Alan L
Second review of Hanna 7.6 m2. I rated the Simply Log Cabins Business as 5 star about 8 months ago on delivery of the kit. Now built, this review is about the Summerhouse itself. Also completely 5 star. If you’re using a contractor to install it, then all you really need to know is that it is an excellent product. Good quality timber and well finished. Very sturdy design, looks great with the roof shingles. The 34mm wall planks give good insulation, but if you intend all year use, then maybe consider a different, double glazed style. Other than that – just sit back and enjoy!! The rest of this review mainly concerns those folk who are thinking of installing themselves. Hope these comments are useful, but they refer to Hanna 7.6 only. I cannot speak for other styles. The kit contains all the components needed and the instructions are very good. All the machined sections are accurately cut to very good tolerances. With suitable DIY skills & tools, most of the work can be done single-handed (if you wish), but the roof sections are heavy, cumbersome and need accurate placement. Fixing is best as a 2 or even 3 man task. As recommended, all the timbers were initially treated with 2 coats of preservative. Bit laborious, but worthwhile. The base is the first key issue as the website says. It must be dead level, well drained and tough enough to support 1.5 tonnes. I have a 10% sloping site so chose compacted, crushed 20mm stone with retaining walls of pressure treated sleepers. Check out this excellent website (USA based) for details on this and concrete / slab bases. https://www.siteprep.com/how-to-install-a-gravel-shed-foundation/ Second key issue is to fix the foundation beams into an absolutely true hexagon. I built them in 2 halves off site and a bit of school geometry helps here! Same applies to the wall plate when you come to the wall tops. Might also be useful to apply waterproofing sealant between the top of the foundation beams and the bottom row of wall planks. Above that the tongue and groove gives excellent weatherproofing for the faces of the main walls. The 6 roof triangles were a big challenge to install due to size and weight. The internal apex is quite high. As well as ladders, access might be easier with scaffolding or trestles. Finally, I can recommend the felt roof shingles, Very heavy duty and quite a task to fit, but give an attractive and durable finish (in my opinion). Again, scaffolding / trestles might be useful. I did add a layer of heavy felt underlay sealed down with bitumen adhesive. Not supplied with the kit, but a precaution against the strong wind / heavy rain which often occurs on the South West Scotland coast. On the subject of rain, the only (slight) weatherproofing weakness is at the wall corner joints. Here the wall planks slot together with simple lap joints as you might expect with the “log cabin” style. This makes building quick and easy, but the plain joint faces allow small amounts of rain to blow through the tiny gaps – unavoidable no matter how good the manufacturing. If this is a problem, beads of sealant down the corner joints work well. Maybe also look at the end grain of the wall planks and possibly the door frame. I chose paint as the external finish and internally the floorboards had 3 coats of clear matt floor varnish. Hoping that makes it easier to keep clean after BBQ’s ! Overall, no question about it – an excellent Summerhouse which I recommend without reservation. Hope this helps. Good luck.
3 months ago
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Simply Log Cabins has a 4.7 average rating from 67 reviews

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