CABINS, STUDIOS & GRANNY FLATS

Our cedar range comes with all the basics needs to create the lockup shell as shown in the images - doors, windows, hinges etc and all the hardware required to assemble it is included. You can however add several extra options and upgrades, ranging from a floor kit to assembly tools, details provided below on all of these.

Floor Kit: Highly recommended.  The HD Floor Kit provides a very strong, long lasting base and also makes the install process very easy as the walls simply locate along the flat edges of the floor. Has several H4 treated stumps at 75cm long to allow for a slope. Uses water resistant yellow tongue sheeting system as the top surface, you can use as is or add a floating floor on top.

Annex + Deck: Highly recommended (Studios only) The Annex and deck option adds a lot of functionality to your studio. Gives shelter in the rain and a handy place to put a doormat to prevent dust and dirt entering your studio. A place to sit in the sun, place some planted pots and add one of our decorative rainwater tanks.

Extra Opening Windows: The standard opening windows are framed in cedar and use a lightly tinted acrylic, better than glass in many ways and indistinguishable from glass when viewing from inside or out. Comes with internal latches, its a good idea to add some sort of cabin hook so when open they do not move in the wind, we do sell those if needed.

Extra Fixed Windows: A tall, fixed studio window allowing for full outdoor views and letting in plenty of light. Framed in cedar and using high quality acrylic for the pane, better than glass in many ways including strength, meaning these will not be broken in transit or during use. Let us know in the order comments where you want your extra windows, they typically just replace a standard wall panel, these windows come fully assembled, inside a wall panel.

Extra Doors: You can upgrade to double doors or add extra doors elsewhere in the shed/studio. Please note in your order comments where the extra door should go.

Skylight: Adds a translucent roof sheet to the roof, replacing a standard colorbond sheet, using the same profile. Great for artist studios or anyone requiring plenty of natural light. Can make the space hotter in summer, an AC solution can easily overcome that though.

Roof Colour: Choose a roof colour from our range, a swatch of colours is shown in the image thumbnails. If you need a colour that is not shown we can order in any colorbond colour that you need also.

Roof Insulation: Recommended Reflective foam cell foil adds an effective heat barrier to your roof, makes a huge difference in radiated temps from the steel roof. Installation takes mere minutes as its simply placed under the roof sheets during assembly.

Assembly Tool Bits: Recommended You will need to drill several 13mm holes in all the floor stumps, our auger bit drills a hole in a 90mm square treated post in about 2-3 seconds, a comparable, standard 13mm twist bit takes 5-10 times as long. Set also includes exact sized driver bits for all the supplied fasteners, an under or over sized driver bit risks rounding off the screw. (We recommend you use a cordless "Driver" instead of a cordless drill for our cedar range, a drill will still do the job but a driver has much more driving force and less "kickback" to your wrist as it uses a hammer action. Talk to us for advice on an affordable driver option if you don't own one.)

Door Handle Upgrade: Highly recommended (Studios only) Our house style, entrance lever is a great addition to your cedar studio. Spring loaded door lever with internal lock snib and 2 provided keys. Looks better than the shed style of standard handle and is of very high quality. Assembly is straight forward, same as any door handle, just requires 2 hole saw holes and it simply screws in. For a tidier appearance the side of the door can be chiseled out to recess the face of the lock. Comes with full instructions on how to do the easy install process.
Also available with this option is an install kit, 2 hole-saws and a forstener drill bit, all the exact sizes you need to make the install of this door handle very easy.

Ornate Hardware: (Sheds only) Upgrade to our cast iron, forged look, hinges and doorbolt. Double powder coated in black with a lifetime guarantee, these really look great against the cedar and add come with all screws etc needed. Includes a combination padlock so there is no key to lose and the entire set is very easy to install. Comes with 3 hinges per door for added strength.

Cabin Hooks: Powder coated, cast iron latches to keep your doors and windows from moving in the wind. High quality and robust.

Cedar Window Planters: Grow some herbs, succulents or flowers on the walls of your shed or studio. Stylish and made from the same cedar as the sheds & studios. Easy to install, supplied uncoated so you can coat in your selected stain or paint. Custom sizes and styles available on request.

Gable Finial: Add a touch of style to your shed or studio with a cedar finial. Handcrafted in Australia with optional laser engraved design. Photos don't do these justice, they look great in person. Easy to install, supplied uncoated so you can coat in your selected stain or paint. A tip is not to pain or stain the engraved area so it keeps its high contrast.

The 2.02 m wall height on the studio range is not high enough to require a habitable building permit, thus you only need to get a permit for these as a "shed", typical use for a shed can be: storage room, workshop, office or retreat.

Our studio range is still built to house quality in regards to strength and durability but the lower wall height means you only need to install these as a shed. Check with your council in regards to what paperwork etc they will need, we do have plans available if you need them. Usually all a shed building permit will require is a sketched site plan with dimensions showing boundaries, septic tanks and nearby buildings etc and the filling in of a simple form.

All states except NSW have a 10 square metre limit, under that you can install with no permit required, in NSW you can install a shed up to 20 square metres without requiring a permit.

The above is just intended as a quick summary, please ensure you check with your council if you have any concerns over your own requirements.

Cedar coatings - click to enlarge

Cedar can be left bare, to naturally weather to a grey colour or coated in a range of oils or stains. Using a coating will give the UV protection needed to prevent fading or greying of the timber. We have applied 6 commonly used products to a test panel, shown on the right. We have a second photo, below, showing how the different treatments weather over time. We did one row with a single coat for all the products, this will give an idea of how things will look after they fade a little and some may even choose to do one coating.

Initial coating is best done with the panels on the ground, prior to assembly. This makes the job much quicker and easier. The best tool is a heavy nap roller with a long handle attachment. All products will require recoating after a time, typically 3-5 years.

After 9 months of weather

We don't endorse any of the products tested but we do have some opinions: The clear coat from Dulux Intergrain, does look very nice initially but we have had feedback that is doesn't protect the underlying colour as time goes on and it can flake. One of our favourite colours is the Ultradeck Light Oak option, again from Dulux Intergrain, some of our shed/studio photos have been done with this stain.

Stains will change the colour of the natural cedar but they do preserve well, the underlying grain/pattern of the timber, the grain is one of the features of cedar, its patterns are much more pronounced than pine or other styles of cladding.

Painting is an option many customers have chosen also, you will lose the natural look of timber but colour choice and long term protection are the benefits with paint. Because of cedar's large pores, it is necessary to prime the wood before painting it also. Any acrylic paint will work, talk to your paint supplier about what they recommend.

Weathered cedar - click to enlarge

A two tone paintjob looks best with the doors/windows a different colour to the walls.

Unprotected cedar will fade to a grey colour fairly quickly, within a year or so. It will still last a long time, but will eventually decay one day. The weathering penetrates to about 2mm fairly quickly but then slows dramatically. Cedar deteriorates slowly due to the natural oils it contains: cedrine, cedrol, and thujopsene. These have many natural benefits from termite and bug repelling to medicinal properties to treat things like fungus.

We recently coated a cedar studio in a dark stain called Black Ash, by Cutek. There are several photos of this on the Pioneer 20x10 studio page. This is a high quality product that is available at many paint suppliers Australia wide. It provides a great contrast on cedar timber due to the rich grain. Image on the right shows the Black Ash on our cedar studio Pioneer.

Some info about the cedar timber used on the range:

Western Red Cedar is highly durable and dimensionally stable, making it ideal for a wooden garden shed or studio. It has an excellent insulation value – the highest of commonly used softwoods. It is classified as ‘very resistant to decay’ and is rated alongside Australian timbers such as Jarrah and Red Gum in terms of durability. Inground stake tests in northern Queensland have indicated that it has a very high resistance to termite attack. Its dimensional stability reflects in the minimal movement and distortion caused by changing moisture content of the air – in fact, it has the best stability rating of any commercially used timber in Australia.

Cedar plantation

Western Red Cedar is an excellent choice for cladding of timber buildings. Classified as a softwood, Western Red Cedar is the lightest timber commonly used commercially. Its low density rating gives it an excellent insulation value. Its colouring ranges from a light straw colour through to warm reddish or dark brown. Importantly, Western Red Cedar exhibits good long term performance in demanding environmental conditions.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja Plicata) grows on the west coast of Canada in British Columbia, and in the coastal area of Washington State in USA, where it reaches heights of 45 - 60 metres. Although it is not botanically related to the Californian Redwood, it does have many similar properties. The Redwood however is much more expensive and would not normally be used for external cladding in Australia.

The harvesting of Western Red Cedar in British Columbia is closely controlled and monitored. Much of the Cedar growing along the coastal region is actually in parks and protected areas, and consequently is not commercially accessible. There are areas designated as "working forests" from which the timber is taken, and this, along with "second growth" timber which is coming on stream contributes to the approximately 6 million cubic metres harvested annually. This amount has been determined to be sustainable in the long term.