Building a garden office: Part 7

One of the garden office builds we've been following this year is nearing completion. Web designer and developer Jack McConnell is now at stage 7 of the build (you can see the others here) and the video below shows him building and insulating the roof, adding OSB boards to his side walls, and weatherproofing the whole build. There's a very nice surprise right at the end of the video...

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Holloway Lightbox

A great design and build by London-based architects Studio Bark in Leyton, London, called Holloway Lightbox. This garden office is used as a photography studio, an office for a screenwriter, and also as occasional extra family space. The 1,200 handmade coloured tiles took three weeks to make and are a nod to the digital age, representing a pixelated facade. Here's what they say about it:

"This modern yet sustainable skin [made using waste timber fibres] presents an emphatic juxtaposition between new and old, incorporating chalky surface tones, helping to complement the rigid Victorian masonry adjacent."

The final design features an asymetrical pitched roof and a fixed rooflight. It's also available as an Air bnb rental.

Photos by Jon Holloway.

Holloway Lightbox from ALVIN HUNG on Vimeo.

Musician's garden studio: before and after

Here's a fascinating 'before and after' 15sqm garden office build by architectural design studio made with volume for a jazz pianist in Forest Gate, east London. Above is how it looks now and below is the garden shed they had to work with...

Here's what they say about it: "We kept what was salvageable from the dilapidated existing structure and created a highly insulated space for our client to compose, arrange and relax from. Not a bad spot to work from! We have approached the project with a sensibility in terms of budget and materials that will allow the client to undertake some works themselves with some external help. The project involves upgrading the existing structure and replace elements that are either damaged or not fit for purpose."

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Garden office counselling room

A counselling room designed and built by Garden Affairs in Hove, East Sussex. It's one of their Linea garden room range coming in at 3m x 2m, is fully insulated, double-glazed, has paint-stained walls and painted doors/windows.  -------------------------------------------------
Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.

Thoreau's Walden Pond cabin: stud sections and nails

Stud sections and nails from Thoreau's cabin at Walden pond
From: Henry David Thoreau collection https://t.co/j4nfcEcdPE HDT b. #OTD July 12, 1817 pic.twitter.com/o7FjJPf775

— Beinecke Library (@BeineckeLibrary) July 12, 2019

Some fascinating artefacts from the godfather of shedworking Henry David Thoreau's famous cabin. The block of wood above measures 10 x 23 x 10 cm and the two nails approximately 8 and 16 cm. -----------------------------------

Saturday posts are sponsored by iHUS Projects, specialists in the design and build of granny annexes for elderly and disabled care.

Allotment shed roof

Here is former Shed of the Year winner Joel Bird enjoying his new shed roof allotment. Pictured below are more images of him setting up its irrigation system as he admits that the roof gets quite hot and dry plus a plan of what crops he plans to grow. If you're planning something similar, remember that it's going to be pretty heavy - here's a good guide to green roof weights.

Below is a reminder of his original 2014-awardwinning Shed of the Year design with fellow shedworker George Clarke.

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Garden office accountancy firm

Sometimes we forget the 'garden' element of having a 'garden office'. Here's an excellent example of what can be done by accountant Jack Richmond who has colourful meadow flowers planted outside his office door in a build by Norwegian Log.

Jack has gone down the shedworking route and works in his father’s accountancy firm but needed enough extra room in the garden office for a future employee, as well as a large desk area. He found what he was looking for at a RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and bought the Norwegian Log 5m x3 metre GRV building which was being used as a display model there and was eventually craned into place in his own back garden. As Jack’s home is on a corner plot, his clients can reach the office via a side gate in the garden fence.

“The building retains heat brilliantly in the winter," says Jack. "I used it on the coldest day last winter and it was warm and cosy. This summer I’ve sat here with the doors open, looking out onto the garden.”

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.