There are many types of foundation suitable for use when building a garden office, but fence posts are not one of them. We were recently contacted by someone who was working with a local builder to create a garden office building. Her builder had said that he was going to use fence posts driven into the ground with Metpost spikes as the foundation system. The lady contacted us to ask if this was a suitable foundation system for a garden office, as she wasn’t sure it was.
Frankly, we were alarmed that this system had been suggested as a suitable foundation for a garden office. These metal posts are great – for fences, but not for taking the loads that are involved in a furnished garden office building!
The foundations chosen for a garden office building should be determined on a site by site basis. Your site will be assessed during the site survey; your designer will then suggest the system that is best suited to your site conditions. There are several foundations systems to choose from, ranging from traditional concrete slabs, concrete ring foundations and spaced concrete piles to modern options like ground screws and eco-friendly plinth foundations that can be removed cleanly from the site should the building be removed from the site. We look at the different foundation options in this article.
Work with a specialist
This ladies question is a clear example of why you should work with a specialist garden office designer. We know there are lots of general builders and landscapers who offer to build a garden office, often quite cheaply, but there is a lot that goes into a garden office design, and it really does pay to work with a specialist.
The garden office designers we feature on this site have developed tried and tested building systems, combined together they have thousands of successful projects under their belt and will be able to create a building that will last for many decades.
We know that a garden office is a big ticket purchase, and we all want to find the best deal we can, but don’t cut corners on who you choose to design and build it. By working with a garden office specialist, you will be ensuring that you create a building that will stand the test of time and add value to your life and to the value of your house.
Suggested further reading:
- Do I need to organise the base for my garden office?
- Garden office foundations
- Easy Pad foundation speeds up garden office installation
- Ground screw foundations fo garden offices