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Garden Summerhouses Make Great Backyard Projects
By Kieran Gracie
Garden summer houses are usually supplied as either ready-made or flat-pack for assembly on site. But this is much more costly than doing it yourself, and gives you little choice for customizing the summerhouse to your own specification.
With a comprehensive set of plans and list of materials you can make your own wonderful summerhouse or garden office to enjoy and, by the way, add considerable value to your property. These are the main points to think about when planning your garden summer house:
Use. Do you simply want to keep tools and gardening bits and pieces? An outside workplace? A den for the children? An office? A place for quiet time, reading, playing games? These ideas will influence the eventual design of the summerhouse. You might need to include electricity or water, soundproofing, heating or cooling, cable TV - there are many things to consider.
Size. This will be governed by the intended use. A popular size for a garden summer house is 6 x 8 feet but it is sensible to make it as large as possible. Space in a backyard building is rarely wasted.
Location. Reasonably flat land is needed for the summerhouse with good access for building it. You might want to position the summerhouse close to, or far from, your house and to avoid nosy neighbors. To some extent location, use and size are all inter-dependent and need careful thought before going any further. It is often a good idea to mark out the location with string or stones to see if the summerhouse will fit well with its surroundings.
Aesthetic Considerations. Think about the visual impact of your garden summer house? Only you can decide, but try to imagine what it will look like in relation to other things in your backyard such as shed, hot tub, bbq pit and patio.
Regulations. You will need to check local rules and regulations to see if your intended plans will be allowed. Don't forget to follow the electrical code and your building regulations when making your summerhouse as well.
Foundations. A concrete base is the best idea for a large or medium sized garden summerhouse, although a perfectly good alternative is to support a wooden floor and joists on concrete posts set into the site in a grid pattern. The advantages of this would be good air circulation under the summerhouse and less ground preparation. It's also a great place for hens to forage!
Materials. Traditionally summerhouses are made from western red cedar because its appearance and resistance to insects. Pressure-treated softwood is a good alternative. The good thing about this is that you can paint it, which is not really appropriate for cedar. You can use cedar shingles for the roof. Some people use bark but it is difficult to find any of good quality.
Plans. Find some good quality plans rather than trying to produce your own sketches. A professional will do all the hard work for you, such as making a complete list of materials and this will ensure you get everything right first time.
Making your own garden summer house will be great fun, and the result a source of pride and enjoyment for years to come. We highly recommend a reputable group of professionals who have produced a great range of plans and step-by-step instructions not just for sheds but also for a large variety of summerhouses among many other designs.
Author: Kieran Gracie
Website: http://buildthingsdirect.com
Our aim is to provide in one place expert advice and guidance for making a number of backyard building projects, such as sheds, chicken coops, log cabins, wind turbines, windmills, solar water heaters for houses and swimming pools, solar panels and other easy step-by-step guides for the amateur and professional alike.
For more information about building a summer house or garden office please us at buildthingsdirect.com to learn more. We hope you will find your visit both interesting and stimulating.
By Kieran Gracie
Garden summer houses are usually supplied as either ready-made or flat-pack for assembly on site. But this is much more costly than doing it yourself, and gives you little choice for customizing the summerhouse to your own specification.
With a comprehensive set of plans and list of materials you can make your own wonderful summerhouse or garden office to enjoy and, by the way, add considerable value to your property. These are the main points to think about when planning your garden summer house:
Use. Do you simply want to keep tools and gardening bits and pieces? An outside workplace? A den for the children? An office? A place for quiet time, reading, playing games? These ideas will influence the eventual design of the summerhouse. You might need to include electricity or water, soundproofing, heating or cooling, cable TV - there are many things to consider.
Size. This will be governed by the intended use. A popular size for a garden summer house is 6 x 8 feet but it is sensible to make it as large as possible. Space in a backyard building is rarely wasted.
Location. Reasonably flat land is needed for the summerhouse with good access for building it. You might want to position the summerhouse close to, or far from, your house and to avoid nosy neighbors. To some extent location, use and size are all inter-dependent and need careful thought before going any further. It is often a good idea to mark out the location with string or stones to see if the summerhouse will fit well with its surroundings.
Aesthetic Considerations. Think about the visual impact of your garden summer house? Only you can decide, but try to imagine what it will look like in relation to other things in your backyard such as shed, hot tub, bbq pit and patio.
Regulations. You will need to check local rules and regulations to see if your intended plans will be allowed. Don't forget to follow the electrical code and your building regulations when making your summerhouse as well.
Foundations. A concrete base is the best idea for a large or medium sized garden summerhouse, although a perfectly good alternative is to support a wooden floor and joists on concrete posts set into the site in a grid pattern. The advantages of this would be good air circulation under the summerhouse and less ground preparation. It's also a great place for hens to forage!
Materials. Traditionally summerhouses are made from western red cedar because its appearance and resistance to insects. Pressure-treated softwood is a good alternative. The good thing about this is that you can paint it, which is not really appropriate for cedar. You can use cedar shingles for the roof. Some people use bark but it is difficult to find any of good quality.
Plans. Find some good quality plans rather than trying to produce your own sketches. A professional will do all the hard work for you, such as making a complete list of materials and this will ensure you get everything right first time.
Making your own garden summer house will be great fun, and the result a source of pride and enjoyment for years to come. We highly recommend a reputable group of professionals who have produced a great range of plans and step-by-step instructions not just for sheds but also for a large variety of summerhouses among many other designs.
Author: Kieran Gracie
Website: http://buildthingsdirect.com
Our aim is to provide in one place expert advice and guidance for making a number of backyard building projects, such as sheds, chicken coops, log cabins, wind turbines, windmills, solar water heaters for houses and swimming pools, solar panels and other easy step-by-step guides for the amateur and professional alike.
For more information about building a summer house or garden office please us at buildthingsdirect.com to learn more. We hope you will find your visit both interesting and stimulating.