Tiger Serena Log Cabin (44 mm) – Show Site Review

Some cabins look like cabins. The Tiger Serena (44 mm) looks like a garden room — and that distinction becomes obvious the moment you see it in person. When we inspected the Serena at the Otley show site, it was immediately clear that this model sits in its own category. It’s still unmistakably a Tiger log cabin, built from the same 44 mm interlocking tongue-and-groove logs used across the flagship range, but everything layered on top moves the Serena closer to a genuine domestic-grade space.

This is the cabin Tiger themselves use as their on-site working office, and that fact alone gives you an early clue: the Serena isn’t simply a summerhouse with a pretty face. It’s a practical, structural, user-tested building engineered for daily year-round life.

It occupies a fascinating middle ground within the Tiger portfolio — more robust and refined than a typical log cabin, but not as expensive or complex as the 70 mm Black Tiger insulated series. If you want the feel of a proper garden office, without jumping into the £10k–£20k price bracket common to full modular garden rooms, the Serena is one of the most compelling offers on the market.

First Impressions: A Step Above the Usual Log Cabin

Approaching the Serena, the first thing you notice is the uPVC double-glazed doors and windows. This is not a cosmetic addition. These are genuine house-grade components — multi-point locking, 4 mm toughened double glazing, and fully insulated frames — the same typology you’d expect in a newly built home. According to the technical data sheet, the Serena’s door set measures 1520 × 1880 mm and the windows 645 × 1378 mm, all in uPVC with outward-opening casements .

Visually and functionally, they transform the presence of the building. You can immediately tell that this cabin is designed for colder months, for all-day sitting, for real occupancy. Where joiner-made timber doors have a certain charm, uPVC brings thermal efficiency, security, and everyday practicality. It is one of the clearest differentiators between the Serena and the rest of the 44 mm line.

The EPDM rubber roof is the second major upgrade. EPDM is to shed felt what a premium leather jacket is to a supermarket raincoat — thicker, tougher, far longer-lasting (25–50 years is completely normal), and far more resistant to UV, tearing, or wind lift. Tiger includes EPDM as standard on the Serena , which immediately raises its status above the typical log cabin category.

Stepping back to view the full footprint, the Serena we inspected was the 14 × 10 ft model, which has a gross base size of 3960 × 2760 mm and an exterior roofed footprint of 4350 × 3150 mm according to the floorplans . The proportions are beautifully balanced. Not too wide, not too deep, and visually modern thanks to the clean pent roof profile.

Tiger had finished this particular unit in Protek Anthracite Grey, the same finish they use on their show-site office (which is also a Serena). The pairing of the dark cladding with the darker uPVC frames lifts the whole building into the architectural realm — something you can place in a landscaped garden without it ever looking rustic or out of place.

Interior: A Cabin That Feels Like a Room

Inside the Serena, you feel the difference immediately. Most log cabins, even extremely good ones, have a faint “garden building” atmosphere: a bit of draft around the joiner-made doors, a specific timbre to the acoustics, a slight softness in temperature stability.

The Serena is different. The uPVC doors close with a proper seal — a confident, airtight engagement that instantly alters the soundscape. The interior quietens. The air holds a little warmer. The ambience shifts from “cabin” to “room”.

This sense is strengthened by the full-height door glazing and the trio of tall uPVC windows. The Serena’s glazing area is substantial: two high casement windows on the front, a third on the side, and the full double doors. The effect is a wraparound light flow that borders on studio-like on bright days.

Tiger’s floorplan specifications indicate that the Serena maintains a 2470 mm external ridge height and 2192 mm eaves height across all sizes — from 12×8 up to 20×14 . That means even the smaller models never feel cramped. Inside the 14×10 we inspected, the headroom felt comfortable, clean, modern, and uncluttered.

Worth noting: even though the windows and doors are uPVC, Tiger still uses internal architrave finishes, which soften the join between log wall and modern frame. It prevents that stark “uPVC dropped into timber” look and keeps the interior warm, inviting, and domestic.

Light Levels & Atmosphere

On inspection day, the sky was thick with cloud and the sun was sinking — conditions nowhere near ideal for light readings. Even so, the Serena posted strong numbers.

Our readings:

• Exterior: ~1600 lux
• Interior: ~450 lux
• Light retention: 28%

That’s noticeably lower than full-pane glass pods like the TigerFlex Moda (which hit 37%) — but this is actually a positive for office users. Double glazing naturally reduces glare and UV entry, and the Serena uses uPVC frames that further stabilise the light diffusion.

Inside, you get soft, consistent illumination, the kind that feels calm and easy on the eyes. For laptop work, meetings, phone calls, and reading, this is ideal. You don’t feel washed out in bright light, nor do you sit in gloom — it strikes a balance that’s genuinely comfortable for long-term use.

Structural Tests: Some of the Strongest Numbers We’ve Recorded

We performed our standard WhatShed structural tests inside the Serena, and the results were exceptional — among the best we’ve ever recorded for a 44 mm cabin.

1. Floor Deflection (75 kg)

1.5 mm deflection

This is outstanding. Most 44 mm cabins sit between 1.8 and 2.4 mm. The Serena’s 19 mm tongue-and-groove floorboards and 58 × 44 mm bearers create a rigidity approaching indoor-room levels. There’s no bounce, no give, and no audible movement.

2. Wall Flex (75 kg lateral pressure)

1.8 mm movement

This is the closest we’ve felt to a fully rigid wall in a non-insulated log structure. The uPVC frames contribute significantly here: they stiffen the front elevation, reducing torsional play across the wall span.

3. Moisture Content

12%

This is unusually low for a show-site model. The tight seals provided by the uPVC frames and EPDM roof reduce air exchange and moisture ingress, keeping the logs closer to their ideal equilibrium level.

4. Sound Reduction

Measured drops fluctuated between:

• 16 dB (constant ambient)
• 20 dB (peak noises)

To put that into perspective, most 44 mm cabins achieve 10–12 dB of reduction. The Serena’s combination of double-glazed uPVC, tight air seals, and dense framing puts it in a different category entirely.

5. Temperature Stability

Although we did not perform a full thermal delta test, the interior held heat perceptibly longer than a standard 44 mm cabin. Standing inside with the door closed, we could feel the uPVC frames buffering cold drafts that would normally creep through joiner-made timber doors.

Inside the Tiger Office Serena: Real-World Use

Because Tiger uses the Serena as their on-site office, we were able to observe:

• cable routing
• socket placement
• lighting
• conduit management
• furniture layout

It was genuinely instructive. Seeing a Serena fitted for daily work — laptops, heating, power strips, storage, and foot-traffic — demonstrates that this model is not conceptual. It is practical.

Many garden-room-style cabins look polished in a brochure but struggle when actually used as a workspace. The Serena passed the “real office” test effortlessly. The double glazing eliminated drafts. The EPDM roof kept the acoustics soft. The logs and uPVC frames together made the room feel steady, quiet, and composed.

This is the cabin that convinced us:
The Serena is not a summerhouse. It is a garden office that happens to be built in log-cabin form.

Build Quality & Materials

All Serena models use:

• 44 mm interlocking logs (double T&G)

• uPVC double doors (multi-point locking)
• uPVC outward-opening casement windows
• EPDM roofing
• 19 mm T&G roof boards
• 19 mm T&G floorboards
• 58 × 44 mm tanalised bearers
• 4 mm double-glazed toughened glass
• slow-grown European softwood
• 20-year Tiger guarantee

All explicitly stated in the technical data sheet .

The machining of the logs was flawless on the Otley model — tight interlocks, crisp edges, and no gaps even around the uPVC inserts. The EPDM roof was neatly trimmed and perfectly seated, with no bubbles or tension spots.

Sizes & Scaling: How the Serena Performs Across the Range

The Serena is offered in six main footprints:

Key insight: the Serena’s rigidity holds up remarkably well even at larger sizes.

Most log cabins begin to show wall flex or roof resonance once they pass the 16 ft width threshold. The Serena’s uPVC reinforcement and EPDM roof system mitigate this. The logs lock extremely tightly across the wider spans, and the uPVC frames add structural stability.

Our view:

• 12 × 8: Perfect small office or snug.
• 14 × 10: The sweet spot — balanced proportions, spacious interior.
• 16 × 14: Ideal for a premium office or craft studio.
• 18 × 10: Long, elegant footprint, excellent for desks along one wall.
• 20 × 14: A serious large workspace — approaching “garden annex” territory.

If you need space for two desks or a more ambitious workspace, the Serena scales beautifully.

Daily Use & Practical Functionality

Inside the Serena, there’s a noticeable sense of calm — not silence, but a softened, focused quiet ideal for:

• remote work
• video calls
• music practice
• creative sessions
• reading
• studio hobbies

The acoustics are dampened thanks to the double glazing. The temperature feels steady thanks to tighter seals. And the light is diffused and non-intrusive, making long sessions comfortable.

One underrated feature is the lack of glare. Many glass-heavy cabins look spectacular but are brutal to work in at certain times of year. The Serena’s combination of log walls and double-glazed windows strikes an excellent balance.

Security: A Major Strength

Security is rarely the primary consideration when buying a cabin — until it is. The Serena’s uPVC multi-point locking system is a genuine upgrade. The doors and windows lock with the same satisfying clunk as a domestic entrance set.

For anyone storing:

• computers
• monitors
• photography gear
• business equipment
• musical instruments

…this is a huge advantage.

Most log cabins, even high-quality ones, have single-point locks or lightweight frames. The Serena is several steps above that.

Maintenance & Longevity

Because the logs are untreated softwood , a good preservative is essential immediately after installation. But the EPDM roof and uPVC doors reduce the typical weathering issues dramatically.

Traditional cabins need regular felt inspections. The Serena?
Inspect the EPDM once a year and relax.

It’s one of the lowest-maintenance roofs in the entire garden building market.

Overall Verdict: One of Tiger’s Most Impressive Cabins

After a full inspection, structural testing, and a rare look at the Serena being used as a real working office, our conclusion is simple:

The Serena is one of the best-value garden rooms in the UK.

It bridges the gap between log cabins and premium insulated studios beautifully.

You get:

• House-grade glazing
• Multi-point locking
• EPDM roofing
• Exceptional rigidity
• 44 mm wall performance
• Contemporary aesthetics
• A genuinely practical workspace

…for a price far below most modular garden-room systems.

For many buyers — especially those wanting a warm, secure, year-round garden office without spending £10,000–£20,000 — the Serena is the perfect choice.

Rating: ★★★★★ (4.8 / 5)

A confident, modern, secure, beautifully engineered garden building that sets a new standard for what a 44 mm cabin can be.