DIYMichael

For anyone interested in how this garden room was built, I’ve documented the full process in a YouTube series—covering everything from foundations and structure through to insulation and finishes. You can watch the full build here: https://makers-manual.com/garden-room

100% worth getting a nail gun, it saved me hours! Here is a list of some of the tools and materials we used on our build https://makers-manual.com/garden-room (you'll find the nail gun there). Also, due to our YouTube links, we managed to negotiate a few discount codes which maybe of help to you.

Personally, I think you will find working with timber much easier and nicer. It's a little more forgiving and if you get something in the wrong place you can always unscrew and try again. Good luck with the garage build, have you got build plans yet, or you just making it up as you go? I found this website really helpful for working out what size timbers I needed for various spans https://www.timberbeamcalculator.co.uk/en-gb/span-table/floor-joists?load=1.5&class=C24

Thank you... my next projects are to populate the Garden Room with furniture. So more woodworking than building. But after that I do have an idea for a rather elaborate kids playroom. I actually find your site as the result of a question I asked Perplexity (AI Platform), this site was listed as a reference, so I followed the link and here I am.

Thanks... Sounds like you are in a very similar position to me. I built mine mostly on my own, though my wife did help from time to time on the days the kids were in nursery. I won't lie though, there are a handful of jobs where two people isn't really optional. I started planning with research, I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of forums. I also purchased various sets of plans online, but a warning there, don't go too cheap with your purchases, the cheap ones are next to useless and sometimes offer some pretty shady advice. Then I started designing it in 3D modelling software (I am a design engineer, so this was the natural next step for me). In terms of costs, I spent about £8k for a Garden Room that's 10m2, the equivalent purchased from a company would be around £25k (not kidding) and the quality would have been overall less.

Thanks... Sounds like you are in a very similar position to me. I built mine mostly on my own, though my wife did help from time to time on the days the kids were in nursery. I won't lie though, there are a handful of jobs where two people isn't really optional. I started planning with research, I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of forums. I also purchased various sets of plans online, but a warning there, don't go too cheap with your purchases, the cheap ones are next to useless and sometimes offer some pretty shady advice. Then I started designing it in 3D modelling software (I am a design engineer, so this was the natural next step for me). In terms of costs, I spent about £8k for a Garden Room that's 10m2, the equivalent purchased from a company would be around £25k (not kidding) and the quality would have been overall less.

Hi all, thought I’d share our garden room build now that it’s finished. It was a proper self-build from start to finish, including the design, and we put a lot of time into researching the best way to approach it before we began. We tried to follow good building practice wherever possible, while still keeping it realistic for a garden room build. I’ve attached a few pictures in case they’re useful to anyone planning something similar. We also filmed the whole process and put it together as a YouTube playlist, documenting the reasoning behind the different decisions we made along the way. We found that especially helpful when researching, as there’s a lot of advice out there and not all of it is equally useful. It’s been a really rewarding project, and I’m proud of what we’ve managed to build as a DIYer with a bit of planning and the right approach. I’m looking forward to using it as an office for many years to come. Would be great to hear what others have done too.

I think you're likely to have problems. You are essentially building a cold roof setup, which relies on ventilation to remove moisture from the roof. The moisture will get there, either from an imperfect vapour control layer installation (inevitable) above your ceiling. It will will naturally occur due to changes in the weather. For instance the roof might be perfectly happy on a warm day with 60% humidity inside the loft and outside. Then overnight the temperature drops and the loft gets cold, then condensation will occur in the loft just like due forms outside. Without ventilation, this could become an issue over time. No point taking the risk really, just ventilate it and no harm done. It won't affect the temperatures inside the house.

Hi, I’m also self-building a garden room and thought this thread might be of interest. I’ve been following the same general approach and found Ali Dymock’s garden room series really useful as well — it’s one of the few that goes into the detail properly. We’ve documented our own build in a YouTube series too, with a focus on the practical side of the project and the reasons behind each decision. If it helps anyone, I’m happy to share the link.