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Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

The light and airy Finnforest Mirva Log Cabin has a tough shingle roof, and comes available with the option of under floor heating from selected retailers - see individual sites for further details!

The Finnforest Mirva has a pair of outward-opening windows, double doors and additional panels; all of which are fully glazed. The walls and floor are constructed using 28mm thick logs, the walls have an interlocking layer design at the corners that is both decorative and aids in making the log cabin building more rigid. The roof overhags at the front, which makes is great for use as a veranda, and is covered in shingles giving both attractiveness and durability.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Windows
Mirva 2 side opening windows
Mirva with underfloor heating 2 side opening windows

Door Opening Size (w x h)
Mirva 0cm 0cm
Mirva with underfloor heating 0cm 0cm

Material Pine

Cladding Style Tongue and Groove Interlocking Boards

Glazing Material
Mirva Styrene
Mirva with underfloor heating Styrene

Floor Material Tongue & Groove

Roof Material Tongue & Groove

Cladding Width
Mirva 2.8cm
Mirva with underfloor heating 2.8cm

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How to build your very own Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

Wonderful lazy summer evenings may be calling, but don’t hurry to construct your Finnlife Log Cabin. Spend the time to figure out how it is constructed, and you will enjoy many years of trouble-free pleasure. No specialist abilities are needed. Everyone can build a Finnlife log cabin, although some tasks may require more than one pair of hands. Construction times will alter depending on your experience and the number of people who help you. Of course you don’t have to do it yourself!

It’s possible to show this document to a carpenter then relax until he presents you with the keys to your completed Finnlife Log Cabin. Having said that, whoever completes the work, the initial step is to understand fully these instructions. The trick is to be orderly and to foresee the work ahead. Though Finnlife log cabins share many features in common, each model style is unique. These general instructions cover the basics of log cabin construction and are applicable to all Finnlife cabins.

For features that are unique to your own Finnlife Log Cabin – such as exact dimensions, part numbers, building plans and part lists – you should refer to the individual Building Plans and Parts List. If you are building cabins Finn Life Helppo, Finn Life Helsinki, Finn Life Joki, Finn Life Kemi, Finn Life Kesa, Finn Life Pori, Finn Life Seita and Finn Life Valo be aware that certain instructions mayalter slightly from those found here.

Concrete option: Get rid of organic material prior to starting work on the foundations. Concrete foundations must always be the accurate base size detailed in the Parts List and Plans instructions to minimize the amount of water that the base will hold. It is recommended that the concrete base be six inches thick.

Foundations and preparation: You are able to assemble your Finnlife Log Cabin on foundations of concrete or on compacted gravel. Whichever option you choose, a solid and level base is essential. Time given to the foundations is well spent. An uneven or unstable base will affect the end outcome of the Finnlife Log Cabin. Doors and windows will not fit properly, walls may stoop and joints may not match up.

Before you begin to build you should make sure that you have a complete set of parts. Check off each part against the part list in the Building Plans and Parts List as you remove it from the transit packaging. In the unlikely event that there is a missing part or that a part has been damaged in transit get in touch with the distributor, stating the Finnlife Log Cabin reference number shown on the packing label of the transit packaging. As you check off each part put them out on the ground around the site of the log cabin. Put each part near to where it will be used. Laying out aids you see how the Finnlife Log Cabin is built and it means that parts are ready to hand when you need them. You can utilize the Building Plans and Parts List as a scheme to what goes where. Be careful not to put parts too close to the Finnlife Log Cabin footprint. Give yourself ample room to work in.

Set out the four sides of the door frame on a clean and level area so that the doors open outwards. Loosely arrange them to match the completed frame. The top and bottom jambs are not quite identical. Place the one with the Lock RECESS AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM. Make sure that the door cills go behind the doors. Slot the joints together loosely and make sure THAT YOU CAN STILL OPEN THE DOORS before proceeding.

Wall boards have been machined for a perfect fit. Before you use a wall board, it’s a good idea to running a stiff-bristled brush along the grooves and poking the bristles into the joints to remove any leftover sawdust. Dust-free joints make a better fit. Walls are built by puting wall boards in alternate layers at right angles to each other. Now adjust the position of the underlying, outermost floor beams. Slide them in a touch so that they do not extend externally past the edge of the wall, clear on the interior face of the wallboard. The adjustment creates a lip on which the log cabin floorboards will eventually rest.

When laying the roof boards, you will need to temporarily tack an eaves fascia board to the ridge beam as a guide batten, and use it to ensure that all roof boards terminate in a flush ridge line. Mark the middle line on the front and rear faces of the ridge beam. Start nailing roof boards on one side of the roof, starting from the front. The leading edge of the first roof board should be set 5mm from the ends of the ridge and roof beams. The topmost end of the roof board must be flush with the temporary ridge-beam guide batten. Nail each roof board to the ridge beam (V-Joint facing downwards) and each roof beam, driving 2 nails per board - per joint in at right angles to the roof slope.

Nail an eaves fascia board temporarily with nails to the ridge beam so that one edge is flush with the marked middle line. Do not hammer in all the way. You will have to remove it later on. When constructing the Finnlife Log Cabin during the summer periods, we suggest that you leave small gaps between the roof boards to allow expansion of the boards during the colder periods. Where constructing during the winter period we would advise knocking the boards together, to alleviate any gap appearing during the hot and dry periods.

Work through, board-by-board to the rear gable. Make sure that the eaves line
fashioned by the lower edges of the roof boards is as straight as possible. The ending roof board may stick out beyond the rear gable. Nail it down lightly and mark on the beneath where it meets the ends of the ridge and roof beams. Remove the final roof board and saw it length ways 5mm inside the marked line. Set it back on the roof and nail down. Remove the temporary guide batten from the ridge beam, then repeat steps for the other side of the roof.

Make Sure that the eaves line fashioned by the roof boards is approximately straight. If necessary use a saw to remove it flush. Attach the eaves fascia boards perpendicular to the roof boards, and flush with their upper surface. You need one piece for each side of the cabin. Fix by nailing into the ends of the roof boards with 50mm nails.

Roofing shingles are rectangular. The bottom half of the face side is a decorative green with slits that split it into three surfaces; the upper half is black and coated with bitumen. With the exception of the first row, all shingles are laid with the green surfaces at the bottom. Ridge shingles are fashioned by cutting individual roof shingles into three. Set roof shingles when the temperature is above 5°C. We recommend that you use a bitumen shingle adhesive on the underneath of the tiles. This would be an extra measure to ensure longevity of the shingle life.

Set the initial row of shingles with the green/black face topmost and the green surfaces at the top. Place the first shingle so that one side aligns with the right-hand edge of the roof and the black bitumen overhangs the eaves fascia board. Move until the edge of the black bitumen extends about 10mm out from the edge of the eaves fascia board.The 10mm overhang is known as the 'water drop edge'. Fix the shingle with four clout nails driven through the bitumen patches on the shingle into the roof boards. Finish the row by laying more shingles edge-to-edge until the entire length of the eaves is covered. Trim the excess from the left-hand end of the roof. Keep cut pieces for later use.

Start the second row from the left-hand end. Set this row (and all subsequent rows) with the green/black face topmost and the green surfaces at the bottom. Line up the second row of shingles so that the bottom edge of the green surfaces are just proud of the roof edge. fix with four clout nails driven through the lower green part. Locate these nails just below the line that separates black bitumen from decorative green. Properly located nails will be obscured by subsequent layers of shingles. Trim the ending shingle to fit. Keep cut pieces for later use. Set the initial shingle in row three so that the middle of the left-hand flap aligns with the edge of the roof. Adjust its height until the tips of the decorative surfaces align with the tops of the slits between the surfaces in the row below.

Nail down the shingle. From now on each row has to be aligned with the row below to create an even pattern. Start each row from the left hand end of the roof. In each case the first shingle in the row must be offset to the left by half a flap, that is by 16 of its complete length. That means that the mid-points of the surfaces of the current row will align with the gaps between the surfaces in the row below. Continue laying shingle sheets from left to right, edge-to-edge, to complete a full row.cut off the excess from both ends and keep cut pieces for later use. Continue putting rows of shingles from left to right, giving each row an extra half-flap offset to the left. Where possible, use the cut off pieces you have already saved as the first or ending shingles in the row. When you reach the final row, the upper edge of the shingles will extend beyond the roof ridge. Bend the extra over the ridge and nail it down. Cut several roof shingles into thirds to create ridge shingles. Cut them by extending the slits between the surfaces right through the bitumen layer. You may do the same with any trimmed pieces left over from lower rows. To finish each ridge shingle you should taper the half containing the black bitumen. BeginStart the taper at the point where the original slit ended. Finish it at the furthest edge of the black bitumen. Take the taper in about 10mm at either side of the bitumen.

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