Opinions on Summer House/Office

[crispyshark]

Hello all!

First time poster in this sub forum and hoping for a bit of advice/opinions…..

We have just purchased a 3 bed semi-detached which needs extensive renovation including a 4 metre extension at the rear.

It has a 100ft garden with a small shed/outhouse at the back. We have been looking at potentially having a brick built summer house/office there but the cost is getting on for £18k. My question is, has anyone gone down the route of a shipping container summer house/building and if so could you recommend a supplier/converter? Or does anyone have any recommendations for wood based options? Our budget is around £5-7k and ideally it would need to have insulation, double glazing (pref with some bi-fold doors), electricity and be secure.

Thanks in advance for your help.

C

[barryrs]

I would have a look at the log cabin type structures as that budget should go pretty far.

[Chris Type R]

If you can, add a toilet to the budget - if using as an office, going indoors for pee breaks gets tired very quickly.

[crispyshark]

Chris Type R said:

If you can, add a toilet to the budget - if using as an office, going indoors for pee breaks gets tired very quickly.

Yes, we want to do this and the actual logistics of running a waste pipe will not be hard....my fear is when building regs/council come round and try saying it could be lived in.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent log cabin supplier that could accommodate our wish list?

[HotJambalaya]

Have seen some decent looking ones at Costco, you'd need to have them modified yourself though...


http://www.costco.co.uk/view/c/garden-flowers/outd...

[trickywoo]

Depends how big you want it to be.

I've been looking at 5mX5mish log cabins and found the ones offered here to look good value http://www.buyshedsdirect.co.uk/ haven't used them so can't vouch for them.

Thing is by the time you've done a good base and added insulation plus cladding to make it look nice inside even a £7k budget is a bit tight.

My neighbour was pretty proud of a 2.4m square shed he got all in for £5k

[pac1uk]

Will you be doing all the work yourself? Or will you need the trades? Trades will consume most of that budget.

What size ? The bigger the more budget consumed
Ideally a concrete base for stability, so loads of soil to remove
Electrics - armoured cable, wiring circuits for light and power

Log cabins are more expensive than the shed type construction due to thicker timbers.

They have no insulation, so will be cold. You will need to add insulation, some log cabins offer double glazing but costs extra

If its an office what about internet connection? 100ft away from the house will probably mean no WiFi or very slow.

Putting a toilet in then you have water supply and soil pipe to connect. This could be expensive depending how far the services are.

If it's going to be an office to be used all year around then it needs to be good working environment e.g. warm in winter, cool in summer and a nice place to be. Otherwise your work health will suffer. This is very different to a shed / summer house

[Drumroll]

Have seen a "container" type office in a garden. It had been a site office, so already insulated and had the electrics in. Windows were replaced with glazed unit and the whole unit clad in wood. apparently the next stage was to put a pitched roof on it. What did puzzle me and I forgot to ask was how they actually got it in.

[MoelyCrio]

I looked at options around your budget, but ended up paying more than double to get something that would be usable all year round. Its being built this week.
Cant imagine a shipping container would look very nice...

[MoelyCrio]

I looked at options around your budget, but ended up paying more than double to get something that would be usable all year round. Its being built this week.
Cant imagine a shipping container would look very nice...

[mikeiow]

We have used Dunster House for a log cabin, but yes, to be a proper usable office you will want insulation all round......they do offer that kind of thing too: https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/garden-offices
The only way you will keep to that budget will be to DIY, I believe....but what could possibly go wrong?!
The log cabins are fairly easy to build....just take your time, and once it is up, get some preservative on right away, avoid the rot, before treating with any paint etc....

[eliot]

Ive got a wood stove in my log cabin - avoids the need to insulate it - without it would be unusable in the winter months.
Has a toilet and shower too - which is handy.
As for comms, its connected to the house with cat6 - no messing with wireless.