Common Mistakes People Make When Buying a Garden Room

“Common Mistakes People Make When Buying a Garden Room”

A lot of people think adding a garden room onto their property, or into the grounds of their property is an easy addition, and in most cases it is. However, if you don’t do your homework correctly you can end up spending money needlessly, or not filing crucial planning application.

So, before you rush into buying a garden room, let’s have a look at a few common mistakes people make when buying a garden room, so you don’t waste any time or money.

1. Not getting planning permission.

OK, most of the time garden rooms and other outbuildings don’t require planning permission as they fall under ‘permitted development’. Saying that, you don’t have free rein to put up anything of any size that you fancy, just because you don’t need to seek planning permission.

You still have to abide by certain conditions as laid out by the planning office, in particular in relation to the size, height and distance of the garden room from your property.

Local planning authorities have rules about where a garden room can be sited on a property, so it’s always best to check with your local planning authority before you commence building.

2. Build good foundations.

A lot of people forget that garden rooms require foundations, just like any other building, so make sure that whomever you purchase your garden room from has factored in laying decent foundations into their price.

Not checking the foundations ahead of time could leave you with an extra bill to lay those foundations, or not having foundations dug in at all.

You might also want to enquire about what type of foundations are being laid and what materials they are being built from, for example, Orangeries-UK uses polyurethane (good U-VALUES OF 0.28) with concrete foundations and an optional rubber padding.

The type of materials used in the foundations will determine how long the garden room is likely to last for. You don’t want to spend a fortune on an expensive garden room only to discover that it has weak foundations that will collapse after five years.

3. Not all garden rooms are insulated.

Garden rooms aren’t like room extensions to your home. They don’t have to be insulated, and more often than not, they aren’t. Which means you will have to add insulation at an extra cost later down the line, or put up with a freezing cold room in winter.

Also, find out what type of insulation the garden room will be built with and how well that insulation works. It may be that you want to pay a little more for better quality insulation that will save you money on your heating bills in the future.

4. Not getting a guarantee with the garden room.

The last thing you want to do after shelling out a lot of money for a fab new garden room is not have a guarantee in place should anything go wrong with it after the builders have left. You need to ensure that there is a guarantee in place to protect your investment.

Ask the company you’re purchasing your garden room from BEFORE you hand over any cash, if their garden rooms have guarantees. Be wary of any company that doesn’t provide a guarantee with their products, because if something were to go wrong, you and your investment are on your own.

5. Not knowing what the inside will look like.

If you’ve found the garden room of your dreams and you love how it looks externally, always find out what the interior is going to look like too. The last thing you want is to build a garden room only to discover that you hate the internal finish.

Check out recent garden rooms that your chosen company has built, or if you have a particular interior in mind, ask the company if that is possible with your garden room design.

6. Not knowing what is included in the cost.

If you’ve fallen in love with a picture of a garden room supplied by a particular company, always enquire what comes as standard and what is an optional extra.

Because you may end up thinking you’re getting a bargain, when in fact you’re getting the bare minimum, and everything else (ie the things you fell in love) are all optional extras that will end up costing you the earth to install.

That doesn’t mean your chosen company is out to manipulate you for more money, it’s just how marketing works. Think of any car showroom you’ve been in: they don’t display the basic car model, no, they show off their top of the range models, the ones that will turn heads and draw customers in. The cheaper models are shown later.

So always ask what is included in your quote, that way you won’t be left disappointed when the showroom model isn’t delivered.

7. Not factoring electricity into your garden room.

Regardless of how you plan on using your new garden room, you will have a requirement for electricity at some point – you might want to use the room when the natural light is low, or heat it when the weather turns chilly. In which case, if you haven’t connected your garden room to your electricity supply, it is going to be tricky to use the room.

Some garden rooms will come with the ability to hook the room up to the mains, whilst others will require you to run cables throughout the room. Make sure you know which applies to you before you make your choice.

8. Don’t assume construction is included in the price.

Unless your quote specifically states that delivery and construction of your garden room is included in the price, don’t assume it is. Unless you have the requisite skills necessary to install a garden room complete with foundations and electricity, you are going to require someone to do the work for you.

As a side note, it is perfectly standard to have to pay extra on top of the cost of the garden room to have someone come and erect it for you, so factor this cost into your budget, otherwise you will be hit with a large unexpected bill at the end of the project.

Summary

Avoiding these easy mistakes will save you time and money, because installing a garden room isn’t complicated or expensive, our garden rooms start at £10,000 for example. But making mistakes that you needn’t make can increase the price exponentially and sour the whole experience for you.

By purchasing your garden room from a reputable company such as Orangeries-UK, is key to avoiding these costly common mistakes.