Due diligence before a first order
Most questions a dealer asks a manufacturer before a first order are boundary questions: who makes the building, what exactly is in the kit, what the price covers, whose name is on the paperwork. A good answer is short, the same for every market and repeated in writing. Eurodita, a timber building manufacturer in Lithuania manufacturing timber buildings since 1994, gives its answers below.
The questions work for any supplier. Put them to each one and compare the written replies.
At a glance
Ten questions and the answers Eurodita gives
1. Do you manufacture the building yourself?
One main production site in Lithuania. Wall profiling, kit production, bespoke component production and timber joinery are carried out in-house, machined on Hundegger CNC equipment; drying is done in Nardi kilns to a 12-14% moisture target.
2. What exactly is in the kit?
Machined wall logs, floor bearers and 28 mm floorboards, roof structure and roof boards, timber windows and doors, and the storm brace and anchor set. Insulation material, roof covering, foundations, utilities, paint and interior fit-out are outside the kit unless ordered.
3. Which wall thicknesses do you make?
Solid 19x100, 28x100, 34x100, 44x130, 58x130 and 70x130 mm; glulam 70x130, 88x260, 135x260, 180x260 and 220x260 mm; twin-skin 44-50-44, 44-100-44, 58-50-58 and 58-100-58 mm. A 35 mm wall does not exist.
4. Who makes the windows and doors?
Eurodita makes its own timber windows and doors in IV45, IV68 and triple-glazed IV92, and timber sliding and bifold doors. Aluminium sliding systems are bought in from a specialist supplier.
5. What does the price cover?
The written quotation states it: EUR, excluding VAT and delivery, EXW Eurodita factory by default; DAP per order, DDP case by case. Payment is 50% with the order and 50% before dispatch.
6. Is there a minimum order?
No single fixed minimum. The 19 to 44 mm standard ranges are volume-driven; the 58 and 70 mm ranges, bespoke work and glulam can be single projects, and a single pilot unit is accepted practice.
7. When will it be ready?
No production or transit durations are published. Timing is confirmed for the order in the quotation and at order confirmation; transit is estimated by the forwarder.
8. Whose name is on the documents?
Quotations, drawings, assembly guides, delivery notes and packaging labels can carry the dealer's brand where agreed for the order. Legal, manufacturing and compliance documents keep the manufacturer details they are required to carry.
9. Which certificates do you hold?
No own FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificate, no ISO 9001 certificate and no blanket CE or UKCA claim. Documentation for a specific order is confirmed at quotation.
10. Who installs, unloads and builds the base?
Installation is agreed per project. Unloading is the buyer's responsibility; foundations and utilities are provided locally; turnkey delivery is not part of the standard supply.
Three answers to be wary of
- A promise that the manufacturer's name appears nowhere. Legal, manufacturing and compliance documents carry manufacturer, safety and traceability details; ask which documents those are.
- A thermal figure for a wall thickness sold as a figure for the building. A wall thickness on its own establishes no performance of a finished building. Eurodita publishes preliminary U-values of the timber wall element alone, for the 28 to 220 mm profiles, and says so.
- Exclusivity or a margin offered in a first reply. Eurodita gives no blanket exclusivity, protected territory or guaranteed margin; any such arrangement belongs in a specific written agreement.
Where each answer is fixed
Three documents fix the contents of an order. The order drawings show the building as it will be machined. The specification states the wall profile, the floor and roof build-up, the joinery and glazing, the finish and the options, and is issued with the written quotation. The packing list records what was packed. A component shown in an older catalogue or in another customer's quotation is not a promise for a new order.
Factory visits in Lithuania are welcome by arrangement for dealers with a project under discussion.
Frequently asked questions
What should a dealer ask a log cabin manufacturer first?
Ask who manufactures the building, what exactly is in the kit, which wall profiles are made, what the price covers and on which delivery basis, whether there is a minimum order, and whose name is on the documents. Compare the written replies.
Does Eurodita have a minimum order quantity?
There is no single fixed minimum order. The 19 to 44 mm standard ranges are volume-driven; the 58 and 70 mm ranges, bespoke work and glulam can be single projects, and a single pilot unit is accepted practice.
Which certificates does Eurodita hold?
Eurodita holds no own FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificate and no ISO 9001 certificate, and makes no blanket CE or UKCA claim. Documentation for a specific order is confirmed at quotation.
Can a dealer visit the factory?
Factory visits in Lithuania are welcome by arrangement for dealers, distributors, developers and architects with a project under discussion. There is no showroom and visits are not walk-in.
How to prepare an enquiry
Send your company and commercial role, the destination market, the product family with a catalogue model reference or a drawing, the wall written in full, the expected quantity, the branding requirements and the delivery basis to be priced.
Eurodita replies with a written quotation and specification. The boundaries in full are on what Eurodita does not do, and the kit contents on what is in a Eurodita kit.