Outdoor Summer House | Fitted Free | Insulated Option | Showroom

The choice to buy an outdoor summer house can be enhanced by adding a veranda to it as this will extend the available space for relaxing with your family and friends. The overhead balcony will shade you from the sun as well as protect you if it starts to rain. However, the quality of any summer building you choose is important to its life. On all our Platinum and Diamond buildings redwood deal is the standard cladding as this is far superior to the fast-growing white wood used on most cheaper ranges.

The thickness of the framing (effectively the skeleton of the building) is a very substantial 2″ x 2″ for the best strength. On some of the cheap buildings, it might only be 1″ x 1″ – absolutely crazy! The glass in the doors and windows is toughened and not cheap, dangerous horticultural or thin and noisy plastic or perspex. There is a choice of shiplap or loglap on these outdoor summerhouses as well as Georgian, classic or contemporary styles. It’s your choice – and that is how it should be.

When you order a summerhouse for out in your garden you can buy one where you have to build it yourself, or you can let the experts build it for you. With the first option, it may be a little cheaper, but there’s a lot of heavy work to do and can you be sure you have built it right? Will the roof leak and the door and windows open properly? We deliver and install all our Diamond and Platinum summerhouses, even with the verandas, FREE of charge.

This extends to the summer house sheds as well. All you have to do is to provide a firm and level base for it to go onto. This can be paving slabs, concrete or maybe some timber decking. We even offer a service where a timber subframe base is built for you, so you don’t have anything to do but to sit back and watch the experts as work. I know what I would do.

We have many different models available, many with optional verandas and balconies, and many many sizes. However, it’s important that you buy a building which suits your needs so this is why all our outdoor summerhouses can be made bespoke to suit you and your family. Would you like a long thin building, one which is taller, the doors and windows moved, a 2ft, 3ft or 4ft veranda or anything else you could think of then the answer is ‘YES’.

Give us a call or pop down to one of our outdoor display sites and have a chat about what would suit you. There will be no pressure, and we are happy to provide a quote to suit you.

If you would like to use your new outdoor summer building all year round then it may be a good idea to have it lined and insulated. This will help to keep it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. It is possible to do this yourself if you are a competent DIYer. All you need to do is to buy the insulation for the walls, which can be fibreglass or polystyrene, and an inner skin which can be plywood, a veneered hardboard or maybe T&G boards.

You would need to cut the insulation to size and fit inside the framing and then cut the lining to fit on the outside of the walls. The roof is a little trickier as the force of gravity will be working against you so ideally, you could with 2 or 3 people for this. When you have finished lining the walls, I would suggest using cover strips over the joins on the outside to give a neat finish. If this sound a little involved for you we can offer an insulation service lining and insulating service on all our Platinum outdoor summerhouses. Although please note the outside balcony veranda, if ordered, is not insulated.

With this service all, you need to do it to think of all the ways you will be able to enjoy your new building in the great outdoors. Being a little older, some might call me an old codger, this is the avenue I would take. Again we are delighted to provide a quote for your consideration.

The Diamond and Platinum range of summer buildings have options to add a veranda, balcony or canopy in a range of sizes. They can be either 2ft wide floor and roof, 3ft floor, roof and sides or 4ft roof, floor, sides and front return. All these options add to the building so well worth a few thoughts before deciding.

You should always do your home work before deciding on a new building for your garden as it’s very easy to be taken in with a colour brochure, leaflet to flashing web page. If you can make a trip down to a showroom where you can examples on display, and you will then be able to make an informed choice about what you are buying. You are very welcome to visit one of our two outside display sites in Surrey where we have a large collection of summerbuildings. We will be delighted to show you the buildings and answer any questions you may have and, or, provide quotations. Another thing to do is to take a look at the feedback from previous customers which can be enlightening.

The shed can be seen as an older adult’s thing, nowadays an outdoor summerhouse with a veranda might be more normal, to some of the youngsters of today where they possibly remembered their grandfather disappearing down the garden or up to the allotment to some mysterious place. As a child, this was exciting, but as they got older it was a little ‘uncool’ (this probably shows my age) so they distanced themselves from this activity, which is a shame. Nowadays outside summerhouses are the thing! I am at the moment enjoying time with my grandson, Daniel, who is 2¾, and he is a joy to be with.

Seeing his character develop each time I see him is marvellous. When we are in the garden together, the way he looks at me whilst we spend time together is so magical. He likes to go in my garden workshop and take a look at what’s in there but only under my guidance. Until a few weeks ago it was impossible to get into my outdoor summer house cum shed because of all the stuff (items various – as my wife would say) in there, so he had to look in through the door. I’ve now cleared it out, and there is space inside to get in, and Daniel took great delight in hiding under the bench in there.

Hopefully, he will remember these times all his life and maybe, just maybe, he will not bow to peer pressure as he gets older. I do think he will as garden buildings are fascinating for him. I suppose, with his grandfather being in the timber buildings business, might make it a little different to most children.

Even at an earlier age, he was fascinated by sheds and outdoor buildings even then. I remember collecting him for the day, and he was a little unsure of himself and a little grizzly to start with. As there was a garden centre a little away from his home, which had some donkeys as an attraction for children, we decided to stop off in there. I pulled up in front of the small field where the donkeys lived and got Daniel out of the car.

Carefully holding his hand, as this was the car park for the garden centre, I got him out and took him over to see the donkeys. He appeared to like them, but his attention kept drifting towards the display of outdoor sheds and summer building, a little like the ones from 1st Choice, beyond the car park. I decided, perhaps, he might like to take a look so headed over to them. When we got there, Daniel’s face lit up. He started to run in and out of all of the buildings in turn, opening and closing the doors, with a big beaming smile on his face.

Even the basic straight forward sheds, not playhouses, just fully ‘bog standard’ sheds appealed to him and he loved them. I then know he must be his father’s son and granddad’s grandson, not that there was any doubt. This goes to show how much children take in from their upbringing.

A little while later at the 1st Choice Leisure Buildings display site near Guildford, he road-tested their new range of children’s playhouses. In and out of the playhouses, up the steps and down the slides. Opening and closing the windows, child-safe perspex – of course – and generally doing what all your children do best, and that is to use their imagination.

Besides the fun the children have exploring their new world, the sheer joy they bring to their parents and grandparents is beyond words, as any parent or grandparent will confirm. It’s hard to imagine life without this little soul, and with his sister, Rebecca, as she gets a little older, I’m sure she will want to be joining in as well. Can’t wait! And in the meantime, an outdoor summer house with a veranda for my wife is on the cards so she can enjoy the outside activities as well.