A garden games room gives the house back its living room and gives everyone else somewhere to play pool, darts or the console without disturbing anyone. Building a shed is the easy part. The hard part is making the room warm, dry and quiet enough to use in a damp Devon January, and doing it without trouble from Mid Devon District Council.
Start with the main activity, because it decides the size of the room. A full-size pool table needs about 1.5m of clear space on every side so you can take a shot, so a 7ft table needs a room of roughly 4.8m by 4.0m inside. A darts lane needs 2.37m from the board to the oche and some space behind the thrower. A table tennis table needs even more room. If you want a mix of uses, a 3m by 4m room with a sofa, a TV and a fold-away table is often the better buy.
Many gardens in and around Tiverton slope, particularly up towards Exeter Hill and out at Bampton and Halberton. A raised timber frame on adjustable ground screws or pad foundations usually costs less than digging out for a concrete slab, and it keeps the floor clear of surface water.
Costs depend mostly on size, foundations, how far the power cable has to run and the standard of finish. These ranges are a rough guide for the Tiverton area and are not quotes.
Choosing between a basic insulated kit and a properly lined room is where the money goes. Proper insulation, a vapour control layer and taped, skimmed or filled plasterboard cost more at the start, but they are what stop condensation, mould and cold walls in the winter.
Most detached outbuildings come under permitted development, so they do not need planning permission, provided you stay within the limits. The building must not be in front of the principal elevation of the house. It must be single storey with eaves no higher than 2.5m. Overall height can be up to 4m with a dual pitched roof or 3m with any other roof, but it drops to 2.5m if the building sits within 2m of a boundary. Together with other outbuildings and extensions, it must not cover more than half the garden.
There are extra limits in central Tiverton, which is a conservation area, and you cannot rely on permitted development at all for a listed building. A games room cannot be used as a bedroom or a separate dwelling under these rules. If you are unsure, apply to Mid Devon District Council for a Lawful Development Certificate. It is far cheaper than having to defend an enforcement notice later on.
A detached building under 15 square metres with no sleeping accommodation is normally exempt from building regulations. Between 15 and 30 square metres it is still usually exempt, but only if it sits at least 1m from the boundary or is built mostly from non-combustible materials. Over 30 square metres it needs full approval.
Whatever the size, a new circuit out to the garden is notifiable electrical work. Use a registered electrician who can self-certify the work and give you a certificate, because you will need it when you sell. If your property is near the Exe or the Lowman, check the flood map before you settle on a floor level.
Usually not, as long as it stays within the permitted development height, position and coverage limits and is not used for sleeping. Conservation area and listed properties have tighter rules, so check with Mid Devon District Council first.
Once materials are on site, a typical insulated room takes around two to five weeks, including the base, shell, drylining and electrics. Supplier lead times and the weather can add to that.
Sometimes, if the frame is sound, dry and tall enough to lose 100mm or more to insulation and lining. Many older sheds have thin cladding and no damp protection underneath, so it is worth having one assessed before you spend money on fitting it out.
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