Garden office

[Pigeon851]

Can someone tell me their experiences of this? Haven't looked at prices/quotes so all hypothetical at this stage.

We need a solution to both DH and me WFH for large chunks of the week. We have a very long garden so in a sense it would be ideal.

However, I'm put off by the idea of traipsing out to the bottom of the garden in crappy weather. Presumably installing a toilet is costly/ difficult too, right? Meaning popping backwards and forwards to use the bathroom in the rain

How have others found them? A good way to create more space or an expensive shed mistake?

I built one last year which we use as a gym / games room. Absolutely awesome thing to have, and I love being down there, particularly in summer with the doors open and the tunes going. If you want to plumb it in (have a toilet / wet room) then you’ll need planning permission as it will be classed as a dwelling but this is pretty simple to get. If you don’t have any of that then you can just build under permitted development. We have similar (long narrow garden) but it’s no problem at all going back and forth to the house - just put some shoes / brolly / whatever you want down there for the short journey!

Thank you! Yes I definitely like the idea of it in summer. How do you heat yours when it's cold? And does it get damp in winter?

Following with interest as we would also love to put one in our 60m long garden. Especially keen to hear recent prices!

I insulated it all round with PIR so it’s very thermally efficient. Currently have a little fan heater in there which is all I’ve needed - even through the recent cold spell. I’ll be installing an electric radiator in the next month or so though. No issues with damp and I’ve had the Nintendo, big tv, treadmill and other electronics down there the past year. There was a recent long thread I think on here about garden rooms which loads of people posted pictures and thoughts into. You might want to do a search.

I self built for a shade over 10k last spring / summer. 5 x 3m and finished to very high spec. Could have done for a couple of k less if didn’t do certain things - the redwood pine cladding alone was very pricey. If you went back from there again and didn’t want insulation and chose standard doors / windows etc then you can get flat pack ones for a few grand, but I think they look cheap and won’t give you year round comfort.

Thanks everyone! Super helpful and I will have a hunt for the older thread on this too.

Following to see how warm they are in winter. I would struggle not being warm

To use it all year round you’ll have to have good insulation, electricity, water and heating. You could install a small wood burner - also a composting toilet would solve the problem of trips up the garden to the house toilet.

That sounds very good value but I don't know if we are up to self building! Does yours have heating and electricity?

Fair enough. It’s not an incredibly complex thing to do, but takes time. I had electricity run yes as that is the only thing I couldn’t do as it needs sign off for regs. I ran the Internet up there. As per above, I only have a little fan heater up there at present which has been ok, but when I have money next month I’ll be putting in a wired smart electric radiator. It’s got 100mm PIR installed so is very heat efficient - actually warmer than my house through winter so I tend to head there :-D