David Price lives in a village in Sussex and is director of a company based in Lewes. He works from home two or three days a week, but once his family started to grow David could no longer use the spare bedroom as his study. He thought for a while and worked out that his options were a loft conversion, an extension or garden office. Sussex planners came to discuss these options with him at his request: –
Sussex planners prefer a garden office
His house has a particularly unusual roof, it has already been extended with a conservatory on the back of the house and he lives in a Conservation Area. So, David and the planners concluded that a garden office was the best choice. Yes, in a Sussex Conservation Area, the planners preferred a garden office to extending the house!
Garden office under a tree?
This is the point that David got in touch with InsideOut.* We drove down to Sussex to meet him and his family, to survey the garden and to look at the large tree that was right next to the position that David had chosen for his garden office.
First we measured his study in the house to give him an idea of the size of office he would need in the garden. Then we were introduced to the tree… and we could see that our foundation system would allow us to build as close to the tree as David wanted us to.
And finally the drains; was there enough fall across the garden for the loo and the sink to drain without needing to be pumped? Yes there was.
Make it bigger and add an eco-loo
Back we went to Lancashire to design the building. David was pleased with the initial design but decided he wanted the garden office to be larger, which wasn’t a problem. He particularly liked the Australian water saving eco-loo that we suggested. It has a wash basin on top of the cistern.
Did David make the right choice?
Then we made the planning application for the garden office. Sussex planners got on with their work and, unknown to us, David decided to test the market a little further:
Just for your information, we have also done a bit of price/quality testing of the market but have still returned to you as you have the best offering for the price re flexibility of design/format; best insulation; easiest/cheapest base/foundations etc so you have obviously got it right!!
We were pleased David came to this conclusion because we aim to provide the best for our customers.
*Though InsideOut no longer build garden offices in Sussex, our architect’s practice is still happy to design offices and bespoke garden buildings in Lancashire and Cumbria. See www.gordonsmitharchitect.co.uk