How to keep your log cabin warm this winter

With the grim year of 2020 finally and thankfully coming to an end, it’s time for new year resolutions again.

For many, buying a UK log cabin kit may be an infinitely more positive goal than making the usual promise to give up that fattening treat that tastes far too nice for your pledge to survive January.

There are many great reasons to get a log cabin at any time, of course, but 2020 has provided plenty of reminders of them. After all, it can offer an alternative to the normal four walls you will have become far too familiar with during months of lockdown and restricted social contact.

Some might want to wait a while and get their cabin in for the summer, when optimists hope everything in our lives will have returned to something like normality; but others will want to move a bit faster and get started right at the beginning of 2021. Indeed, with Christmas being scaled back, this January might offer much more scope for spending than it usually does.

Of course, there is a distinct difference between a log cabin built for warm summer days of barbecues and sun hats - when its chief attributes would include shade and a bit of storage space for outdoor equipment - and winter, when the ideal will be a warm and cosy place of shelter from the harsh conditions of cold days and dark, frozen nights.

The most obvious inclusion will be various warming appliances, such as a fireplace or radiator, while any cooking appliances such as a cooker can provide some extra warmth as a by-product of their primary function. 

However, as anyone with a draughty or poorly insulated home knows, heat can easily be squandered, producing the twin problems of cold rooms and higher energy bills. For this reason, it is important to focus on the most effective means of keeping a cabin warm.

This will inevitably be different from a typical brick house with cavity wall and loft insulation, although there are some measures that can be easily copied, such as double glazing and warm curtains. Others, however, should be specific to your cabin.

The logs themselves are effective as insulators, but the roof risks being a major factor in heat loss. While the sort of loft insulation you may have in your house isn’t an option, there are various forms of insulation such as fibre glass panels that can be fitted between the roof beams to stop heat escaping.

Maintaining the temperature isn’t the only consideration. Be sure to have some cosy furniture such as rugs, fluffy cushions and even blankets in there to help create a warm atmosphere. With the right sort of mood lighting, you can enjoy that wonderful sense of being in your own little oasis of comfort and warmth on a dark winter night.

With snowy weather hitting Britain this week, the days only just starting to lengthen and so many grim tidings in the news, a warm winter hideaway could be just what you need as 2021 begins.