Contemporary Summer House | Fitted Free | Insulated Option | Showroom

There are many different types of summer houses available and two of the most popular are contemporary and modern. To a certain degree they sound similar but the contemporary is ‘bang up to date’ where as modern is a period moving on after the very ornate classical period. It’s a little less cluttered design. Contemporary is more of a simple design with clean open lines. Both are very popular in the 21st century but the important thing for all summer buildings is the quality of the materials used.

A feature of both is the large, clear glass which is used and it’s important that this glass is toughened for safety reasons. The framework of both buildings need to be strong and this is standard on all our summer buildings – at lest 2″ x 2″ or thicker. On many cheap modern buildings it can be as small as 1″ x 1″. Always double check. The choice of timber cladding is important as well and again there is a choice to match your understanding of an up to date building. Quality joinery is essential for the best and longest life..

One thing to consider when buying a contemporary building is how will it be assembled. Many suppliers only offer a ‘deliver only’ option leaving you with the heavy chore of building it. Sometimes OK if you are a strong and competent DIYer and can save you a little money. But it’s vital that the building is built correctly and, very importantly, that the roof is felted correctly to save any leaks.

Another option, and the best one on my view, is to allow 1st Choice to deliver and assemble your new building free of charge. This way it will ensure that it has been erected correctly and all you need to do is to enjoy it with your family. You do, however, need to provide a solid and level base for it to go onto. This could be decking, paving slabs or concrete. If you need help with that then we can arrange a timber subframe base to be built for you. Making life even easier except maybe on your wallet.

We have a large choice of delightful summerbuildings available in many styles and sizes. You may find you would like something a little different – extra height, a different size, more or less doors and windows well that’s not a problem. We can normally make any purpose built unit to meet your needs. Just give us a call or pop into one of our show rooms and have a chat.

Let us know what you would like and we will provide you with a no obligation quote for you to consider with no pressure. There’s no need to ‘make do’ or compromise – and that’s how it should be.

To allow you to enjoy your new contemporary summerhouse all year round why don’t you consider having it lined and insulated. This will help to keep it warmer in the winter as well as cooler in the summer. For a competent DIY’s this is quite possible but if you are not sure that on all our Platinum range of modern buildings we can do this for you. Besides the walls and roof the floor can be insulated as well. This will allow you to just enjoy your new building without any worries. There are general details on this page but, again, if not sure just contact us and we will be delighted to help with a free quotation for you.

Before deciding on a new building for your garden you should always do your homework as it’s very easy to be taken in with a flashy web site, colour brochure or colour leaflet. The best advice is to make a trip down to a display room where you can examples on display. This will allow you to make an informed choice about what you are buying. You are very welcome to visit one of our two Surrey display rooms in Surrey where we have a large collection of contemporary summerbuildings. We will be delighted to show you them and answer any questions you may have and, or, provide quotations. Another bit of advice is to take a look at the feedback from previous customers which can be enlightening.

We all know the feeling when we want to buy something and we want it ‘yesterday’ but in the real world this is not always possible. Certainly not with something which is made for you specifically such as a new contemporary summer house or modern sunroom. Likewise if you want a certain size, or with the doors and windows to suit you or a certain style. The reason for this is that the factory can not expect, or hope, to have every size and combination in stock.

With the ranges of timber buildings available from 1st Choice, such as Diamond and Platinum, a conservative guess at the number of garden buildings and contemporary summer houses available run into the hundreds of thousands. Also a range of log cabins to add to the choice. Really great from the point of view of getting it to suit YOU but there is a slight downside that you have to wait to get it made. However, you can be sure that this will be made to your needs and you won’t be buying one which has been laying around some timber yard where it can be damaged.

Your new building will have been made only a few days before delivery and where all the timber is examined before assembly to ensure a great finish. You know that when your shed or other garden building arrives that it has been made for you. It will be made by someone who will be checking the boards as it is made and as a rule all of your building would be made by one or two dedicated craftsmen.

You will find that the mass produced buildings are made as quick as possible with their staff on piece work, meaning the quicker it’s made the more they get paid. It is very hard to keep the quality up doing this. They don’t have the time to check the planks of wood for splits or knots as that will slow them down, it just the number of summerhouse made which is important to them.

The difference in manufacture does affect the delivery times however all 1st Choice Leisure Buildings contemporary summerhouses and summer houses sheds are displayed with REALISTIC delivery times. These are the number of weeks expected and reflect true delivery times. The cheap manufacturers quote, quite often, unrealistic times of only a few days. However their days normally relate to working days – so 7 days is actually one week and two days, 10 days would be two weeks etc. Not quite right and maybe a little misleading. I understand why they do this but, in my view, this is wrong.

The lead times does vary throughout the year and can sometimes rise to 8 weeks which, on reflection does seem a little long. However is it not worth waiting a little longer to ensure you receive a building which will meet your needs? The reason for the factory is that the demand for these modern buildings is great BECAUSE of the quality and the feedback.

Also having a display site where buildings can be viewed is a double edged sword. As people can see how good the Platinum, Diamond and Trentan buildings are this increases demand as well as increasing the lead times. It’s a fact of life that most good things in life are not available ‘off the shelf’ due to the demand for them.

So although you may have to wait a little longer you know that when your new contemporary summer building arrives it will be made by craftsmen in a time honoured way rather than being banged together in the quickest time possible.

The most important thing when buying a new building is that you are given realistic delivery times which relate to the actual amount of days or weeks, and not working days or weeks. Also it’s important to buy the building which will suit your needs rather than one which will also end up a compromise. Remember Rome was not built in a day, however, I suspect that some companies may claim they could have done.