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An ordinary Irish back garden at dusk, the house lit on one side and a small timber-and-glass room at the far end of the garden, its interior warm but its use not apparent.
A PlotNua Discovery

Create an Extra Room

Without extending the house.

Most Irish gardens have space for one.

Why This Discovery?

Where does an extra room go?

There are three ways to get another room. Extend the house, convert the attic or the garage, or build one in the garden.

This page is about adding a room in the garden. If you are still deciding how to create the space — or need somewhere for somebody to live — the two options below will take you to the right Discovery.

Still deciding which way to go?

Four Ways to Get More Space compares extending, converting and building, and helps you work out which suits your house.

Explore: Four Ways to Get More Space →

Need somewhere for somebody to live?

Sleeping accommodation has different rules and a different size limit.

Explore: Build a Home in Your Garden →
A dark timber garden room at dusk with the sliding door open, someone working at a desk inside, in an Irish back garden. A dark timber garden room with glazed doors open, an artist painting at an easel inside, canvases stacked against the wall.
Using It

How can you use it?

Most of what people want a garden room for is already allowed.

A garden room with its sliding door open, a woman stretching on a mat inside, weights and towels on shelves behind her.
The Rules

What are the rules?

Since 27 July 2026 you can build up to 30 m² in your back garden with no planning application at all. 30 m² is about 5 m × 6 m. The limit before that was 25 m².

These are the conditions in the 2026 exempted development regulations. Whether your own garden meets all of them depends on its size, shape and what is already built on it.

Other Requirements

What else applies?

Planning is one part. These are the others, and what each one means for a garden room.

Building Regulations

Usually relevant. They are separate from planning, and being exempt from one does not exempt you from the other.

They set how the building is put together: structure, insulation, ventilation and electrical work. Which parts apply depends on the size, the construction and the use.

What to do: nothing yet. PlotNua gathers what each supplier states about how their buildings are built, and shows it beside the price. Building Regulations — gov.ie

Building Control

Depends on the project. This is the local authority side: notices, inspection and certification.

Whether a commencement notice is needed is not the same for every garden room. The answer depends on the room’s size, construction and intended use.

What to do: one call to your local authority's Building Control section settles it before you order. Building Control — gov.ie

Fire safety

Worth checking on every build. Three things affect it: how close the room sits to the house and the boundary, what it is made of, and how you get out of it.

Use matters too. A room with a stove or a kiln is not an empty study.

What to do: agree the position and the wall build-up before the base goes in. Building standards and technical guidance — gov.ie

Protected structures

Only if your house is on the list. Every local authority keeps a Record of Protected Structures, and where a house is on it, exempted development rights can be restricted in the grounds as well as the house.

What to do: check the Record for your area, and ask the conservation officer if you are on it. Protected structures — Citizens Information

Architectural conservation areas

Only if your address is inside one. These are designated in the county or city development plan, and extra controls can apply to how a structure looks and where it sits.

A room behind the house is less likely to be affected than one visible from the road. That is the council's judgement rather than ours.

What to do: the development plan lists them, and the planning office will confirm your address in one call.

A student working at a desk with Leaving Cert books and a laptop, a timber garden room and the garden visible through the glass beside her.
Cost

What does it cost?

Three broad levels, taken from garden rooms the PlotNua currently holds a published price for.

From about €3,600

Basic or seasonal

A timber garden building, lightly insulated or not insulated. Comfortable in spring and autumn, cold in January.

For example: Gardenhouse24 Monaco 28 at €3,624, MCD Garden Sheds Apex Cabin at €5,469.

About €8,000 to €18,000

Insulated, year-round

The largest group by far. Insulated walls, floor and roof, double glazing and a finished interior you can work in all year.

For example: Sprout Pod 6m at €10,250, Adman Multiroom 3m × 5.2m at €12,450, SIPS Garden Room POPPY at €12,750.

€18,000 and above

Larger or higher specification

More floor area, more glazing, better heating, higher internal finish. The dearest garden room in the Atlas is €67,950.

For example: Iglucraft Igluoffice 2 at €48,000, Concept Modular Cabin 25m² at €49,750.

Usually extra: the base, delivery, installation, electricity, heating and any groundworks. PlotNua records what each published price covers, so two prices are compared on the same terms.

Two things the Atlas is still gathering. Suppliers do not consistently publish whether VAT is included, or the floor area. So these are price bands with real examples rather than a price per square metre.

PlotNua is collecting both, and the bands will sharpen as it does. Indicative prices reviewed in August 2026.

A timber-clad reading room at the end of an Irish back garden, a woman reading in an armchair inside beside a wall of books, with the house and lawn behind.
Your Property

Would this work on your property?

A woman with a mug in the kitchen doorway looking down the garden to a lit timber garden room where three teenagers are playing pool and sitting on a sofa.

The teenagers get their own space, and the family gets the house back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions.

How long does it take?
A single room is one of the quicker home projects — often a matter of weeks, depending on the design and how easy the garden is to get into.

Can someone sleep in it?
Not under these rules. A separate rule covers a one-bedroom home in the garden, with its own size and conditions — Build a Home in Your Garden.

Can I work from it?
Your own work, yes. Teaching, clients or a business may need permission depending on how much of it there is. Ring the council first.

Will it add value?
That depends on the house and the area, and we would rather say so than make up a figure. A well-insulated room that suits more than one use holds its value best.
A young woman playing an electric piano in an acoustically lined garden room at dusk, a guitar on a stand beside her and the neighbouring houses beyond the garden.
PlotNua

Let’s start with your plot

Answer a few questions about your property and we’ll show you what would fit, what it costs and who supplies it.

What you do

Enter your Eircode and answer three short questions: the style you like, where it should be made, and your budget.

What we do

We check suitable products and suppliers available to Ireland and compare them with the property information supplied.

What you get

Buildings that may fit, suppliers who deliver, indicative prices, the relevant planning position and practical next steps.

Recommendations cannot be bought, and payment never determines who appears or ranks more highly.

Continue Exploring

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