Create a distraction-free space

With many of us currently mandated to work from home, the home office is an idea that now probably makes more sense than ever before. Naturally, though, you will want that office to be somewhere free of productivity-hampering distractions, hence why setting it up in a garden outbuilding looks like a wise move.

However, building a garden room is not as simple as, say, assembling a garden shed. You would have to carefully consider not only how that garden room should be designed but also whether there are any particular regulatory hurdles the project would need to jump. Here is a quick guide to what to do.

Do you need permission?

Most garden outbuildings fall under permitted development and so do not require planning permission. However, in certain conditions, a garden office would – for example, if it will have more than one storey, reach over four metres in overall height or cover over half of the original house’s outdoor space.

Our planning consultants can advise you on whether the project does need this permission and, if it does, help you with your application for planning permission. We can help you to discern, for example, whether the way you intend to use this home office will mean you need planning permission for it.

How should your garden office be designed?

As you could end up using this office all year round, this room will need to be fitted with heating, ventilation, insulation and electricity. All of that should be integrated with walls, a floor and a ceiling all sufficiently thick in construction to help safeguard the structure’s long-term resilience. A year-round garden office should be double-glazed, too – though the glazing should be placed behind your computer screen to prevent glare obscuring your view of what’s on it. We can build you a garden office in London or nearby, such as by converting a garage – just phone us on 0208 087 2607 for more details.