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An 8×5 summerhouse gives you useful garden leisure space in a relatively shallow footprint, making it particularly practical where garden depth is limited. At around 2.4m x 1.5m nominally, 8ft x 5ft summer houses can work well for relaxing, reading, hobbies or simply enjoying the garden. I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, and I’ve worked with garden buildings since 1979. Our current 8 x 5 summerhouse choices include traditional, Georgian and contemporary Diamond designs, with FREE professional fitting or assembly, toughened glazing, colour finish options and bespoke choices. Compare the four buildings below and always check the exact dimensions and base requirements before ordering.
Size: 8ft × 5ft (approx. 2.4m × 1.5m) · Construction: Quality redwood deal timber, not cheaper whitewood · Floor: Solid timber floor included · Glazing: Toughened glass as standard · Styles: Traditional, Georgian and contemporary designs available.
Best for: Compact gardens, relaxing, hobbies, reading, children’s activities or occasional home working · Installation: Free installation included on Diamond and Platinum buildings · Insulation: Lining and insulation options available · Paint: Coloured paint finish options available · Base: Base-building service available · Customisation: Bespoke sizes, window positions, door positions and other alterations available.
See before you buy: Visit our Surrey garden building show site near Guildford, Woking and Ripley, with over 60 buildings on display. Need advice? Our experienced team can help with choosing your 8×5 summerhouse, base preparation, installation, insulation and bespoke requirements before you order.
An 8ft x 5ft summer house has a nominal footprint of approximately 40 square feet, or around 3.7 square metres. Its longer, shallower shape can work particularly well where you have useful garden width but do not want the building projecting too far into the lawn or patio.
For me, an 8 x 5 summerhouse is a very practical compact leisure space. The eight-foot width gives you useful room across the frontage for chairs, a small table or hobby furniture while the five-foot depth keeps the overall footprint relatively modest.
An 8ft by 5ft summer house can make an excellent reading room, hobby space or garden retreat. If regular home working or substantial furniture is your main requirement, I would also compare a larger summer house or one of our garden rooms and offices.
The attraction of an 8×5 summerhouse is not simply its floor area. Its proportions can make it particularly useful when you have a wider garden but want to retain as much depth as possible for lawn, planting or a patio.
The eight-foot dimension also gives you more freedom when positioning seating along the front or rear wall. Before ordering, I recommend marking out approximately 8ft x 5ft on the ground and placing your intended furniture within that space. It is a simple way to understand whether the proportions will work for you.
The same nominal dimensions are being described, but I would never assume that every 8×5 and 5 x 8 summerhouse has the same orientation. Manufacturers can describe frontage and depth differently, and the door and window arrangement can also change how the internal space works.
Always check the product drawing, precise external dimensions, base size and positions of the doors and windows before ordering. This matters particularly when the building is going close to a fence, wall or existing landscaping.
The current 8×5 category gives you four Diamond summerhouse choices: the Ashington, Bolney Georgian, Washington Classic and Keymer Contemporary. This is a useful selection because it gives you different styles rather than simply several versions of the same basic building.
I would compare their frontage, glazing, roof design, door positions and overall appearance alongside the available bespoke options. On a compact summerhouse, relatively small design differences can have a noticeable effect on how the interior feels and where you can position furniture.
The Diamond Ashington is a versatile traditional timber summerhouse available in a broad range of sizes including 8×5. FREE professional installation, colour finish choices and bespoke options are available, making it a good choice if you want a conventional summerhouse appearance with flexibility over the final specification.
The Diamond Bolney Georgian provides a more decorative traditional appearance, making it worth considering if the visual character of the building is particularly important to you. FREE professional installation, coloured finish choices and bespoke options are available, so I would compare it directly with the Ashington if you prefer a more traditional Georgian style.
The Diamond Washington Classic is another traditional choice at this size, with FREE professional assembly, colour finish options and bespoke alterations available. I would compare its glazing and frontage with the Ashington and Bolney rather than choosing simply from price, because the appearance and furniture layout may matter much more once the building is in your garden.
The Diamond Keymer Contemporary gives you a noticeably more modern alternative to the traditional designs. If your house or garden has a contemporary appearance, I would certainly include it in your comparison. FREE professional installation, coloured finish choices and bespoke options are available, allowing you to personalise the building to suit its surroundings.
There is no single correct style. I would choose the design which works best with your house, garden and personal taste rather than automatically selecting whichever model happens to be cheapest.
The Ashington and Washington Classic provide more conventional summerhouse styling, the Bolney Georgian introduces a more decorative traditional character, while the Keymer Contemporary gives you a cleaner modern appearance. Look at the building from the position of your house as well as from within the garden because you will probably see the outside of your summerhouse far more often than you sit inside it.
After working with garden buildings since 1979, I always encourage customers to look beyond an attractive photograph and headline price. Two 8×5 summerhouses can look very similar online while differing considerably in their timber, framing, floors, roofs, doors and overall construction.
Look closely at the complete specification and at what is included in the price. A compact summerhouse still needs a strong floor, suitable framing, good-quality timber and properly fitted doors and glazing if you want it to provide lasting value.
I also believe strongly in seeing garden buildings before buying whenever practical. You can visit our Surrey garden building display site to inspect representative buildings at full size, compare construction and finishes and talk through your requirements with us.
Yes. Bespoke options are one of the useful features of the Diamond range. Depending on the individual model, alterations can include changes to the size, door positions, window positions and other aspects of the design.
If a standard 8ft x 5ft summer house is nearly right but one detail does not suit your garden, I would ask what can be altered before accepting a compromise. You can contact us and explain exactly what you need.
Yes. Colour finish options are available across the current Diamond 8×5 summerhouse range. A factory-applied colour can change the character of the building considerably and help it complement your house, fencing or other features in the garden.
If the exact shade matters, I recommend looking at a physical colour sample rather than relying completely on a photograph or computer screen. Colours can look different according to daylight, surrounding planting and the screen on which you are viewing them.
Absolutely. I have been saying for decades that a good garden building needs a good base. An 8ft x 5ft summer house requires a firm, flat and level foundation so that the building is properly supported and its doors operate as intended.
Do not prepare the base solely from the nominal description “8×5”. Always check the exact base dimensions specified for your chosen model because nominal sizes and actual manufacturing dimensions can differ.
FREE professional fitting, assembly or installation is included with the Diamond 8×5 summerhouses currently shown on this page, subject to the applicable delivery area, access and base requirements. For me, this is an important part of the overall package because you are not left with the task of assembling a sizeable timber building yourself.
You will still need to provide suitable access and ensure that the correct level base is complete before delivery. Always read the individual product information and fitting requirements before placing your order.
I’m Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, and I believe customers should know who is behind the advice they are reading. My experience with garden buildings began in 1979 and comes from manufacturing, selling, delivering and supplying timber buildings rather than simply selling products from a website.
I left school at 15 and in 1979 started my own business trading as Marina Sheds. In those early years I made buildings, sold them, delivered them and dealt directly with customers. That hands-on experience taught me to look beyond appearance and concentrate on how a garden building is actually put together.
I sold Marina Sheds in 1990. Unfortunately, I did not receive all of the money I was due from the sale. It was a difficult business lesson, but it certainly did not end my involvement with garden buildings.
By 1992 we had expanded beyond traditional garden sheds and added summerhouses, garages, garden rooms and log cabins. Because the business was no longer principally about sheds, that broader direction led to a change of name to Titan Garden Buildings.
My son Craig joined me in 1992 after studying carpentry at Guildford College from 1990. His carpentry training brought additional practical woodworking knowledge and understanding of timber construction into the business, and garden buildings became very much a father-and-son concern.
We sold Titan Garden Buildings in 1998. In 2000 Craig and I decided that rather than manufacturing everything ourselves or being restricted to one manufacturer’s range, we would use our experience to select and retail quality garden buildings from established manufacturers. That decision led to the formation of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings.
Our manufacturing experience still affects the way we assess buildings today. We know to look carefully at timber, framing, floors, roofs, doors, glazing and construction rather than judging a product simply from attractive photographs or its headline price.
Today Craig runs the day-to-day business and I remain involved to support him and the team whenever required. You can read more about Craig, me and how our business developed on our About 1st Choice Leisure Buildings page.
One thing I have learned is that the shape of a summerhouse matters almost as much as its total floor area. An 8 x 5 summerhouse can be particularly useful when you need width for seating or furniture but want to keep the building relatively shallow.
Before ordering, decide what you intend to put inside. Mark out approximately eight feet by five feet on the ground and position chairs, a table or hobby furniture within that area. It is one of the easiest ways to find out whether the space will genuinely work for you.
I would also consider the outlook from inside and the appearance from your house. A good summerhouse should work with the garden rather than simply occupy an available piece of ground.
Most importantly, choose the specification you actually need. Quality construction, a suitable design and the correct position will normally matter more over time than buying features simply because they appear impressive on a specification sheet.
An 8ft x 5ft summer house has a nominal footprint of around 40 square feet, approximately 3.7 square metres or roughly 2.4m x 1.5m. Always use the precise dimensions shown for your chosen model when preparing the base or planning furniture.
The same nominal measurements are being described, but the frontage and depth can be presented differently depending on the manufacturer and building design. Always check the actual drawing, dimensions, door position, window arrangement and base size before ordering.
An 8×5 summerhouse can comfortably accommodate a couple of chairs and a small table, with additional room potentially available for shelves, hobby equipment or compact furniture. Its eight-foot width is particularly useful for arranging seating across the building.
Yes. Its relatively shallow five-foot depth makes an 8ft by 5ft summer house particularly useful where you want a worthwhile amount of width without the building projecting too far into the garden. Always leave suitable space around it for fitting and future maintenance.
Yes. Colour finish options are available on the current Diamond 8×5 summerhouses. The precise colours and finishes depend on the individual model, and I recommend checking a physical sample if matching a particular colour is important.
FREE professional fitting, assembly or installation is included with the Diamond summerhouses currently shown in this category, subject to the individual product, delivery area, access and base requirements. Always check your chosen product page for the precise terms before ordering.
Many smaller garden summerhouses can be installed under permitted development rights, but this depends on factors including the property, position, building height and proximity to boundaries. Listed properties, designated land and other circumstances can have additional requirements, so check the rules applying to your property with the relevant local planning authority when necessary.
An 8ft by 5ft summer house can give you useful leisure space without demanding a particularly deep area of garden. Before buying, think about how you intend to use it, the furniture you want inside, where the doors and windows will face and which style will work best with your house and garden.
After working with garden buildings since 1979, my advice remains to look beyond photographs and headline prices. Check the timber, framing, floor, roof, doors, glazing and complete specification and choose the building which best suits the way you genuinely intend to use it.
If possible, visit our Surrey display site to compare representative garden buildings in person. If you cannot visit, contact us and explain what you need. Craig, the team and I would much rather help you choose the right building and specification before you buy.
Robin Antill
Founder, 1st Choice Leisure Buildings
