DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION?
Our garden rooms are designed to be built within the rear and side gardens of an existing dwelling without needing planning permission.
Under Permitted development rights you are allowed to construct an ‘Ancillary’ room without the need for permission providing it does not exceeding 50% of the original garden space.
Garden rooms must have a maximum eaves of 2.5m and maximum overall height of 4m for a double pitched roof and maximum eaves of 3m for a single pitched roof. If the garden room is within 2m of the property boundary the whole garden room should not exceed 2.5m in height.
To more sensitive sites like areas of outstanding natural beauty, conservation areas, national park, world heritage site and listed building planning permission may be required. If planning permission is required for a minimal charge we can provide architectural drawings and submit an application for you and deal with the planning process.
Inspired Garden rooms MD Mark Thorley is a chartered architectural consultant with over 25 years experience and would be happy to discuss the permitted development rules with you in more detail. If required for a minimal charge we can apply for a Lawful development certificate from the councils local planning department which will confirm in writing on their letter headed paper that the proposed outbuilding is indeed lawful.
DO I NEED BUILDING REGULATIONS?
garden rooms design and construct all off our rooms to surpass current building regulations in all aspects from structural details, thermal performance, electrical installation and so on. Our rooms are not ‘posh sheds’ which you can only use when its warm, quite the opposite, they are hi quality long term investments likely in most cases to be better built than the house you live in!
If the garden room is under 30sqm and does not have a permanent bedroom then it does not need building regulations. If building regulations is required we will deal with all the application on your behalf and issue the completion certificate from the building control inspector when he has completed his final inspection.
AS A CLIENT WHAT WILL I NEED TO ARRANGE?
To keep cost down our standard prices exclude some items which you could arrange yourself or alternatively we can do everything for you so you can sit back and relax.
Items you would need to arrange or ask us for a price:
1) Electrical feed: Local electrician to sort electrical cable from your house to the proposed garden room and connect to the board we supply within the garden room.
2) Decoration: all our rooms will be left with plaster finish ready for you to decorate,
3) External decking / patio: No external landscaping is included, but we can do for additional cost
We will also need a temporary power supply during construction.
CAN I USE OTHER CHEAPER INSULATION TO KEEP COST DOWN & DO OTHER COMPANIES OFFER INFERIOR PERFORMANCE?
There are lots of significantly cheaper, inferior insulation on the market which do not come close to the performance both thermally and acoustically of the insulation we use. Typically for the supply of insulation on the small garden rooms we spend in excess of £600 per room which will give the level of comfort you need and keep the running cost down. We believe this is a good investment. Some other companies just install cheaper quilt insulation for about 1/4 of the price that doesn’t come close to our standards.
ARE THERE CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE WINDOWS AND DOORS ON THE MARKET?
As standard we only offer the highest quality powder coated thermally broken windows & doors all with 28mm toughened double glazed units with argon filled cavities and low E coating all with 10 years guarantee. All doors come with a 5 point locking system & internally beaded to keep those unwelcome visitors out.
This specification will give you excellent security and no need for future decoration. Many competitors offer cheaper upvc or timber doors which are likely to have a shorter life and require additional maintenance.
HOW LONG DO THE ROOMS TAKE TO BUILD ON SITE?
A typical room can be factory fabrication in 2 to 4 weeks and the installation on site varies between a further 1 week up to 3 weeks for the larger rooms.
HOW ARE DELIVERY COST CALCULATED?
We work out delivery for every project individually depending on location, need for hotel accommodation for site team, travel cost & if the building is 100% prefabricated and craned in or manufactured in panels in the factory and assembled on site.
On the contact us page we list things we will need from you to be able to give you a FIXED PRICE including the room & delivery.
WHAT GUARANTEES DO INSPIRED OFFER?
25 Years roof membrane material guarantee, Life expectancy 50 years+
10 years structural frame guarantee, Life expectancy 50 years+
10 years door and glass guarantee
25 year paint guarantee to doors.