Get a free quote
HomePricesSizesPodsPlanningCountiesAbout this siteGet a free quote

A Garden Office With a Toilet

A toilet and a sink can go in a garden office. The plumbing costs €1,000 to €2,500 on top of the building, and the room for it takes about 1.5 m² of floor. It needs a water pipe from the house and a waste pipe back to the house drains, laid to a fall or pumped. Whether it is worth it depends on how far the office is from the back door.

What has to be laid in the ground, what it takes from the room, and what to ask the council.

Size my officeGet a free quote

Free, no obligation. One local company prices it, not five.

  • €1,000 to €2,500plumbing for a toilet and sink
  • 1.5 m²of floor for the toilet room
  • One trenchwater, waste, power and data

What goes in the trench

  • Water in. A pipe from the house supply, buried deep enough not to freeze, with a stop tap at each end.
  • Waste out. A pipe from the toilet to the house drains. It has to fall all the way. If the office is lower than the drain, or a long way off, a small pump unit behind the toilet pushes the waste up a narrower pipe.
  • Hot water. A small electric heater under the sink. It needs its own supply from the office fuse board.

Dig one trench for the lot: water, waste, power and data together. Doing the plumbing a year later means digging the garden twice.

What it costs and what it takes

Plumbing for a toilet and sink is €1,000 to €2,500. The low end is a short run with a natural fall to a drain at the back of the house. The high end is a long run, a pump and a patio to cross.

Inside, a toilet room needs about 1.5 m²: a door, the toilet and a small sink. In a 9 m² pod that is a sixth of the floor. It sits more easily in 12 m² and up.

The planning question

The exemption for garden buildings does not mention toilets. What it rules out is living in the building. A toilet and a sink do not make an office a home. A shower room and a kitchenette start to look like one, and a council may take that view.

If you want a toilet, say so plainly when you ask. Not sure? Ask the council for a section 5 declaration: its answer in writing on whether your office is exempt. The fee is €80.

When it isn't worth it

If the back door is 10 m away, most people decide the walk is fine. A toilet earns its cost when clients use the office, when the office is at the far end of a long garden, or when the house is locked while you work.

Offices with a toilet, priced

WhatTypical costWhat moves the price
Plumbing for a toilet and sink€1,000 to €2,500Distance to the drains, and whether the waste needs a pump
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
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.

Every guide, calculator and county page

Jump straight to any specification guide, our interactive calculator, the technical glossary or your county page.

Price & Specification Guides

Calculator, FAQ & Glossary

All 26 Counties

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.

Privacy notice

Questions people ask

Can I connect a garden office toilet to the house drains?

Yes, by a buried pipe laid to a fall, or by a pump unit where there is no fall. It must go to the foul drain, not a rainwater gully.

Can I add a toilet later?

Yes, but the trench has to be dug again. Lay the pipes with the power cable even if you fit the toilet later.

What about a composting or cassette toilet?

They need no pipes and suit light use. Somebody has to empty them.

Does a toilet change the planning position?

Not by itself. Living in the building is what the exemption rules out. Ask the council for a section 5 declaration if in doubt.

Will the pipes freeze?

Not if they are buried at a proper depth and the office is kept above freezing in winter.

Get a price for your garden office

One garden office company that covers your county. Free, no obligation. Nothing is ordered until you say yes.

Size my officeGet a free quote