All of our 1st Choice T&G summerhouses can be made in sizes to suit. Just let us know what you would like and we will quote for you. Don’t settle for second best. You know it makes sense.

These Tongue & Groove sun rooms can be made with internal partitions if you choose with extra doors creating several different areas. One for leisure, one for storage, one for the children. The choice is yours.

T&G shiplap cladding is a popular option for summerbuildings, and traditionally this cladding was flat with a lip on the top and channel on the bottom so that they fit together. This ensured a smooth surface on the inside and a profile on the outside. This is how shiplap was in the early 1980s and had been like that for many years. The smooth finish makes it easy to treat, although you may need more than one coat.

I asked a timber company at that time when I was making garden sheds, whether they could put a tongue and groove (T&G) on the boards as I felt this would make for a better finish. They did this, and from then on we only used the tongue and groove boards on our summer houses. Amazingly after that many more timber suppliers and garden building manufacturers started using T&G shiplap as well.

So I think I can claim to be responsible for T&G shiplap. The beauty of this is that the boards slot in together so when each side is completed, it effectively becomes one complete side. Nearly impossible to prise boards off to gain entrance unlike overlap shiplap, feather edge or square boarding. Some sheds are made from square T&G boarding which can look a little more utilitarian.

A garden is a natural place for relaxing and enjoying yourself with it being detached from the home. This precious space is often treated as an extension of the house, and with the long hot summer days, we are having at the moment it’s called into use even more. Whether it’s for a barbecue with family and friends or Socialising with neighbours, the garden is the place to be on these precious and balmy summer days. Tongue and groove summerhouses are often an essential link in this as the barbecue, garden furniture and many other related items are stored until required. However, these are often left out during the summer months. Provided care is taken to protect these items from rain and the occasional blustery wind there should be no problem.

If you are lucky enough to have a more extensive summer house, then this is utilised even more as a place for socialising and will give protection against the hot sun or could be used as a garden office for working from home. You will often find that during the winter these T&G summerhouses can become a dumping ground for various items. However, during the summer, when this building will meet its original intention, these items will end up back in the shed, and this makes sense.

The children of the house can also enjoy the great outdoors if they are lucky enough to have a tongue and grooved playhouse in their garden. These delightful buildings can be significant for imaginative play with their friends where the children can re-enact and image their parent’s lives? Hopefully, without alcoholic beverages. If you are thinking of a new tongue and grooved summer house, then 1st Choice has a range of suitable summer houses, and summerhouse sheds for this purpose.

Even a simple lean-to or a sheet tacked to the fence can be a great adventure to children and by providing something as simple as this you are getting your children out into the open and away from the Playstations and Xboxes etc., which can only be a good thing. Besides the above uses, you will find that these buildings are being used more and more for their owner’s hobbies. This extra space enables them to be creative and to be inspired, which in itself, can help the inner soul to gain some peace of mind. This has got to be a good thing.

Garden sheds or T&G summerhouses can be adapted to be used as a playhouse, but the safety of your children is essential so try to see the building through their eyes. Whilst it is good for children to try out new experiences, and they learn life lessons by doing so, we, as adults need to look after them.

When I think back to when I was a child in the 60’s some of the things I got up to makes my blood run cold. I’m sure that other people from that generation had the same experiences. It makes me wonder if it’s a good thing to allow children to get ‘on with it’ or should we ultra-careful with them, so they don’t get into any danger at all. I’m not sure what the long term answer is.

However, the important thing is to enjoy our tongue and groove summerhouses and the outdoors as they are essential to the overall health and well being. And with the current spell of scorching weather which, according to my memory, was like all summer I enjoyed back in the ’60s as a child. Maybe this is the time we should be making the most of it as this spell will be gone before we know it.