FAQ

In planning terms, our Lodges are defined as ‘outbuildings’ which are generally considered as ‘permitted development’, meaning that you are unlikely to need planning permission to have a Lodge.

There are some general conditions which need to apply to satisfy this permitted development. Outbuildings must not be forward of the main elevation of the original house; they must not exceed 50% of the total area of land around the original house or be used for self-contained living accommodation. Also, they must be single storey, with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of 4 metres with a dual pitched roof.

Variations do apply in particular areas such as National Parks, conservation areas, Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, World Heritage Sites or within the grounds of a listed building.

In terms of Building Regulations, the Lodges are built to the highest standards which would normally exceed standards required for building regulations. However, Building Regulations approval is not normally be required if the floor area of an ‘outbuiding’ is less than 15 square metres and contains no sleeping accommodation. If the floor area is between 15 square metres and 30 square metres, you will not normally be required to apply for Building Regulations approval providing that the outbuilding contains no sleeping accommodation and is at least one metre from any boundary.

If you are in any doubt it is advisable to check with your local planning authority to see if permitted development rights apply. We can provide a service to help with this process if you need us to.

For more details, the government’s online Planning Portal includes a range of guidance on planning permission and building regulations in England and Wales.

The terms hardwood and soft wood are actually biological terms rather than necessarily describing the ‘hardness’ of the wood. So, it is not always the case that hardwoods are more solid than soft wood. The difference between hardwood and softwood is essentially about how trees reproduce. Hardwood trees produce trees that have seeds with some sort of covering. This might be a soft fruit covering, such as in the case of an apple, or a hard shell covering such as that found on an acorn. Softwoods on the other hand allow seeds to drop to the floor without any such protective covering. In the most part hardwood trees are deciduous and so lose their leaves during the winter, whereas softwoods are mostly termed ‘evergreen’ and tend to keep their leaves all year round.

Balsa wood for example is an extremely ’soft’ wood as is Cedar however both are classed as hardwoods. The high quality softwood we use is in fact a ‘hard’ wood and it is this quality which stands out in our work. One cannot mistake quality construction and materials when experienced first hand.

Yes. The lodges are used all year round for offices, gyms, meditation spaces, workrooms, studios, holiday lets and small business units. With full installation, they usually require only minimal heating during the winter.

Because we manage full installation, the time can vary from laying the foundations to completing the lodge depending on a number of factors – including the weather. However, ideally, we aim to complete the work from installation to completion within a month. The timescale from ordering to commencement of installation is usually around 4 weeks.

The walls are 100mm thick which includes the cladding, framing, interior lining and insulation.

The lodge is designed to last for at least 30 years, by virtue of having tantalised external framing and tongue and grooved cladding. To maintain the look of the lodge, it will need treating every 4-5 years depending on how open to the elements it is. The doors and windows will need treatment every 2 or 3 years. The felt tiles have a life expectancy of 15 years +.

The lodges have a tongue and grove clad vaulted ceiling which provides a beautifully light airy ambience to the Lodge. The internal walls are made from hardwood plywood, which is then lined and painted. The floorboards and skirting boards are treated with an antique pine wax finish.
The standard floor has a plywood finish which is left ready for the customer to fit carpet or laminate flooring. We can offer laminate flooring, please contact us for details. The ceiling has birch faced plywood and a vaulted ceiling (on the pitched roof versions)

Doors and windows are available in antique pine as standard or can be painted in a variety of colours, as an optional extra. We use Farrow and Ball paints and the most popular colours are cream, natural stone or French grey. The cladding is tanalised and is the standard colour. It will fade to a golden oak colour shortly after fitting, but we can also stain or paint the cladding if you require. Again, a wide range of colour options is available.

We do not provide electrical installation as standard as people have many different uses for the lodges which mean that everyone has slightly different requirements. However, we can provide a full additional service to link up the lodge to your main electrical supply and install and connect up to any sockets, light switches and other units that you require.

The lodges sit on pier foundations mainly beneath ground level and so there is no concrete slab base involved.  

All we need is a clear space. Because the lodges sit on piers, the location of the site does not need to be level – we are happy to discuss any particular issues or questions you have about your site with you. 

Yes. The framework of the lodge is very robust and is strong enough to hang shelves and other items on. The walls are made of hardwood boards and we can indicate where the vertical  uprights are hidden, to ensure a strong and safe fixing.

We are based in the heart of mid Devon and can arrange for you to see a lodge local to us. Please contact us if you wish to arrange a visit.

You can plug in a heater (such as a Dimplex)  which will heat the lodge in seconds, and with the insulation is very cost effective to run. We can also arrange for a log burner to be installed as an optional extra.

Your lodge will be finished with waxed solid pine floorboards which provide a beautiful finish on their own or for use with rugs, large cushions, etc.

Yes. We can fit doors and windows in the areas that you require and also fit partitions to suit your needs where required. Sockets and lights can also be in the sections that you need them in. If you need a lodge that is larger or requires any kind of variation, please contact us.

Firstly you will need to measure your garden to see the size that suits you, then choose the size of lodge that you like. You can then  contact us  so we can discuss the design, price and scheduling of your building so we can provide an accurate quotation.

If you want to make an order, we will require 1/3rd deposit in the first instance.

Pressure treatment is a lifetime preservative treatment provided for all lodges, providing long term protection against wood decay and insect attack. The preservative (the environmentally sensitive product Tanalith E) is forced into the timber under pressure and penetrates below the surface, whereas all other treatments apply a coat of stain to the surface of the timber only. The tanalising process is carried out in a pressurised tank, where is pushed into the timber to kill any parasites and fungus present whilst also protecting against rot and decay for in excess of 20 years. Pressure treatment is almost colourless except for a slight copper tint caused by the copper content in the preservative. If you have a look at timber decking the chances are that it will have been tanalised, which will give you an idea of the colour. Tanalised timber is not waterproof, so it is still subject to the natural expansion and contraction as the moisture content in the surrounding atmosphere changes. We finish all lodges with a high quality water repellent (clear) treatment not only to maintain the appearance of the building but also to help to exclude moisture being absorbed by the timber surfaces.

No further treatment is ever needed. If you want a coloured finish you can paint over pressure treated timber with almost anything, including all normal wood preservatives in any colour. It can also be stained and oiled it for example.

Our doors and windows are not made using tanalised timber but instead using a high quality joinery grade timber which has received an application of wood protector. Doors and windows are then given a second application of a wood treatment to provide a high grade finish. This means that the joinery will require no further applications for up to five years.

As the newly erected lodge settles it will adjust to the changes in the atmosphere and this may mean doors require subtle adjustments by planing down to keep them ‘free’, although our doors are made using engineer timber which is less prone to movement.

Yes. The Little Lodge Company is committed to environmentally sound manufacturing practices and we have well established contacts for timber buying from Scandinavian suppliers who have demonstrated that they are dedicated to sustainable forest management by following strict guidelines which meet FSC standards, harvesting selectively and carrying out re-planting schemes which exceed the number of trees felled. We only use such environmentally sound timber, slow grown to provide excellent strength and durability.
All of our timber (we use Douglas Fir, Larch and Spruce) is provided from FSC approved sources, usually timber grown from the FSC forests in Scandinavia. (Baltic countries such as Latvia and Lithuania as well as Russia also exports softwoods, whilst hardwoods are often imported from the Far East. Check to see is the timber used in any timber product you consider buying is made using FSC timber.) The Forest Stewardship Council ensures that the timber is continually re-planted to ensure sustainability. The timber is then kiln dried before being shipped to the UK ready for assembly. All external timbers used in the lodges are pressure treated with an environmentally sound treatment, to ensure that it is resistant to rot & decay for 20+ years.

Good forestry management requires the selective felling of trees which would otherwise gradually lose tensile strength over time and which would inhibit new growth resulting in forests which contain a lower grade quality timber overall. Careful forest management is a necessary practice to maintain balanced and healthy forests and should not to be confused with indiscriminate de-forestation which is seen in areas of the world particularly in regions where tropical rain forests predominate and which devastate wild life habitat and contribute to global warming

The faster timber grows the wider the intervals between the growth rings are, resulting in a weaker building material. Cheap timber buildings will probably have been made with cheaper timber. Timber is graded due to the amount of knots, size of knots, closeness of growth rings, and tensile strength. The cheaper the timber – the more likely it is to warp and twist out of shape. We are a small family business and we keep costs down by working on a small scale, and not pursing profit above quality and not by cutting costs on materials. We use the finest quality engineered timber and still we manage to offer what we believe to be exceptional value for money. We don’t think our lodges can be bettered for quality of materials and price. They are a quality building offered at a very good price.

Yes guttering can be supplied and fitted as an optional extra. Water butts can also be supplied and fitted or we can link in to an existing water butt if you have one.

The doors are fitted with a brass night latch lock and the casement windows are also fitted with locks to the inside, as per household windows.

Yes, all the casement windows open, and feature trickle vents to allow the building to ventilate when it is shut up. All doors and windows feature draught proof seals to keep up with modern day standards. The glass is toughened for safety.

In theory, yes! The lodges stand on the ground and therefore can be lifted and transported. However, the lodges do make a very attractive additional incentive to a house sale and are an impressive additional feature.  If you decide to sell your property with a lodge included,  it is likely that any additional sale price obtained would cover the cost of a new installation at your next home.

No. Wherever practical we will build to the size and specification required by each individual customer. Just because what you require is ‘non-standard’ does not automatically mean that it will be more expensive as all our lodges are costed out in exactly the same way. Please contact us to talk about your ideas and requirements.