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The Top 10 Tips when buying a Garden Office
10th January 2010
So you’ve decided to work from home. And you know that a
“home office” is never the best solution and that the
solution awaits in your garden. All you need to do now is to
purchase a proper garden office. Charlie Dalton, the UK’s
garden office expert guides you through the decision making
process and helps you avoid the pitfalls.
1.
Choose your size wisely.
You should only buy your garden office once, so make sure
you get the right size: not just for your garden but for
your intended purpose. I‘ve spoken to countless garden
office users who always bemoan that, with hindsight, their
office is just a little too small for their day to day
needs. Think about how much desk space, filing space and
meeting space will you need? Will you be working alone, with
colleagues or will you be expecting other visitors? Once
you’ve established these factors you can start to think
about the impact your garden space.
2.
Think about how often you’ll use the office.
Even if you are planning to use your garden office only
occasionally, you’ll still need to ensure that your choice
of building is well insulated and secure if you intend to
leave any files or IT equipment in it. If you are a regular
garden office worker, then make sure your interior
environment will match that of your “in house” office. Warm,
comfortable and secure should be your top 3 tick points.
3.
Avoid a shed, summerhouse or log “cabin”.
Remember that most garden buildings are designed for
garden use. Garden being the key word. You need
to be concentrating on the word office. Sheds and
summerhouses are perfect occasional work destinations when
the weather is neither too cold nor too hot – so you and
your laptop can stroll down the garden and will be fine for
around 30-60 days of the year. However, you’ll be
uncomfortable and miserable for the other 10 months of the
year. Recently, log cabin importers have added “Home Office”
onto their suggested uses of these Eastern European sheds.
Sure, a log cabin is a little bit tougher than a shed, but
we’ve yet to establish how a single skinned building can
effectively deter the local villains, cope with the British
weather or can prevent the logs opening up to reveal
impromptu additional windows and an unwelcome source of
ventilation. They’re cheap (and they are certainly not
cheerful!) but it will cost you pretty penny to heat/cool
and you’ll be lucky to get insurance for it as a “home
office”. This is a risky strategy.
4.
Make the right impression.
Even if you are not expecting regular visitors, you must
ensure that your office inspires you, delights you and
entices you every morning. Make sure the garden office that
you choose makes you keen to go to work every morning. You
should have a spring in your step as you stroll down the
garden to work.
5.
Don’t be a Guinea Pig.
Avoid choosing a garden office that will be the “first time”
for the company. The internet is full of companies who have
produced a prototype – photographed to a great extent on a
flashy website …and then plan to sell it to you. Garden
Office manufacture is specialist sector, and whilst a few
fly-by-nights might have some pretty pictures there is
little substitute to a history of production and
installation. There are only a few reputable garden office
manufacturers in the UK who have a proven track record of
consistent manufacturing quality. These companies can supply
you with a robust, attractive and comfortable office space.
Market leaders are
Smart Garden Offices,
MPB and Henley Offices.
6.
Don’t get caught out by the new planning regulations.
It’s a little known fact that the new planning regulations
may make your garden office incompliant if you locate it
within 2 metres of your boundary. Make sure you select a
garden office that is below 2.5m in height if you’re a
looking to make the most of your garden space, and want to
avoid having to apply for planning permission.
7.
Make the most of the tax breaks.
If you plan to run your business from your garden office you
can get some excellent tax breaks – but only if you buy
wisely. If your garden office can be proven to be
“demonstrably movable” you can gain the VAT, Capital Gains
Tax and Capital Allowances advantages. A building that falls
into this category must prove that it is able to be removed
from it’s current location (not just across the garden) and
transported to another location within one day. Garden
Offices that have plastered walls, fixed footings or cannot
prove their ability to be readily demounted do not fall into
this category and are therefore not able to offer the same
(if any) of the tax breaks.
8.
Avoid this weeks designer “fashion”.
We watch with interest the vagaries of architectural
fashion. Sadly these fashions become painfully embarrassing
within a few years. Our current pet hate is cedar cladding.
This looks absolutely beautiful for the first year but then
reality sets in. Every single water mark becomes a very
visible stain, the gold shade creeps back to “council house
grey” and nail marks stand out like grim pimples. Our guess
is that buildings clad with this stuff will become “very
noughties” very soon.
9.
Get a good idea of running costs and maintenance.
You don’t need to be an expert in building materials to
establish the main maintenance issues of your office. The
main garden office manufacturers will only use construction
grade materials and professional coatings to ensure minimal
maintenance. Don’t get sucked into “ecobabble” about
sustainable insulation or roofs. Sedum roofs are prone to
failing on a regular basis (expect a very wet interior after
a year or so) and if they are successful will look derelict
after a few years. PIR insulation is the most effective
insulation (all the main manufacturers and house builders
use this material). Whilst sheeps wool insulation and
reconstituted paper insulation have a low manufacturing
footprint, they are inefficient as insulators especially
when insulating relatively small buildings due to the wall
thickness limitations.
10.
Check out the web sellers in great detail.
You don’t need to buy your garden office from a showsite or
a middle man. Why pay their substantial margins when you can
search for the manufacturers online. But take time to check
each one out. Firstly, search for “garden office
manufacturers” on Google. Establish each company’s
manufacturing credentials, and avoid those that claim to
make sheds and other garden buildings as their production
processes will be compromised. Ask to see your office being
made in the factory, and gauge the reaction. Also make sure
you credit check each supplier – this will give you a good
idea of the solidity of the guarantee and safety of your
order. Only order from a supplier who gives their full
address details on their website (not just a contact form or
mobile number) and phone them to request a site survey of
your garden. Reputable suppliers offer this service free of
charge.
Charlie Dalton is the known as the UK’s garden office
expert. He is a director of Smart
Garden Offices one of the leading manufacturers of
dedicated garden office buildings in Europe.
. He created the first mainstream garden office range in
2001 and has been designing, manufacturing and installing
garden office buildings ever since. His company installs
across the UK, Western Europe and the USA.
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