A high-end garden room, built with a mix of cladding supplied by Southern Sheeting, is destined for use as a family gym, or a children’s playroom if real life gets in the way of training!
The garden room may potentially double as space for a future physio business too, showcasing its versatility for work, as well as play. With mortgage rates through the roof and the property market cooling, the project is perhaps representative of a growing trend for people to stay put and make improvements to their existing homes instead of moving.
Crawley-based Carpentry4Homes, a general building and woodworking specialist, built the garden room for a couple and their children living in the hamlet of Rowfant, West Sussex.
The property is a beautiful well-presented four-bedroom house with a large garden to match. So, the family wanted a garden room that would do it justice.
Carpentry4Homes was established in 2016 by Scott Failli and Dave Kennard, two experienced builders who trained as apprentices together. They became friends and, after gaining experience, started their own company.
The business has become a local success story, undertaking around 50 jobs each year all over West Sussex ranging from small garden projects to full domestic builds worth up to £250,000.
Scott said: “The customers in Rowfant asked us to design and build a garden room adjacent to the patio at the rear of the property.
“After consulting with them, we decided on a four by three metre structure with a timber frame construction. Timber is quicker and easier to erect than other materials, and is less expensive, so it was ideal for this project.” When it came to cladding, Carpentry4Homes ordered two types from Southern Sheeting, Bison composite batten cladding and box profile steel cladding.
Bison composite batten cladding gives the on-trend style of real Cedar or Larch slatted cladding but is robust and easy to maintain. It is hard wearing, resistant to scratching, colour fade and mould, and will not twist or splinter. Available in an attractive oak or ash grey finish, it is flying off the shelves and becoming one of Southern Sheeting’s most popular products.
Carpentry4Homes used bison composite batten cladding on all sides of the garden room, except one.
“The back of the garden room was adjacent to a fence and not visible, so we opted for box profile steel cladding from Southern Sheeting, which came at a slightly lower cost,” continued Scott.
“Box profile steel cladding is the modern alternative to corrugated metal sheets, featuring angled corrugations rather than rounded ones. It is strong, lightweight and easy to install – which was useful because fixing it so close to the fence proved to be awkward.”
The garden room took around two weeks to construct and has an aesthetic that complements the garden perfectly. It features a corner window and bi-fold doors, which open up the space beautifully.
An electrician installed the heating and lighting, ready for the couple’s gym equipment.
This was the first time Carpentry4Homes has used Southern Sheeting. Scott said: “Everything was delivered to site swiftly and efficiently. The service was impeccable, and we will be using Southern Sheeting again.”
Southern Sheeting offers a range of products and materials for the building trade including roof sheets, cladding, decking, fencing and gates. Southern Sheeting is proud to work with hundreds of contractors all over the UK delivering first-class customer experience.
