Are you thinking about investing in your very own Roundhouse for the garden?
Whichever style of Roundhouse you choose (yurt / cord wood / Iron-Age, cob or timber-framed Rotunda) ensure it’s a building which will stand the test of time and make sure it’s cool in the summer and warm in the winter with the approprioate heating, insulation levels and glazing. Some elements are dictated by your chosen builder but it’s worth addressing of some of the below key considerations before jumping into any building works:
What are you going to use it for? A Roundhouse garden room is a great way to create a unique space for activities that you may not be able to accommodate in the home. Do you work from home and like the idea of having a unique and unusual garden office? Or perhaps you’re a therapist and you need a seperate and private space for treatments and/or therapy sessions.
These are some of the most popular purposes for a Roundhouse style garden room:
- Music Room
- Therapy Room
- Granny Annexe
- Holiday Lodge
- Workshop
- Studio
Where are you installing it? Unlike the run-of-the-milll ubiqutous monolith style garden room – the natural aesthetics of the unique and attractive Roundhouse can either be a fabulous feature as a centre-piece in the garden or can sit back snugly towards the corner (and the void behind it creates a brilliant mini-garden, log-store or garden-equipment-hiding-place.) of your garden. Of course, where you choose to situate your Roundhouse will partly be dictated by what space is available in your garden. If you need to link it to utilities then placing it fairly near the house is best, or it might cost more to connect it.
What finishes would you like? Each and every Rotunda is built to order and reflects the choices made by it’s owner. So, you may prefer a Sedum (grass) roof if you’re keen on improving the local biodiversity, but if 100% sunlight isn’t possible – perhaps the tiled (terracotta red or grey?) would be preferable. We run through the finishes with you on a site survey, enabling you to choose what suits your garden and your budget.
Windows and Doors Windows and doors also need to be considered carefully. Of course, a box-like garden room means only one thing, the door on the front of course! But the Roundhouse gives you miles more flexibility. Rotate the building, position the door wherever you like.. and create a path which curves and winds it’s way to the entrance. This will mean thinking about paths and potentially obtrusive plants in the surrounding area.
Size To be covered in your Permitted Development rights, outbuildings must:
- be single storey;
- have a maximum eaves height of 2.5m;
- have a maximum overall height of 3m (or 4m on a dual pitched roof to the highest point).
- and take up less than 50% of your garden
The most popular size by far is the 5.5m Rotunda Roundhouse, this sits snugly in the garden without being too overbearing but is large enough to double-up as a granny annexe or spare room should you need one.
Hopefully this has been useful as a snapshot but please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions relating to the suitability of a Roundhouse style garden room for your home.
Until then, enjoy the Autumn…..!
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