[Closed] Plans to build a summer house

I don't know if you will easily find actual plans but there are plenty of documented shed/workshop/summerhouse builds on here or on the web that should give you some idea.

This is Colin Furze's shed presented in his usual style

Having looked at a self build I personally wouldn't be working to a set of someone else's plans.

Cost was going to be significantly higher than a package build (which was in some cases more expensive than getting it supplied and installed).

On that basis, if I were to go down that route it would have to be exactly what I wanted to justify the additional costs, not a previous design which wasn't.

Don't forget to have an even bigger bunker under the summer house...

If you just want something big standard then just buy a ready made thing. Something that size you could fit it on a trailer and drive it home from the shop.

If you want something a bit different or have an unusual site then give me a shout. I can draw it up for you. Trained as an architect (but not qualified) and I've just drawn up a 9*3 metres garden office with 150 page instruction booklet of how to build it for someone.

Otherwise is there nothing on the Instructables website?

I made this for the hydrotherapy tub and sauna but you could use the sliding doors for a summer house as it really opens up the building. They are on hanging runners. Aslo, I sized the whole thing based on the standard lengths that wood comes in (1.8m and 2.4m) so the short wall is 2x1.8m and the long wall is 2x2.4m. This save loads of cutting and waste wood. At the end of the build I put ALL of the scrap and off cuts in a single bucket.

I bought a set of oak french doors from the salvage yard and then built a shed around that...

That's a nice shelter for your pond wca 👍

Thanks - all my own work. The thing I was most pleased with was how little scrap I ended up with, literally a single bucket full from the ends of the roof where I put it at a slight angle but needed 90 degrees to the garage and front wall plus a few bits from the wall cladding

I've been thinking about this too, we have an old shed that has been at two houses and moved several times, and is a bit small, a rotting summerhouse and a covered thing for a trailer.

So thinking of building something about 6m long by 2.4m deep (to take advantage of standard sizes of CLS for the frame) and splitting it into 3, shed, trailer store and summer house, all with a single "pent" roof.

These youtube vids make it look easy

Trying to learn sketchup so I can draw the sodding thing, f'me its a pain in the arse!

its possible to do it with no proper plans, i did all mine from 'fag packet calculations' on bits of paper, and no experience of woodworking/building at all. just advice from here and a couple of days help from a mate at work.
its probably the thing im most proud of making in my life, (including my kids) 😀

full thread here with all my thoughts and problems as i went along

went from this......

to this......

as mentioned in a previous post, it was built to maximise the view of the fields from our house, and to the available sizes of wood lengths supplied from merchants. hardly any waste at all.
we love a good shed/summerhouse thread on here, theres plenty of excellent advice waiting for you 🙂

Well if we are posting pics... 😉

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As said, I bought the doors first, worked around them. I was kind of inspired by one of mcmoonters builds.

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Some cool little project on here. Maybe we should start a thread a bit like the 'last thing you made' one for people to show off all their home construction/self build projects, from laying some decking all the way to self building your own house? Or does one already exit?

Nick - 2 sketchup tips which I can bet will help make it less frustrating you if you've literally just started.
1. Use a proper mouse (trackpad is crap for SKP) then you can 'orbit' by clicking the mouse wheel and you can 'pan' by clicking mouse wheel and holding shift at the same time.
2. It probably seems like everything is 'stuck' together so if you build one element on another it is super hard to detach it and if you 'move' it all the geometry probably goes into a billion triangles. Solution - use components. Make a cube, select all the pieces (triple click it) then press 'G' (=make component), ignore all the options and just click 'create'. Now you can stick and unstick this component to anything. If you want to edit that component you just double click it and you go into a mode where you can only select stuff in that component, press 'esc' to exit the component. Basically you're model should be made of loads of little components.

If you go down the pre-made route, try Dunster House - see my summer house build thread

be very careful how high you build it, in regards to planning rules -
basic rules
1 - no higher than 2.5m tall if within 2m of boundary
2 - more than 2m from boundary eaves max height 2.5m, ridge 4m (dual pitch)

see this for more simple guidance -

https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/mini-guide/outbuildings/7
https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/mini-guide/outbuildings/8

im joining in

oh ffs why does it never work

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lived in mine for 11 months whilst building the house. Looking to possibly extend it to the right as a child minding business. Wont put a concrete pad down agina though, was massively overkill.

Here is mine and I am working from it right now 🙂

Surfers summer house

I just built as I went. Took a great deal of care and probably over-engineered it a bit but the final result is quite good. Thats not to say I didnt carefully measure every aspect but I just started with a big set of bifolding doors that were a "present" then build around them 🙂
Yes consider planning etc

If I were building one, I'd use SIPS panels so it would be 2.4m high, as many panels wide as you need and a flat rubber roof over SIPS panels. Clad it in something that takes your fancy and cut some holes about the size of the windows you can get cheap off ebay. That and a door obviously.

I think that would give you a building that goes up quickly, will be insulated and will look better than a pre-made log cabin style summerhouses from the usual suppliers. Price should be reasonable too.

here is our summer house / spare room / office. Not sure if it is allowed as I didn't build it myself. Several mildly interesting facts (a) the foot print is triangular to minimise the loss of garden (b) it sits on about 35 screw piles screwed in by one man and a big drill (c) it is c. 300 sqft (d) it has a toilet with an external door round the back (e) it qualified as permitted development so didn't need planning permission

I thought things needed planning if people are going to sleep in them?

Nick
Subscriber
I thought things needed planning if people are going to sleep in them?

tis my understading too - anything with "services".. thought didnt stop me - council can bugger off.

Look up Ali Dymock on YouTube - he has an excellent, well explained guide to building your own and the choices he made with his.

Good luck getting materials though at the moment!

Thanks for all the replies guys, some great stuff shared. Just the sort of inspiration to keep me motivated.
I will be making a bespoke building but just wanted to look over some plans to get an idea of how much material to purchase. My biggest challenge is I don't have a van to collect large materials so wanted to do a calculation to order a delivery.
It will be 2.5 m max height so no planning permission needed.

I’m thinking about a shed similar to these Hutsmith Cabin

They are sips panels with a metal roof and clad in blackened larch with a hidden gutter. Interior ply looks smart to.

I’m thinking about a shed similar to these Hutsmith Cabin

£21k for something that looks like it's been reclaimed from the local allotment?

Another planning factor for those with strange gardens and over zealous local authorities/vexatious neighbours.

You shouldn't have a garden building that projects in front of a line that runs along the front elevation of your house.

Whilst this means some asguard cycle sheds in the front garden have been enfored against round our way, it also causes me trouble as i have a side garden that projects 10ft into that area. Which is where my new shed will be....albeit 15 metres to the side of the house....