Advice on building a garden studio (terraced house)...

delmonta

Hi

I live in a terraced house in Bristol. I'm tired of working from my bedroom and would love to build a little studio in the garden, but it's not very big, and no access apart from throut the house. The garden is about 8m long by 5m wide, paved. I really want a simple room, just a rectangle with some plug sockets

I want to do it as cheaply and simply as possible, within reason! It seems you can do it much cheaper than the premade ones if you do it yourself, and I'm a proficient DIYer

If anyone can advise me...

- how can I build it right up to the boundaries because there won't be any space to clad it etc. My side neighbours would probably let me access it from their garden for a day, but the back wall not possible.

- I was thinking of making it 4.8m x 2.4m to get the most out of sheet material on the floor and roof etc. Is this a good idea or unnecessary? 

- I am worried about it taking too much space up, although.nobody ever sets foot in that part of the garden. I'm also worried about it feeling small inside! What do you think of the proposed dimensions above? 

- I was thinking of bi or Tri folding doors into the garden so it can be opened up and like and indoor/outdoors space. But I'd like a velux window to get proper light in, Is it easy enough to install a velux on for example a rubber pitched roof? Is the pitch going to be too shallow?

- Any tips on materials, rubber roof bitumen? Some durable cladding that's not combustible, doesn't need maintenance etc for the boundary facing walls. 

- Can I build directly on my paved garden? It feels incredibly solid, but would I need deeper foundations? 

- it would be for music but I'd rarely be ridiculously loud, although some sound proofing would be nice, but not at the expense of space

Sorry for all the questions! Any help greatly appreciated

Thanks

FreeBear

4.8m wide in a 5m garden isn't going to give you much room to assemble the sides - If you prefabricate the panels and arrange all the fixings to be accessible from the inside, you could just about do it. But you need to consider overhangs & guttering and make sure they don't encroach on neighbouring fences/gardens. Drop the width down to 4.2m, and that would give you space to get either side for maintenance..

stuart45

If you made it 3.6 x 3.6 you get a lot more space for the same linear measurements.

delmonta

stuart45 said:

If you made it 3.6 x 3.6 you get a lot more space for the same linear measurements.

You get an extra m2, but it really wouldn't work in my garden, wasted space down the sides and it would come out too far

delmonta

FreeBear said:

4.8m wide in a 5m garden isn't going to give you much room to assemble the sides - If you prefabricate the panels and arrange all the fixings to be accessible from the inside, you could just about do it. But you need to consider overhangs & guttering and make sure they don't encroach on neighbouring fences/gardens. Drop the width down to 4.2m, and that would give you space to get either side for maintenance..

yeah this is what I was wondering, if there was some way to assemble the whole frame, clad the side and back walls and then move it into place (probably not!). Or as you say prefabricated and then fixed from inside. But it may be a fiddle. 

I want to maximise space, but maybe you are right I need to get to the sides and back for maintenence

RAS

I'd start by confirming the exact width of the garden at the end and 2.4 metres in.

Looking at the other stuff in your shot, if you extend your roof slightly beyond the walls, you'd have space to store a bike or two or a ladder down the sides when you don't need access. As long as you ensure the rain goods don't extend beyond your boundary, and you've worked out some way of dealing with the run-off. 

You might also want to think about where the sun is? Are you going to end up with a hot house or totally shade the rest of the garden?

delmonta

RAS said:

I'd start by confirming the exact width of the garden at the end and 2.4 metres in.

Looking at the other stuff in your shot, if you extend your roof slightly beyond the walls, you'd have space to store a bike or two or a ladder down the sides when you don't need access. As long as you ensure the rain goods don't extend beyond your boundary, and you've worked out some way of dealing with the run-off. 

You might also want to think about where the sun is? Are you going to end up with a hot house or totally shade the rest of the garden?

Thanks, well its 2.4 metres wall to wall which is definitely my garden. But there is space between the gardens too that may be mine too, I'd have to check the deeds. I can knock down the brick wall

Good idea to have a bit of undercover space for a bike though. I really want to squeeze the most space out I can, but also not make it a nightmare to build and repair!

FreeBear

delmonta said:

FreeBear said:

4.8m wide in a 5m garden isn't going to give you much room to assemble the sides - If you prefabricate the panels and arrange all the fixings to be accessible from the inside, you could just about do it. But you need to consider overhangs & guttering and make sure they don't encroach on neighbouring fences/gardens. Drop the width down to 4.2m, and that would give you space to get either side for maintenance..

yeah this is what I was wondering, if there was some way to assemble the whole frame, clad the side and back walls and then move it into place (probably not!). Or as you say prefabricated and then fixed from inside. But it may be a fiddle. 

I want to maximise space, but maybe you are right I need to get to the sides and back for maintenence

Assembled two flat pack sheds here (a 10'x6' and a 6'x8'). Both were bolted, screwed, and nailed together before moving into final position. Broom handles and lengths of 3x2 made it an easy task.

doningtonphil

Hello. My first garden building was from Sanctumgardenstudios.com in Chorley. Arrived on site at 8am, fully built and electrics plugged in by 1pm. 
They seemed the best price for the 'prebuilt' garden pods.
2nd garden office I 'built myself'.
Concreted threaded rods into the ground to provide adjustable support.
Liaised with a company off ebay who build SIP panels to your design (basically panels made of thick polystyrene  sandwiched between an inner and outer OSB 'skin').
Ordered a patio door from my local UPVC merchant and bought a Kingspan insulated metal roof off the guys from Sanctum.
Overall, about half the cost of Sanctum, but was far from being 'built in a morning'

delmonta

doningtonphil said:

Hello. My first garden building was from Sanctumgardenstudios.com in Chorley. Arrived on site at 8am, fully built and electrics plugged in by 1pm. 
They seemed the best price for the 'prebuilt' garden pods.
2nd garden office I 'built myself'.
Concreted threaded rods into the ground to provide adjustable support.
Liaised with a company off ebay who build SIP panels to your design (basically panels made of thick polystyrene  sandwiched between an inner and outer OSB 'skin').
Ordered a patio door from my local UPVC merchant and bought a Kingspan insulated metal roof off the guys from Sanctum.
Overall, about half the cost of Sanctum, but was far from being 'built in a morning'

Thanks, yeah I can't pay for one of the pre built ones or the companies. 

I am weighing up whether to use SIP panels or just build it the traditional way. I read one blog post saying how all these companies push SIP panels as being better because they are cheaper and more convenient. But they don't breathe at all and end up with issues in the future. But I dont really know

Section62

delmonta said:

- it would be for music but I'd rarely be ridiculously loud, although some sound proofing would be nice, but not at the expense of space

It looks like you have lots of other people living all around you.  Unless they are all very friendly and supportive you are quite likely to have complaints made about the noise - sound/music played within a conventionally constructed house is far more attenuated to the outside than most 'outbuilding' type constructions.

You need to factor in the need for sound insulation, even if you think you can get away without it to start with.  Retrofitting insulation can be difficult and expensive, and will involve loss of internal space if you max out on the external dimensions.  If your neighbours feel it is 'essential' rather than just 'nice' your plans could come unstuck before you've finished.