Garden house with plumbing?

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

We are trying to buy a house at the moment, I have fallen in love with one that is just a tiny bit too small. I like it because it's got character, huge garden and on the same bus route for dd2 (who has autism so majorly important).

I was thinking about putting a garden room in for dd1 (19 this year and going to university), to make it work for us.
Has anyone done this, with a shower/loo etc?

Please could I pick your brains?

[wonkylegs]

You need to be careful exactly what facilities you put in as councils may consider it a self contained annex and subject to its own council tax - details here www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/435664/Council_Tax_Bands_and_Annexes.pdf
I am building a large home office which has a sink for coffee making but no toilet so isn't considered a self contained unit.
You may or may not need planning permission depending on size of room, percentage of plot developed, any area constraints - we need it because we are in a conservation area.
You will need building regs approval - some companies that design and build garden rooms can do this for you.
Consider how you will heat the space (mine will be super insulated with a log burner) , connect to electricity (I already have electricity to this area) , security( we will have a seperate burglar alarm for this area), drainage (I connect to an existing drain), how you access this space ( I have a path which will have lighting installed for access in the evening)

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

Thanks Wonkylegs that is much more helpful than my afternoon of googling, I had no idea about the council tax thing, that's a huge consideration.

Your office with wood burner sounds amazing, did you go through a company that designed everything for you or are you getting everything out together seperately?

I think that I would find it really hard to hold back from putting a full on bespoke wood kitchen in

[wonkylegs]

Ours is designed by me (I'm an architect) because we have to consider the conservation area (it will match the existing outbuildings), so is brick & slate and is quite large so it can have some garden storage in as well as the office. We did consider getting an off the peg one but we wouldn't get planning permission for it.

[Hufflepuffin]

This company do gorgeous huts with all the facilities and I think as they're on wheels the planning permission is a bit different? I think they'd be able to answer any questions - they seem very approachable www.riversideshepherdhuts.co.uk

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

huffle they are brilliant and can still have a sink and loo in them. Thanks for the link.

wonky I was considering asking an architect about designing one, thought they might laugh at me, would they?

[wonkylegs]

Nope, it's the kind of little project we love as they are quite fun and not too hard work but you must recognise it's not the cheapest option due to fees (obviously that's not a problem for me but finding the time is, it keeps getting shifted down the priority list, so there is some downsides) and being bespoke is more expensive than modular systems.
An architect friend of mine specialises in modular garden rooms www.3rdspace.co.uk/they might be worth a look.

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

Thanks wonky, that's been really helpful, feeling quite excited that it could be a possibility.