Not quite finished but a good example of how our customers impact on our designs.  Jo Angell is a designer of fantastic textiles, wallpapers and other wonderful products; check out her web site: www.joangell.com.  Anyway, Jo wanted lots of light in her studio and opted for meter wide doors and windows in the front wall, slightly larger than the norm.  But they look fantastic and, even on the dull day when we took these photos, there was no need for artificial light.

The studio replaces a huge corrugated iron structure used by the previous owner as a pottery workshop and the neighbours are very pleased it has been replaced with a smaller and much more attractive building.  More photos to come when the studio is finished.

Edden: 2.4x 2.4m; £6,500 complete, £4,700 bare board

Collier: 6 x 3m; £17,800 complete, £15,320 bare board

McClelland: 3 x 3m; £12,100 complete, £9,900 bare board

Rawlings: 3.2 x 3m; £11,700 complete, £9,500 bare board

Wikinson: 5 x 5m; £23,000 complete, £19,800 bare board

Fowkes: 6 x 3m; £13,500 complete, £11,000 bare board

Insulated garden office with verandah

We recently completed this insulated garden office in our home town of Harpenden. With a hipped roof clad in cedar shingles and a verrandah for the client to hang his hammock, the office provides a good sized work space away from the clients two young chindren. Although the building required planning permission because it is higher than the 2.5m limit, this was readily granted. With 120mm of insulation in the roof and our standard 100mm thick walls and floor, the office has been very warm even during the recent cold. External cladding is vertical cedar and the decking is larch. The photo is not great but we shall be taking more if and when the we see the sun again.

We are having a pre-season clear out and offer the following at significantly reduced prices (all +VAT).

Awning/canopy/shade sail

The heavy duty fly sheet on our Pavilion (below) can be supplied as a separate awning/roof eg: for outside seating or a play/learning area.  Covering an area 5 x 5m, the structure is 3.8m high at the centre and 2.2m at the ridge.  The fly is manufactured from Precontraint (Ferrari industry) fabric (590g per sq m) with exceptional resistance to UV degradation, good tear strength and shape retention and inherently flame resistant.  There is also an attractive, beige coloured rooflining manufactured from acrylic canvas.

External waterproof cover with posts: £990; internal fabric rooflining: £590; cover and lining together: £1390.  All prices for supply; please call for installation costs.

Buildings

We have three display buildings on which we are offering significant discounts.  Basic details below but please call for more detail.  All buildings can be seen in Harpenden.

Canvas lodge

Canvas lodge

Timber office/store/shelter

This timber framed building has many attractive features including a triple skinned skylight, one triple glazed and one double glazed opening window plus a fully glazed door.  The roof is clad in cedar shingles and the walls in Douglas Fir/Larch.  It has 120mm insulation in the roof and includes underfloor heating and internal electrics.  It measures 2.4 x 2.4m externally (8 x 8 ft) less the triangle by the door.

Normally retailing for £6,800 we are offering this building for £4,950 installed (within 120 miles of Harpenden).

Pavilion

Our pavilion offers accommodation for up to 6 with two separate insulated rooms and a play/sleeping loft.  Overall dimensions are 5 x 5m and an insulated base is included.  Price new: £6,250; our price: £4,900.  Delivery and installation within 120 miles of Harpenden: £450.

Other buildings

A few examples of the other buildings we design and install to provide additional, highly insulated space for private and commercial clients including this four classroom block to be installed in the Summer.  With a floor area close to 160 m2, installation costs amount to less than £1100 per sq metre.

Please call or email for more detail on any of these structures

before

after: a well insulated garden office

 This small office in Cambridge gives the owners of this property in Cambridge a really cosy place to do paperwork and removes the computer from the kitchen/dining room. Complete with underfloor heating and high quality double glazed windows and doors, the office is well insulated against the cold fen winds.  The cedar clad garden building replaced a small outhouse and fits neatly into the garden.

Insulated garden building specialist, Vivid Green has introduced two new concepts to their range of insulated garden buildings.  Designed to offer even more value for money, these high quality garden buildings offer exactly the same standard of insulation and finish externally but now include the option of a ‘bare board’ internal finish.  Vivid Green Director, Neil Johnston commented “many more people are buying our buildings as offices or even temporary accommodation while they build their own houses and we wanted to offer them the option of completing the internal fitout themselves.  Many have the skills to carry out this work and, because of the recession, many more have the time.”  The company is able to provide a weathertight building complete with external cladding, roof covering, windows and doors in 5-10 days depending on size and this Bare Board finish is up to 15% cheaper than a normal structure.  The level of insulation is not compromised and can be as high as housing standard.

The other innovation is to offer standard designs.  To date, bespoke garden buildings have been the norm but, with a sizeable portfolio of bespoke designs completed, the company is now offering these at a reduced price.  Selecting one of these designs reduces the investment by around 10% and a further 15% can be saved if a bare board finish is chosen.  A selection from the designs available is shown below.

Small, insulated garden office

Medium sized, insulated garden office Large, insulated garden office

Large, insulated garden building with cedar clad, pitched roof

 

Large, insulated garden office

 

Medium sized insulated garden room with apex roof

Available as a 1MB pdf with compressed photos we can also send hard copy with higher quality images. Email us with your preference and, if you would like us to mail a hard copy please let us have your full snail mail address; mail@vividgreen.co.uk.

Feedback welcomed on topics covered etc.

Our new Pavilion is finished and I bravely slept in it last night with the external temperature down to zero.  Although not intended as a year round structure I am pleased to report that the stove did a sterling job and I even managed to oversleep and almost get snowed in!  So we are confident that this is truly a two season structure allowing you to let the space as Holiday Accommodation from early Spring through to late Autumn.  We also know that buildings similar to ours but without the benefit of solid, insulated walls are being let for £1000 a week, peak season.

Also, with the weak pound and British families cutting back on foreign trips, it is not only Pontins who are forecasting a 10% increase in Summer bookings.  Here is what Liz Hall, head of research for Hospitality and Leisure at PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Jan 9th:

“Due to the currency parity of the pound and euro, the domestic market should become stronger as more people decide to holiday in the UK, however lower margins are expected and there is likely to be a return to self-catering and campsites over hotel-based holidays.”

http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/industries/hospitality_and_leisure_revpar_update_january_2009.html

Cosy inerior of Pavilion

However, with memories of the cold and wet of last Summer fresh in the minds, never mind the hard Winter, we think people will be looking for a little more comfort and something different which led us to design the Pavilion: insulated floor, solid walls, WC, insulated bedrooms (double plus bunk beds) and a sleeping/play loft for the children. Options include basic or luxurious fitout, rendered or timber clad walls, double glazed windows and doors and a multi-fuel stove. Take a look at the pictures and see for yourself how this unit could extend your season and increase your income.

Timber clad version of Pavilion

The unit, together with our Canvas Lodge, will be on display until the end of March so if you would like to see this novel addition to our range of holiday accommodation please email Nina or myself to arrange a viewing. We have prepared comprehensive specification and price list so if you would like us to email you one of these please let us know. nina@vividgreen.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you.

When the Government changed the planning rules relating to outbuildings on 1 October last year we thought flat roofs were the only answer. So we designed a couple of flat roofed buildings to meet the demand: the Penthouse 8 and Penthouse 7.5. Both these Vivid Green buildings incorporate all of our design principles: low energy, low maintenance, plenty of natural light. Headroom is between 2075 and 2150mm (6’ 9” to 7’). Both buildings offer attractive space for an office, studio or workshop.

Penthouse 8

Penthouse 7.5

However, over the last few months we have designed several other buildings for customers who wanted to site the structure close to one or more boundaries but liked the idea of a more attractive roof shape. The following sketches give an idea of the options available if you can leave at least one metre between your boundary and the wall of the building.

Flat roof & lantern

Flat roof with lantern

The simplest way of adding headroom and light is a lantern. Glass lanterns can be very expensive but we have found a polycarbonate version which offers a great alternative. Double and triple skinned versions offer superior thermal and sound insulation. Headroom is typically 2075 to 2150 (6’ 9” to 7’) plus an extra 300-500mm (1’ -1’ 7”) under the lantern.

Shallow hip

Shallow hip

A shallow pitch of at least 15 degrees offers the option of cladding the roof with cedar shingles and just a few more degrees opens up lots of options including eco-slates (imitation slates manufactured from recycled plastic). Because of the need for a slope, the height of the walls (eaves height) is reduced but greater headroom can be achieved throughout the rest of the building. Typically 1800mm (5’ 10”) at the eaves, headroom increases to 1930mm (6’ 4”) 500mm in from the walls and is 2600mm (8’ 6”) in the centre.

Shallow hip + gablets

Gablet roof with porch

When the garden is a little bigger there is the potential to add ‘gablets’ to the roof: triangular gable ends. These can be left solid but, using triangular windows makes a very attractive roof shape and provides additional light. Headroom is similar to the shallow hip design above.

Both shallow hip designs require one wall to be inset by approx 600mm to allow installation of doors. This creates an attractive porch or veranda depending on size

For more details, call or email us: 01582 469076 or neil@vividgreen.co.uk

Planning guidance

If you want to know more about planning regulations take a look at this web site: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/wales/genpub/en/1105619048902.html