Does anyone have a 27 ft garden (or similar size)?

[IlanaK]

We are looking at a house to buy that looks amazing (on paper). The only down side is that the garden is only 27ft. This is definately smaller than we wanted. Is it too small?

We want to put a trampoline (with net), a shed, a table and chairs (small) and a barbeque. Is this possible?

I have 3 boys so the garden is quite important, but this house is amazing.

(This is central london by the way so gardens are not generally big anyway!)

Our garden is about double that, we have all the things youve mentioned in it but tbh if we had a garden half the size we would struggle, mainly with the trampoline. Wouldn't stop me buying a house though

a 14' trampoline is going to be bigger than half the depth of your garden. if you put the trampoline in the middle it will be 6 feet from the patio doors and 7 feet from the end of the garden. If you have a 4 foot by 6 foot shed at the end of the garden sideways you will have 3 foot between it and the trampoline.

I suppose the boys could stay inside.

Yes, this is too small for all the stuff (and three boys), unless there is a really big park very near. We have the same problem (in South London) and are moving for this very reason.

Do we need a 14ft trampoline though? I would have thought 10ft would be plenty, and we could consider 8ft couldn;t we? The shed I want to buy is [http://www.theplayhousecompany.co.uk/specification.php?code=090677&title=Play_shelter_with_storage this one]. So it sort of adds play space on top.

I know it will be a tight space, but I am wondering if it is doable.

Trying that link again: this one

We currently have no garden, so is it a question of perspective?

Well, the shed cum playhouse is a sensible use of space, but if you cram the outside area full of stuff, you'll have nowhere to just lie on the grass!

Do you have a side return? We use ours for a sort of wooden storage box thing instead of a shed. Big enough for the lawnmower, toys, gardening stuff, etc.

And have you actually seen the house, or only the EA details? Because those buggers lie. If they say 27ft, I'd be expecting 12, tbh.

Nope, only seen EA details and picture. Yes, there is a side return - do you think they include that in the measurement (seriously hoping not, but it is Foxtons!).

We currently have that sort of size garden. Its one of the push factors for moving. We have 2 3yr olds (boy and girl). Its just too small for us but then we live somewhere that size garden is considered small.

Foxtons are certainly economical with the truth - and they overprice, too. Don't get your hopes up too much! Is there a photo, so you can get some idea? e.g. by counting fence panels or paving slabs.

We have a 30 ft garden (north London) and two sons with a third baby on the way. It is one of the reasons that we are moving.

The garden was fine when they were babies/toddlers but it just is not that family friendly now. It's fine in winter but in summer the kids (and me!) would benefit from more outdoor space. We have a table and chairs, a bbq and a small shed but if we put a trampoline in it there would be no other space in the garden.

And if it is Foxtons then I would imagine the side return is included in the measurement...

Yes, there is a photo that makes it look fairly large so I am suspicious. Yes, it is paved with slabs which are clearly visible. So what is the size of an average pavign slab? Then i can work it out.

And do you go for the bigger house? Or the bigger garden? Its a very hard choice.

Our last garden was just short of 30' square.

We had a small patio adjoining house, a shed in another corner and a 1/4 circle patio in other corner that caught sun later in day.

No-way would we have put a trampoline in - small toddler slide seemed big! We wanted some grass to lie on/play on, and DID hire a small bouncy castle for a birthday, but it took up ALL the lawn.

Again, it was a brand new house.

Our current house is v.old & fraying but has a HUGE garden with a 14' trampoline.

i wish! (tbh i don't know exactly what ours is, maybe 10ft of return, plus another 15-20ft). by about 12ft wide. next door have same and they have a trampoline (but not much else). we have sand pit, playhouse, shed, paved area that fits a 4-person folding table, plus washing line, apple tree, rhubarb, herbs etc. yes, i'd love a bigger garden, but no, i wouldn't swap our location for anything, and round here you don't get more than a yard even in the big houses (ours is 2up-2down plus loft). but i have 2 (bookish) girls, and a choice of parks within 10 minutes, if i had 3 active boys my priorities might be different.

btw kids round here play out the front, probably because of the lack of garden space.

How old are your DS's?
Mine are 6 and 9, they never play in our garden, they prefer to play in the street or go to the park?

My boys are 8,5 and 1. I think the trampoline really would take priority as it would help them burn off excess energy. There is a small local park and playground a couple of minutes walk away (just down the end of the road), but the nearest large parks are a long walk or short bus ride away.

For us, we go for garden over house, as long as the furniture fits in! I think though that there are other issues as well that right now you might not know about right now. I don't know, the kitchen size or the location of the washing machine. Until you see a lot of houses you don't know what becomes your must have list.

We've seen lots. This has been a long search. We have sold and moved out of our flat. We had an offer accepted on a maisonette with a good sized garden (just under 50ft) but they have been dragging their heels for a couple of months now and we have said we will pull out. We are continuing to look. Altough the garden is bigger in the maisonnette, the place isn't nearly as nice and big as this house. The house ticks all my boxes (except the garden). Really nicely done up, large eat in kitchen leading outside, family bathroom, ensuite bedroom, massive loft conversion that is so large it could be divided to make a fourth bedroom in the future if we want. Good location. Etc. The only downside is the size of the garden. The maisonette ticked a few boxes but we were most attracted by the size of the garden. We would definately outgrow the maisonette at some point.

But nice is negligible. You can make a place nice. If yyou get a smaller place with a decent roofspace, you can also do your own conversion in 5 years or so, when you've saved up some money. Or, if you find somewhere with a big garden, you can extend. But you can't create more ground area. I really think you should be careful about the garden. Do you have to look in a particular area? Can you compromise a bit and commute? I imagine central London is terrible for gardens...

Nope, can't compromise on area. The maisonette has no roof space - it has a flat above. No room for expansion there.

We have 5 kids in a lovely size 3 bed house, small garden but back onto a local park so its ok. I would love a bigger garden but havig room in my house is much more important

My garden is 30ft and I can't fit a trampoline in. I do have a shed though and it's a massive improvement on my flat with no garden

ps. I do have a TP Explorer climbing frame in the corner (our garden is a weird L-shaped) and the kids love it. I have 3 DC too.