Posted: 28/04/2021

Installing A Garden Office _ Part 1

See the full series of posts, to find out how we got here.

For the forseeable future, I have decided to work from home. We live in a 2 bed bungalow with 3 people. That means there is not a dedicated space to work in. Right now I am working in my "office" in the bedroom.
This is not sustainable.

We are fortunate enough to have a big back garden, and I have always talked about having a "Man Cave" or "Workshop" at the back of it.
In the years we have lived here, I have never actually built that space, preferring to keep the garden full of plants.
However there is a space nestled amongst the trees at the rear that is very tranquil and I find myself drawn to that location to think over the past traumatic year.

So after discussing with "The Boss", I am going to build a Garden Office.

These are the steps I believe I need to go through:

Lots of thinking (more on that in a bit)
Find and measure a space (including the height)
Lots of research
More thinking
Clear the space
Create the foundations
Install a base
Source the "materials"
Build the office

I am on the fence as to buy vs build. I'm an adequate DIYer, but have never built anything that big. The biggest projects I have worked on are replacing kitchen and bathrooms.

My gut is telling me to build it, so it can be bespoke and the perfect size for the space available.

Inspiration

So first of all I've been getting inspiration for what is possible with some TV shows and reading artices (its been a long lockdown!)

I am also a sucker for a long trip to B&Q (Pre-COVID), so I kind of know what materials are available and what I think I can work with.

Lots of thinking

I tend to take a lot of time planning projects in my mind (just ask "the boss" about the kitchen!), so I like to let ideas marinate, and then do research around them to see what makes sense, and what I believe I can achieve.

This is the kind of thinking I have been doing:

Mocking up the size in the garden
Sitting in the space and imagining the walls and views
What light will I get, and when?
How will the temperature be regulated?
How will the rain sound on the roof
How will it be visible to the neighbours
What access is available for maintenance

I have been thinking about these things for a while now, so its about time I got on and made it. This is Part 1 of this journey, so check back to see it progress.

Thanks for reading this post.

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