I know this has been done to death - Garden Rooms how do you find a good company?

[WildFlowerBees]

We’re looking into a garden room, I wanted a summer house but it needs double glazing to block out the neighbours noise.

I’m going round in circles looking for a company in the SW area that doesn’t charge an absolute fortune.

can anyone advise and any cons I’m not aware of?

we’ll have it insulated etc so it can be used year round.

We were going to buy one of those online kit things that they come and assemble. They're insulated, double glazed etc and have a choice of finishes. The company that looked the best was Garden Affairs.

However, we ended up getting quotes from local builders and have had one built from scratch. It cost no more and is a proper solid build (damp course, insulation etc). It's worth looking into!

I have just been given a second hand Dunster log cabin/garden room from our old neighbour. Properly insulated floor and roof, double glazed doors and window. It is 10 years old and came to bits and went back together easily. They've had a third off all summer on new ones and based on mine I'd suggest they are durable, very solid and pretty cheap.

We have a garden office from these people. Had it 3 years now and no problems. Might not be the look you want but we like it and suits our needs
https://boothsgardenstudios.co.uk/qcb-garden-office/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17072003659&gclid=CjwKCAjw49vEBhAVEiwADnMbbE6aJk1NGfheJdbuaggV5wG9L4q4p6yxabIX044I_q-A0qpVCGIt1RoCFzgQAvD_BwE

I have a summer house from Garden Affairs! It’s quite old now - 20 years, but it’s still great!

Are you talking about a room attached to the house or a separate building? You need to check planning requirements and where you can put it.

We have a conservatory kitchen and it was very expensive. If you actually want to use them, you need effective heating, double glazing and floor insulation. Decide on the roof. Glass lets out heat but don’t have plastic rubbish. These buildings are not cheap, and don’t scrimp.

Make sure to invest in a proper foundation. It need to be either raised or properly protected from water ingress and to allow for some ventilation on the bottom. I need to replace mine after 10 years (bought the house last year) due to cutting corners on the foundation that now is condemned due to water damage.

Had a look at Garden Affairs it’ll be a standalone at the end of the garden. I’ve had a look for local builders but they’re just so rubbish where I am if they turn up at all. Our decking needs redoing due to a locals botch job.

I used a local carpenter to build me one to my specifications, it’s 12 x 8, heavily insulated and double glazed and cost less than half I’d been quoted by local companies.
use it all year round.

Given the price of timber these days it doesn’t seem as though local builders are much cheaper than a company. It’s finding a decent one that’s the issue.

We also have a Booths garden studio as suggested, very happy with it and felt it was the best value I could find. We have lots of trees and avoided digging for a concrete base as it sits on four ground screws at the corners. I’ve planted stuff around it to partially disguise it as I would have preferred something more traditional in wood.

We were lucky to find a great builder. Ours is built of bricks and mortar, and cost slightly less than the equivalent from Garden Affairs! But GA do look good for what they offer.

I would recommend looking at the guarantees that are offered from the companies as they vary massively. You can get a warranty anywhere from 5 years to 25 years. We used https://inframegardenrooms.co.uk (not based in SW) and have not had any issues.