There are lots of foundation systems used in garden office design today; each supplier has their preferred choice, but the ultimate decision should be made on a case by case basis, based on the site conditions in the area you plan to build. A key situation, where additional thought has to be given to the foundation choice, is when you plan to build your office on a steeply sloping site.
If you are planning to build on a sloping site, it is important that you work with a garden office supplier who offers a site visit, you see not all suppliers do and rely on photos and video. This is no way to assess the site conditions when choosing a foundation system. Site visits are usually free and a very important part of the garden office buying process on many levels.
Executive Garden Rooms were recently confronted with a steeply sloping site at the bottom of a garden in Buckinghamshire. The clients wanted to build a substantial 4.5m x 4m garden office. Having conducted an initial site survey and assessed the site conditions thoroughly, the Executive team decided that a reinforced concrete slab was the best type of foundation for this site.
Executive Garden Rooms use reinforced concrete slabs extensively in their work. Even though they involve much more work to prepare than some of the modern pad foundations, they believe they offer the best basis for their buildings. They also offer many additional benefits such as making it easier to design a garden office under the 2.5m Permitted Development rule, and also because the floor is solid it removes the risks of foxes or vermin nesting under the building.
The building that Executive Garden Rooms created on this slope has been finished in the low maintenance Cedral weatherboarding, which comes in a range of colourways. It is a highly durable, lasting for decades. It also has the benefit of having a low combustion rate, making it Building Regulation compliant for buildings sited close to the boundary.
Inside the room is fully plastered and decorated. Executive Garden Rooms offer a well specified electrical package on their buildings. This one, for instance, has plenty of sockets, internal and external LED downlights, smoke alarm and Cat6 data cabling so that the owners can just plug in their computer equipment and connect to the internet.
If you have a sloping site but want a garden office, talk to the Executive Garden Rooms team on 01202 874 766 or visit their website to learn more about their work.