Garden Room Extension

Applying for planning permission in a Conservation Area can be fraught with difficulties, however when done sympathetically using suitable materials the process can be smooth and straightforward.

Our clients from East Yorkshire wanted to extend their existing single storey brick and pantile garden room to create a larger games room mainly for use by their growing teenagers and to accommodate a golf simulator. With the property situated in a Conservation Area the extension had to be sensitively planned and, following advice, it was decided to finish the exterior with timber cladding, whilst the roof would be covered with clay pantiles to match those of the existing building. The timber cladding complemented the appearance of the timber gate located along the northern boundary of the site, near the outbuilding. Due to the limited visibility of the extension, alongside the use of high-quality materials which are complementary to the existing outbuilding, planning permission was granted without a problem.

With planning granted the focus turned to the type of timber cladding to be used and we asked our customer a series of questions regarding the choices made:-

Q: Why did you choose timber as an external cladding for your project?

A: During the planning process we looked at various materials and decided that timber cladding would be a great complement to the existing brick and tile construction which would create the look that we wanted for our garden room. With a limited budget we were also conscious that timber would be a low cost, low carbon and sustainable material to use.

Q: Specifically, why did you choose timber over other traditional materials such as brick or block and render?

A: We already had brick on the existing building and as we have mentioned above the timber was a great material to compliment that and the red pantile roof.

Q: The timber species you have chosen is European Larch, why did you choose that over the other species that are available?

A: We sought advice from Bennetts Timber with their expert knowledge and chose European Larch as it is durable, within our budget and has the rustic appearance that we were looking for. Ed from Bennetts Timber came to see us armed with several samples of varied species and we chose as a result of that meeting, making the choice was easy.

Q: With design in mind, how did you choose the profile that you have chosen to get the look that you wanted to achieve, as there are several different profiles available?

A: We chose the sawn featheredge board as it has a rustic look and is in keeping with the traditional look of the existing garden room.

Q: How long did the installation take and was this in line with your expectations and planned timeline at the start of the project?

A: It took about a week for the builders to install  the cladding, it appeared to be a relatively simple operation once they had installed the internal membrane and timber battens to fix on to.

With thanks to our customers for taking the time to answer these questions about this project, I am sure you will agree with us that the result looks fantastic and shows off the versatility of timber and in particular European Larch.