formed the outer shell of the building. It would
have been nice to make the cabin a bit wider, but
that would have involved moving soil, which we
didn’t want to do.”
Work began in 2017 to prepare the site,
carefully scraping away a minimal amount of the
ground and clearing dead trees. The structure was
supported on concrete plinths, which sit on the
ground and are suitable for heavy-duty
applications of up to 2.5 tonnes per plinth.
“I designed the cabin on trailer wheels which
Bob had on the farm, with the chassis made by a
steel fabricator, so that technically you could move
the whole building,” says Stuart, who thoroughly
researched the project. “Steel wire ropes were
fired into the ground using a petrol-driven
machine, then attached to the chassis to anchor
the building.”
A suspended timber floor with a chipboard
topping was put down, onto which the stud walls
were built. Good Life Joinery was responsible for
the entire build, which was completed using
timber grown on the Devon/Cornwall border.
“They prefabricated the panels offsite, so it only
took about two weeks to put together, including
roofing and making it watertight,” says Bob, who
helped by labouring and physically manhandling
materials up the narrow track from the farmyard
where they were stored. “Stuart was such a good
find, he takes pride in his work and is a real
craftsman. His biggest problem was probably
putting up with me!”
Thermafleece insulation was chosen for the
roof, walls and floors. It is made from a
combination of natural sheep’s wool and recycledfibres, with all wool sourced only from British
farms – a key requirement for Bob and Pat.
“I detest all these plastic, chemical-based
products, and so many modern insulations irritate
the skin when you handle them,” Bob explains. “I
think a farmer’s wife first had the idea of using
waste wool as insulation, and as farmers ourselves
it seemed the perfect product to use.”
Galvanised guttering and Big Six profile
corrugated fibre cement panels were chosen for
the roof, in keeping with the rustic, agricultural
feel of external vertical larch cladding, which has
been left untreated to weather naturally.
Low maintenance aluminium-clad windows
were installed and sliding aluminium glass doors
have been fitted across the front of the cabin,
opening the main living space to views through
the trees. Instead of curtains, sliding external
wooden shutters were made by Stuart toOPEN PLAN
Glass doors in the open plan
kitchen/dining/living space
lead onto Douglas fir decking
and steps down to the gardenBOB’S ADVICE
“They prefabricated
the panels offsite, so
it only took about
two weeks to put
together, including
roong and making
it watertight”
“Think hard about ways to
reduce waste, use reclaimed
materials or upcycle existing
furniture. I like natural
materials because plastic is
doing so much damage in
the world.”
july/august 2019 http://www.sbhonline.co.uk 83