How Much Does a Garden Office Cost in the UK?

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 to decide this is the cost. In this article, I give you the low down about how much does a garden office cost in the UK so you can decide if it’s worth it or not.

Buying a Pre-Built Garden Office

A pre-built garden office will cost anywhere between £5000-£20000 in the UK. You are probably astounded at the vast 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

The 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 it does to a 6ftx8ft.

The size affects the basic cost too. 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 and 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 and you ideally want double-glazed windows to improve the insulation. These usually cost extra, usually adding at least an extra £500 to the total cost.

Roofing

Obviously, a roof is included as standard in the basic cost of your garden office. However, when looking at garden office cost, you can opt to upgrade the roof to add more protection and insulation. For example, we offer an upgraded EPDM rubber roofing, and prices for this range from £500-£1700 depending on the garden office size.

Coloring

Unless specified, your garden office will be supplied with a standard bare wooden finish with no stain, preservatives, or paint. You may want to decorate the garden office yourself and this is one simple area you can make a saving. 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. If there’s one area you want to spend more on, 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 and make it stand out or fit in with your garden aesthetic. Typically the cost for one of these ranges from £400-£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 too which include standard assembly fees, delivery costs, and the construction of a base.

Standard assembly and delivery fees

Some companies charge a separate assembly fee and this can range from £500-£2000 depending on the size. 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 in relation to the supplier, the delivery may be included in the overall price.

Base construction

You need to have your garden office installed on a level and stable base too. If you already have one, such as a concrete slab or patio – 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?

You may think this all sounds expensive and that it’s much easier to build a garden office yourself. I don’t recommend it – there are simply too many potential pitfalls and the project could be a money sink.

Even if you have 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 you weeks or even 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 cost? The average cost can range from £5000-£20000 but this varies wildly depending on the size, and the upgrades you have. 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 as well as giving you a significant quality of life boost.