Games Garden Rooms

Call 01234 959502 or email info@pro-assist.co.uk. Bring the dimensions of whatever is going in, and your height if a golf simulator is on the list. Those two things tell us far more about the building you need than the size of your lawn does.

It varies more than most types, because a room for a dartboard and a sofa is barely the same project as a simulator with a bar. After a site visit you get an itemised, no-obligation quote with no hidden fees. Our cost guide sets out what moves the figure if you want a rough sense first.

The shell goes up quickly. Acoustic layers, electrics and the internal fit out set the real programme, along with lead times on anything specialist you are having installed. We give you a realistic date range at quote stage and tell you promptly if it moves.

Yes. Every building we do is bespoke rather than picked from a range, so the cladding, roof profile, colour and glazing are all decided with you. Some people want a contemporary garden building with large sliding doors and a flat roof. Others want something softer that sits quietly against an older house. Bring your design ideas and we will work from those.

It depends what is going in. Engineered wood or good quality vinyl suits pool, darts and bar areas, because it takes knocks and mops clean. Simulators want a rigid subfloor under the hitting zone rather than anything that flexes. Carpet works in a seating corner and nowhere near a bar.

That is the honest question behind a lot of these enquiries, and it comes down to whether the room is comfortable. A cold building at the bottom of the garden gets used twice. A cosy one with proper heating, good wifi, decent seating and somewhere to put a drink becomes where everyone ends up. Designed for year-round use, it turns into the place your family and friends gravitate towards rather than a shed with a dartboard in it.

Check before you fill it. Many home policies limit cover for contents kept in outbuildings, and a table, a simulator and a screen add up quickly. Tell your insurer what is going in, and mention that the building is lockable and alarmed. We can specify locks, glazing and alarm provision accordingly.

Generally not below 15 square metres with no sleeping accommodation. Between 15 and 30 square metres it is normally still exempt if there is no sleeping accommodation and the building sits either a metre or more from a boundary or is built substantially from non combustible materials. Above 30 square metres, approval is required, and games rooms cross that line more often than other types because of the floor space the games themselves demand.

Usually not. A games room is incidental use, so most fall under permitted development as an outbuilding provided the building is single-storey, sits behind the front wall of the house, covers no more than half the surrounding land and stays inside the height limits. Conservation areas, listed buildings and flats are treated differently, so we confirm your position before designing anything.

Hotter than people expect. A projector, a gaming PC, a large screen and several people all generate heat, and a well-insulated room holds onto it. We normally specify a unit that cools as well as heats, plus ventilation sized for a full room rather than one person at a desk.

Whatever they actually use. Air hockey, darts, a table football, an arcade cabinet, a wall of board games, sim racing rigs, or simply a big screen and comfortable seating. Some rooms are a dedicated space for one thing. Most end up multifunctional, doubling as a hobby room during the week and an entertainment space at weekends. We can customise the layout around what you own now and what you are likely to add later.

Yes, and a garden pub is one of the most common briefs we get. A bar area with a sink needs water in and a foul drainage connection out, which is construction work rather than a plumbing accessory. Distance to your existing drain usually drives the cost, so we trace it on site rather than estimating. Fridges, kegerators and glass washers all need planning for at design stage.

Yes, when it is built for one. A full-size table can exceed a tonne once assembled, concentrated over a small area. The base and floor structure are designed around that weight and where it lands, so tell us which table you are buying before anything is drawn.

No, and it is worth understanding the difference before you compare quotes. A games room log cabin is built from solid timber walls, which look lovely but insulate poorly and move with the seasons, so gaps open up and heat escapes. Our buildings are properly insulated garden rooms with a sealed, framed construction, which is what makes them usable all year round rather than pleasant in June and freezing in January. A garden log cabin is generally cheaper up front. It is rarely cheaper to run.

That is what people build them for, and with the right specification it is realistic. Councils can act on noise complaints regardless of planning permission, so be straight with us about how you intend to use it. If games night regularly runs past midnight, we will tell you what your plot can support before you spend anything.

Not if the building is built to stop it, which is a design decision rather than an accessory. Sound needs mass to block it, and insulation alone will not do the job. We use a heavier wall and roof build up, isolate the floor so impact noise does not travel through the ground, seal the doors properly and specify the glazing for acoustics as well as heat. Where the building sits matters enormously and costs nothing to get right.

Yes, with a pitched roof and the right position. A dual pitched roof is allowed up to 4m overall, against 3m for a flat roof, and both drop to 2.5m if any part of the building sits within 2m of a boundary. That single rule is why simulator projects get positioned in the garden before they get designed.

About 2.7m internally at an absolute minimum, and 3m if you want to swing without thinking about it. Taller golfers need more. Because internal height is whatever is left after the floor and roof build up, it has to be designed in from the start rather than discovered on site. A 6m x 5m footprint is a comfortable starting point for a simulator with room to stand back and watch.

Only in a large one. A 12ft table wants roughly 6.7m by 5m, which uses up most of an average garden. Plenty of our customers land on a 9ft or 10ft table instead and are happier for it, because the room then works for other things too. Whether you go for snooker or pool, bring the table dimensions to the first visit and we will design around them.

For a 7ft English table played with a full-length cue, around 5m by 4m internally. The rule is the table plus a cue length plus a little clearance on every side. A 7m x 4m garden room is a popular size for exactly this reason, since it leaves plenty of space behind the table for a bar area or seating rather than filling the whole floor with the game.