Please tell me the things I need to know about constructing an outdoor cabin in the garden

[Anothermountain]

Thinking of constructing a cabin at the bottom of the garden for our teens as a place for them and their friends to escape to. We can get an electricity cable down there. I'd love to hear from people who have already done this and what you need to know, any potential drawbacks etc please?

Some things I am worried about:

• heating
• slugs
• damp
• cost
• the surface it's built on

Anything else I should be thinking about please?

Does it need planning permission?

Will it get WiFi signal?
Will it be small enough to not need planning permission?

How will you ever get them out of it if you make it too comfortable 😂

Or hey, make it really comfortable, claim it as your own and relinquish the front room to them. Just a thought!

Why would you be worried about slugs?!

If you can afford to pay out for a reputable, professional installation the only one of the above you need to worry about is cost!

As an example, check out Green Retreats. There is a great online “configurator” which gives a very transparent costing and lots of info on how they construct the base and building.

That's a good point LIZS thank you. A neighbour I don't know (but can see in to their garden) has one but I will find out. I think it's ok as long as it's not a permanent structure, but I will obviously have to work out the precise definition of that.

Re WiFi, we ran an armoured CAT 6 cable along with the electric rather than rely on a wifi signal from the house.

www.which.co.uk/reviews/extensions/article/garden-rooms/do-you-need-planning-permission-for-a-garden-room-aDScD1S8HNc7

Most standard sized garden rooms do not require permission in UK as long as you comply with height restrictions unless you are in a conservation or otherwise restricted zone.

Thank you BarbaraWoodlouse great NN btw! . I'm not in UK but do intend to go for the whole package. DH and I are both useless at DIY.

Noted about Wi-Fi!

twinningatlifeWell I currently get slugs in my kitchen and I loathe them. And that's through a double glazed kitchen door and up a step. I've been told that wherever there is damp, there is the potential for slugs! I don't want them taken up permanent residence in the cabin thanks!

HalfShrunkMoreToGo I"ve already relinquished my sitting room... I'm trying to get it back!

Thank you again Barbara some very useful info there!

Since I'm going through the same dilemma regarding log cabin....

Size - I would go the next size up to which you think you need

What else are you going to use it for? You can get some with a separate store room attached

Security

Glazing

will contents be covered by your house insurance

Dunster house has some nice garden rooms which are affordable and quiet good.

If you have more money to burn, try Green Retreat (waiting time is very long) or AMC Garden Rooms that built mine almost £25k 5m x 4m with Electricity, WiFi etc

I hadn't thought about insurance, thanks twinningatlife (another great nn !)

The size will be determined by the space (at the end of a long, thin, city garden).

How difficult are they to heat in mid-winter? Can you keep them warm without much insulation?

chukwe crikey I wasn't thinking of spending that much! Yours sounds amazing and I guess the more you spend on it, the more useable it is to an extent?

There has been a big increase in fires in garden building in the last 18 months, so think about fire proofing, smoke alarms, insurance and proximity to your house or car.

Without insulation they will be expensive to heat - summer houses are just that - used for summer really. If you want something warmer you'd need 18-22mm log cabins and then you can save you send money by insulating the walls and roof yourself with kingspan then plasterboard on top (I did my dad she myself in a few hours)

Also drainege - I'd fit guttering which runs to a water butt and will save you needing a hose to water the plants at the bottom of the garden 🤣

@BarbaraWoodlouse

Re WiFi, we ran an armoured CAT 6 cable along with the electric rather than rely on a wifi signal from the house.

We did this too. It’s been a lifesaver for working from home, but also for streaming music and movies etc, so the room gets used a lot more than it would if the wifi connection was bad.

@Mintjulia

There has been a big increase in fires in garden building in the last 18 months, so think about fire proofing, smoke alarms, insurance and proximity to your house or car.

Yes this thought did cross my mind Mintjulia especially with teen girls and scented candles etc. Thank you. I will insist on LED fairy lights instead.

DaisyDozyDee It would be a huge bonus to be able to stream movies!

"twinningatlife* I think we are going to need full insulation. I'm obviously going to have to weigh up the cost of buying a shell and then paying our own workmen to fit it out ...or buying the whole package. We favour the latter but it depends on cost.

Thank you very much everyone. Mumsnet is great for this sort of thing!

I"m now able to compile a sequenced list starting with planning permission... .

Sorry twinningatlife the emboldening went wrong there!

We have one at the end of our garden which my dh has his office and gym in.
We levelled the soil and then put down a membrane and a layer of plastic grids which we filled with gravel. We then put the base of the cabin on top of this.
My dh has lined his roof and filled the space between with insulation. He also did that under the flooring.
We have solar panels on the roof which is connected to our electricity supply (wired in by an electrician) with electric sockets and lighting and have an internet connection cable going up to it.
We made sure the cabin wasn't over 2.5m I think? I can't remember now. A lot of the good sites which sell the cabins will say which ones don't need pp.
Not had an issue with slugs going in, though in the spring the Queen wasps do try and see if they can make a home in it.
We paint it every year or so with yacht varnish and it's still looking good (been up about 4 years now).

longtompot thanks that's really helpful advice!

Adding solar panels and guttering and water butt to my list

Yacht varnish is a great tip too!

Sorry to be dim. What is pp?

Why not build out of brick? In 10 years or so there will be lots of run down garden offices in need of work, or full replacement. I think they are this decade's decking!

@Anothermountain

chukwe crikey I wasn't thinking of spending that much! Yours sounds amazing and I guess the more you spend on it, the more useable it is to an extent?

I use mine partly as gym and home office as I work from home. It's highly insulated but it's much colder than our house in winter and warmer in Summer. I use it everyday at least 12 hours a day.

The garden company installed electricity and network cable as part of the cost. My kids hardly use it but it's free if they want to but it's tiring walking 30m to the room from the house most times.

Let me know if you have any more questions

The heat from the spliffs will be enough to heat it 😀

@Rollercoaster1920

We’ve got a wooden garden room that’s at least 75 years old ( the old woman up the street said she used to play in it when she was a little girl ). Unsure how old it is as it was on the plot before the house was built, It’s on its last legs now but I think. Modern garden rooms will
last a lot longer than 10 years….