A Garden Lodge makes the perfect garden workshop getaway

Posted on February 8, 2019February 8, 2019 by Garden Lodges

Sometimes in winter, it is hard to not feel a little bit trapped indoors, confined by cold days, rain and dark evenings, we often find ourselves spending large amounts of time in the house. Even if you have a hobby, these can sometimes further restrict you to a small spare room.

What we often find is that our customers who build a garden lodge use their building all year round. Being made from SIP panel technology, using high-performance double glazing, the garden buildings we construct remain entirely usable all year round and are cheap to keep heated. Having a cosy and warm garden workshop means that you will be able to spend a lot more time out of the house. Unlike a pokey box room, a garden lodge is bright, light and airy, usually with stunning views onto your garden through large French or bi-fold doors.

Being able to stroll across the garden to your heated workshop and escape the house for a couple of hours can help winter pass-by that little bit more quickly. Being in a separate building means that you can leave the distractions of your home behind and really focus on your hobby or work from home in your very own garden sanctuary.

Use all year round, with SIP panel construction and thermally efficient double glazing, our Garden Lodges are fantastically warm
Fast turn around, our buildings are usually constructed within just 3-4 weeks meaning minimum disruption to you
Price includes all fittings, fixtures and decorating
Groundworks and services included in the price
Adds value to any home and increase the versatility of your home

The variety of uses a Garden Lodge is suitable for is extremely varied and not just limited that of a workshop or office. Many people find different uses for their garden building throughout the year. A garden office in winter could be used as a garden room in the summer, or an art studio or any other number of uses. This versatility is one of the reasons that our buildings are such an asset to people’s gardens and homes and can help you to make the most of your home and garden, especially in the winter months.

How are our garden buildings unique?

We believe that we offer our customers a unique experience and quality of service. Unlike many of our competitors, we offer a truly bespoke product that is designed solely for our customer’s requirements. If you need a lodge with a unique outlook, shape or size then we are always happy to discuss your design ideas and needs with you. We can create each garden lodge to your exact measurements and requirements with all of our buildings designed in house by our team of expert designers and then pre-assembled, at our workshop in Bedfordshire. This level of detail means that we are able to be a lot more understanding of our customer’s needs and create a great range of buildings in a variety of shapes and styles.

Quality buildings that are built to last

At Garden Lodges we believe that a garden building should be built to last. All of our buildings are constructed with proper foundations, either screw piles or concrete foundations, depending on the suitability of the ground. Groundworks also include the connection for electricity and the option of connecting to drainage, should you choose to also include a toilet, sink or shower room.

A perfect finish

We believe that a garden building should be decorated ‘properly’. For us, this means going that extra mile with the finishing touches, that is why all of our buildings are professionally plastered and decorated before we hand you the keys. This creates a room that has a quality of finish that exceeds many of our competitors creating a comfortable and attractive interior space from which to enjoy. All of our garden buildings come with professionally installed laminate wood flooring, with the option to upgrade to engineered Oak floorboards for an even warmer feel.

Unparalleled construction

A lot of garden buildings on the market are constructed in different ways. Some companies prefer to use a modular construction technique, meaning that the size and shape of the buildings are restricted to the modular panels that can be used. Other companies have fixed sizes and shapes that are created with insulated timber frames. At Garden Lodges we believe in providing bespoke designs that meet our customer’s requirements, whilst also proving the highest level of insulation on the market. For this, we use a construction technique that utilises SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels). These panels are made ‘in-house’ in our workshops in Bedfordshire. Made to order, they can be used to create almost any shape and size of lodge you prefer. The panels are made ‘off-site’, which helps to reduce the build time of your lodge and reduce disruption caused. SIPs are also extremely thermally efficient meaning that your lodge remains cool in summer and warm in winter, costing very little to heat.

5 great optional features and designs ideas we offer for your garden lodge

Posted on December 18, 2018December 18, 2018 by Garden Lodges

A garden lodge can be used for such a great variety of uses that often the designs vary a great deal from customer to customer. This functionality can range from a garden office to a gym, playroom, or man/she caves. The possibilities are huge.

There are a number of ways, whatever the building’s function, that can help make your lodge more practical, free up wasted space, or add an extra element to your garden.

Extra storage

An optional extra that can be incorporated into our garden buildings is a separate storage area. If you are anything like us, you can never have enough storage, and these ‘hidden door’ storage rooms create a discrete and functional extra space to keep garden tools, furniture, bikes or anything else you can think of. This might be especially useful for you if you have had to remove your garden shed to build your garden room, but still need the storage that you might have otherwise lost.

Sedum roofing

Sedum roofs are also known as ‘living roof systems’. These can be a great way to add an extra aesthetic element to your garden room and can help a large building blend into its surroundings when looked at from above. Sedum roofs are made from small growing succulents from the sedum, or stonecrop family. They are low maintenance, not requiring mowing, watering or deadheading. All that is required is feeding once a year, a few weeds removed and for gutters to be kept clear.

When choosing a sedum roof you are making an eco-friendly decision, sedums roofs will become a microclimate for birds and insects, minimising the impact of a new building on the environment, they also happen to look great.

Engineered Oak flooring

Our garden lodges come as standard with laminate flooring, that is hard wearing and looks fantastic. But for that extra touch of class, we can recommend installing optional engineered oak flooring. This hardwood looks stunning and will certainly last for many years. We can offer our customers a range of flooring options and are always available to discuss the options we have available.

Remote lighting and smart technology

Smart technology has progressed leaps and bounds over the last 5 years, and now there are a host of options available for turning your garden lodge into a smart home. We can offer our customers the option of having remote control lighting that can be controlled from your smartphone or tablet. Also, we can install a smart thermostat that can allow you to control the heating for you lodge from a smartphone, meaning you can set the temperature when away and have great control over your lodge’s heating and hot water.

Decking

If you want to add an extra dimension to your garden lodge, then decking can be a great way to connect the outdoor space with your garden building. Decking is an optional extra that can transform a garden space and increase its year-round usability. Our decking options are either hard wearing composite decking in grey or redwood colour, or Winchester style, pressure treated wood decking. We can also add outdoor lighting and patio heaters, to make sure your outdoor space is an option all year round.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

How well are our Garden Lodges insulated?

Posted on December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 by Garden Lodges

At Garden Lodges we are proud of the very high standards our buildings are constructed to. A question we are often asked, especially during the winter months, is how well insulated are our buildings? Well, the answer to that is extremely well!

Unlike many of our competitors, who often use simple insulated timber frames, we believe SIPs (structurally insulated panels) provide better insulation and improved structural integrity for our garden buildings. SIPs are built from 100mm expanded polystyrene board, sandwiched between two sheets of orientated strand board (OSB). Built to exact measurements in our own factory in Sandy Bedfordshire, we can guarantee that the Garden Lodge we build for you is precisely constructed, meaning that its U values are extremely low, down to 0.11w/m2K.

Ultimately this means you will have a warm lodge that is very cheap to heat in winter, and a temperate garden lodge in the summer months.

10 Benefits of using the SIP system

SIPs are produced off-site in our own factory facilities, meaning a guaranteed standard.
Off-site construction means less on-site construction. Typically this leads to a build time of between 3 -4 weeks, meaning our buildings are of excellent quality and fast to construct.
The materials used are all recyclable.
SIPs are environmentally friendly with a low carbon footprint.
Low U values, down to 0.11w/m2K.
Due to Panels being constructed in own premise we can offer our customers a bespoke design.
The structural strength of SIPs means less framed structures are needed, creating a light, spacious building.
Foundation requirements are lessened due to a stronger and lighter structure.
35% less raw materials used in the construction of SIP construction.
Sealed SIPs reduce cold spots and are better insulated.

Garden Lodges in winter

Due to modern advancements in construction, Garden Lodges, such as the ones we build, are usable all year round. you will probably find your cosy new Garden Lodge even warmer than your house. We can also offer optional extras that can help to further increase your comfort, such as heating, underfloor heating and air conditioning.

A Garden Lodge makes a perfect home office all year round. Not only will you find our garden buildings cheap to heat, but you could also save the cost of heating your main home during the day. If you work from home this could offer quite a large saving over the winter.

If you really want to make your Garden Lodge extra cosy then we can also offer bespoke options, such as a log burner. Not only will this fill your home office with a comforting warmth, but it will also provide a very cost-effective way to keep your garden room warm all winter.

For around £80 you will be able to buy a ton bag of seasoned logs, which should last all winter. Modern log burners are constructed in order to maximise efficiency and you can expect each log to last for around 1 hour. We can fit and install a log burner for an optional extra cost, with the burner itself costing anything from between £300 – £1500.

If you want to create a similar effect, but without the mess and effort of storing logs, then maybe an electric stove would work for you. These days it is possible to buy a realistic looking stove with flame effect that simply plugs into a socket. This can be a cost-effective way to add some cosiness to your garden lodge in winter.

Windows and doors

As standard, all of our garden buildings come with either French doors of sliding doors. You can also upgrade to bi-folding doors for an extra cost. All of our doors and windows come with thermally efficient double glazing that provides excellent warmth and sound insulation. As standard, our Garden Office range comes with UPVC French doors and windows, while our Garden Studio comes equipped with Aluminium powder coated frames.

The combination of SIPs construction and double glazed doors and windows means that your building is thoroughly protected from the elements.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

How to create a perfect playroom in your Garden Lodge

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Garden Lodges

Our Garden Lodges are not just a relaxing place for adult members of the family, increasingly we are seeing garden lodges being built for the younger generation as well. A lodge in the garden can make a perfect playroom, they are well sound insulated, secure, and allow for all the mess to be in one, nicely controlled area.

For peace of mind, we can build a garden playroom, close to the main house so that your children can always be in plain view, or for older kids having a degree of separation can be a great thing. Noisy pursuits like drum practice, playing music and video games loudly or watching films on high volume need not disturb your peace and quiet any longer!

Below are some great tips for making a playroom that will function perfectly for your children.

1. Choose appropriate flooring

When choosing the flooring for your garden lodge it is important to consider how the building will be used over the years. A great option for a playroom would be laminate flooring, Laminate is great for a playroom because it is very hard wearing. Also if there is an accidental spillage then it can simply be wiped clean. All of the garden lodges we build for our customers come complete with laminate floors as standard, with a range of colours available.

2. Create a colourful and fun environment

Children love bright spaces and there are plenty of ways to add elements of colour to a room. One good way is to add a feature wall. This will lift the space and create a real focal point, try some colourful wallpaper, or if you are feeling creative why not get the kids involved and design something themselves. Painting a wall with your children’s favourite colours and adding some patterns, such as stripes or zig-zags is another way to add some sparkle.

Decorating with wallpaper or paint can be easily changed to adapt to your children’s tastes as they get older. Or if you decide to change the playroom into a garden office for yourself then this would be easy as the decorating involved is not structural and all the decorating could be changed quickly.

3. Low maintenance furniture

it might seem obvious, but choosing the furniture for a playroom is something to think about carefully. Consider choosing a sofa that has detachable covers that can be thrown into the washing machine quickly, or perhaps a wipe clean option such as leather, or leather effect. A sofa in a playroom is going to get a lot of hard use, so don’t get too hung up on buying something that looks great and is expensive.

4. Cushions!

Cushions are a great way of creating a soft area for your children to play in, they can add colour and vibrancy to a room and come in all different shapes and sizes. Oversized cushions are great for this, as they can also be used for sleeping on and sitting on, but can be piled up in the corner if extra room is needed. They are also a great way of injecting extra colour into the playroom, with a myriad of cushion covers to choose from.

5. Hideaway storage

Storage is always going to be a top priority in a playroom as it is essential for things to be tidied away from time to time. The best way to create storage in a playroom is to have fun de-clutter boxes that make it easy for kids to tidy up. Something like these boxes below works perfectly, as they are large enough for kids to just throw everything in.

It’s also a good idea to have big clear labels on boxes, this way your kids will know what goes where and hopefully improve their tidying up skills!

Another great idea for storage is a simple shoe organiser. Cheap to buy in many stores, this versatile storage can be attached to the back of a door and used to tidy away lots of little things. It’s also a good idea to have big clear labels on boxes, this way your kids will know what goes where and hopefully improve their tidying up skills!

6. Children’s furniture

Children’s furniture is essential for any playroom, and will really make a children’s room seem like their own. Also, it won’t be comfortable for young children to have to struggle with big chairs, possibly adding something that can cause an accident. A great tip is to get some old wooden furniture and cut down the legs to make them much lower, the same can be achieved with a small table. It’s also possible to buy children’s furniture from many stores, try some of the big names like Ikea that will have some good options.

7. Create fun zones

Creating areas in the playroom that are designated fun zones will help to create an atmosphere. One idea could be to erect a small climbing wall, with a cushion below – all kids love climbing, so this could add a real element of fun. Or how about having a themed zone, try to create a corner that has a jungle feel, or a castle motif, something that will engage your child’s imagination and make the spaces great for play time.

8. Create an interactive wall

Let’s face it, kids are going to draw on the wall at some point. Why not encourage their creative flair by creating a chalkboard wall. Chalkboard paint can be bought at almost any DIY store and will create a matt black wall that is perfect for drawing on. We can’t guarantee this will stop the other walls being drawn on, but hey, it’s a start!

9. Create a chill-out nap time area

A chill-out area is a must-have for any playroom, all that fun can be exhausting, so it’s a good idea to have an area that is a little darker with some soft cushions. A great idea for this can be a tepee or tent where kids can go and sleep it off if they get over excited or overtired.

10. Rugs and floor mats

Rugs can be a brilliant way to divide space and to create different ‘zones’. Even better if some of those rugs can be floor mats with a theme. ‘Roadmap’ floor mats can be great fun for children to play on with their toy cars and can keep them occupied for hours.

11. Create a reading corner

Everybody appreciates that reading is essential for a child’s development and that starting children from an early stage is a no-brainer. Creating a reading corner will help to encourage children reading and give them easy access to a lot of reading material. Even if children start with just picture books it will create the foundations for an enjoyment of books that can last for the rest of their lives.

12. Art corner

As Picasso once said, ‘every child is an artist’. It’s a great idea to encourage your child’s artistic endeavours by creating a place in the playroom for displaying a selection of arts and crafts. There are a few different ways that pictures and paintings can be displayed. How about a clothesline, hanging on the wall, that will allow you to peg new works of art up as they are produced, to give a real sense of pride to the playroom.

At Garden Lodges we are committed to building the perfect garden building for our customers. After talking to one of our site survey experts, we will be able to advise you on the best building to meet your exact requirements.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

Best ways to create extra space in your home. Garden lodges vs conservatories or extensions.

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Garden Lodges

It’s a common fact that our houses are not always providing us with the space that we need. With the cost of moving house very expensive, now currently estimated at an average of £8900, it is no wonder that people are looking for alternative ways to increase the living space in their current homes. Now instead of moving to a larger house, building a garden lodge, conservatory or extension might be the most cost-efficient way to improve your habitable space.

In the past, an extension of conservatory might have been one of the only options available, but with the development of construction methods such as SIPs panels (Structurally Insulated Panels) building a bespoke garden office or lodge has certainly opened up more possibilities.

Garden Lodge Vs Extension

If you just want to add extra room to your existing space then you might find an extension is the best bet for you. An extension will allow you to enhance the size of your kitchen or living area. The most popular extensions are usually those that increase the size of a kitchen to create a kitchen-diner or family room. These are certainly popular on people’s wish lists when searching for a new home.

Garden lodges can work better when the extra space you require would benefit from being away from the main house. Good examples of this might be a garden office, music room, gym or art studio. In these cases, it might well be an advantage to be away from the main house where concentration and quietness would be appreciated. Also, many people see a psychological advantage of having their garden office separate from the main house as it allows them to detach work from home and set a clear physical boundary between the two.

Because a garden lodge can be constructed in its own space it is also less restricted than an extension that is obviously reliant on the positioning of the main house. This means that a garden lodge can be constructed anywhere where space allows giving more scope for its dimensions. Also, people might find that an extension is simply not viable, either there is not enough room to build or perhaps there are caveats put on the building such as it being grade 2 listed.

Garden Lodge Vs Conservatory

Conservatories were very popular in the 80’s and 90’s and can be a great way to add extra space to the ground floor. However, they were not without their drawbacks. People have found they do not always use their conservatories as they are sometimes too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.

Also, a conservatory is almost always attached to the main house, which would make them not suitable for a home office or gym, especially if the temperatures were hard to control. With the modern building materials we use in our garden lodges, temperature is very easy to control. SIPs panels are extremely good at insulating, meaning that our buildings are cheap to heat in winter and remain cool in the summer, perfect for a garden office.

These days traditional white conservatories look a little bit dated and it’s now a common home improvement to replace a conservatory with an extension or possibly a separate building in the form of a garden lodge.

Another key consideration for a garden lodge Vs an extension might be planning permission. A garden lodge can often be built within permitted development, meaning that no planning permission would be required, whereas usually, an extension to the main building will require planning permission. If you are in hurry to have your new space available to use this could be a consideration or if you live in a conservation area then you might be wise to have different options available to you.

At Garden Lodges we are also able to build our customers extensions connected to the main house, as opposed to a separate garden building. This has all the advantages of SIPs construction, but with the added benefit of extending your existing kitchen or living space. We would be very happy to discuss with you any plans you have for creating extra space in your home and go through the different options that we feel could best benefit you.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

Recent Garden Lodges built for our customers.

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Garden Lodges

At Garden Lodges we are very proud of the new projects we have worked on with our customers and love sharing them with you on our blog to demonstrate the type of garden studios you could have built in your garden.

This 5.5m x 4m garden lodge was built with a number of functions in mind, including a small gym and sauna! This lodge cost £26,000 to build including all groundwork, electrics and decorating. Cedarwood cladding has created a modern stylish exterior, with wide floor to ceiling windows and 2m French doors, providing plenty of light and connection to the garden.

Our garden lodges are used in many different ways and provide a truly versatile building that will be enjoyed for years to come. One unusual addition, being a sauna, was included in this lodge in Brackley. What a great way to warm up on a cold winter evening! This garden studio is destined to be the ultimate bijou gym and sauna offering the new owner a relaxing retreat in his garden for his family.

This lodge was designed with the view in mind, taking advantage of the owners wonderful garden and landscaping. A flat roof design meant that it was built within permitted development, so that no planning permission was required. We are always very happy to discuss with you the style and size of garden lodge we would recommend for your outdoor space. During our free site survey, we gain a good idea of your requirements and then our designers go to work to create a 3-D drawing to illustrate the design, a detailed floor plan so you can see where everything is going, and an itemised quotation so you know the exact price of your new garden lodge.

This next fantastic build was undertaken in Minehead, destined to be the perfect office getaway, it provides a private and peaceful place to work, next to the main house. French doors provide ample light and a small toilet and shower were also installed for extra convenience.

The interiors were fitted with oak laminate flooring in the office space and waterproof vinyl flooring in the shower area. When we build a new office space for our customers we always sit down and carefully discuss where you need your fittings and fixtures. The positioning of electrical sockets is quite important, and not something you want to get wrong in your new office space. We take great care to get all the little details perfect for you so that you are ready to move in as soon as building work is finished. Our quality of work is clearly on display in this photo and serves as a great testament to our team of craftsmen.

We can build your garden lodge with the possibility of having shower rooms and toilets installed, something that not many of our competitors offer. We have found that our customers like the added convenience of a showroom and toilet in their garden studio as it adds an extra dimension to how the space might be used. This also leaves it more versatile in the future and adds more value onto your home in general.

We offer a range of options for our bathrooms and use high-quality fitting and fixtures.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

Garden Studio Inspiration. Which garden lodge would suit your garden?

Posted on May 15, 2018May 22, 2018 by Garden Lodges

Garden Lodges have been building garden studios for our customers for over 10 years. We are extremely proud of the many different projects we have completed and know that our customers are just as happy with the end results.

What makes our garden studios special is the level of choice and bespoke options that are available. We can build a great range of garden buildings, including garden offices, gyms, art studios, music studios, garden annexes, pool houses and rentable accommodation for Airbnb, to name a few!

There are many companies on the market for building garden studios, but few with our level of experience, we have literally built hundreds of offices, studios and lodges for satisfied customers and are very happy to combine this level of expertise with our customer’s ideas and inspirations to build something that can truly transform your garden space.

Below are examples of some of the most popular lodges that we have built for our customers. They range in size and style and give a good demonstration of the sort of garden annexes we create. If there is a building that you feel would work well in your garden please let us know. We would be delighted to hear from you and discuss your new garden studio project.

Call us free on 0800 043 4821, or why not book a FREE SITE SURVEY (subject to location) to get started.

This is one of our smaller garden offices we built for a customer who wanted a quiet space in the garden to work from. This stylish build uses a form or white cladding, combined with dark grey, floor to ceiling windows. It has created a very contemporary and clean look that enhances the look of the garden while providing a very useful extra space.

Smaller garden offices can be built from as little as £17,322 including VAT. Key features of our contemporary, flat roof Garden Office range include a choice of uPVC doors and windows, selected because of their great value for money.

Another stylish smaller build, perfect for a garden office or studio. Although small the feeling of light and space is maximised through the use of glazing on two sides. An overhang provides shade in the summer so that the office remains naturally cool, while high performing SIP panel construction means that is it warm and inexpensive to heat in winter.

Bi-folding doors are increasingly popular and are a perfect way to bring the garden into your studio space. In summer they can be folded back to create a fantastic feeling of space and light. This example shows how a garden office could transform your work environment. When the weather is good your office space becomes part of the garden!

When we build a garden studio we first provide a free site survey and discuss with you your requirements. This is one of the reasons why the garden studios we build look so at ease in their surroundings. This sizable cedar clad studio fits perfectly in its garden, with the white wall acting as a platform to allow the studio to enjoy a more elevated position, great for surveying the garden. This size of building is perfect for a number of functions, including use as a gym, home studio or office, or as extra sleeping accommodation.

This timber framed garden lodge, shows how a traditional look can be combined with a contemporary feel. The oak frame and cladding creates a timeless design that is becoming increasingly popular. This style of studio is especially popular in conservation areas, where planning restrictions could apply. Terracotta tiles finish the building, creating a stunning garden studio. This design is also perfect for creating a light and spacious feel, with the combined effect of a vaulted roof and floor to ceiling windows.

Our garden studios come in a range of shapes and sizes. This stunning build shows what can be achieved in a larger garden. Cedar cladding gives it a contemporary feel and a large sliding door brings in plenty of light while providing excellent insulation and visibility to the garden. This size of build we recommend for gyms or larger offices, where extra space might be needed. The flat roof allows it to usually be built within permitted development law as long as the building is situated less than 2.0m from the boundary of the property and is no more than 2.5 metres in height from the existing ground level.

Dark grey bi-folding doors give an elegant simplicity to this thoughtfully designed studio. The popular combination of dark grey window frames and cedar cladding look great in this garden setting, especially when the landscaping has been incorporated into the look of the new building. A beautiful decked area creates an easy to maintain outdoor space, that works perfectly with the more modern design.

If gravel and decking are not your thing, then a perfectly manicured lawn works just as well. The flowing stone path creates softer lines, contrasting nicely with the modern shape of this contemporary garden studio. With over 60m2 this garden building has transformed how the owners use their garden and is now set up for a number of uses, including a gym, home studio and spare sleeping accommodation.

A similar look and feel is achieved with this garden lodge, nestled in the trees it looks perfect in its location, allowing the owners to work from home while enjoying their garden at the same time. All of our garden studios are made from highly insulated SIP panels. Structural insulated panels (or SIPs) are the number one choice for garden studios, as they provide excellent insulation in winter and are quick to erect. Meaning that we can build a garden office in your garden in between 4 – 5 weeks.

Often a lodge is a brilliant way to take advantage of a spectacular view. This garden studio certainly makes the most of its surroundings, with floor to ceiling windows on all sides. Currently used as a garden gym, what better way to exercise and relax?

A vaulted ceiling can add a second dimension to a garden studio. With extra headroom, you really increase the feeling of space and light. Extra height can also increase the functionality of the building, with larger gyms or storage possible.

Spring and summer are the best times for building garden studios, it is possible for us to complete a build in 4-5 weeks, meaning you could be enjoying your new garden building much sooner than you might think.

While its fresh in your mind why not book a free site survey today. CLICK HERE

SIP’s! What are they?

Posted on May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 by Garden Lodges

SIP’s in the UK have only in recent decades become a noted method of construction, most commonly used in the construction of residential properties and small commercial projects, despite having existed since the 1930’s. The first instance of a SIP’s building was in Wisconsin, USA, 1937 and was even dedicated by the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The building survived the harsh Wisconsin climate and ultimately stood the test of time with its removal to make way for a larger building in 1998. Since 1937 like most things developments have been made and more modern materials used resulting in panels with better insulation and structural integrity.

Wisconsin, Forest Products Laboratory, stressed skin panel building.

A SIP’s panel, simply put, is a form of insulated foam core sandwiched between 2 pieces of OSB this provides a very strong building material which has insulation built in.

There are many benefits to using SIP panels when it comes to construction, a few of those are:

Reduced build time: Due to the format of using large panels wall sections can be erected very quickly, often once a foundation has been placed and the walls ready to be put in place, the shell of a SIP building can be completed in a matter of days. One of our Garden Lodges can be completed in a matter of weeks, depending on size usually between 4-6 weeks of construction time.

Better Insulation: The panels, as it says in the name, have the insulation at the core of the building and because they can be slotted together very precisely there are much less cold bridges and the buildings are very air tight allowing for a better control over temperature.

Less wastage: SIP’s are often prepared in a factory before they are then sent to site, this allows for less wastage on site and very minimal wastage during manufacturing.

Green: The insulation for SIP’s is built into the structure, removing the need to add insulation at a later date, providing a very well insulated home reducing heating bills etc. The OSB used to construct the SIP’s is also sourced from young fast growing trees, which makes for a very renewable source and young trees can process carbon dioxide better than older trees therefore, reducing the overall CO2 emissions created.

We have now worked with SIP’s for a considerable time, and we are always comforted when visiting customers and they tell us how warm and cosy their new garden rooms feel, because of the insulation very minimal levels of heating are required to maintain a comfortable temperature in the lodges. They are also often taken aback at how quick the process is, from when the materials turn up on site to when they are able to move into the annexe. If you want to build at a specific time of year through us, then the best thing to do is book a site survey a month or 2 before you would like to build.

It may surprise you that even with these huge beneficial factors of using SIP’s, brick and mortar is still a more commonly used format of which to build and one of the simple answers to this is because it is still functional and it is the most widely known format for building a home. For large homebuilding companies to retrain would provide a fairly substantial cost and ultimately why fix something that isn’t broken? but we ask why not have something a bit better?

We’re on the Green Art blog – ‘Trend-setting Garden Design’

Posted on May 10, 2016May 10, 2016 by Garden Lodges

From the Blog: Inside and out

The first is the merging of inside and outside; the flow from the house to the garden using the same materials to create an extension of the home outside. We’re seeing a real increase in demand for outdoor kitchens,garden gyms and garden offices as testament to this. Whether this involves new, purpose built buildings or dedicated open garden areas depends on the scope and ambition of the project (or client).

Not only new, but also older, existing re-purposed structures can form part of the extension of the home to outside. The Grottage is the latest conversion of the often redundant, cluttered garage into a garden room that can be a clever, low cost alternative to a purpose-built building.

Read the full Trend-setting Garden Design blog on the Green Art website.

Garden Lodge Aylesbury

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Garden Lodges

This garden lodge in Aylesbury, is being used as an art studio. The customer has placed a veneer on top of the wooden flooring installed by us to give a faux tiled flooring to the garden lodge, this is here as personal preference and to protect the original flooring. The space inside the lodge is large at a size of 17.46m²

The customers decided against having decking added to the lodge for now, if you would like to see examples of this please view some of our previous builds. The customers are going to construct steps in the future to get in and out of the lodge.

This particular lodge has a storage room at the far end, with an internal space of 5.51m² this is a great space to keep garden equipment, or any outdoor equipment.

Our garden studios take just a few weeks to construct, weather permitting a build can be finished within a month from the start date, this is capable due to our construction method using SIPs panels. The lodge does not require planning permission due to its size. The lodge is built on top of concrete pad foundations, then on top of that, timber bearers and sips panels constructed at our warehouse are placed on top. The SIPs panels are are custom made for each build at our ware house then transported to site.

The interior of the build is finished in matt white emulsion, with chrome down lights, polished chrome double power sockets and wood laminate flooring. All electrics are installed and tested by us. We always make sure to clear our on-site rubbish, as well as give the new garden room a good clean before handing over the keys.