Does a garden room add value?

jamiem1234

Hello,

As with many of the UK population I am currently working from home. We currently have a spare bedroom which I use as an office, however circumstances have changed and we will now need this as an extra bedroom in the not so distant future.

So I have the dilemma faced by many UK households currently, office space! We have just moved into a new build home in March 2020, we had purchased this almost a year prior to that from plans, so a lot changes in 2 years!

I am lucky to have a relatively decent sized back garden to accommodate a garden office/room. But I worry that I won’t get the money back that I spend doing it. I have got a quote for what I am looking for and it’s roughly £9K give or take, which I believe to be a fair estimate. 

We do need the extra working space as even in non pandemic times I work from home 2/3 days a week, and my partner won’t be returning to her office so it’s not a decision based on a temporary problem. My opinion is if the house was for sale now, it would be appealing and probably worth the extra £10K to someone on a mortgage to a perspective buyer, but if we get back to normal life at some point it may have less appeal. Although I think COVID may have forever changed the way we work. 

So ultimately am I better waiting 18 months keeping my money and putting it towards a bigger house which we intended to do in the next 2/3 years anyway, or should I go for the garden room and sort my short term problem and hope I can make my money back?

Thanks  

hazyjo

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about adding value. Surely it's just something you want to spend to make your lives easier. Does it really need to add value? If it was £60k, I'd have a different view. I very much doubt it would add much in the way of value. I'm sure the house next to me won't sell because of a massive "music room" taking up half their garden. Their garden is east facing, fairly small and paved, so I don't think it's added a penny.

How big is your garden?

maxsteam

Some extensions look ugly and, as hazyjo suggests, can reduce a property's value. It's worth making sure that whoever builds it has the sense to try and match it up to the colour of the bricks and the style to the rest of the house. It's also worth thinking about what else, other than an office, the extension could be used for (utility room, dining area, etc..). You mentioned "garden room". These are often wooden and not so different to a large garden shed. By their nature, they are not meant to last for decades like a bricks and mortar extension so spending £9k is unlikely to add anything close to £9k onto the value of the property.
My guess is that, in investment terms, moving into a larger house is likely to be more cost effective. However you also need to put a price on avoiding the stress of a move and of being able to work comfortably in the near future.

jamiem1234

Thanks for the replies 🙂

Garden is roughly about 1200-1300 sq ft from memory. Which I know isn’t extensive but relatively large for a new build property.

So yes it’s a garden room so not bricks and mortar. The quote included insulation of the floor and walls 100MM and 50MM. Roof is a rubber membrane with anthracite french doors and cladding is British Douglas fir. It would
measure 3M x 2.4M.

We had thought of what other uses we may get out of this space, and decided that we would potentially use this on summer days when we were in the garden, rather than our first idea which was to convert the garage. The quote for this was about £6K from the same guy, who I’ve had work done before with and he does a really good job so I trust what’s he saying to be correct. But my theory with the garage conversion was we were in a sense losing space, whereas we were gaining it with the garden room. (Apart from the garden space it would use)

jamiem1234

Should Clarify the garage conversion was for a part of it converted, not the whole thing.

davidmcn

I wouldn't really fancy working from a glorified shed. PITA every time you need to pop back to the house. 

lauraflorence

I'd look at it the other way - is it worth the value to you - if you were to work in it 3 days a week for 2 years (assuming you took 4 weeks holiday a year) you'd be paying £31.25 a day - would you pay that for a set space for work elsewhere? If you'd get value from it in that time it's worth it. When it comes to selling there is no way of knowing if it would add 10k to the price but youd have got value from it so provided it doesnt decrease the value its money well spent, and if the new owner really hated it and wanted more garden space they could knock it down. 

Doozergirl

It seems to be the thing that people want at the moment.  We've done one, got another two lined up, our friends are having one (not working with friends!) and we're building one for ourselves. 

I suspect it does add value, because they seem to hold value for people.  How it's built would be important to me.  Ours has proper footings and is essentially built to building regs, despite not needing to be.  Whether that's important to others, I don't know, but something warm and built to last was my priority.  We can't have a woodburner in the house, so we're having one in there instead.  🙂

Jeepers_Creepers

jamiem1234 said:

Thanks for the replies 🙂

Garden is roughly about 1200-1300 sq ft from memory. Which I know isn’t extensive but relatively large for a new build property.

So yes it’s a garden room so not bricks and mortar. The quote included insulation of the floor and walls 100MM and 50MM. Roof is a rubber membrane with anthracite french doors and cladding is British Douglas fir. It would
measure 3M x 2.4M.

We had thought of what other uses we may get out of this space, and decided that we would potentially use this on summer days when we were in the garden, rather than our first idea which was to convert the garage. The quote for this was about £6K from the same guy, who I’ve had work done before with and he does a really good job so I trust what’s he saying to be correct. But my theory with the garage conversion was we were in a sense losing space, whereas we were gaining it with the garden room. (Apart from the garden space it would use)

Sounds good! It has a 'proper' roof (which will have insulation?) and proper insulation in the floor and walls too (tho' I'd hope that's 50mm in the floor, and 100mm in the walls and not the other way around?).

But mostly it has doors and windows in 'proper' walls - so is not, in any sense, a 'conservatory'.

£9k sounds good. Will it add value? Depends on your house's value, but I'd have thought surely 'yes'. Will it add £9k's worth? Possibly. More?! Possibly. Les?!! Possibly.

But very likely around £9k; It'll at least make your house more saleable, and that usually amounts to the same thing (more folk will want/fight for it).

No-brainer as far as I can see. Another way to look at it - do you think you'll regret having it done?! Almost completely utterly certainly, 'no'.

Photos when it's done, pretty please? :-)  

dimbo61

Go for it 
If you have the funds available ?
Would your employer help with the costs ?
Can you claim anything from the Tax person ! ( Have to politically correct )
We moved into our current home and I had a 10 foot by 8 foot shed built in the garden for £4,000 WOW you might say.
However it's a concrete sectional shed erected in 1 hour by the company.
I dug the concrete base to the instructions required and right depth.
I Love It and have full electrics, small electric heater, lights, sockets and shelving all fitted by me.
Can you take the garden Room with you when you move ? 
Check if it can be disassembled and transported 

Greymug

maxsteam said:

Some extensions look ugly and, as hazyjo suggests, can reduce a property's value. It's worth making sure that whoever builds it has the sense to try and match it up to the colour of the bricks and the style to the rest of the house.

total nonsense.

haven't you ever watched Geroge Clarke?

Disruptive can be beautiful and make a property less boring, as long as well thought out.