AIBU to spend £20k+ on a garden office?

[SpeckledFrogsLog]

We need an extra room as DH is going to be full time WFH from now on. At the moment he's in the spare bedroom but it's not very big and there's a lot of background noise when the kids are home. We don't want to turn the spare room into an office as MIL is in poor health and we like to have her stay with us for her safety (and our sanity!) when she's going through a bad patch.

We've looked at moving but would be spending £150k to get the same sort of living space elsewhere with an extra room. We live in a large 4 bed semi so we'd have to upsize to a detached.

We've had a quote on a composite garden room. It really is beautiful-all insulted and totally maintenance free but it's coming in at just over £20k We can afford it but I'm totally torn as it seems such a lot of money to spend on what is essentially a posh shed! But we've looked at the cheaper timber options and are concerned about security, insulation and maintenance.

So AIBU to spend this on a garden office? Has anyone else done it and have good or bad experiences? Help me decide please!!

As I write I am sitting in my garden office, where I have happily working from home for years.

It's perfect. On a concrete base, double glazed, laminate floor.

I can separate work from home which is very important when you wfh.
I can let DS2 get on with whatever he wants w/o each of us disturbing each other.
I'm heating a smaller area rather than the whole house.

Downsides - it's a bit like a caravan in that it's quick to cool down, but quick to warm up. What I save on car fuel I spend on heating.
I can hear the birds on the roof - they peck the moss off. It sounds louder than you'd think!
If it starts raining when I'm wearing my suede Uggs I am then stranded!

I agree it's a no brainer. Going forward, people are going to expect a permanent WFH space when they look to buy a new home, so this will definitely be a huge selling point for you if you ever decide to sell. Our garden isn't big enough for one unfortunately, but if it was I'd do exactly the same.

I got one. I love it. I'm typing this message from my garden office. I love it. I can separate my work life from my home life even though it's only a very short distance of maybe 10 -12 strides away from the back door.

Definitely get one if you can.

We're now thinking of getting our loft converted too. Any unused space is costing you in the long term.

I have a lovely cabin that is a gym, I just forget to use it.

Go for it.

@gillysSong

If his salary is increasing by 20k, otherwise it's just throwing money away. You could build a shed for far less. There again if you have 20k in your back pocket, go for it. Only you know if it's worth it. I don't spend unless I see it coming back.

If his salary is increasing by 20k, otherwise it's just throwing money away.

This doesn't seem right. He's not going to be buying one every year. The thing must have a life of at least ten years. In which case the way to calculate annual cost would be to calculate what the total payments would be each year for a £20k loan repaid over ten years.

Thanks everyone! Really interesting responses and largely positive. Just to address some of the points-we've already cut into our garage to extend our kitchen and we've already got a lift conversion! Our house is like a tardis!

For the PP who asked - the quote is from Eurocell. I have sent in a couple of other enquiries to other companies but have had no response! That includes all of the internal finish and electrics. All we'd have to do is get electricity hooked up from the mains.

We do have a very sunny garden so there'll be lots of natural light/heat but would also put an oil filled radiator in there to give a bit of extra warmth. I think it will be big enough to include a small corner sofa so it can also be a summer room/teen hang out.

Think we'll be going for it!!

Oh, it does get very, very warm if we have a hot spell. That might just be its position, but there are times when I need to decamp to the main house, which always stays pretty cool.

My 22yo son sleeps in the garden office when he comes home. I have a proper bed and bedside table, proper blinds etc. Although there's no bathroom, the positive side is that he has his own private space.

I do have to turf him out if my work pattern isn't aligned to his sleeping pattern, or work in the house for a bit, but it's only a minor issue.

We spent 150k on an extra building. It was still cheaper than moving. Go for it!!

Do it! We paid about that to convert our garage earlier this year and I don't regret a penny.

Interested in this. We have a garage we'd like to convert. Biggest annoyance is digging up concrete drive and laying water pipes. Would want a toilet, shower, kitchenette so can use as a guest bedsit in future: it's a massive garage. Wondering if we could do much of the internal fit out ourselves as limited budget.
If you could afford it I'd definitely do it.

I would do it in a heartbeat. If my garden was just a little bit bigger, I'd have done it in ours years ago and I'm still a bit bitter that a previous owner subdivided the property so that the garden now is really very small vs the very generous size it was before.

It's definitely a selling point (if it's attractive and doesn't take up the whole garden ) down the line and is so practical in a new WFH world. They're also so flexible. A friend converted theirs from an office to a teenage games room type vibe which she says has changed her life as she doesn't have to listen to the buggers yelling down their headsets on fort nite or whatever!

We have one. Insulated, electrics and WiFi. It's brilliant.

We also had our house valued yesterday and the estate agent told us that if you spend 20k, you migh get 10k back in value, but the big thing for her was how saleable it makes the house. If there's 2 very similar houses on the market at the same time, the one with the garden office will sell quicker.

Absolutely not. I’ve looked into them and was clear - if you’re going to do it you need to have a decent size, properly insulated, plumbed with a loo etc.

It will add to your square footage and with the rise of home working it’s a definite plus - some people are looking specially for houses with a garden office already installed.

Absolutely not unreasonable ^

I would! It will surely add value to your house too.

Ours has been a brilliant purchase (and much cheaper and less disruptive than either extending the house or moving).
I would say it’s worth paying for a good quality one if you can afford it. A cheap shed option would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter, but a proper insulated building works like an extra room.

Of course you should go for it. Not only will it make your lives happier, it will also be an investment in the property, and when you sell it should make some of that money back.

On a side note, this is one of many reasons I really hate the turn to WFH: employers are basically forcing their employees to subsidise their working lives. Huge cost savings for employers that they've just transferred over to their workforce. And God help you if you can't afford an office/another bedroom/a quiet place to study. It's shit.

I think some laws say no ‘bathroom’ as it’s an extra dwelling, but a sink is possible

Don’t know about other places but in London you can certainly put a loo in.

Not unreasonable. If you are going to build one, it might as well be a good quality one or nobody will want to spend any time there. I'd look into seeing if you could add a small en-suite in too. That way it can also serve as an extra guest bedroom if needed, or somewhere your children can host their friends when they are teenagers.

employers are basically forcing their employees to subsidise their working lives. Huge cost savings for employers that they've just transferred over to their workforce.

I know - they save truckloads of money in rent - I think companies should be more generous with their grants to help employees set up for home working.

YADNBU. We're searching for a new home, and that's one of my priorities, regardless of how big the house is - a multipurpose outdoor space that can be used in all weathers. A friend of mine has a garden office, which is extended to the side with a back fence/wall and roof. It's open to two sides, but very sheltered and comfortable for outside entertaining etc in inclement weather. It's been great with having to socialise outdoors in the recent past!

We have one - built last year when we downsized - cost was around 14K worth every penny - much better than him being in the house all day.

mmm I would love a woman-shed to WFH in. I fantasize about it actually. You should go for it.

That's about what we spent. It was built by the builders who were doing other work for us so built to the standard of a proper building. It was a bit cheaper, better quality and more bespoke than a garden office company. It was a cost effective way to create extra space compared to extending (my husband works for himself so it was also tax deductible). We have a small shower room bathroom and kitchenette in there too. My husband works there most of the time, and it is an occasional extra guest room and "den" space for visiting teens (we have a big tv and sofa-bed). Worked really well for us.

They don’t tend to add value to a house for mortgage purposes however they can certainly increase sell ability and an attractive asset.