Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

The wide roomed and spacious Finnforest Mirva Log Cabin comes provided with tough shingle roof, and is available with the option of under floor heating from selected retailers - see individual sites for further details!

The Finnforest Mirva has a set of two outward-opening windows, twin apertures and extra 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 sturdy. The roof overhangs at the front, which makes is great for use as a veranda, and is covered in shingles giving both attractiveness and durability.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Building Dimension
Mirva 380cm 296cm 0cm 257cm
Mirva with underfloor heating 380cm 296cm 0cm 257cm

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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Build the Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

Gorgeous, lounging summer afternoons may be coming, but don’t rush to construct your Finnlife Log Cabin. Take the time to work out how it is put together, and you will savour many years of trouble-free pleasure. No construction skills are needed. Everyone can build a Finnlife Mirva log cabin, although some jobs may need more than one pair of hands. Construction times will vary depending on your skills and the number of people helping. Of course you don’t have to do it yourself!

You may present this document to a carpenter then take it easy until he delivers the keys to your finished Finn Life Log Cabin. However, whoever does the job, the initial stage is to familiarise yourself with these instructions. The knack is to be methodical and to foresee the work ahead. Though Finnlife log cabins share many features in common, each model style is unique. This set of overall instructions cover the basics of wooden cabin construction and apply to all Finnlife cabins.

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

Concrete option: Remove all organic matter prior to starting work on the foundations. Concrete foundations must always be the exact base size stated in the Parts List and Plans instructions to minimize the amount of water that the base will carry. It is suggested that the concrete base be six inches thick.

Foundations and preparation: You are able to assemble your Finn Life Log Cabin on foundations of concrete or on compressed gravel. Whichever option you make, a solid and level base is crucial. Time spent on the foundations is well invested. An uneven or unstable base may well affect the final outcome of the Finn Life Log Cabin. Doors and windows will not fit exactly, walls may bow and joints may not fit together.

Before you begin to build you should make sure that you have a full set of components. Check off each component against the component 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 component or that a component has been broken in transit get in touch with the distributor, quoting the Finn Life Log Cabin reference number shown on the packing label of the transit packaging. As you check each component place them out on the ground around the site of the log cabin. Place each component close to where it will be utilized. Laying out aids you see how the Finn Life Log Cabin goes together and it means that components are ready to hand when you need them. You can utilize the Building Plans and Parts List as a guide to what goes where. Be careful not to place components too close to the Finn Life Log Cabin footprint. Give yourself sufficient 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 place them to match the finished frame. The top and bottom jambs are not quite matching. Place the one with the Lock RECESS AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM. Make sure that the door cills go behind the doors. Put the joints together loosely and make sure THAT YOU CAN STILL OPEN THE DOORS before moving on.

Your finished Finn Life Log Cabin rests on a series of parallel beams known as floor beams. They offer a solid base and raise the cabin off the ground for ventilation. Do not block the circulation of air underneath the cabin by blocking the open end. To prevent damp rising into your cabin each floor beam should be covered by two strips of damp-proof membrane, one above and one below. The polythene transit packaging provides a perfectly acceptable damp-proof course when made into thin strips. Else you can buy a sheet of commercial damp-proof membrane and cut that into strips. Floor beams are easy to notice. They are impregnated with a long-lasting preservative that makes them darker. The layout of floor beams depends on your Finn Life Log Cabin model; please refer to your individual Building Plans and Parts List.

When laying the roof boards, you will need to temporarily stick an eaves face board to the ridge beam as a guide batten, and use it to ensure that all roof boards end in a flush ridge line. Mark the mid-point 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 top end of the roof board may 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 face board temporarily with nails to the ridge beam so that one edge is flush with the marked mid-point line. Do not hammer in all the way. You will have to take it out later on. When constructing the Finn Life Log Cabin during the hotter months, we advise that you leave small gaps between the roof boards to accommodate expansion of the boards during the winter months. Where constructing during the winter months we would advise knocking the boards together, to minimize 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 final roof board may project 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. Take away the temporary guide batten from the ridge beam, then repeat steps for the other side of the roof.

Ensure that the eaves line fashioned by the roof boards is reasonably straight. If needed use a saw to remove it flush. Attach the eaves face 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 divide 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 thirds. 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 top and the green surfaces at the top. Put the first shingle so that one side aligns with the right-hand edge of the roof and the black bitumen overhangs the eaves face board. Adjust until the edge of the black bitumen extends about 10mm out from the edge of the eaves face board.The 10mm overhang is known as the 'water drop edge'. Fasten the shingle with four clout nails driven through the bitumen patches on the shingle into the roof boards. End 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 top 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 final shingle to fit. Keep cut pieces for later use. Set the initial shingle in row three so that the mid-point 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 parallel with the row below to make an even pattern. Start every 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 total length. That means that the middle 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 retain 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 final shingles in the row. When you reach the final row, the upper edge of the shingles will extend beyond the roof ridge. Bend the excess over the ridge and nail it down. Cut several roof shingles into thirds to make ridge shingles. Cut them by extending the slits between the surfaces right through the bitumen layer. You can do the same with other 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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Finnlife Models

Finn-Life Mirva Cabin

Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

Build the Finnlife Mirva Log Cabin

Finnlife Models