Breaking Down the Expenses: A Detailed Look at Garden Office Pricing in the UK
Garden offices are an incredible way to add extra room to your house, improve your quality of life, and create that dedicated space you always wanted for work. You can work from home comfortably in a stylish office without taking up one of the rooms in your house.
While this sounds epic, is it a realistic venture? One of the main factors in deciding on this is the cost. In this article, I give you the low down about how much a garden office costs in the UK so you can decide if it’s worth it or not.
Buying a Pre-Built Garden Office
In the UK, a pre-built garden office will cost between £5000 and £20000. You are probably astounded at the wide price range—I understand that. However, this is because of the large number of variables involved, which I explain below.
Size and Type of Cladding
Size is the biggest cost factor, and this affects virtually all the other factors below. For example, it costs more to add insulation to a 14ftx12ft garden office than to a 6ftx8ft.
The size also affects the basic cost. For example, our Platinum Fleet Apex Garden Office has a base price of £4931 for a 6ftx8ft, whereas a 12ftx10ft costs £7849. The type of cladding can make a difference, too. Generally, standard timber garden offices are cheaper, but you can opt for upgraded cladding, which can add at least 20% to the base cost.
Doors & Windows
Doors and windows are included in an insulated garden office package; however, you can usually upgrade these to different styles or more durable frames. I advise checking carefully what windows are installed as standard as sometimes it can be single-pane. This is not recommended; ideally, you want double-glazed windows to improve the insulation. These usually cost extra, adding at least an extra £500 to the total cost.
Roofing
A roof is included as standard in the essential cost of your garden office. However, you can upgrade the roof to add more protection and insulation when calculating garden office costs. For example, we offer upgraded EPDM rubber roofing, and prices range from £500-£1700, depending on the garden office size.
Colouring
Unless specified, your garden office will be supplied with a standard bare wooden finish with no stain, preservatives, or paint. Consider decorating the garden office yourself; this is a straightforward area you can save money on. However, if you want it completed and ready to go, stain or paint will typically cost £400-£1000 depending on the size.
Insulation
With monthly average winter temperatures of 5 degrees Celsius over the last decade in the UK, your garden office needs insulation. This is usually an optional extra for both the floors and walls (although some of our options include insulation as standard), and prices range from £550-£2000 for both. Suppose there’s one area you want to spend more on. In that case, I recommend it should be insulation; otherwise, you won’t be able to use your garden office all year round!
External Decoration
You can opt for external decoration, too, in the form of tiles or shingles. These can add some extra style to your garden office, making it stand out or fit in with your garden aesthetic. Typically, the cost for one of these ranges from £400 to £4400, with options like cedar shingles being the most expensive.
Installation Costs for a Garden Office
The above items are just for the garden office – you have to consider the installation costs, which include standard assembly fees, delivery costs, and the construction of a base.
Standard assembly and delivery fees
Depending on the size, some companies charge a separate assembly fee ranging from £500 to £2000. At 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, most of our garden offices include the installation fee within the flat kit price.
Delivery fees are often based on nationwide bands, and depending on where you live relative to the supplier, the delivery may be included in the overall price.
Base construction
You must also have your garden office installed on a level and stable base; if you already have one, such as a concrete slab or patio, that’s amazing; there is no extra cost.
However, if you need a suitable base, this costs extra. Typically, the cost is on a per-square-foot basis, and this usually starts at £6 per square foot (£67 per square metre) for a standard timber frame base, up to £11.50 per square foot (£128 per square metre) for a concrete base. You can check out our additional services brochure for base prices.
Is It Worth Building a Garden Office Yourself?
This all sounds expensive, and building a garden office is much easier. I don’t recommend it—there are too many potential pitfalls, and the project could be a money sink.
Even with DIY skills, you still have to draw up a design, create a base, order the materials, get them delivered, and then build the structure! What a professional installation team could accomplish in a few days might take weeks or months.
You won’t save much either, as you won’t benefit from any trade discounts on materials, and buying everything separately will incur multiple delivery charges. Save yourself time and stress, and get a pre-built garden office instead!
A Pre-Built Garden Office Can Make a Fantastic Investment
So how much does a garden office room cost? The average cost can range from £5000 to £20000, but this varies wildly depending on your size and upgrades. Despite this, I want to leave you with a final thought. On average, garden offices add 8.4% value to your house, and the potential value range can be between 5-15% in the UK. As a result, while the initial outlay can be high, they make a brilliant long-term investment and give you a significant quality of life boost.
