Your step by step guide to building your own Finland Log Home

Make an appointment for an informal pre-planning meeting with an officer at the council responsible for planning applications in the area where you propose to build.

Ask the officer about the council’s policy on log homes, show him/her the model you have selected and ask for any advice the officer is prepared to give.  Understand that a planning officer cannot give you a definite decision one way or the other at this meeting - you’re just receiving the officer’s informed opinion as to the likelihood you may receive permission to build.  Outline planning permission and, later on, detailed planning permission are the two legally binding steps required to build you home and make your site worth more than a grazing field.

If you don’t already have one, select a building plot.  Talk to a solicitor before purchasing, to make sure you have all the necessary legal and outline planning permissions in place.  For absolute certainty that the plot will be suitable, you may wish to follow the steps shown below as far as the detail planning stage, before committing to buy.

Choose a surveyor or structural engineer who will work with you to complete the planning process.

Decide the house model that you want to build and the internal floor plan.  Your site will need a survey to check its suitability for access, storage and erection of the house kit.  This survey will be chargeable and carried out by ourselves or our nominated inspector.

Have a foundation plan, site plan and location plan drawn up.  Decide the layout for electrics, plumbing, drainage, gas, sewage and any other services, as some of these will affect the foundation plan. We will supply you with the plans and elevation drawings for the house you have selected (chargeable).

Decide the heating system.

Specify the thickness of the outer log structure.  Decide which ceilings will be timber faced and which will be faced with plasterboard.  Specify the external roof covering to be used.

The completed specification is then passed to your choice of builder/s, to be priced.  The builder’s quote is added to the Finland Log Homes quote and you then decide if the total is satisfactory, before progressing to an application for full planning permission.

To satisfy the council that the log house meets the current building requirements you would require a structural engineer to carry out calculations for the log house and foundation design.   They would also require  SAP (statistical analysis procedure)  rating calculations for the log house, demonstrating that the design and specification of the house meets current energy efficiency standard., building warrant and SAP.

Once this list is complete, you can start the most exciting part of the build - watching your dream home take shape.