Garden room with built-in storage

Layouts

A 6 × 3 m building with a 1.5 m store at one end, drawn to scale:

• Side store: a narrow store along one end, with its own door on the side or front. The most common.
• Rear store: a shallow store behind the room, reached from the side. Good for long, narrow gardens.
• Bike store: a store at least 1.8 to 2 m deep fits bikes lengthways.

Planning

The store and the room are one garden building for planning purposes. Together with any other sheds, they must be 30 m² or less, and leave 25 m² of garden. Taking down an old shed and building storage into the new room is often how people stay within the limit. See the planning rules.

Getting it right

• Insulate the wall between the room and the store, so you don't heat the store.
• Fit a light and a socket in the store, for charging a mower or e-bike. Tell the electrician. See electrics.
• Ventilate the store so damp tools don't rust.
• Use a lockable, solid door on the store, with no glass.