We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Garden Summer House/shed

Hello all,

I've just moved into a property in the cotswolds that has a very nice summer house (wooden) in the back garden.. it's about 4m by 2m and about 2.50m in height... I was told by the seller that it didn't require planning permission when built a few years ago.

I would like to wire it for electricity to use it as a studio/office... It's approximately 4-5m from the back of the house so very close, and the garden has just large paving stone slabs, which can be lifted up easily and replaced.. I will be calling a local electrician for a quote, but just wanted to get an idea of how much is reasonable. I can easily do it myself but as far as I understand it in the UK this is a job that has to be carried out by a qualified electrician? I'm from Cyprus where laws are different so excuse my ignorance!

The electricity demands won't be that great but I'd like to keep a 13amp supply so that I can plug a heater in if I need to.

Will wiring the summer house up require me to apply for some sort of permission etc.?

Finally, the outbuilding is a light wood.. looks like pine but I can't confirm. It is starting to go slightly grey/silver at the bottom... Is there any way to check whether it is pressure-treated or not i.e. whether it needs painting/staining every year or so? If so.. how do I go about preparing it if it's already started to turn silverish at the bottom (about 12" off the ground).

Cheers everyone!

Pavel
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 604K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.4K Life & Family
  • 261.5K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.