DIY Builds
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How do I keep my summer house warm in the winter?

5 great ways to keep your summer house warm during the winter Insulation. Insulation is a great start! ... Electric radiators, fan heaters, halogen heaters. ... Underfloor heating. ... Solar powered heating. ... Wood, gas and oil burners.

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As the mornings and evenings begin drawing in, and the temperature begins to drop, we naturally begin to think about the inevitable arrival of Autumn and Winter. The onset of Autumn/Winter doesn’t mean that your Summer House needs to be moth-balled until the Spring.

Not at all!

Nowadays outdoor buildings are popular for year round use, especially for home offices or additional recreational/hobby spaces. Garden timber buildings can be used year round and enjoyed whatever the weather! Keeping your outdoor building warm is something you’ll want to think about so, with this in mind, here’s 5 great ideas for how to keep your garden building warm and welcoming through the colder months of the year.

1. Insulation

Insulation is a great start! It will help with year-round temperature control – keeping heat out during the summer and importantly keeping the warmth in during the winter. It also has the added benefit of reducing noise! Filling the roof and floor cavities with a quality, fire retardant, insulation is the best first step to ensuring year-round comfort in your garden building.

2. Electric radiators, fan heaters, halogen heaters

You’ll obviously need an electrical supply for all of these heaters, but they won’t require any installation and come in a wide choice of styles and with different temperature features and controls.

Electric Radiators

These are reasonably low cost to run and provide heat where you need it. These are great for smaller sheds but they may struggle to keep a larger building warm.

Fan heaters

These tend to consume more energy, so can be expensive to run, but they offer a flexible and simple heating solution that will circulate heat so can be better for distributing heat around your timber building.

Halogen heaters

These portable heaters use halogen elements instead of the usual electrical coils to provide warmth. They may be a little more expensive to purchase but are usually highly energy efficient and therefore cheaper to run.

3. Underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is great for smaller spaces but, again, you’ll need an electrical supply for this. It can be expensive to install and you might need the whole floor taken up if you ever need to carry out maintenance. Underfloor heating will provide an even temperature to the entire floor area of your garden building, rather than the localised options of free standing heating solutions, so you’ll be nice and cosy literally from head to toe!

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4. Solar powered heating

This ecological solution could be the right answer for you but you’ll need to consider how much power you’ll need to generate as this will dictate how many panels you’ll need and the size of the system required. You’ll also need to work out how many panels your summer house roof can actually support. Remember also that this clean energy resource is brilliant when the sun is shining but there might be problems during those darker winter days when it doesn’t!

5. Wood, gas and oil burners

Wood burners can be a great addition to a timber garden building – providing just the right amount of log cabin feel that will not only look wonderful but will keep you lovely and warm during even the coldest winter day, plus the delightful smell of burning wood will create a wonderful, cosy atmosphere. You could opt for an open fire or a small stove, with a glass door through which you can safely watch the flames flicker. Apart from wood burners there are gas and oil options also available. Gas may be an option run from the main house or from bottled gas. Oil burners or waste-oil burners can be effective but not everyone enjoys the smell of burning oil. Whatever you go for you’ll need to look into both the health & safety risks involved (flues, ventilation, fire risk etc) and ensure that you investigate any planning permissions that may be required. Whatever heating options you go for they’ll be sure to keep you nice and warm and cosy during the coldest winter months and will ensure that you can go on enjoying your timber garden building whatever the great British weather sends our way!

Considering a year round timber building?

If you are considering a year round timber building for your garden then get in touch or visit our showroom in Shaftesbury, Dorset.

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