Choosing between a garden room extension and a traditional home extension is a common decision for UK homeowners who need more space. With new build homes getting smaller and families growing, adding usable living space has become essential.
In this guide, we compare garden room extensions vs traditional extensions based on cost, planning permission, build time, disruption, and long-term value.
What Can You Use a Garden Room Extension For?
Firstly, you should think about what is the reason for needing the extra space. If you work from home or regularly practice yoga, you may need a quiet space away from distractions. A garden room is the perfect answer for a home office or yoga studio. On the other hand, you may need space to blast music in your home studio or home gym. A garden room or garden building provides a separate space from your house.
An insulated Kingdom Room provides excellent sound insulation which is ideal if you wish to avoid the neighbours hearing that workout soundtrack. A typical home extension can be a better alternative if you want to add more entertaining space or bedrooms to your property. Traditional extensions placed on the back of your house, for example, are fantastic for creating extra room for spacious dining areas or cozy living spaces, as well as increasing the size of your kitchen.
Does a Garden Room Extension Require Planning Permission in the UK?
Unlike a traditional home extension, a garden room does not require planning permission as long as it follows a certain set of rules which you can learn about here. This means the survey, planning, and building process of your garden room can be done in a much shorter time.
How Much Does a Garden Room Extension Cost Compared to a Traditional Extension?
A garden room can often be a more cost-effective solution to the problem of increasing available space in your home. Of course, depending on the size and requirements of your garden room. In the UK, an average 4m x 5m extension could cost as much as £100,000 whereas a comparably insulated garden building could cost £30,000 and a basic building as low as £10,000. View our price guide here.
Garden buildings can cost considerably less than conversions of garages and lofts, with the added bonus of more space rather than the loss of space for one purpose for the benefit of another.
To note, a quality building can add up to 15% value to a home. That could even exceed your purchase price and create a profit. Estate Agents state that homeowners have sought quality additional space since the pandemic.
Does a garden room extension add value?
By adding extra rooms to your home with an extension its sale value can increase significantly. Estate agents openly recognise that a quality garden room counts as much sought-after family or working space. Our show site garden room costs considerably less than an extension. Plus it has added up to £60,000 value to our home according to a local Estate Agent.
People generally do not build a garden room for immediate profit but it is nice to think that you could take a profit into your next home. We do however suggest that you take advice in advance if paying for works through a business as otherwise capital gains tax may be applied to your profit.
Build Time: Garden Room Extension vs Traditional Extension
The process of planning and construing a garden building can take significantly less amount of time than an extension. Most garden rooms take around 2 weeks from creation start to finish. Compared with a relatively simple, three-meter, single rear extension, construction time should be around three to four months.
How Disruptive Is a Garden Room Extension Compared to a Traditional Home Extension?
Constructing a home extension can be majorly disruptive over a long period of time. It can a lot of noise, and dust and often eliminates the use of important rooms such as the kitchen. In some cases, you may need to find a temporary place to live whilst your extension is being built. This can be costly and an inconvenience to your everyday life. Garden rooms do not require anyone to enter or do any work in your home and can be built in far less time, reducing noise and mess significantly. These buildings are often built in advance on works within the home and offer a great refuge from the building site.
Garden Room Extension or Traditional Extension – Which Should You Choose?
The ideal solution for making more space in a home will always be unique to the situation and the homeowners. But for a quicker, easier, and in most cases cheaper process a garden room is the clear winner when it comes to creating additional space in a home.
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