We completed this music studio last year and recently went back to get some better photos. It includes a double layer of plasterboard to reduce sound transmission and the client has added curtains to reduce the sound escaping through the windows and doors. The studio includes a shower room with WC and is clad in cedar. Windows and doors are aluminium clad timber, double glazed and argon filled. The client has been partiocularly impressed with the thermal insulation: “We have the heating on for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening and, even in the recent cold winter it has never been cold in the studio”.

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

large insulated music studio

Our latest insulated garden room is a 25m2 music studio in London, complete with shower and WC.  Clad in cedar and with large, aluminium clad doors and side lights, the structure makes an attractive addition to the garden of this West London house.  Soundboard from JCW Acoustic Supplies was used to provide additional sound attenuation.

low maintenance aluminium clad doors and windowsplenty of natural light and great views of the garden

insulated garden buildings     bespoke garden offices, studios, workshops      garden buildings to housing standards

Contents: sound insulation, beat the VAT increase, save money on standard designs, novel solutions

Vivid Green News.  Autumn ‘09

Young working mother wins Vivid Green garden office
Amanda Farren of Ella Announcements was the recent winner of an insulated garden office at the Remote Worker awards ceremony held at Cliveden on September 10.  The garden office, donated by us, will give 22 year old Amanda much needed additional space as she juggles caring for her three young children and building her business.  Amanda said: “I am totally honoured to have won! Words cannot describe what this means to me. All my hard work and dedication has paid off and I am over the moon that my achievements have been recognised with winning such a prestigious award.”

Ella Announcements is run by Amanda, a work-at-home mum to 3 young children from her home in Coventry.  Amanda stumbled upon the idea of Ella Announcements when trying to find a way to stay at home with her children, whilst engaging her brain in something stimulating.  Funding childcare was not an option so she went about setting up her own graphic design business with the added benefit of working with lots of gorgeous squishy cheeked and chunky thighed babies!  

www.ellaannouncements.com

Neil Johnston presenting the award to Amanda Farren of
Ella Announcements together with Paula Wynne of Remote Employment
 

Sound proofing

Having now completed two bespoke garden studios with extra sound insulation we are getting a good idea about what works and what is easy to fit.  However, it is a complex subject and the frequency of sound plus how it is created impacts considerably on solutions.  Below are some links to very informative sites plus a few hints and tips.  Don’t forget the floor!  Especially if it is a piano, the sound can travel down the legs and reverberate on the floor.  Also check to see the floor is strong enough to take the instrument.  We recently designed a studio to take a concert and baby grand weighing a total of almost a tonne!
Reducing the escape of sound from the building may impact on the quality of the sound you hear in the room.  This may or may not be important but check it out with experts before specifying materials.
Simply increasing the density of material on the walls can help so two layers of plasterboard with staggered joints can work well though one of the specialist boards is probably better if you can afford it.  Soft furnishings such as curtains, blinds and sofas will also help to some extent.  Windows and doors, especially if fully glazed, will let out a good deal of sound unless designed not to.  Most manufacturers offer special arrangements of glass including different thicknesses, asymmetric construction and lamination to reduce sound transmission.
Soundproofing – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia    JCW Acoustic Supplies – About us    Institute of Acoustics
Skanda UK LTD – Roofing & Insulation Distributors – Products – Acoustic
VAT; call now to save yourself up to £500!

It is all but guaranteed that the Government will put VAT back up to 17.5% from 1 January 2010 so any invoices issued after this date will be 2.5% higher than before.  Doesn’t sound a lot but it amounts to £375 on a £15,000 investment or £500 on a £20,000 structure.  With our current workload and lead times we would need the go ahead on projects before October 31st to guarantee meeting this deadline so, if you are considering a purchase in the next 3-6 months, save yourself some money and call us now.
Testimonials

Customers have been telling us why they bought from Vivid Green and what they really like about their garden buildings now they have been using them for a while.  In the process we got some great testimonials and a real insight into what attracted them in the first place and what they really appreciate now.  Customers particularly appreciate:

• stylish, bespoke design      
• robustness and quality of construction and finish      
• comfort of underfloor heating plus low running costs   
• friendly service
  

The team were professional, adaptable and a joy to work with.  Mr M, Harpenden
Most satisfactory and so very superior to the cheap and nasty ordinary “shed”. This is not a shed but a house in the garden.  Mr C, Carshalton

It’s a very versatile room that can be used all year round thanks to excellent insulation and low-cost underfloor heating.  Mr G, Exeter

I am very pleased with my Vivid Green office. It is roomy, light, airy, stylish and the underfloor heating ensures consistent temperature control.  Mr W, Oxford

Standard designs on e-bay

All of our installations to date have been bespoke but, in recognition that there is a significant cost saving if customers choose a design that we have already built, we are now offering some of our bespoke designs at a significant discount.  Contact us direct for any of these designs and prices or check us out on e-bay.  The other option we are offering is ‘self completion’ or ‘bare board’.  We install the building, complete with roof membrane, external cladding, windows and doors and customers put in the electrics, internal plasterboard, heating and decoration.  For those with the time and capability this offers a 15-20% saving.   www.e-bay.co.uk

Updated guide

We updated our guide in August and most of you should have received a soft copy.  If you havn’t or you would like a hard copy please email or call us.
There are a lot more pictures and rather less writing and technical detail though this is still available in the Appendices if you want it!

Interesting designs

We have been working on a number of interesting opportunities including a 40 sq metre office, gym, bar combination for a large garden in Hertfordshire and a conceptual design for a retail/office building
in the conservation area of Harpenden.

We have also designed a number of offices with store attached.  The store is stud/shed style construction but clad in the same material as the office with an ‘invisible’ door.  A more attractive solution than putting a cheap shed next to a contemporary office!

Contact us for drawings of these structures.

Some recent installations

Small insulated garden office in Bushey

Large insulated garden office in Woking