How Long Does a Garden Office Take?
Most of the time between ordering a garden office and working in it is the wait for it to be made. On site the work is short: a day for ground screws or several for a slab, about a week for the building, and a day or two for the electrics. Ask for two dates in writing before you pay a deposit: the lead time, and the days on site.
The stages, what holds them up, and what you can do while you wait.
Free, no obligation. One local company prices it, not five.
- Lead timethe longest part: get it in writing
- About a weekon site for the building
- A dayfor a ground screw base
The stages
| Stage | How long | What holds it up |
|---|---|---|
| Survey and written price | One visit | Nothing, if you have measured the spot |
| Section 5 declaration, if you want one | Allow some weeks | The council's turnaround |
| Making the building | The longest part. Ask for the lead time | How many orders are ahead of yours |
| The base | A day for ground screws; several, plus curing, for a slab | Weather, and rock under the lawn |
| Putting it up | About a week on site for most offices | Access: no side passage means carrying panels through the house |
| Electrics and data | A day or two | A long trench, or work needed on the house fuse board |
| Inside finish and paint | Days, if it isn't included | Your own time |
What you can do while it's being made
- Clear the spot and the way in.
- Have the electrician look at the house fuse board and agree the cable route.
- Dig the trench and lay the ducts, if you are doing that part yourself.
- Take down the old shed, and measure what is left towards the 30 m².
- Tell the neighbours.
Ordering for a deadline
If you need to be at the desk by a date, work back from it and order early. Lead times stretch when orders pile up, so ask what it is this month, not what it usually is. A pod made in a workshop and delivered whole is on site for the least time, but it needs a clear way in or a crane.
What you're waiting for, priced
| What | Typical cost | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| A one-desk office pod, 6 to 9 m² | €6,700 to €10,500 | 3 × 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 €16,720 | 4 × 3 m to 4 × 4 m. The insulation, the doors and the glass |
| Fully fitted, 12 to 16 m² | €25,250 to €27,500 | Insulated, wired, lined and floored, ready to work in |
| The base | €800 to €2,500 | Ground screws, a slab or pads. A slope costs more |
| Electrics inside the office | €600 to €1,200 | Sockets, 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
- Garden office cost
- Garden office pods
- Insulated garden offices
- Garden office sizes
- Planning permission
- Garden studios
- Office and shed combined
- Garden office with a toilet
- Electrics and broadband
- Heating a garden office
- Bases and foundations
- Shed office conversions
- Office kits and flat packs
- Log cabin offices
- Garden office ideas
- Office or garden room
- Office or extension
- Tax and working from home
- Is it worth it
- How long it takes
- All guides
- FAQ
- Glossary
Calculator, FAQ & Glossary
More on garden offices
Costs, sizes, pods, insulation, planning and studios.
What a garden office costsEvery size, priced. A one-desk pod is €6,700 to €10,500.
Office podsOne desk, 6 to 9 m². The smallest building that works all year.
Insulated officesWalls, floor, roof and glass. What to ask for in millimetres.
Planning permission30 m² for all garden buildings together, 3 m high, behind the house.
What size to getOne desk, two desks, or a desk and a meeting table.
Garden studiosMusic, art and treatment rooms. What changes from an office.Garden offices in every county
- Carlow6,300 people work from home
- Cavan7,791 people work from home
- Clare16,185 people work from home
- Cork84,857 people work from home
- Donegal14,900 people work from home
- Dublin280,195 people work from home
- Galway37,155 people work from home
- Kerry16,416 people work from home
- Kildare40,433 people work from home
- Kilkenny12,696 people work from home
- Laois9,985 people work from home
- Leitrim4,011 people work from home
- Limerick24,552 people work from home
- Longford4,043 people work from home
- Louth15,614 people work from home
- Mayo13,522 people work from home
- Meath32,232 people work from home
- Monaghan5,788 people work from home
- Offaly8,256 people work from home
- Roscommon7,742 people work from home
- Sligo8,070 people work from home
- Tipperary17,460 people work from home
- Waterford13,705 people work from home
- Westmeath10,976 people work from home
- Wexford17,724 people work from home
- Wicklow25,502 people work from home
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.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to put up a garden office?
About a week on site for most. The wait before that, while it is made, is the longer part.
Can a garden office be built in winter?
Yes. The building goes up in most weather. A concrete slab needs days without frost.
What is the quickest kind?
A pod delivered finished, on ground screws put in the day before.
Do I need to be at home?
For the survey and the handover, yes. In between, they need access to the garden and to the fuse board.
When should I book the electrician?
Before the base goes in, so the cable route is settled, and again for the connection once the building is up.
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.