If you’re looking for a garden room in Scotland, you’ve probably searched online and been overwhelmed by the results. Every website you land on is full of bonny photos. But when it comes to the important stuff — what the building is actually made from, how much it costs, and what’s included as standard — they’re not so forthcoming.
That’s exactly why we put these posts together. At Gillies & Mackay we’ve been making timber buildings since 1989. In that time we’ve built up a lot of knowledge about what makes a well-built garden room. In this post I take a close look at Scottish Garden Rooms. I discuss their price, specification, and service so you can decide if they’re the right garden room company for you.
How were Scottish Garden Rooms selected?
To keep things as objective as possible, I don’t hand-pick the garden room companies featured in these posts. Instead, I review the top organic results on Google for the search term “Garden Rooms Scotland”. This is a search you’ve probably made yourself and been presented with hundreds of results to wade through.
Then I leave out any company that doesn’t publish prices on their website. Without a price it’s impossible to assess value and helping you understand your options is the whole point.
How do we keep things fair?
I don’t include Gillies & Mackay in these posts to keep things as fair and unbiased as possible. So don’t worry we won’t be talking up our own work. I only use information that’s publicly available on each company’s website. I try to review a similar sized room from each (around 3m x 4m) though this varies slightly depending on what’s on offer.
Everything here is my honest opinion, informed by my experience as a content writer at Gillies & Mackay — a business that’s been making timber buildings in Scotland for 37 years.
Who are Scottish Garden Rooms?
Scottish Garden Rooms are a garden room company which specialise in composite garden buildings. Their Scottish site is based in Edinburgh. But it seems that their showroom in Edinburgh is permanently closed, according to their Google Profile. Scottish Garden Rooms also operate in England under the name Composite Garden Buildings. They have a showroom in Brigstock (but this is quite a trek for any Scottish customers looking to get a feel for a garden room).
How much does a garden room from Scottish Garden Rooms cost?
We’re going to look at Scottish Garden Room’s Ashmere Model in size 10ft 11in x 13ft 1in (around 3.33m x 3.99m). This garden room costs £17,018 for supply and fit and includes the price of installation and VAT.
What is a garden room from Scottish Garden Rooms made from?
Scottish Garden Rooms use a wood-plastic composite to make their garden rooms. The composite is made up of 60% recycled wood and 40% recycled plastic polymers. It also has a grained effect to look like timber.
The composite used by Scottish Garden Rooms is covered in a co-extruded high polymer skin. This is basically a protective plastic coating that’s bonded to the outside of the wall during manufacturing, rather than applied on top like a paint or varnish. The skin provides increased durability because it won’t peel off like a top coat. This protects the composite from staining, scratches, mildew and fading.
How is the wall constructed?
The walls of the Ashmere Garden Room are made using composite boards that contain insulation. The boards interlock to create the full wall, giving you the same finish on the outside of the garden room as the inside. Scottish Garden Rooms don’t specify the thickness of their composite wall panels which would be useful to know before buying.
Who manufactures the composite wall system?
It’s unclear whether Scottish Garden Rooms manufacture this wall system themselves, or source it from a third-party. This matters because if they manufacture the walls themselves, they have greater control over quality and more responsibility over the performance of the building. This usually means a deeper understanding of the material and a better aftercare service for the customer. If you’re considering buying from Scottish Garden Rooms, this is worth clarifying directly with them.
Are composite garden rooms breathable?
The composite wall system that Scottish Garden Rooms use is essentially impermeable. On one hand this is a good thing because it provides plenty of insulation, and ensures water can’t get inside the garden room. However, it also means moisture generated inside the garden room has nowhere to go. Without proper ventilation condensation can build up over time and before you know it you’ll be wiping down the walls with a towel.
Before buying, I’d recommend asking Scottish Garden Rooms whether ventilation is built into their garden room design, or if there are specific ventilation requirements to follow — such as regularly opening windows and doors.
Are composite garden rooms maintenance-free?
One of the benefits of choosing a composite garden room is they tend to be low maintenance. Scottish Garden Rooms claim their composite cannot rot or corrode, and resists mould and algae, making it 100% maintenance free.
I’d be cautious about any garden room being described as completely maintenance-free though. Composite still needs to be cleaned regularly to prevent dirt build-up and keep it looking its best and then there’s other maintenance needs like keeping gutters clear to consider too. Even though composite garden rooms are low maintenance, they’re rarely zero maintenance, which is something to be aware of before buying.
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How is the roof constructed?
At Scottish Garden Rooms they construct the roof with timber trusses and insulate it with 100mm insulation panels. This is great because a well-insulated roof will make your garden room much easier to heat.
Based on photos and videos from their website, the roof deck appears to be OSB, though Scottish Garden Rooms don’t mention this in their specification. The roof covering is EPDM — a rubber roofing membrane with a 50-year life expectancy that is commonly used on flat roofs.
EPDM, though very water-resistant, can still tear or lift at edges. If this was to happen and water got into the roof deck the OSB would be in trouble. At G&M we don’t recommend the use of OSB anywhere it has potential to get wet (like a roof). OSB absorbs moisture when it gets wet causing it to swell. When OSB is exposed to water for a long period the wood strands can separate causing it to break down into a soggy mulch.
If it is the case that Scottish Garden Rooms are using OSB in their roof construction this is something I’d flag as a slight concern. Scottish Garden Rooms offer a 10-year guarantee which they describe as fully comprehensive. Before you buy, I’d recommend checking that if the roof were to fail, any subsequent damage caused by water ingress would be covered under the guarantee. This will give you a bit more peace of mind.
What features does the garden room come with?
The Ashmere Garden Room comes with uPVC French doors and two uPVC sidescreen windows. The floor is a Styrofloor subfloor, which will need a finished floor covering such as laminate over the top. This doesn’t appear to be included as standard so will likely be an additional cost.
The garden room also comes with an electrical package that includes an electrical socket, spot lights, wiring and a fuse box.
What level of service do Scottish Garden Rooms offer?
Let’s look at how Scottish Garden Rooms measure up on service — including electrical installation, groundworks, delivery and guarantee.
Do Scottish Garden Rooms offer electrical installation?
Scottish Garden Rooms include an internal electrical package as standard, which is good to see. The cost to connect your garden room to your mains electricity isn’t included in the price. Scottish Garden Rooms do offer a service to run the armoured cable from your mains to the garden room at an additional cost. This is likely because the cost of running the armoured cable varies depending on your individual site. So keep in mind that you’ll need to budget for electrical connection, whether you use Scottish Garden Rooms to do it or hire a third party.
Do Scottish Garden Rooms offer groundworks?
Groundworks are not included in the price of the Ashmere Garden Room, however, Scottish Garden Rooms do offer groundworks as an additional service. They offer groundscrews, concrete bases and treated timber bases, which will likely be priced following a site visit.
Do Scottish Garden Rooms offer delivery?
Scottish Garden Rooms offer free delivery to Scotland within a 70 mile radius of EH1, with delivery outside this area available at an additional fee. The price of the Ashmere Garden Room includes installation, but there’s also a supply option if you fancy the challenge of putting up your garden room yourself.
Do Scottish Garden Rooms offer a guarantee?
Scottish Garden Rooms offer a 10-year comprehensive guarantee on their garden rooms. The terms and conditions of this guarantee aren’t available on their website though. I’d urge you to ask for a copy of the guarantee conditions before you buy.
A 10-year guarantee is pretty standard across the garden room market, but I’d be interested to know how long Scottish Garden Rooms expect their garden rooms to last. 10 years isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.
Should I buy a garden room from Scottish Garden Rooms?
If you’re looking for a composite garden room at an affordable price then Scottish Garden Rooms is definitely worth considering. Their composite walls are well-insulated, making the room easy to heat, and the co-extruded composite protects the exterior from staining and fading. Scottish Garden Rooms offer a good-level of service including installation, delivery, an electrical package and a 10-year guarantee.
However, Scottish Garden Rooms could improve their roof specification. This would make their garden rooms more durable and long-lasting, which is a potential let down for buyers.
This blog-post started off as a review of several garden room companies in Scotland. In the end, this section got so long that it deserved its own post. If you’d like to hear about other garden room offerings in Scotland stay tuned. Next up is Garden Rooms by Creative.
