Garden Rooms

Same here. Windows all round but a bedroom on top so definitely not a conservatory.

I just checked the original listing of my sons house and the garden room is 4meters by 4 meters so bigger than I thought it was
but I think anything smaller would be a squash if trying to use it for multiple use

DSD and her DH built one - it has been used for allsorts. Sleepover nights for mates/kids, Mens/Beer football nights and now used as a salon for her DD's side line of eyebrows and eyelashes along with beauty couch.
As an aside I actually think it's more comfortable as a social and living area than their proper living space in the house!!

What we call the garden room is an actual extension on the back of the house which we built to replace the manky old conservatory that was there previously. We’ve also converted the separate garage to an office/library for me.

We love ours - it's 4m x 3m so a bit bigger - and has electrics so we have a TV and mini fridge in there, a fan and a heater (for when it's late Autumn/ early Spring as don't use in winter).
It's been v useful as a 2nd lounge if I have friends over and DH is in lounge and also DD when home from Uni uses it for parties and sleepovers with friends.
We added an extra window on one Side and a mini shed to house the mower et al on the other.

Will you be getting a concrete base? That's what pushed the price up for us. We got guttering added and a water butt round the back which has been a godsend as our veg patch is by the Cabin garden room.

We had one built in 2015 on a bit of a whim. We had an huge old garage and workshop in our garden that was falling down and pretty much useless. A friend had had a garden room built for the same reason and once we saw it we had to have one so used the same builders.

The cost of demolishing it and building a two room garden cabin was £15k and it's the best money we ever spent I'm sure it would cost double that if not more now as it's huge.

Originally it was just be used as a relaxing space, party room and occasional guest room it became a god send as an office during Covid and is now popular with our teens and their friends for sleepovers. DH still works out there two or three days a week.

That sounds too cheap to me.
I would also suspect that the 'electrics' won't include putting a suppy cable underground and connecting to your consumer unit.

Look at www.thegardenroomguide.co.uk

'A popular sized small garden room of 3m x 3m has an average price of £21,368 while a larger 5m x 3m example averages £26,928 including VAT and installation.'

We have a small summer house, which we use daily in the Spring and Autumn. We deliberately positioned it so that we get the evening sun in there, which means we can effectively sit in the garden for much longer, ie it would be too chilly to just sit out in the patio.

It has no electricity, which I love, as it's lit by candles so gives a bit more of a camping vibe and is somehow more relaxing than sitting indoors!

Ours was about £500 during lockdown, but DH insulated it himself which then cost about another £200, including flooring.

Definitely wouldn't be without it.

I don't think you can ever have enough space.

They can have so many uses.

I love ours, it's so weirdly peaceful as soon as you step into it.

I've been out there half the day. It's set up for WFH plus I use it for sewing. Our downstairs is open plan and small so it's the only place to get some peace. I've slept out there with the doors open in hot weather. It helps to have a purpose for it.

OP, at that price I'd be wary of what corners are being cut. What sort of insulation and thickness? Is it a proper rubber roof or cheapo felt. What size timbers and what cladding.

I built one myself to use for work and absolutely love it.

Well presumably your husband wants one for a reason. Yes it would be unreasonable to buy one just to have one. We and most of our neighbours have some form of ‘garden room’ - mainly offices.

Use ours as a gym and games room

How could I forget! A neighbour had one but apparently the roof hadn't been tethered down correctly when built. In a storm, the entire roof peeled off and crushed the fence between them and the next neighbour. If you buy a kit type one, make sure you get an experienced carpenter/builder etc to actually put it all together and secure it properly. Also check whether its covered in your home insurance.

Agree 3 x 3 is small if you go ahead I’d get it bigger

That's a lot less than we were quoted. Similar size was £12k!

3m x 3m is actually very small once you put in a chair, bar, exercise equipment or anything really! I wrongly assumed you meant a much larger, useable space.

Are you adding any plumbing and electrics? A relative has one but it has a seperate full bathroom and an open plan kitchen/lounge. Technically its a summer house, but I know friends have stayed overnight in it when the main house is full.

We are renovating and have built a shed/summer house the size of a double garage. We've added plumbing and plan a toilet and sink. I garden and want to use it to dry onions, store pumpkins. Some people use theirs for hobbies/craft.

My son has one in his garden

it was originally a large double garage and the owners completely remodeled it with electric and gas central heating & a tiny kitchen with a sink / tap and the roof has 3 skylights plus a huge window and 2 smaller ones and double doors so it’s lovely and bright and spacious

it was a big buying point for my son and his partner as it gives them extra space

at the moment they aren’t using it for anything but they have a kingsize bed and screaming small sofa and some garden stuff
but it’s really nice and think eventual plans are to use it as a proper extra Didn’t have to do that, although that is to go and shoot the kill room / office

We have one, slightly larger than you've mentioned OP but a similar price, built a few years ago so probably a couple of £k more if we did it now. It is possible to get something decent at that price point.

We absolutely love it and it's used every day. We both work from home frequently so have a side each (it's got 2 rooms). I keep my exercise bike on my side and we have a sofa bed on DHs side so it can be used as a garden room/extra bed if we have too many visitors to fit in the house.

We also use it when we throw parties, for extra under cover space.

We bought one to make use of an overgrown dis-used area of the garden. We absolutely love it! I am probably up there most evenings from Spring to Autumn. It doesn't have a TV, but has a comfy corner settee, a line of kitchen cabinets including a sink, and the all important wine fridge. It's just the perfect bolt hole for me. I occasionally let my OH in, but he's happy watching TV in the house most evenings.
We didn't need one as we have plenty of space in the house and wondered if it would be a folly, but it's Probably one of the best decisions we ever made!

That is a very good price. Our conservatory is that size and it was 12k!!! Only one wall the rest is glass!

I feel the same way about conservatories OP, they look nice on the back of the home, and it's nice to sit and look out at the garden, but equally, I can do that through the bi-fold doors, so I really don't see the point, of either a conservatory or a garden room, unless you need extra space, which from what you've said, you don't.

We have one. I use it every day and we actually love it. I think DH saw a man cave initially, but it’s actually me that gets the most use out of it! It was there when we bought the house and was only a couple years old. Previous owners used it as a playroom/gaming room, but we didn’t have kids then and so we used it as a movie room and also a home office - covid began less than a year after we moved in and I started wfh and never stopped, so still am using it as an office. I like it as it separates work and home life. I joke about my commute across the garden! It has power to it, is insulated, double glazing etc. gets a bit hot in summer/cold in winter but nothing fans/plug in radiators don’t fix. We use it all year round. It’s a decent size so we’ve put a corner sofa bed in there so it’s somewhere extra for people to stay if needed or just somewhere comfier for movie night! It’s turned into a bit of a home gym too. I have my treadmill and spin bike in there and a weights trolley. It’s good for weather like this heatwave, where DH and I want to chill and enjoy the sun in the garden but it gets a bit much for our toddler (2) - we open the double doors of the summer house so we can see in and watch him, stick the fans on, set DS toys up and put the telly on for him and he can chill in there out the sun but he’s supervised - and we can stay outside. Now we’re looking to move to near my parents, DH and I have both said if the next house we buy has space it’s a non-negotiable, we’re putting a summer house in if there isn’t one already.

That’s an amazing quote! I got a quote for a 3x3 for an office and it was at least £15k