A summer house is a useful addition to any garden. It has a multitude of potential uses, including as a storage space, a home office, a hot tub or sauna location, a playhouse or even a summer dining area.
Whether you plan on a summer house self build, or prefer to buy a prefabricated flat pack, there are some things you need to know before you get started.
Do you need planning permission for a summerhouse?
Usually classed as ‘permitted development’, summerhouses don’t generally require planning permission either, which makes them easy for you to plan and build. There are a few simple rules to follow to ensure that the building does comply with ‘permitted development’ rules, however.
These are especially important to bear in mind if you plan on enlarging your summer house in the future.
● The building must be under 2.5 metres high in total if it is within 2 metres of the property boundary. This includes the roof height.
● There are a number of things to consider with summer house roof ideas. If it is further than 2 metres from the boundary, the eaves must be under 2.5 metres in height. A building with a pent or hip roof can have another half a metre in roof height (a total height of 3 metres), while a summer house with an apex roof can rise to a total height of 4 metres with a roof height of 1.5 metres.
● The summerhouse must not have an internal floor space bigger than 30 square metres.
● Summerhouses can only be installed in back gardens.
● Any garden buildings must not take up more than 50% of the available space around the house.
● It cannot be used as self-contained accommodation.
● There are other rules for listed buildings and those located in national parks .
Do you need planning permission for a summerhouse? Not usually, but it is always best to check with your local council if you’re in any doubt. They would rather hear from you before you start your project than have to enforce the rules on you afterwards.
It may even be better to plan ahead if you want to enlarge your summerhouse later, and make sure you’re familiar with the rules before you start on the initial building. Planning permission usually takes about 4-6 weeks to be processed.
Why not spend some cold, dark winter evenings working out what you want, the materials, size and cost, and then approach the council with your ideas when the days start to lengthen?
Build your own summer house to last
The best thing about summer houses is that they can be used for so many different purposes. The worst thing about summer houses is that they can be used for so many different purposes.
They can be used as playhouses, home offices and storage areas. The life of a building may outlast many different uses, so it is best to plan and build well. The summer house you build may see all this and more.
Does a summer house need planning permission for specific uses? No, but it may be wise to check before you build it.
Where do you see your summer house self build in five years? Ten? You need to make sure that it is versatile enough to last the course. That means building carefully. That way, you can adapt its use throughout the years. You cannot use a summerhouse as self contained accommodation, but you can definitely use it as a home office, a workshop or a garden shelter when the rain comes while you’re hosting a barbecue.
For garden buildings which will be used as home offices, workspaces or entertainment areas, it’s better to have walls between 28mm and 50mm thick. Thicker walls will have double tongue and groove, meaning you can opt for a slightly larger building with no loss of stability. Plus, thicker walls means more warmth is retained, which is best on a cold winter’s morning.
Some cabins have walls which are almost 100mm thick and double glazed windows. These may not be cheap but they will be toasty warm for those colder days.
Scrimping and saving is not worth it in the long run
You might be thinking that you could save a bit by going for the cheapest option when you build your own summer house.
This is not a good idea, as it will not last long term. It’s much better to spend a bit more and get a quality timber structure that will withstand the best and worst of the weather equally. Ideally, for a long term structure, you should consider well seasoned heartwood.
Pine, ash and fir are the cheapest options, with oak, larch, redwood, cypress and cedar being more expensive but more durable. Nordic wood is also good for prefabricated wooden summer houses due to its high density. If you choose to buy your own wood for a self build summer house then you will need a straight, tight grain selection, preferably pressure treated beams for the lower areas.
You will also need to treat the planks with wood oil or stain.
Good buildings start with good foundations
To ensure your summer house is safe and secure in windy, wintery conditions, you need to start at the bottom. A well laid foundation will anchor your summer house, whether it’s concrete or timber frame.
Once you start on the building itself, if you can fix the walls to the foundation at each corner and in the middle of the two longest walls, that will add strength and stability to the structure. The tongue and groove design usually stays together simply because of the weight of the roof on the uprights, but putting in anchors will give it more strength. This will help the structure stay sound as it gets older.
A solid concrete foundation may take longer to lay, but it will help prolong the life of your summer house, especially if you lay it slightly higher than the surrounding ground level. If you also aim to build stub walls of 20-50cm in height then add the wooden planks for the walls of your garden building on top of them, that will minimize the likelihood of damage from water or plants.
Do not use concrete for the floor
Even if you use concrete for the foundations, you should add a proper floor instead of simply using the bare concrete as a floor. Not only is a wooden floor warmer, it’s also better insulation and means the building will cost less to heat.
Plus you can then ensure your concrete foundation is properly drained, which in turn will prolong the life of your summerhouse.
Next challenge – how to build a summerhouse roof
There are plenty of summer house roof ideas. You have to consider the height, whether you want it flat or apex and how steep it needs to be. Do you need planning permission for a summerhouse roof?
The height of the roof will decide for you. Once you have built the foundations and decided how you’re going to lay the floor and build the walls, the next challenge is the roof. There are many ways to build a summerhouse roof so you may need to research your options to ensure your choice fits, if you’re building it yourself.
Large roof overhangs and metal plates are likely to form part of this area, in order to keep the rain away from the walls and ensure the roof stays on. The weight the roof may have to bear is also a factor and the roof pitch of your summer house determines the correct measurements of the rest of it.
The walls should be able to bear not only the weight of the roof but a bit more besides, to account for snow and other external weight. The strength of the rafters depends on the length, wood type and weight load.
If you fancy a flat roof, that will also affect the dynamics. You could even go for solar panels on the roof to enable an electricity supply to your garden building, but the roof must be able to deal with this additional weight when you build it.
Treat your wood right
Everything responds to a bit of care and attention, and that is especially true of wood. The best wood to use is pressure treated timber, which should be treated before being laid as the floor or built as the walls.
All the external walls should be treated with wood preservation agents to keep them looking their best, and if you want to keep that ‘just built’ glow, then you should also consider a UV-protection coating to stop the wood from fading to grey.
How to build a shed or summerhouse to last
All wooden buildings settle as they get older and the wood becomes drier. This is why tongue and groove is the best option for walls, window and door frames. Building a good wooden building is all about installing T-sections as part of the frame, using metal fixings to hold some panels in place and leaving strategic gaps plugged with fibreglass or wool to allow for settling.
Finally, security
Your summer house needs to be secure. That doesn’t just mean having good quality cylinder locks that work and windows that won’t break easily because they’re covered in adhesive foil. If you intend to use it as an office, security needs to be just as good as your house.
You could consider a motion sensor light or a CCTV camera, or extend any existing measures in your garden to cover your new summerhouse. If you’re asking yourself ‘does a summer house need planning permission for security or solar panels?’, it would be best to research this before installing.
Even if it didn’t need planning permission before, improvements to it might. Your local council planning team will be able to advise at which stage you should seek formal planning permission.
It’s also a good idea to keep any garden tools out of sight so they are not used as a means to gain entry. Plus, having friendly neighbours is always good, because there is more chance that everyone will look after each other then.