What is a garden room?
The short answer
A garden room is a detached, insulated building in your garden, with glazing, power and often heating, built to be used all year round as an extra room: an office, gym, studio or playroom. Unlike a shed, it's comfortable to spend the day in. In Ireland, most up to 30 m² don't need planning permission, as long as nobody lives in them.
On this page
What counts as a garden room
There's no legal definition. In practice, people mean a building that has:
- Insulation in the floor, walls and roof, so it stays warm in winter. See insulated garden rooms.
- Double or triple glazing, usually a big glazed door facing the garden.
- Mains power from the house, wired and certified by a registered electrician. See electrics.
- A proper base of ground screws or concrete. See foundations.
- Finished interiors: lined walls, a floor finish, lighting and often heating.
Garden room, shed, log cabin or summerhouse?
| Building | Insulated? | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Garden room | Yes, floor, walls and roof | All year: office, gym, studio |
| Log cabin | Often not, unless upgraded | Spring to autumn, or all year if insulated |
| Summerhouse | No, often single glazed | Summer seating |
| Shed | No | Storage |
| Garden home (Class 3A) | Yes, to Building Regulations | Somewhere to live |
For planning, sheds, log cabins, summerhouses and garden rooms are all garden buildings, and they share one 30 m² allowance. A garden home is different: it falls under its own exemption. See mobile homes and log cabins and garden homes.
What people use them for
- Garden office: the most common use since hybrid working
- Garden gym
- Studio or music room
- Sauna cabin
- Small garden room ideas, from reading rooms to playrooms
The rules in Ireland
Most garden rooms are exempt from planning permission if they're up to 30 m² with any other sheds, leave 25 m² of garden, sit behind the house, stay within the height limits and aren't lived in or used for a business. See the full planning rules.
What they cost
A 16 m² catalogue garden room costs roughly €11,000 to €24,000 supplied and installed, and a builder-built one €29,000 to €51,000, before the base, electrics and heating. See prices.
Where to start
- Check what size your garden allows with the garden size planner.
- Get a budget figure from the cost estimator.
- Read how to buy a garden room.
Common questions
What is the difference between a garden room and a shed?
A garden room is insulated, double glazed, has power and is built to be used all year as part of your living space. A shed is an uninsulated store. In planning terms both are garden buildings and count towards the same 30 m² limit.
What is the difference between a garden room and a log cabin?
A log cabin is built from interlocking solid timber logs, often without separate insulation. A garden room usually has an insulated timber-frame, SIPs or steel structure. A well-insulated log cabin can be used as a garden room.
Can you live in a garden room?
Not under the garden room exemption. To live in a building in the garden without planning permission, it must be a Class 3A garden home of 32 to 45 m², with its own conditions.
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