Summer house/garden office/kids' chill out space/bar. Help on cost and size please!

[regularbutpanickingabit]

We are looking to do something in the garden to help with a lack of living space in the house but also to make this a place that our teens are happy to hang out in with their friends.

We both work from home at least 50% of the time even when covid isn't closing things down, which has been interesting when the schools have gone online or when our 50% turns in to 100% for me. Ideally the space could also help as an office overflow space.

So we live in a bog standard 1930s terrace and have a long but skinny garden that needs some sorting out anyway. We have a dilapidated garage at the back but it is stuffed full of storage stuff ( we don;t have a loft) and I don't think we can afford to take that down and build a massive building with storage AND social space.

We also have a smallish patio but with some drainage issues that would mean putting an extension on would be WAY too expensive and time consuming.

But we want that extra space where we can have a little bit of office storage, maybe a big TV, couple of sofas, a small or fold-out desk. Or forget the office and just have a small bar area with darts board, fridge etc. and sofas/coffee tables. We can then open that up to an outdoor seating area that we haven't yet created so have flexibility.

It isn't just for the teens and the teens will be going to uni fairly soon, so it needs to be multi-purpose but i love the idea of them having a decent hang out space where they can have music on, drinks to hand, space to be. Probably for around 7-10 kids on a regular basis.

It needs to be able to be warm in winter, too. This can't just be a summer house. Our garden slopes down away from the house so I can't see us being able to install a toilet or anything. We really are looking to maximise limited space and budget.

We haven't really got a size in mind and don't know where to start on budget. I've looked online and it seems to range from £3k-£9k on 'normal' sites but no clue about quality. I would say we have the space for something between 3-5m wide depending on where it goes.

Can anyone recommend a size/style of something like this that has worked for them? Any idea on cost for building/installing/whatever needs to be laid first as a foundation?

Any recommendations on companies or shops to look at or avoid?

We are in London, so will always be at the top end of quotes for labour.

Thank you

We have a garden office 3x4mtrs, all installed with concrete slab base, electrical hook up, data cabling, £15k. Ours didn’t need planning permission, some do, so worth checking, you can find out online. Ours is double skinned, insulated, double glazed etc. Really pleased with ours. Go and see what you are buying, quality varies enormously.

@Roselilly36

We have a garden office 3x4mtrs, all installed with concrete slab base, electrical hook up, data cabling, £15k. Ours didn’t need planning permission, some do, so worth checking, you can find out online. Ours is double skinned, insulated, double glazed etc. Really pleased with ours. Go and see what you are buying, quality varies enormously.

Where did you get yours from?

I'm sat in one currently (not mine). Half is cupboards, day bed, TV, desk etc. Other entrance is storage shelves. It was between 20k and 40k. It was the foundations that cost a lot.

It will be interesting to know if you can get quotes. I'm an accountant and everyone in construction now is only agreeing prices that have clauses allowing them to charge more.

One big job, with a lot of materials, cost 50 percent more due to price rises.

In this case, I don't think what someone paid in the past will be an indication of what it will be now. Sadly.

That sounds incredible. Would you be happy to share the details of where you got that from?

That’s definitely out of budget. I think I need to find out what the foundation need would be here.

@Kezzie200

It will be interesting to know if you can get quotes. I'm an accountant and everyone in construction now is only agreeing prices that have clauses allowing them to charge more.

One big job, with a lot of materials, cost 50 percent more due to price rises.

In this case, I don't think what someone paid in the past will be an indication of what it will be now. Sadly.

YesZ good point

@Kezzie200

It will be interesting to know if you can get quotes. I'm an accountant and everyone in construction now is only agreeing prices that have clauses allowing them to charge more.

One big job, with a lot of materials, cost 50 percent more due to price rises.

In this case, I don't think what someone paid in the past will be an indication of what it will be now. Sadly.

That's scary! Thanks for the heads up. Are those increases purely for materials or also for labour? I would expect to buy a flat-pack type set up so the fixed cost of that frame and structure. Clearly there will be other materials involved but the majority should be a known cost.

Apologies for delay, been in bed with migraine all day. This is the company we used superiorgardenbuildings.co.uk

@Roselilly36

Apologies for delay, been in bed with migraine all day. This is the company we used superiorgardenbuildings.co.uk

That’s horrible and I hope you feel better soon. Thank you so much for the link.

That is a lower cost Roselilly36
We are in London too and have had a number of quotes in last 6 months ranging from 30k to 40k. That includes soundproofing which has added on 2k

Yes, we got a really good price, I think most of these garden rooms, have gone up about 30% since we ordered ours. Due to rising costs of timber/paint etc.