Garden Office

[huffaloopa]

DH has been WFH since March and has now been told this will continue until at least next year, if not longer. When we thought it was just for a month or so I let him have my work space and I have been barely managing to work from my dressing table. Obviously it isn't doing my mental health a lot of good being in one place day and night, so we need to look at alternatives. There is literally no room anywhere else in the house so a garden office is the only solution.

For those who already have them, may I have your top tips please. What features do you have that you think work well and what do you wish you could have in retrospect? What sort of size have you got? We want to stay under the 15 square meters to avoid planning permission and we have a small garden.

Wooden hut with insulation and heating / cooling plumbed in as part of the design would be basics for me. They'll get very hot in summer, very cold in winter and you might consider thermostat to keep minimum temp through colder months especially if you have PC etc kept in there.

Planning may not be relevant depending on where the office is built and the proposed height. Normally under 2.5 metres high is allowed as long as you don't cover half the garden. 15 square metres is about building regulations.
www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/56/working_from_home/3

I'm thinking of doing a 4.5 x 4.5m one at 2.5m high. This size would need building regs. However that isn't a bad thing because they determine the fire resistance, structural integrity, electrical install and insulation. I'd also like a loo and shower in there for use as a gym so the plumbing and probably electric shower would add to complexities

What is the size of your garden? I have a long, narrow garden so 4.5 m allows construction within the boundaries and I can leave the fence alone. I don't want the wall of the garden office to form the boundary so next door kick a ball against it or attach to it in future!

I'd go for a pitched roof if possible because they last longer than flat, but it is a balance of headroom and building size in small gardens due to the 2.5m height restriction .

Mine would be south facing so I'm planning on planting a tree for shade! A flat roofed building will cook in the summer in full sun. I like the idea of a canopy to shade the glass in summer and have somewhere to sit if it rains! Also maybe hang a hammock across supporting posts...

Also you need to plan your windows. I can only have front (south) facing windows. Will probably go for bifolds or french doors with windows either side to maximise glass for light and openings to manage heat. possibly a skylight for the back of the room.

I want to insulate to building regs so it is usable in winter. Due to distance from house will need electric heating rather than gas. Possibly underfloor heating? Supplemented with an electric heater. A log burner seems too much hassle, but would be nice, but I can see them being banned completely in the future in London.

All this electric will need a decent cable from house to office - so talk to an electrification early in your design!

I'm even wondering whether to go for a brick & block structure. it is more money, but then pretty much no maintenance. I hate treating my shed and fence.

So a number of things to think about. Start with the size of your garden and what you can fit in there. That will drive other choices.

I was looking at this log cabin as a base - but would need to add so much (electrics, insulation etc). but the dimensions and style are close to what I want. www.tuin.co.uk/Ipswich-Log-Cabin.html

@Loofah01 could you share any good brand doing this? We are looking for it for my husband as well

@KatyRyan These guys do some nice buildings but there's a huge variety out there - www.norwegianlog.co.uk/

Best to read around on setting up the temp control; there's a Dyson unit (I think) that can regulate the temp but agin I'm sure there's loads of choices

I’d love to do this in our garden but it’s really small and I’ve not seen anything that would enhance rather than ruin it overall I think. And I think it’s a real case of getting what you pay for, not something to skimp on at all if it’s going to be a useable, nice space.

We built one, my only advice is avoid our epic fuck up: we used insulation that blocked the wireless signal from the house. Gutted. So if you're planning to use the wireless signal from the house ( v possible with a small garden) check your insulation doesn't stop it working!

I chose one - and was looking forward to having it delivered BUT all was not as it seemed.

I cannot comment on the building itself but it turned it to be more expensive than I thought. You have to organize and pay for the base, the electrical supply and ground preparation yourself. Fair enough but factor in the time taken to sort this out, find contractors etc and the cost - which ran into thousands.

The real problem is they take payment up front. A 25% deposit which they take at order (at least 2-3 months before delivery) and then the whole lot (and this could be £10,000 - £25,000 depending on your building) 28 days before installation. That is a lot - and quite a risk.

If there is any sort of problem, or the doors don't fit, or they don't deliver or they deliver late it is very difficult to get your money back (or to get them to fix a problem - in spite of what the contract states). (I am still trying).

I have decided to get a local builder to build something similar. He was gong to do the electrics for me anyway and can do the whole thing for less money - and possibly quicker. (I just need to get my (four figure) deposit back)

You might need an extender to ensure wifi works in the office, either a powerline adapter or an extender.

Look at direction of sun rise, set, etc., so not too bright or hot in summer. Have a fan and plenty power sockets. Obviously insulation needed for winter. Make sure can't be easily accessed by fury creatures or spiders and that you have decent windows, a dehumidifier/humidifier thing too if needed.

@huffaloopa and @KatyRyan

I've been researching garden offices too. Want an insulated one that can be used all year round and have electrics etc. Low maintenance is desirable.

A lot of garden offices I saw need some on-going maintenance since they tend to be made of wood/timber. That's something I wanted to avoid.

I found this: THE NEW QCB ZERO MAINTENANCE PORTABLE AFFORDABLE GARDEN OFFICE FROM BOOTHS GARDEN STUDIOS by Booth Garden Studios.

"The "QC" stands for Quarter Century - 25 years where you won't have to paint or stain your garden office."

They are deliver nationally and can install. Pricing suggests that they should be quality. Would be interesting to know if anyone else on here has had a QCB garden office?

Lots to think about, DH has the WiFi in hand and we are probably going down the diy kit with my brother's help (he does fairly similar in his job and is on furlough). We have already spoken to the council so planning is good.

That makes sense. You will get what you want that way. I initially went with the company I did because I wanted it to be easy and fairly quick. It wasn't - and now I am fighting to get a considerable amount of money back. And I got nothing for it.

We are looking at Garden Retreats. They do garden buildings and offices. Large Bifold doors cost a fortune (£3800) and we might reduce our spec to 2x sliding doors. We are interested in glass on two sides with a window on the third side as all have views. The base is included and the web site has a configurator so you can play around with options. They also have a composite cladding option. That appealed to us but it’s dark grey. That also suits us. We can easily get electrics to it but not plumbing. DH wants it as a gym but we have our pool nearby and a shower in the house.

As it’s open on two sides we think it will stay cool enough. We plan to heat via a heater/air conditioning unit. Not underfloor. The roof is slightly sloping and not totally flat. Ball park figure for 5x3 m with base and electrics and installation is around £25,000.

We already have a thatched summerhouse and wanted something that was more functional. There’s a long wait though. Everyone wants these buildings!

thank you @Loofah01 , I will have a look!
@ChocoTrio thanks! It looks very nice indeed! Just very expensive as well, I would love to know, if anyone have it and prove it can really last for so long with no maintain required

I wouldn't both with Wifi, just run some ethernet cable alongside the power, connect one end to your router and buy a cheap switch for the shed to connect PCs, printers etc.

You could always do a David Cameron and get a shepherd’s hut (in sage green obviously).

Yes, agree about running an ethernet cable down (ours is along the bottom of the fence in plastic casing). Our garden room is DH’s office, but also the teens’ hangout/media room at night, so had a sofa/ big tv screen etc.
Worth paying for good quality insulation as otherwise they are too hot in summer/too cold in winter. Think about having heating on a remote timer, or able to be remotely controlled so you can switch it on from the house in winter an hour hour before you want to use it.

That website is hilarious. Obviously nobody has had them for 25 years because they are a new product. Timber is long lasting and sustainable. Whole countries- USA, Scandinavia, build homes from timber.

Yes it needs occasional painting. We've had our cabin 3 years, its had 2 coats of Sadolin superdec and looks good as new. The most exposed parts might take me half an our to touch up with a paintbrush.

Go for a modern cabin if you like but not a 20ft steel shipping container.

We used Henley office buildings for a small home office for me when I was freelance the basic is about £8k now but the spec if amazing.
here? The customer service was amazing and I think it was around £750 on top for the electric link up and a concrete base which we did. A few years later we moved and had a bigger garden and built a wooden garden office but it wasn't as good. Pretty but not functional for us.

Shepherds bits are at least £15k. My neighbour has one and they are small and of course you have to go up stairs into them. That doesn’t suit everyone.

We already have a painted timber summerhouse and it’s fine but it’s not the same spec as a decent office building. It doesn’t take much upkeep but we prefer modern for the office/gym. With the big opening windows. I definitely don’t want the log cabin look. Great in Canada and Norway but not so great in my garden!

We want to do this too

Have just looked at Henley and when compared to Garden Retreats for a modern office there’s little difference in price. Once you get to 3x5 m you will be over £20k for something decent that can be used all year round.

@BubblesBuddy we had a garden retreats one in our second garden and we didn't like it as much. For us, small was perfect. The bigger one got used as a dumping ground and the kids always wanted it. So personally just for a home office I'd go smaller but obviously it is totally personal. Ours wasn't a shepherds hut style but railway carriage style which we liked as it suited our house.

We do have a large garage and the summerhouse for the pool. We have a flat uber the garage which cannot be used as such because DHs gym equipment takes up too much room! I’m on a mission to find it a home in the garden! We can slot a building in near the other end of the pool and we are trying to make the most of pp regulations which limit size and location of building here. So we are going for the max we can get. DC don’t live here any more and garden machinery has its own “Bluebell Cottage” store. An old block built Wendy house! Also garden retreats are local. Thanks for info though.