Some bespoke garden room designers will undertake the design and build of buildings that are going to be used for commercial purposes. While similar systems and materials are used as in their domestic garden room builds, these buildings need to comply with Commercial Building Regulations, so the designer needs to be fully abreast of these rules from the start.
SIPS Garden Rooms are a firm who have experience designing and building commercial buildings. They have recently created a ‘Manshed’ for the Princess Alice Hospice. The Hospice were aware that men can be overlooked in a Hospice environment, so wanted to create a dedicated space where they could spend time, meet others and be creative.
Having raised funds for the project they chose SIPS Garden Rooms to turn their vision into reality. The brief for the ‘Manshed’ was to create a modern workshop space, meeting room/tea room with facilities. The building needed to be eco-friendly, highly insulated for year round use, low maintenance and designed to stand the test of time.
Extensive excavations
SIPS Garden Rooms worked extensively with specialist engineers to calculate the structural loads of this project and to choose the right foundation for the site. The project started by drilling 7.5-meter long screw piles into the ground, actually, this project holds the record for the deepest piling job carried out in the UK! Eight 18-tonne lorries took spoil from the site, so extensive excavations took place before work started on the actual building.
Eco-friendly from top to bottom
All SIPS Garden Rooms are eco-friendly because of the use of SIP’s panels for the core structure. The structural boards used in this system are made from wood offcuts. The insulated core is very high performance and envelopes the whole building so there are no ‘cold spots’ which can leak valuable heat. Because of the highly insulated core structure, the building will be cost effective to heat and cool.
The Western Red Cedar cladding which has been used to clad the exterior of the building has a long, maintenance free lifespan. The roof tiles that were chosen are made from recycled plastic. Internally an impact & stab resistant rubber floor has been laid; this is made from recycled tyres.
Light and airy workshop
The workshop has a light and airy feel thanks to the vaulted ceiling and Velux windows. The ceiling has been painted white to reflect light further. The walls of the workshop are finished in structural grade, hardwood plywood sheets. These sheets have had a clear fire retardant seal applied to them to comply with Fire Regulations. This finish has created a nice industrial look in keeping with the use of the room.
An internal meeting/ tea room has been created; this has a double glazed window in it looking into the main space. The glass used in this window is acoustic grade so as those having tea are not aware of any noise in the workshop.
Complete control over the temperature & lighting
Two air source heat pumps have been fitted in the building offering easy control over the temperature in the building throughout the year. Flat panel LED lights have been fitted throughout which allow users to choose between bright white light or a softer warm white light, whichever is best for the task at hand.
Decked entrance area
A large decked area has been created at the front of the building. This creates a welcoming entrance, but we can imagine a bench or two for users to sit outside in the good weather. An anti-slip decking board has been chosen here, and the perimeter finished with S/S yacht cabling which is a good look.
Explore SIPS Garden Rooms work further:
- Garden rooms can fit into the tightest spaces
- SIPS Garden Rooms adopt new foundation system
- Garden micro home
- Artists studio by SIPS Garden Rooms
This is a fantastic project that will be used for decades. To learn more about it and how SIPS Garden Rooms can help tailor a building to your needs give them a call on 01865 600 697 or visit their website for examples of their work.
