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Garden Office or Extension: Which Makes Sense for a Desk

For a place to work, a garden office costs less and is ready sooner than an extension. A complete garden building runs €850 to €1,500 a m², and a single-storey rear extension €1,500 to €2,200 a m². An extension adds a room to the house for good. A garden office adds a separate room with its own door. If the need is a quiet desk, build the office. If the house is short a bedroom, extend.

The same floor area, two very different jobs.

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  • €850 to €1,500 a m²a complete garden building
  • €1,500 to €2,200 a m²a single-storey extension
  • 30 m²of garden buildings without planning

Side by side

Garden officeSingle-storey extension
Cost a m²€850 to €1,500€1,500 to €2,200
12 m², worked out€10,200 to €18,000€18,000 to €26,400
Without planning permission30 m², all garden buildings together45 m², with conditions
DisruptionIn the garden. The house is untouchedWeeks of building at the back of the house
Separate from the houseYes. Its own door, a walk awayNo. It is another room
Can be slept inNoYes
Adds to the house itselfNoYes

Why a desk suits the garden

  • The walk. A door you close behind you at six is worth more than it sounds.
  • Quiet. Nobody walks through it to get to the kitchen.
  • Speed. No walls opened, no kitchen out of use.
  • It can go. A building on ground screws can be sold or moved.

When to extend instead

  • The house needs a bedroom, a bigger kitchen or a downstairs bathroom.
  • The garden is too small to leave 25 m² of open space after an office.
  • You will not walk across a wet lawn in February, and you know it.

The cheaper options, honestly

A desk in a box room costs nothing. A garage or attic conversion uses space you already have. If one of those would give you a quiet room with a door, do that first. A garden office is for when the house has no room left to give.

The garden office side, priced

WhatTypical costWhat moves the price
A one-desk office pod, 6 to 9 m²€6,700 to €10,5003 × 2 m up to 3 × 3 m. Insulated timber, put up. Base and power extra
An office for two desks, 12 to 16 m²€13,390 to €16,7204 × 3 m to 4 × 4 m. The insulation, the doors and the glass
A 20 m² office, 5 × 4 m€15,200 to €22,000Triple glazing and thicker insulation sit at the top
Fully fitted, 12 to 16 m²€25,250 to €27,500Insulated, wired, lined and floored, ready to work in
The base€800 to €2,500Ground screws, a slab or pads. A slope costs more
Electrics inside the office€600 to €1,200Sockets, lights and a small fuse board

Our price guide for Ireland. Ask whether VAT is in the price. Many list prices leave it out. Ask what the price includes: the base, the cable from the house and the inside finish.

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More on garden offices

Costs, sizes, pods, insulation, planning and studios.

A flat-roofed garden office in dark cladding at the end of a back gardenWhat a garden office costsEvery size, priced. A one-desk pod is €6,700 to €10,500.A small black cabin with a glazed frontOffice podsOne desk, 6 to 9 m². The smallest building that works all year.Charred black timber cladding with a window and a wall lampInsulated officesWalls, floor, roof and glass. What to ask for in millimetres.A long, low building in black metal cladding on a lawnPlanning permission30 m² for all garden buildings together, 3 m high, behind the house.A desk and chair under a wide window inside a timber-lined garden officeWhat size to getOne desk, two desks, or a desk and a meeting table.Two dark green timber buildings joined by a deckGarden studiosMusic, art and treatment rooms. What changes from an office.

Garden offices in every county

Size your garden office

Four taps: what it's for, the garden, the finish and what's there already. You see the size that fits, our price for it and whether it needs planning permission. Your number is only asked for at the end, if you want one garden office company that covers your county to ring you.

What is the office for?

Pick the nearest. It decides the size.

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Questions people ask

Is a garden office cheaper than an extension?

Yes, per square metre: €850 to €1,500 against €1,500 to €2,200 for a single-storey extension.

Does a garden office add value like an extension?

No. An extension adds floor area to the house. A garden office is a separate building: don't count on it to raise the sale price.

Which is quicker?

The garden office. It is made off site and put up in days, with the house untouched.

Can I have both without planning permission?

The two exemptions are separate: 45 m² for a rear extension and 30 m² for garden buildings, each with its own conditions, and 25 m² of open space left after both.

Can a garden office be joined to the house later?

Not as a garden building. Joined on, it becomes an extension and the extension rules apply.

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