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
