Frequently asked questions (and answers)

We are committed to providing durable Studios with a low cost of ownership that will stand the test of time – indeed, properly maintained, your new Green Studio will last as long as your house! Feel free to challenge us to prove this statement!

Green Studios are intended to be permanent structures, a long term addition to your living space and as such we want all our customers to purchase with complete confidence in the longevity of their investment. We assure you of our utmost attention to detail, to use uncompromising materials built to exacting standards and back this up with a 10 year insurance-backed warranty for peace of mind.

Furthermore, we source and use the best quality products from exclusive suppliers, some of whom offer even longer term warranties – for example, our Office, Studio and Pod roofs come with a manufacturer’s guarantee of 20 years and a 50 year expected life.

For added peace of mind, we also include, at no extra charge to you, deposit indemnity insurance, backed by The Consumer Protection Association ... an added assurance that when you lodge a deposit, your payment is secure and backed up by a separate insurance policy. Please ask for further details or visit www.thecpa.co.uk to find out more and independently verify our membership number 2125.

The most popular use is a home office but you can treat it as you would any room in the house - it really is genuinely habitable additional living space and the possibilities are endless ... though here’s our list (only limited by our memory!) of uses our clients have put their Studio to in recent years:

Home office; children’s play room; teenager’s crash pad; games room; home gym; artist’s studio; home cinema; treatment room; guest room / granny flat; nursery school; school meeting room; hydrotherapy centre; marketing suite, recording studio ... let your imagination wander!

Soft furnishings, equipment and paperwork are dry in a Green Studio all year round. We use ‘breathing technology’ - our buildings are vented and highly insulated for all year round living and to avoid condensation. The insulation of our Studios isn’t regulated by the government, but we automatically insulate our garden buildings to 2005 Building Regulation standard for new houses. Insulation is measured in ‘U’ values. Houses built since 2002 must have ‘U’ values of Walls 0.35, Roof 0.2, and Floor 0.25. All our buildings meet or exceed these values. This level of insulation also gives excellent soundproofing, though we do also have designs for fully sound-proofed structures, ideal for use even as a recording studio!

Yes, our exacting insulation standards and industry-leading glazing ensure that our buildings are cool in the summer.  Whilst we do have large expanses of glass for that sought-after "garden room" feel, we have balanced this to ensure against the "greenhouse/conservatory effect."

Our Western Red Cedar cladding doesn’t need chemical treatment, is maintenance free and has an expected lifespan of up to 50 years, ageing to a natural silvery-grey patina over the years.  You can add a colour finish if you wish, which would then require maintaining every few years, though we don’t recommend it.

All our windows and doors are made from powder coated aluminium, designed to offer a maintenance free life in a domestic installation.  It is an inherently strong material that does not attract dirt, warp or rot and is essentially maintenance free apart from an occasional wipe down with a damp cloth!

In short, our Studios are built to the same exacting, durable standards as a modern home – it is expected to last as long as your home after all and is a world apart from lesser, cabin or summerhouse derived structures.

We utilise LABC system approved heavy duty foundations – a discrete system dug into the ground at regular intervals to support the weight of your Studio and anchor the structure – along with the same type of structure commonly used by house-builders.  Our aim is to give you accommodation which feels like any other room in your house, though our Studios are better built than most of the UK’s housing stock!

We use an excellent sustainable alternative to plasterboard too which is incredibly durable with high impact resistance (you can take a hammer to it with little effect, unlike plasterboard).  It is also highly practical having the ability to hang up to 50kg weight from a single screw fixing, making it incredibly easy to install wall-mounted shelves or cupboards.

All our doors have espagnolette mulit-point locking systems to insurance approved standards with key-operated locks to all opening windows.  The walls of our garden buildings are between 7" and 9" thick and would be extremely difficult to break through.  Furthermore, we are happy to consult with you over the integration of your home alarm system, or indeed, the installation of a new security system.

With a sustainable alternative to plasterboard and full skim finish, the result is a seamless, attractive and durable finish. It is easy to decorate and maintain and increases soundproofing. A plastered surface is natural, breathable and unlike manmade lining boards, is puncture resistant when knocked.

All our buildings include a fully plastered and decorated interior (and we only use ORGANIC solvent free paints for the interior - arguably the world's purest, anti-allergy paints - see the Ecos Organic Paints website for more details).

In practice, about HALF of our installations since October 2008 (the most recent update to the legislation) have required planning permission.  Planning permission is generally not about the size of the structure, rather it’s location, external appearance and it’s intended use.  Even the smallest garden sheds and greenhouses need planning permission in certain circumstances!  The rules do differ for England versus Scotland and Wales, though these are summarised below.

ENGLAND
Planning permission may NOT be required if:

• the building is not located forward of the principal elevation fronting a highway
• the building is single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof
• the maximum height is 2.5 metres and the building is within two metres of a boundary
• there are no verandas, balconies or raised platforms, and no more than half the area of land around the original house would be covered by additions or other buildings. 

Generally speaking, in most cases you will need planning approval if you live in a National Park, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites though the only real restrictions in Conservation Areas, which are significantly more commonplace, relate to buildings installed at the side of properties.

SCOTLAND & WALES
You will need to apply if any of the following cases apply on the land around your house:

• You wish to install a building which would be nearer to any highway than the nearest part of the “original house” (meaning as it were first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 if constructed before that date) unless there would be at least 20 metres between the new building and any highway.  (The term “highway” includes public roads, footpaths, bridleways and byways).
• If your new building would have a volume over 10 cubic metres, and come within 5 metres of the house, it would be treated as an extension and would count against your overall volume entitlement – you may therefore be able to use some of your house permitted development rights, though more often, you will need to apply for approval.
• You want to put up a building or structure which is more than 3 metres high, or more than 4 metres high if it has a ridged roof. (Measure from the highest ground next to it.)
• More than half the area of land around the "original house" would be covered by additions or other buildings.
• The building or structure is not to be used for domestic purposes and is to be used instead, for example, for parking a commercial vehicle, running a business or for storing goods in connection with a business.If your house is a listed building, or you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and you want to put up a building or structure with a volume of more than 10 cubic metres.

We offer a full planning application service if required and are extremely experienced in all matters relating to garden buildings – please do call us to chat or submit an enquiry. 

There are always many ways to proceed and we do ask that you rely upon our significant experience!  We also offer lower roof options on all Office and Studio models, with an upgraded foundation system, to retain the ease to install our products without additional planning approval.  Furthermore, our Pod range rarely if ever requires planning permission!

Building regulations are separate from planning permission ... planning permission is about WHAT can be constructed whereas building regulations are concerned with HOW the structure is designed and built.

Most garden studios up to 30m² floor area are exempt from the majority of building regulations so long as they are not going to be used for sleeping accommodation.  This leads some companies which sell lesser structures (log cabins, insulated summerhouses and the like) to claim their sheds “meet building regulations” when in reality what they mean is “our buildings don’t have to comply with building regulations.” 

At Green Studios, we believe our buildings should be designed and built to the same quality as modern houses that you would choose to live in all year round.  It is, after all, an extension of your home that you and your family will use for many years to come.  Hence we use substantial, though non-invasive foundations, high specification structure and joinery, all of which are backed up by a 10 year insurance-backed structural warranty.

Of those Building Regulations which do still apply to our Studios:

• Part P covers the safety of electrical installations and as such, we obtain the appropriate installation certification on your behalf.
• To satisfy Fire Safety requirements, Studios between 15m² and 30m² floor area need to be installed with a minimum 1m gap between the building and your boundary.

For most of our customers, the main benefit is the addition of valuable new living space, freeing up room in your home.  However, not only does it provide a practical new living space but it also adds significant value to your house.  Typically you can expect to recuperate 75% of the cost of the project on the value of your house, however, in some locations where property prices are at a premium, you may return 100% or more.

Most certainly!  Our buildings use a genuinely demountable system to construct, making it possible to remove the cladding the pack the building for transport to it’s new site.  Whilst this is technically feasible, we do encourage you to question the logistical and financial expediency as most of our clients who have been in this situation have usually sold their Studio to the buyers of their home.  Again, we have years of experience so do contact us to chat.

Prefabricated modular panels are delivered flat packed from the factory to site, and in most situations can be carried through the house to be installed in the garden if you do not have separate access into your garden.  Speak to one of our advisors to arrange a free design consultation.

Our fully trained, professional and customer focused team (our current teams have many years’ and over a hundred buildings’ installation experience) will carry out the installation in a surprisingly quick time and with minimum disruption to you and your family.  An average building usually takes about 7 working days to complete, including foundations, full decorative finish and electrics.  

The simplest, and usually cheapest, way to get internet and phone access to your building is to use a wireless router and a dual cordless dect phone.  Instead of using a traditional fax machine there are many software applications available such as eFax that allow you to send and receive faxes using your internet connection. 

Alternatively you can contract your current telephone/internet provider.

We are happy to provide a full service, subject to a full site survey, to manage the provision of telephone and network cabling if required, though this is an additional cost as our experience has been that it is not necessary in most cases.