Materials
What is the right foundation system for my garden studio?
Every other decision in this guide depends on the foundation. Movement at ground level shows up years later as cracked plaster, doors that bind and water where it should not be.
Avoid
Concrete slab
A concrete slab is still the most common foundation in garden studio construction, and its strength and rigidity are genuinely excellent. The problem is everything around it: slow, messy construction, significant embodied carbon, difficult access on typical London sites, and cost that the client absorbs. Slabs also show wear early in their life through cracking, water pooling and seepage. Other systems match its performance without the disruption.
Use with care
Ground screws
Installed correctly, to a structural engineer's specification, a screw foundation is a fast, low-impact and perfectly sound system. The failures we see are installation failures, not system failures. Ask for the engineer's design and the installation depths achieved. If a manufacturer cannot produce either, that is the point to walk away.
We recommend
Parallel flange C-channel steel base
Comparable to a reinforced concrete ring beam, this system uses 150mm x 75mm x 10mm steel and is phenomenally strong and stable. It arrives as modular sections and is installed on site in hours. It suits all ground types, is not invasive to existing vegetation, and avoids the embodied carbon and the mess of a slab while keeping the strength and longevity.
LABC Building Regulation Approved
What should the framework of my studio be made from?
The framework carries the loads, holds the insulation and sets the acoustic and thermal behaviour of the building. It is also the part you can never change later.
Avoid
Thin steel framing systems
Several manufacturers frame in thin gauge steel sections. At 0.5mm thick, the sections have poor load capacity for a building intended to last decades, and steel conducts heat, so thermal bridging drives up heat loss. Acoustic performance is also noticeably worse than timber, which matters in a small room used for work or music.
We recommend
Engineered timber frame, minimum 100mm cavity
Kiln dried, structurally graded timber studwork gives you the load capacity, the thermal break and the acoustic mass that a small building needs. We build our wall, floor and ceiling cassettes to take at least 100mm of insulation, with a continuous airtightness layer and a service void so cables never compromise it.
Also worth asking
Whether the timber is FSC or PEFC certified, what moisture content it is delivered at, and whether the frame is designed by an engineer or copied from the last job.
Three build methods. One standard of finish.
How a studio is built should follow your site, not a factory's preference. We now offer three routes, and we will tell you which one your garden actually suits at the site consultation.
Traditional on-site timber frame
For projects local to our East London workshop, we frame on site. Transport is minimal, deliveries are staged as the build progresses, and the design can adapt to what the site reveals once groundworks are open.
Best for: local sites, tight or awkward access, designs that need on-site adjustment.
Modular pre-fabricated construction
Wall, floor and roof cassettes are manufactured in the workshop to workshop tolerances, then delivered flat and assembled on site. You get the precision of controlled conditions, no exposure of materials to weather, and a far shorter disruptive period at your home.
Best for: most projects; the shortest time on site for a given size of building.
Off-site construction with crane delivery
The studio is built and finished in the workshop and lifted into position complete. Time on site is measured in a day, and the internal finish never sees British weather. It requires crane access and a road closure in most cases, which we arrange.
Best for: sites with crane access, clients who want minimal disruption, the highest achievable finish.
Digital fabrication sits behind all three. Components are cut from the technical drawings you have approved, which is why the building on site matches the drawing rather than approximating it, and why surplus material carries into the next studio instead of a skip.
Which glazing system gives a quality finish that lasts?
Glazing is the single most visible component of the building and usually the largest line on the quotation. It is worth understanding what you are being offered.
Avoid
uPVC
uPVC is a petroleum based product. Its manufacture releases pollutants, and at the end of its life it is not biodegradable and generally goes to landfill. Aesthetically, bulky uPVC frames undo the architecture around them.
We recommend
Thermally broken aluminium, in a bespoke colour
We specify Reynaers and Cortizo systems. Both pair genuine value with high standards, and the slim profiles give you more glass and less frame for the same opening. Frames are available in any RAL colour, so the glazing can either disappear into the cladding or deliberately contrast with it.
Aluminium, Black
Aluminium, Anthracite
The whole window U-value, not the centre pane figure; the glazing unit specification; and whether trickle vents are required.
Solar gain on south facing glazing, and whether an overhang, brise soleil or coated glass is the better answer for your orientation.
What should the outside of the building be clad in?
All natural timber moves in colour. Cedar silvers, thermally modified boards hold tone longer, and an oil or stain slows the process without stopping it. Decide at design stage whether you want the building to weather or to stay as delivered.
Avoid
Composite timber
Composite boards photograph well and read convincingly from a distance. Up close they have a hard plastic look and feel. The product is plastic based, which works against the sustainability case for the whole building, and it exists to imitate timber. A single damaged board is a labour intensive repair, where a batten in a natural timber facade is a ten minute job.
We recommend
Sustainable natural timber, or something braver
Cedar, grandis, Kebony, Thermowood and shou sugi ban are all excellent natural cladding finishes. A modified softwood is usually the environmentally stronger choice: faster growing than hardwood, and highly durable once modified. Beyond timber, consider zinc, or take the opportunity to do something entirely bespoke.
Cedar
Kebony / Ipé
Red Grandis
Shou Sugi Ban
Thermowood
The small roof detail that spoils most garden studios.
Once you have seen this, you will see it on every studio you pass.
Avoid
Exposed roof capping
Most UK garden studios finish the top edge of the cladding with a wide black band of roofing material, wrapped around every elevation. It draws the eye straight to the least interesting line on the building. The proportions of an otherwise good design are undone by it.
We recommend
A concealed capping system behind the cladding
A hidden capping sits behind the external cladding and pushes rainwater onto the waterproof membrane. The cladding then runs cleanly into the sky with no black band interrupting it. Same performance, considerably better building. Ask to see a close-up photograph of the roof edge on a completed project before you commit.
How do you want the inside to feel?
This is the part of the building you touch every day, and the part most closely tied to the two decisions you have already made about foundation and frame.
Plaster — with one condition
Plaster is a good finish and we build it regularly. The condition is a foundation and a frame stiff enough to support it. Where plaster cracks, the cause is almost always movement below. Get sections 01 and 02 right and plaster is a safe choice.
Our preference
Long grain birch plywood
For a warmer, softer room than plaster, we recommend a long grain birch plywood lining. The fine grain and smooth texture make the space feel calm and inviting. It also opens up matching joinery: desks, shelving and cabinetry in the same sheet, made by the same team that built the studio.
Birch Plywood Lining
Flooring
Vinyl is hard wearing and inexpensive, and a good route to a pop of colour. Rubber is the more sustainable equivalent, though less durable under heavy use. Timber options include boarding, parquet and cork in a range of finishes. If you are specifying underfloor heating, confirm the floor finish and the system are compatible before either is ordered.
Birch Plank
Maple Parquet
Bamboo Plank
Cork
Vinyl, Grey
Vinyl, Blue
Vinyl, Red
Vinyl, Yellow
The colours and finishes shown are a selection of available options. Flooring is not limited to those shown - speak to us about bespoke specifications.
Getting the roof build-up right.
There are two roof finishes we would put on our own buildings. If a manufacturer proposes something else, ask them to justify it.
EPDM Membrane
Sedum Roof
Single ply EPDM membrane
The proven choice for a flat or shallow pitched roof of this type. It performs well thermally, supports airtight construction, and gives superior waterproofing with very few joints. It is recyclable and has a long service life, which keeps its whole-life impact low.
Sedum, or green, roof
A sedum roof adds insulation and reduces energy use, filters airborne pollutants, and supports biodiversity. It also slows and reduces water runoff, which matters on urban plots with limited drainage. It carries additional structural load, so it has to be designed in from the start, not added later.
The membrane manufacturer and guarantee period, the insulation thickness in the roof, the fall and the outlet positions, and how the roof edge is capped.
The part you never see, and pay for every winter.
Walk away from any manufacturer using less than 100mm of insulation in the wall, floor and ceiling cavities. Ask for a written breakdown of the product used in each element and the reasoning behind it. Vague answers here reliably predict a cold building and high running costs.
We recommend
Sheep's wool insulation
We use Thermafleece, a wool based product that captures carbon dioxide as it grows, substantially reducing the insulation's global warming impact. It has low embodied energy in manufacture. Every tonne removes over 300kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The fibres are environmentally harmless, safe to handle without protective equipment, and at end of life the product can be reused or recycled.
Sheep's Wool Insulation
Anything under 100mm. Ask for a written breakdown — vague answers reliably predict a cold building and high running costs.
Insulation is only half of it. A continuous airtightness layer, properly taped at junctions and penetrations, is what turns good insulation into a warm room.
The details that separate a good studio from a great one.
None of these are structural. All of them are much easier to design in now than to retrofit later.
Heating and ventilation
Underfloor heating gives you the whole wall back and heats the room evenly. Pair it with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in a well sealed building, so air quality stays good without opening a door in January.
Electrics, data and lighting
Specify sockets, data and lighting circuits before the walls close. Hard wired data beats garden wifi. A separate lighting circuit for task and ambient lighting costs almost nothing at first fix and changes how the room works at night.
Acoustics
If the studio is for music, calls or a workshop, say so at concept stage. Denser insulation, resilient bars and heavier glazing units are cheap decisions early and impossible ones late.
Integrated joinery
Desks, storage, benches and beds built into the structure by the same joiners, in the same material as the lining. In a small building, fitted joinery is the difference between a room and a usable one.
Water and washrooms
If there is any chance of a WC, kitchenette, sauna or shower later, run the drainage and supply during groundworks. Capped services in the slab cost very little now and save you digging up a finished garden.
Landscape, decking and screening
The approach to the studio matters as much as the building. Level thresholds, a deck or paved terrace, planting and lighting along the route make it feel like part of the house rather than a shed at the end of the garden.
Download our free build guide for the complete specification, with all sections covered in detail.
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