Garden Office Costs in Bournemouth: 2026 Price Guide
Updated: Oct 4
Most garden office quotes we're asked to look at have one thing in common: the headline number covers the box and nothing else. The base, the power supply and the heating turn up later as extras, and that's usually where a £25,000 job becomes a £32,000 one. Here's what a garden office really costs in Bournemouth and the surrounding area in 2026, item by item, so you can budget for the whole thing.
What a garden office costs in Bournemouth in 2026
For a 4m x 3m room (12m²), fully insulated, clad, glazed and fitted out ready to use all year, expect £21,600 to £33,600 from us. Where you land depends on glazing, cladding and the internal finish. A 5m x 4m studio or garden gym generally runs £36,000 to £54,000. That's the all-in build price you'd pay us, before VAT if applicable.
We don't sell kits off a shelf. Every room is built to suit the garden it's going in, which matters here because plenty of plots in Southbourne, Westbourne and Ferndown slope, sit on sand, or have a mature tree where you'd quite like the door to be.
The extras that sit outside the headline price
These are the lines we put in writing at quote stage, because they're the ones that cause arguments when they appear halfway through:
Base: £1,800 to £3,600. Ground screws suit most of our sandy Dorset gardens and avoid digging out a slab. Heavy clay or tree roots can push you towards a concrete pad, which costs more.
Power and cable run: £1,800 to £4,200. An armoured cable from your house, a small consumer unit in the room and certified sockets and lighting. A long run round the side of a terrace sits at the top of that range.
Upgraded insulation: £1,800 to £4,800 over a basic shell, if you want it comfortable in January rather than just dry.
Heating, air conditioning or a toilet and basin are priced separately once we've seen where the drainage and services are.
Why the garden itself changes the price
We always visit before we quote. Access is the big one: if everything has to be carried through the house because there's no side gate, labour goes up. Levels, drainage and how close the build sits to a boundary all move the number too. Older properties around Christchurch and Boscombe tend to have narrower access and older electrics, so the supply from the house sometimes needs a look before we can promise anything.
It's also worth checking early whether the room needs planning permission. Most don't, but the height and position rules catch people out near a boundary. We cover that when we survey, and our garden office planning guide goes into the detail.
What you get for the money
A properly built garden office should be warm, dry and quiet. That means insulated floor, walls and roof, a breathable wall build, double or triple glazing and a power supply installed to current Part P standards by our own electricians, with the certificate handed over at the end. If you're also thinking about heating, our electrical and heating team can run the circuit while the walls are still open, which is far cheaper than chasing cables later.
The build itself usually takes a few weeks on site once the base is in, with the finishing trades booked back to back so the room doesn't sit half done.
How to keep the cost under control
Decide the use first. A home office needs good light, power and broadband. A gym wants a harder floor and ventilation. A studio might need soundproofing. Changing your mind after the frame is up is the single most expensive thing you can do, and it's the one thing that's entirely in your hands. Give us the purpose, the size you have in mind and a photo of the garden, and we'll tell you where the money needs to go and where it doesn't.
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Get a fixed price for your garden
If you're in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch or anywhere across Dorset and Hampshire, book a site visit with Complete Builds and we'll survey the garden, then send you a written price that covers the base, the power and the finish. Our exterior works team will walk you through the options on the day.
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