Interesting guest post by the team at www.permaroof.co.uk about Firestone EPDM, finish that is chosen by many garden room designers for the roof of their buildings.
EPDM roof
EPDM – a Great Choice for your Garden Room Roof
Useful guest post from Findley Roofing & Building about the popular EPDM roof covering commonly used on contemporary style garden rooms
Inhus Contemporary Garden Offices
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Contemporary Garden Office[/caption]
Inhus provide a complete hassle free, turnkey solution to buying a garden office – foundations, installation, guttering, argon filled double glazing, flooring, and interior decoration are all included in the price, so no hidden extras!
Inhus are specialists in creating contemporary styled garden offices, and with years of industry experience they have honed their techniques and choices of materials to produce a range of garden offices which are not only high quality but affordable too.
Inhus have developed their own foundation system which negates the need for a concrete slab, the Inhus CPC foundation system is a pile system which can be used on unlevel ground, and has been designed so it can’t be seen once the building is installed. This system can be installed in as little as 4 hours.
Inhus garden offices are built using a traditional timber framework. The floors consist of sturdy tantalised timber joists, 18mm plywood, 50mm of Jablite insulation and 18mm treated chipboard flooring. The walls and roof of the offices are insulated using foil backed rigid insulation such as Celotex or Extratherm and the walls are swathed in a breathable membrane which controls the movement of moisture within the building. The walls are clad in kiln dried western red cedar tongue & groove boards. Inhus take great care when installing the exterior cladding and the detailing around joints and intersections is very high, Inhus use stainless steel nails for fixing the cladding and use a hidden nailing technique meaning there will be no ugly staining of the cladding which can happen with cheaper fixings.
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Western Red Cedar Detailing[/caption]
Inhus have chosen to use Western Red Canadian Kiln dried cedar and not British / Canadian green cedar because
[caption id="attachment_2986" align="alignright" width="200"]“British / Canadian green cedar does not give any near the same long term finish due to expansion and contraction unlike kiln dried cedar. Also when using green cedar you can’t sand or finish the cedar to a high standard, when the plank requires sanding on site, green cedar drags on the sander, causing burring that becomes more oblivious over time. We always install planks vertically and in a one plank finish format, we never half join the planks as this finish never looks good over a period of time.” Quote from Inhus
EPDM roof section[/caption]
The roof is finished in an EPDM rubber membrane which his highly durable with a warranty of 25 years, Inhus are approved installers of the Firestone EPDM roofing system which means each roof will be finished to the highest standard. All Inhus garden offices come with a brown UPVC guttering system.
The doors and windows are rosewood coloured UPVC which contrasts well with the western red cedar cladding. The front elevation of the Inhus garden office has floor to ceiling windows with outward opening French doors. All doors have 8 point security locks and the windows have key locks, all glazing is performance Pilkington ‘K’ double glazing.
Internally Inhus garden offices feel like traditional rooms, the walls and ceiling are finished in the unique Inhuspanel system which is a seamless finish that has the feeling of a plastered wall but overcomes the problems with cracking which can happen in traditionally plastered timber frame buildings. The Inhuspanel is fire, water and impact resistant and increases the acoustic insulation of the garden office, it can be painted like any other wall and Inhus include painting in Dulux colours as part of the garden office package. There is a choice of finish on the floor from quality carpet and hardwearing laminate to hardwood flooring which is available as an optional extra.
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Low maintenance garden office[/caption]
All Inhus garden offices come fully wired electrically with a with a minimum of 6 double sockets, 2 x telephone sockets, 2 network sockets and 1 x 3 way consumer unit.
Inhus garden offices are available in six standard sizes from 3200mm x 2400mm and they also offer a bespoke design service where the Inhus system can be tailored to your individual needs, to quote Inhus “nothing is a can’t do”.
Inhus have a three tier pricing strategy – the Leisure Class, Media Class and Business Class. The Leisure class is built to the specification described above and features 50mm of Celotex or Extratherm insulation and 11mm cedar cladding and is ideal as an artist’s studio, or music room, prices start at £6950 for a 3200mm x 2400mm model. The Media Class building has thicker 70mm insulation and 18mm cedar cladding, it also has an enhanced electrical system with points for plasma TV’s, surround sound systems and Sky points. A 3200mm x 2400mm Media Class building starts at £7750. The Business Class model is a ready to move into business suite that features the same thicker insulation and cladding and further upgrades to the electrical system such as kitchen points ready to plug your kettle into and starts at £8560 for the 3200mm x 2400mm model.
Inhus garden offices are built to last and will need little annual maintenance, but for added peace of mind all Inhus buildings come with a 5 year CPA insurance backed guarantee.
So if you are looking for a combination of quality materials, attention to detail and competitive price contact Inhus for more information www.inhus.com
Click on the photos below for a slide show:
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Green Studios – built to last as long as a house
Green Studios are committed to building green, eco friendly garden studios using sustainable materials and techniques that should last a lifetime and require little or no maintenance. Not only are Green Studios committed to building eco garden buildings they are concerned about the wider environment and donate a percentage of their sales to global environmental projects.
Green Studios have a range of standard designs from contemporary cubist studios with offset doors and windows to pitched roof lodges with airy vaulted ceilings, skylights and a full wall of fully glazed doors and windows, but if you can’t find a standard design that fits the bill Green Studios also offer a bespoke design service.
Green Studios have specified eco features from the ground up, they use the Swift Plinth Foundation system on all their studios, this system comprises of a number of heavy duty adjustable pads which can be used even on sloping ground. Swift Plinths are an environmentally friendly form of foundation using less than 95% of the concrete a traditional concrete slab would require, Swift Plinths can also be removed from site if the studio is ever moved, reused or recycled.
All Green Studios are built using structural insulated panels (SIP’s) which are not only easy to transport and quick to install (so use less embodied energy) but are thermally efficient. The exterior cladding is durable Western Red Cedar sourced from managed sources. Western Red Cedar has a natural resistance against moisture, insect and fungal attack meaning it needs little ongoing maintenance. Western Red Cedar starts out reddish brown colour and weathers to an attractive silver grey with time; of course you can preserve the redness by applying a preservative.
The roof covering on the mono pitched studios is EPDM rubber membrane; this is a very durable roof covering which comes with a manufacturer’s warranty of 20 years and a life expectancy in excess of 50 years. Pitched roof lodges feature aesthetically pleasing Cambrian slate which has all the character of natural slate but is made from 60% recycled welsh slate and will last a lifetime.
The interior of Green Studios are finished with a sustainable alternative to plasterboard made from 100% recycled material and a plaster skim, the walls and ceiling are painted matt white as standard using an organic, solvent free paint, so studios have the feel of a ‘proper’ room.
Studios are fully wired electrically utilising low energy lights as standard, which use 91% less electricity than an equivalent halogen lamp. All fittings are quality polished chrome and each studio has its own RCD consumer unit. You can have complete control of the interior and exterior lighting as the lighting system can be operated by remote control.
Doors and windows are aluminium finished in anthracite grey which offers a crisp contemporary contrast to the Western Red Cedar cladding. The aluminium doors and windows need little maintenance and are 100% recyclable at the end of their life.
Green Studios have addressed the issue of security within their studios and all doors have insurance approved multi point espagnolette locking systems, whilst all windows have key locks. Green Studios are also happy to work with the customer to integrate a burglar alarm system into the build.
If the standard specification is not impressive enough Green Studios offer a range of additional specification options such as increasing the wall thickness to 229mm, aluminium sliding, folding doors which open up the whole wall, custom New England style cladding, custom electrical systems and can even convert their studios into self contained granny flats.
All garden studios come with a 10 year CPA insurance backed guarantee but Green Studios expect their studios to last as long as your house.
Prices for a contemporary garden studio with offset doors and windows starts at £13,995 for a 3.8m x 2.5m model.
Visit the very informative Green Studios website for more information.