Home offices are high priority when it comes to buying a home. With more people working from home during lockdown, home offices are in high demand. But what if you don’t have indoor space for a home office? Creating a garden office could be a great solution while adding five percent to your house value.
The average UK house price is at a record high of £252,000 as of February 17, 2021.
This means you could add as much as £12,000 to the value of your home with a garden office.
DIY experts at MyToolShed have revealed their expert insight on how to build your own garden office for around 15 percent of the price of the pre-built sheds.
Pre-made garden offices can cost from around £12,000 to £20,000 or more.
Luke Spear, MyToolShed’s Garden Office Ambassador, revealed how he built his ideal office building for just £3,000 in ten steps.
Mr Spear said: “There are so many reasons you might want to build an outdoor home office, or an insulated garden building, include wanting a space to write, draw, produce music, be creative or socialise.
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“Longer lengths have higher per-metre cost.
“It was anything over five or six metres in my case.
“I didn’t factor this in and paid the price. Definitely avoidable.”
3. Wall raising
The DIY expert said homeowners may need help with this part.
Mr Spear said you should make your poles with reverse angled screws to hold them in place whilst fixing them to an OSB base and to each other.
7. Roofing
The DIY expert recommended getting a steel grinder out for this and cutting the metal roofing on the grass to avoid it sliding.
He also suggested adding a piece of wood to one end of the metal for it to hang over so it doesn’t cut into your grass.
8. Insulation
When the weather is cooler, you will want your garden office to be warm and cosy.
Mr Spear recommended using fibreglass as a cost effective option for insulation.
He said it’s quite easy to find a deal on a large amount of fibreglass.
However, he urged homeowners to wear a mask when working with it, as direct contact with fibreglass or breathing airborne dust containing fibreglass, may irritate the nose and throat.
9. Plaster boarding and plastering
Mr Spear said you should ensure your plaster boarding is neat with minimal gaps so it’s easy to smooth over.
It may be necessary to ask for help or get a plaster board lift if you can’t manage yourself.
10. Flooring
Hiring a professional can cost almost double the cost of the flooring itself so Mr Spear recommended looking around for a deal on laminate flooring.
Laminate can cost around £6-8 per square metre and skirting can be around £1 a metre.