Garden rooms are flexible spaces that can be used for a wide range of activities, from a workshop to a home office or a gym. There’s no reason why your timber cabin should be limited to one purpose only; many people find that it serves a variety of functions throughout the year.
One frequently asked question over the festive season is whether a garden room can be used as an extra bedroom. This may be to accommodate guests, or just to get some peace and quiet away from overexcitable family members! The simple answer is yes, but there are some important points to consider before going ahead.
The most important point is that the structure should comply with Building Regulations. While garden rooms are constructed to high standards, unless they are specifically designed as an annexe or guest bedroom from the outset, they do not legally need to be compliant with building regulations.
To ensure that the structure is habitable and safe to sleep in, it is important that it meets certain standards in terms of size, insulation, electrical installations, heating, ventilation, damp proofing, waste disposal, and fire safety requirements. This applies whether you want to use it as an occasional guest room or on a regular basis for sleeping quarters.
It’s best to decide whether you want to use the garden room as a bedroom before you specify your order from the supplier, so the necessary work can be done at the outset. Even then, the structure will need to be signed off by a Building Control Officer before it is considered safe and legal to use.
The other consideration is whether you will need planning permission. Usually, garden structures fall within permitted development, which means that they do not require planning permission. Permitted development allows outbuildings to be built within the grounds of a property within certain boundaries and height and width restrictions.
However, one of the stipulations of permitted development is that the building should be only for incidental use. This means that it can be used for purposes such as hobbies, storage, exercise, work, and so on, but not for sleeping in, which falls under the category of ancillary use.
This may seem like a lot of extra work to take into account, but once you have all your ducks in a row you will have a great asset that could add value to your house, or even provide a source of extra income should you wish to let it out as a holiday rental.
When planning your garden bedroom, you will need to make sure that there is adequate space for a bed, plus other standard bedroom furniture such as a dressing table and drawers. You will also probably want to fit a small bathroom area with a toilet and shower.
