
There may be others soon too…
Yes, although it is not as straightforward as it may first appear.
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. The whole process, from dismantling, re-shingling and tidying the cabin up, and then re-installing takes 2-3 days.
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 studio once installed.
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.
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.
One of our favourites are Angus & Oink for rubs and sauces.
With ourselves, you can add in the following to your bbq cabin:
It will always come with the bbq unit, unless you tell us otherwise and we then supply a solar pipe.
For the benches, you can have cushions, and/or sheep or reindeer skins.
The cushions come in a huge range of colours and patterns to make your cabin really personal to you.
There are LED lights that can be supplied.
There is an accessory pack which is very Scandinavian and adds a lots of character to the cabin.
All of these can be be seen on-site at our show site in Abernethy when you come and visit.
There are 3 colours of shingle available for the bbq cabins: Black. Green/Black and Red/Black.
On the studios – this is Firestone rubber.
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 andthen 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.
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.
