Home Office
The most common request. Insulated properly, wired for a desk, a heater and decent broadband, and far enough from the house to feel separate. Most people want more sockets than they first think, so we plan them early.
Bespoke garden rooms
Beautifully Built Spaces.Designed Around the Way You Live.
A bespoke garden room can provide valuable additional space for work, relaxation, fitness or entertaining, while becoming an attractive feature within the wider garden.
Our approach
From Foundations to Final Finish
We create individually considered garden rooms designed around the property, available space and intended use.
We can manage the complete build, from excavation, foundations and drainage through to the structure, insulation, glazing, electrics, internal finishes and surrounding landscaping.
The result is a garden room that feels integrated with the property and landscape rather than simply placed within it.
- 01Topsoil stripped, membrane down, MOT Type 1 compacted in layers
- 02Reinforced slab over a damp proof membrane, or a levelled bearer base
- 03Levels set off a laser and diagonals checked for square
- 04Land drainage where the ground holds water
- 05Roof water taken to a soakaway or an existing drain
- 06PIR insulation in the floor, the walls and the roof
Size one up
Sketch the Room Before We Come Out.
Nothing here is a price. It is a way of working out what you want before we measure the garden.
The base
The Base Decides Whether a Garden Room Lasts Dug Out, Drained, Compacted and Checked on the Diagonals
We take the topsoil off rather than build on it, because topsoil moves. Under the base goes a geotextile membrane, then MOT Type 1 compacted in layers with a plate. Depending on the room and the ground, the base is either a reinforced concrete slab over a damp proof membrane, or a timber bearer base on levelled pads with air moving underneath it.
Level matters more than people expect. A base out by 10mm across its width shows up in every door and every window, and no amount of packing at the end hides it. We set levels off a laser, check the diagonals for square before anything is fixed, and keep the finished floor above the ground around it so water runs away rather than under.
Where the ground is wet we run a perforated land drain in gravel around the base and take it somewhere it can go. Roof water goes to a gutter and off to a soakaway, generally kept at least 5 metres from any building.
- Topsoil stripped, membrane down, MOT Type 1 compacted in layers
- Reinforced slab over a damp proof membrane, or a levelled bearer base
- Levels set off a laser and diagonals checked for square
- Land drainage where the ground holds water
- Roof water taken to a soakaway or an existing drain
Warm and wired
Insulation, Power and Lighting a Room That Is Comfortable All Year Round
Insulation goes into the floor, the walls and the roof, normally rigid PIR board cut tight between the studs and joists with the joints taped. A breather membrane goes on the outside so the structure can dry, and a vapour control layer goes on the warm side so moist air from inside cannot get into the insulation and condense there. Put those two the wrong way round and the room goes damp from the inside.
Power comes from the house on armoured cable, buried at a proper depth in a marked trench, into a small consumer unit in the room. Sockets, lights, data and usually a heater run off that. A new circuit run out to a garden building is notifiable work, so the electrical side is done and certified by a qualified electrician and you keep the paperwork.
Then it is boarded, finished and glazed: painted board or plaster, a floor covering of your choosing, double glazed doors and windows. If you want a sink or a WC, say so early. Waste and supply are simple while the ground is open.
- PIR insulation in the floor, the walls and the roof
- Breather membrane outside, vapour control layer on the warm side
- Armoured cable in a trench, certified by a qualified electrician
- Sockets, lighting, heating and data run in one go
- Double glazed doors and windows
Outside
Cladding, Roofing and Setting Cedar, Larch or Painted Board, With a Dry Path to the Door
Cladding is fixed on battens over the membrane so there is an air gap behind it. That gap lets the back of the boards dry, and it is the difference between cladding that silvers gracefully and cladding that goes black along the bottom. Cedar and larch are the usual choices and both weather to grey unless treated. Painted boards hold their colour but will need repainting in time.
Most flat roofs we build are single ply rubber, laid to a fall with a trim and a gutter so water leaves in one place instead of running down the cladding. A pitched roof can take shingles or tiles. Either way there is a fall, an edge detail and somewhere for the water to go, which sounds obvious and is the thing most often skipped.
Then there is everything around it: a path or terrace to the door so you are not crossing wet grass, decking, a privacy screen, steps down a slope and lighting to see the way in. We do that work too, managed as one project to one set of levels.
- Cedar, larch, composite or painted cladding on ventilated battens
- Single ply rubber flat roof laid to a fall, with a gutter
- Paths, terraces and decking up to the door
- Screens, fencing, steps and outside lighting
Our work
Rooms and Bases We Have Built
What you can have
The Rooms We Build Most
Gym or Studio
A gym needs a stiffer floor and more ventilation than an office, so the joists and the base get sized for it. Mirrors, matting and a heavier door add weight, and that is far easier to allow for at base stage.
Garden Bar and Entertaining Room
A room built for evenings. Doors that open onto a terrace, lighting inside and out, power for a fridge and plumbing for a sink if you want it. The paving and the decking outside get built with it, not after it.
Log Cabin
Machined interlocking logs rather than a stud frame. The look is different and so is the build: logs settle over the first year, so the base has to be perfectly level and the fixings have to allow for that movement.
Summer House
Lighter than a full garden room and usually not insulated to the same level, for sitting out of the wind rather than working all winter. It still wants a proper base under it.
Workshop and Store
Somewhere for the bikes, the mower and the tools, with a wider door, a solid floor and a step or a ramp you can wheel over. Insulation is optional here. Drainage around the base is not.
Questions
Questions We Get Asked About Garden Rooms
Do I need planning permission for a garden room in Surrey?
In most cases a garden room counts as permitted development, so no application is needed, provided it is single storey, sits behind the house rather than in front of it, keeps within the usual height rules and is used for something incidental to the home. Listed buildings, conservation areas and sleeping accommodation all work differently. Your council gives the only answer that counts, and we will say when you should ask them.
What do you build the garden room on?
Either a reinforced concrete slab over a damp proof membrane, or a timber bearer base on levelled pads with air moving under the floor. Both sit on compacted MOT Type 1 over a membrane, dug down to firm ground. Which one depends on the ground, the size and the access. What we will not do is stand a building on slabs bedded in sand.
Can I have power, lighting and heating in it?
Yes. The supply runs from the house in armoured cable, buried in a marked trench, into a small consumer unit inside the room. From there you get sockets, lights, data and usually an electric heater or a unit that heats as well as cools. A new circuit run out to a garden building is notifiable work, so that side is certified by a qualified electrician and you keep the paperwork.
Will it be warm enough to use in winter?
It should be. Insulation goes into the floor, the walls and the roof, and the vapour control layer sits on the warm side so you do not get condensation forming inside the build up. A well insulated room of this size heats quickly and holds it. Rooms that are cold and damp in February nearly always have a cold, wet floor under them.
Can I sleep in it, or use it as an annexe?
That is a more involved question. A room used for sleeping or as separate living accommodation is generally not incidental to the house, which changes both the planning position and the building regulations that apply to it. It can be done, but it wants checking properly with the council first rather than afterwards. We would rather have that conversation at the quote stage.
How long does a garden room take to build?
Allow a few weeks for most rooms. The base usually takes the first week, including the dig, any drainage and time for concrete to cure if it is a slab. The structure and cladding follow, then the electrics, the doors and the inside finish. Weather affects the groundwork more than anything else, and we would rather lose a day than build on a wet base.
What is the difference between a garden room, a log cabin and a summer house?
A garden room is a stud framed, insulated building meant for year round use. A log cabin is built from interlocking machined logs, has a look of its own, and settles a little in its first year. A summer house is lighter and usually less insulated, made for sitting out in warm weather. All three need the same thing underneath: a dry, level base.
What maintenance will it need?
Not much, but not nothing. Clear the gutter twice a year and keep leaves out of the drainage around the base. Timber cladding is either left to weather to grey or treated every couple of years to hold its colour. Check the seals on the doors and windows now and then, and keep planting off the cladding so air can still move behind it.
Get a quote
Get a Free Written Quote for Your Garden Room
Family-run company, 27 years in the trade, fully insured, with 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. Tell us where the room is going and we will come and look at the ground first.
- Free, no-obligation quotationsIn writing, with the build-up and the drainage set out.
- 27 years in the tradeMarshalls Register accredited, Bradstone Assured.
- Fully insuredDomestic and commercial work across Surrey.
Arrange a free site visit
Tell us a little about the project and we will come out, look at the ground and put a written quotation together.
Where we work
Garden Rooms Across Surrey and the Borders
Based in Caterham, we undertake projects throughout Surrey and selected areas of Kent and West Sussex. For larger or more comprehensive projects, we are happy to consider work further afield.