Garden office

[Mydogisamassivetwat]

Anyone have any recommendations for decent garden offices that don’t cost the earth?

Dh works from home and current office is in the box bedroom, but we would like that room back.

I don’t know where to start really, just thought I’d try and get some ideas from people who alreasy have one!

we have the room, currently have an 8x10 dilapidated shed in the garden that we are getting rid of when the weather is less grotty.

Having some building work done on the house in the summer so would be a great time to do it all together.

dh wouldn’t be able to work from the new snug sitting room. He’s got 3 huge screens he needs for work. He needs a permanent office, it’s not things that can be hidden away so the sitting room would just be an office at all times. The floor plans make the house seem bigger than it is, we couldn’t live day today in the “new” back area and the kids having mates round down stairs would be so noisy for dh.

I don't think you'd get anything decent for less than 10k. You have to have a proper base, then the shed, then treating it, then insulation, electrics, wifi at a minimum. Ours is very very useful and we're glad we did it , but it cost around 11k 4 years ago and I imagine it would be quite a bit more now.

£16.5 all in. And that’s heated, electricity, own wifi and multiple electrical points

is his office convenient to get to? seems no brainer that he returns to the office

@pinkfluff3 thats exactly what I’m looking for. Can I ask where you got it from, and what’s the footprint?

We have big age gaps. 22, 10 and 4.

My ds had moved out (and while he was gone, an elderly family member was in his room), but he’s moved back into the downstairs bedroom as him and his girlfriend are seriously saving a deposit this year.

We did have plans to add a shower in the downstairs loo, we left room to do it (it’s currently a cupboard), but actually, one bath/shower and two loos has worked out fine.

How big is the front bedroom? Can you do something like this or is it not big enough.

I’m being facetious about him fucking back off.

It’s literally a 6 min drive away. But it’s just so lovely having him at home. But not 15k for an office lovely when I want a bigger kitchen 🤣🤣

Oh good god, we couldn’t fit a desk in the bedroom, let alone divide it up!

im sat on the edge of the bed right now, my legs would be though that red line!

Ah ok 😄.

amc garden rooms

I want this!!!

is it that company beginning with D?

no

I think we are going to have to shelve the idea of dd having her own room for a while.

Rents are ridiculous here, ds and his girlfriend both work but it was impossible for them to rent and save. It made so much more sense for them to both move home, Christ knows when they will buy. We live in a relatively cheap area of the country and if we hadn’t bough this house 4 years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to buy now, prices have risen dramatically.

We did float the idea of a loft extension, but we couldn’t afford to do the living areas too and the downstairs just doesn’t work for us, kitchen to narrow, the back reception room is a playroom but actually a bit useless.

We are just going to have to get all the final quotes in I think and go from there. If we do the basic re jig of downstairs, no extension, just removing/putting in a wall then we could probably do the garden office too.

WFH shouldn't cost the family circa 15k - these companies are saving a fortune on providing decent working spaces for their staff, eh!

And I WFH myself, and have toyed with the idea of a garden office. But why should I fork out so much cash myself? gah.

The joke is, when dh goes to the office, he can’t have the 3 screens he actually needs to do his job. It’s all hot desks now and he has to use a laptop. So to do his
job, he has to work at home, really.

Build your own. You can do it for reasonable money. The main costs will be the cladding and the door you choose, but if you are cute you can save here too.

That's just the basic shed though - OP may need a new base, it will need treating, a floor inside, electrics run from the house, insulation, and wifi. Plus some form of heating if it's being used as an office , although they may just use electric heaters.

Also that shed is 28mm thickness and whilst probably okay, it's certainly not ideal for a proper garden office - I believe the recommended thickness is more like 45mm if its being used for something like an office, 28mm would probably get very cold in winter and hot in summer - it's basically just a garden shed.

oh yes, we would need a base. The rotten shed is rotting as some plonker just put it on top of shingle. So that’s another factor.

Have to think about his computer equipment too - can’t get too hot/cold/damp

Flippin nora. Can he ask HR for some sort of financial support to get one built?! Don't ask don't get as they say...

He works for a bankrupt local authority. They give no shits. It’s all hot-desking as they have been selling off all the council buildings for the last 4 years. They really don’t care. Dh is one of the bosses. He’s had so many of his team asking him the same thing. They stopped pushing people to come into the office a couple of years ago when people pointed out that without proper workstations, some jobs were impossible to do.

Yup, that’s exactly the situation I am in too! I’d rather go into the office at least 2-3 days per week, but I’m so much less product when there (due to lack of screens, keyboard, quiet confidential space when needed etc, that it’s just not worth it.

Thanks @pinkfluff3 for the name of the company that did yours.

Well then, I wouldn't be pouring more money or time or energy than is strictly necessary into a job like that. Use the money to rejig your living space!

Would a Hully Pod work? https://hullypods.com/