Garden Office in Ashtead
This gorgeous Cedar Clad, 2.5m by 4.2m Garden Room/Garden Office in Ashtead, Surrey, has been over a year in the making.
We were first approached by client Adam in the early summer of 2019, who was looking to adapt an existing large garden shed for office use. Our initial advice was that while this could be done, a shed as an office space in the winter it could become uncomfortable. So we suggested that he have a think more generally about the primary use for the space.
A few months passed and Adam came back to us with an idea that he had sketched out and wanted to get an idea on the cost. He’d designed a huge garden room, with large decking area and hidden room for tools and bike parts. Here at Blue Goose Carpentry we love a challenge and knowing Adam well, we took the idea away to price it up. We responded with a comprehensive breakdown in cost based on his requirements. Sadly the cost for the design came out too high for his budget at this point in time, but he definitely still wanted to get something done and said that he’d get saving and be back in touch.
7 months on and lockdown had hit the UK. People were being forced to work from home, so the need for desk space was more important than ever. Adam was no different and although it took a few months post lock down for Adam to commit, he did with a newer slightly scaled back idea for design.
We really loved Adam’s approach and idea for the design so that the cladding would run vertically rather than horizontally. This would be our first time applying cladding to a garden room in this way, but we were excited to see the outcome. With the design agreed, our biggest discussion point was actually what cladding to use. There really is so much choice out there dependent on your budgets and we laid out a treated thermowood, larch and cedar as the three options.
Each wood has its own unique characteristics, with thermowood and larch typically requiring ongoing treatment to ensure it has a long life. Cedar however has many benefits including a good natural insulation and most importantly high natural rot resistance, meaning less treatment is required. It also changes its colour the longer its exposed to UV light from a vibrant red to a lovely faded silvery grey. This was the cladding for Adam.
Work commenced and the building was up in two days. Cladding was commenced on Day 2. Day 3 consisted of the roof being completed. On Day 4 the first electrical fit took place, with a few extra bits of cladding installation. Day 5 finalised the cladding, insulation installation and initial internal boarding. With COVID19 still in full force, there was a slight delay on the doors from the suppliers, but this was all fully communicated to the client. Day 6 the BiFold doors were installed and plaster board added. Day 7 the plastering was done, requiring a few days to dry. Once dry (and it dried quickly in the intense heat) the first off coat of paint was applied, before the flooring and skirting was installed. Day 8 consisted of step installation, guttering and water butt installation. Thankfully the guttering was added just in time for the UK’s biggest storm for a while. Day 9 the final day of the build the electricians came back to hook up the room.
With the garden room being around 80ft from the main house, WiFi from the main house wasn’t going to be an option. Instead Adam had opted for a fully connected garden office, opting for a CAT6a internet cable. While such a connection isn’t required today, the room is now future proofed for internet connectivity. This CAT6a cable is hooked up to the primary internet router in his house, with ethernet switches between the two to provide SkyQ TV access through a mini-box in the garden room. A separate WiFi router in the room, means that many devices can be connected to the internet and also allowed for Phillips Hue lightbulbs to be installed, really finishing off the building.
We’re really proud of this one. Once Adam has landscaping done we’ll ask him to provide some more pictures.
The team at Blue Goose Carpentry were fantastic throughout. Fair with their pricing from Day 1, communicative throughout, hardworking and willing to adapt ideas throughout the build as they came to me. I’ve always been weary of getting work done, but couldn’t have felt more comfortable having the team onsite.
Adam Lynch, Ashtead (August 2020)
