Garden Rooms are often thought of as being a separate cabin style building down the end of your garden; which you would typically use as an office, craft room, spare bedroom or as a separate summer only additional living space.
However, did you know that a Garden Room can also refer to a fixed structure that is part of your house? This can be from designing a new structure to extend your existing living space, or by altering a conservatory into a more usable room that connects your living space to your garden as a conservatory does, but with the benefit of being able to use it all year round not just in the warmer months.
Whilst conservatories have their uses and in the summer are great spaces to relax in and make the most of the sunshine streaming in; they can become too hot at the height of summer as the heat becomes trapped inside and they are difficult to cool down. At the other end of the temperature scale; come the winter, they then become too cold so people end up shutting them off from the rest of the house and using them as storage; as they are simply too cold to even open the door to let alone use the space. This is a shame as it is often a good-sized space that is not being fully utilised and thereby restricts your overall living space during the winter months.
However, there are a number of options available to make this space more usable. These range from swapping the glass/polycarbonate roof to an insulated tiled roof to help maintain a consistent temperature; to swapping the structure for a more permanent structure that can be put to full use throughout the year.
Additionally; many clients are now asking for a garden room to be added to their house when they have no existing structure there in the first place. They love the idea of having a room that they can relax in and enjoy the garden views from whatever time of year; making the most of the summer or winter sunshine but with it still being part of their house rather than separate.
Whichever route you are considering, replacing a conservatory with a permanent structure that can be used all year round will not only add value to your home but will make it more attractive to sellers should you decide to move later down the line.
Here are some examples of Garden Rooms we have worked on for previous clients:
Garden Room – Milton Keynes Our client wanted a garden room which could be used all year round without costing a fortune in heating bills. Therefore, we produced a light airy room that connected with the garden and the rest of the house. We also advised on the reshaping of the garden and rebuilding of a garden wall to create an adjacent outdoor sunspace. They were very happy with the finished outcome and said “The project was delivered on time to a high spec. Building Tectonics engaged with us throughout the process ensuring that any changes were managed and we would highly recommend them”.
Conservatory Conversion – Milton Keynes When Tony, our company director, brought his house it included a conservatory so one of the main upgrades he made was to put a ‘proper’ roof on it. This required getting builders to form a foundation outside the conservatory, construct the necessary steelwork, remove the old plastic roof and replace it with a new traditional roof. The glass sides and floor were left as they were but it had a super insulated roof installed. Although the conservatory was already there; Planning and Building Regulation approvals will often still be necessary for this type of work.
House Remodel – Bedfordshire Our client had bought a very tired 1960s house which they thought needed remodelling. The house had a very uninspiring appearance, an outdated internal arrangement, very poor insulation and lacked connection with the garden. An architect had produced some plans but the client thought these were unsuitable. Therefore, we were asked to perform our magic and remodel the house and make it a home fit for the future. We are pleased to say that everyone has been delighted with the results.
Do you have an existing conservatory or outbuilding that you would like to make better use of and connect with the garden for all-around year use? Or would you simply like some ideas for how a new garden room structure could be added to the back of your house? Please do get in touch to see how Building Tectonics can help you.