Garden office recommendations?

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lazybloke

Considering a new username
Location
Leafy Surrey
Help! My house is too small for working from home, so I'm thinking of putting up a glorified shed on the patio, up to 3m x 2.5m.

Would be great to hear any thoughts/recommendations/experiences/things to avoid, etc.
Meanwhile, back to Google. Looking to spend £3K to £4K, and thankfully won't need foundation because of that solid patio. Will assemble from kit myself to save money.

Suppose a completely DIY build from scratch might be cheapest, if I can persuade Mrs L that quality won't be a problem!

Thanks in advance!
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
If you do go ahead be sure to check the planning regs for such a structure.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Looking to spend £3K to £4K, and thankfully won't need foundation because of that solid patio. Will assemble from kit myself to save money.
That's quite a budget, I would recommend timber frame, clad with UPVC on the outside, upvc windows, French doors, clad the timber frame with as much insulation you can in (you can use foam boards) then plasterboard & skim, put a ceiling in with plenty of insulation as well.
If you do go ahead be sure to check the planning regs for such a structure.
Don't need them it will be a temporary building, no matter how permeant it is
 
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lazybloke

lazybloke

Considering a new username
Location
Leafy Surrey
The completely DIY approach sounds good @Phaeton, although Mrs L has just vetoed upvc. So much for zero maintenance.

She's looking at log cabins currently.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Ah does she want a summer house or an office these may not be the same thing
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
If you go to your local council's planning website, you can often find out the sizes of shed that don't require planning permission and can be built right up to your boundary. There are usually restrictions on eaves height and overall floor area etc. If you can't find any details, just ring the planning department and ask them. They are usually very helpful.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Does she know you can now get coloured UPVC panels? this is our local supplier it's tongue & groove makes it an easy build http://www.discountfasciaandwindowsupplies.co.uk/cladding-worksop-retford/
 
I don't know if the regulations vary from council to council but a relative of mine built a fantastic wee space using pallets as a construction material. So long as he observed a height limit it was fine, apparently.
You wouldn't know it was built out of pallets, looking at it. Not sure how much he spent though.

I'm not remotely an expert but I wouldn't just rest it on the patio, you'd want to have some subsurface foundations to provide stability, and you'd want raised flooring to prevent flooding.
 

cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
Dunno about your council, but here we have to stay at an eaves height of 2.4m or leFWIW, my brother put one of the Dunster House cabins together a few years back which is used daily as a beauty/tanning etc place of work. Still looks good now.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I can recommend Garden Buildings Direct. Got my 15 x 18 log cabin from there. They do them in small sizes too, optional double glazing, various options for floor, wall and roof thickness etc.
 

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
Don’t go for a log cabin or summer house option.
You need a proper garden office if you want to use it 12 months a year.
It needs to be warm, dry and draft free.
 
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