17th August 2011
Our
contemporary garden rooms are designed and manufactured by a team of experienced architects, designers, joiners and experts in construction. Our unique design and approach to garden studios comes a result of years of consideration into the types of materials we use.
The garden studios are
timber-framed buildings which it self brings a list of advantages. Timber is an extremely versatile building material and can be utilised for a wide range of purposes, due to its favourable properties such as durability, aesthetics and sustainability.
The timber used in our
Garden Rooms is all sourced from suppliers whom use only FSC accredited materials. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council – the scheme was originally started in 1993 due to public fears and concerns about the lack of a recognised wood-labelling institution. There was fear that this lack of authority was promoting illegal deforestation and the loss of irreplaceable forests, eventually leading to profound economic, social and environmental consequences to the indigenous people.
We at
in.it.studios believe using sustainable timber is paramount and as a result design and manufacture our
garden rooms with sustainable architecture running in parallel with aesthetics.
Here are
FSC’s 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship as listed on their website:
1. Compliance with Laws and FSC Principles
Forest management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they occur, and international treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory, and comply with all FSC Principles and Criteria.
2. Tenure and Use Rights and Responsibilities
Long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources shall be clearly defined, documented and legally established.
3. Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
The legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories, and resources shall be recognised and respected.
4. Community Relations and Worker’s Rights
Forest management operations shall maintain or enhance the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities.
5. Benefits from the Forest
Forest management operations shall encourage the efficient use of the forest’s multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and social benefits.
6. Environmental Impact
Forest management shall conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by so doing, maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest.
7. Management Plan
A management plan — appropriate to the scale and intensity of the operations — shall be written, implemented, and kept up to date. The long term objectives of management, and the means of achieving them, shall be clearly stated.
8. Monitoring And Assessment
Monitoring shall be conducted — appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management — to assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody, management activities and their social and environmental impacts.
9. Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests
Management activities in high conservation value forests shall maintain or enhance the attributes which define such forests. Decisions regarding high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the context of a precautionary approach.
10. Plantations
Plantations shall be planned and managed in accordance with Principles and Criteria 1 - 9, and Principle 10 and its Criteria. While plantations can provide an array of social and economic benefits, and can contribute to satisfying the world’s needs for forest products, they should complement the management of, reduce pressures on, and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.
Source - FSC UK
16th August 2011
Commuting to and from work can be frustrating at the best of times, let alone during harsh winter conditions and If the winter of 2010 is anything to go by – we’re in for another unforgiving one.
Whether it’s the thought of waking up even earlier to beat the rush hour and traffic or waiting outside in the cold dark mornings for the unreliable and unpredictable public transport, a
Garden Office can put your mind at rest.
There are many advantages to eliminating the winter commute. With more and more people being affected by snow nowadays, the last thing anybody wants is to be snowed in when they have a lot of work they should be getting on with. The ‘commute’ now a mere few seconds down your garden lawn will ensure you can be at your most productive without the hassle of worrying about getting into work.
Harsh weather or not, another angle to look at is the vast amount of
time and
money you will inevitably save in the long term investing in a
Garden Room to suit your individual needs. A recent report from the RAC captures the scale of the phenomenon. “The average daily commute takes
54 minutes, except in London, where it rises to
86 minutes, and the average commuter travels far enough to encircle the globe two and a half times during the course of his or her working life.”
[1]. If you take this 54 minutes and multiply it by 10 (the number of times you will be doing it each week) that’s 540 minutes or 9 hours. Over the course of the year this amounts to an average of over
20 days, and the beauty is you could utilise this extra time any way you like, be it a holiday or that priceless extra hour in bed.
With the ever increasing motoring costs and fuel prices predicted to rise even further, everybody is eager to cut down on
motoring expenditure. It is reported on average a family in the UK spends almost a quarter of their income on motoring, so with our range of
Garden Rooms starting at a very affordable
£9,995, you could recover this money in no time, whilst enjoying the comforts of working in your own home.
With winter fast approaching, get in
touch today to discuss how we can make this winter as
productive and
cost-effective as possible with an
Garden Office from
in.it.studios.
[1]The Times
15th August 2011
When it comes to practising your beloved hobby in-house, not many are more obtrusive than practising your
musical instrument. Whether it is a piano or electric guitar, it is rare it will be greeted with goodwill after a prolonged period of time, often leading to it being abandoned in the spare room and forgotten about.
It is this precise scenario which led us to develop a high specification garden studio purpose built for this situation. Our highly insulated and densely packed wall panels allow for minimal sound to escape, providing the user with an isolated and dedicated space to practise and perform the hobby whenever they want and however they want.
We at
in.it.studios can offer you the comforts and amenities of a room in-house, combined with the freedoms of having your own dedicated
soundproof music room. Or why not opt for a home cinema come music room to take full advantage of the sound-tight space. Our
modern garden rooms come with services such as internet, telephone and TV points, with clients often choosing to invest in
multi-purpose spaces, such as garden offices or relaxation spaces.
For more information or to enquire about what
in.it.studios can do for you, contact us
here.
12th August 2011
At
in.it.studios we pride ourselves on building our contemporary
garden rooms,
homes and
granny annexes with sustainable architecture in mind. In today’s definition, this refers to using renewable resources, minimising the impact we have environment and living within ones means. To achieve this, careful consideration is taken over the materials we use, the construction processes of our builds and the efficiency and performance levels of the studio once built.
Our Materials
Western Red Cedar is used for our exterior cladding, this is sourced from accredited sources such as the FSC and PEFC forestry programs and is chosen for its durability, lifespan and great natural appearance
Accoya's® unrivalled durability and longevity is why it is the perfect material for our decking. Accoya itself is a solid wood sourced from sustainable, abundantly available, fast growing forests. It is 100% recyclable and regarded as the worlds leading high technology wood.
Our
green sedum blanket allows for a thin profile of plants to be placed on the roof. The practically zero maintenance Sedum plant is a durable living organism but also attractive to look at, especially from an upper level. It has a number of eco-friendly properties such as thermal insulation, sound protection and as a pollutant filter.
Construction Process
Our
Garden Rooms come prefabricated therefore minimising on-site time and building disruption to yourself or your home. We construct our studios using a
timber-frame approach. This process has a number of major advantages over its brick and block counterparts both sustainability and practically, for instance timber is the world’s only truly renewable resource. For a more in-depth look into the advantages of Timber-Frame buildings click
here.
Efficiency and Performance Levels
We at in.it.studios are very proud of the thermal properties / u-values of our builds. The
u-value of a building measures how well each of its components keep thermal energy or heat inside a building. Our walls are fitted with primary rigid foam insulation boards and secondary thermo-reflective foil protected membranes as standard to ensure warmth all year round also helping to cut energy bills. Click here to see how our
u-values exceed those set by building regulators.
11th August 2011
You know you’ve been here before – you get home after a long day of work, you had promised yourself tonight will be the night you go to the gym, but out come the list of excuses; whether its ‘the long drive’, ‘rush hour madness’, ‘I’m too tired, ‘don’t have the time’, ‘don’t want to miss your favourite TV program’… I could go on!
With a
garden gym, you can put away all of these worries. You no longer have to associate the word ‘hassle’ with going to the gym. Whether it’s a purpose built
weights area,
yoga space,
cardio room or a multi-purpose studio, our flexibility in designing the bespoke
garden room around you allows you do as you wish!
From past experience a gym located within the house is far from ideal. Clients have often complained the ‘gym’ end up being utilised as a storage room or a utilities room. With the
garden room located at the back of your garden, you can effectively
separate your home life from the gym, allowing you to workout
productively in your own time and more importantly in a suitable and
dedicated environment. Furthermore
extras such as shower units, wet rooms or WC’s can transform the space into a purpose-build fitness studio.
An
in.it.studio garden gym has the potential to change your life. Within no time you will find yourself returning from work, looking forward to that quick and effective workout which was impossible before. Leaving you with that priceless freedom to relax, spend time with family or go out with friends!