If you want a garden room installed, the best foundations you can have involve using garden screws, which are reliable, easy to install and far better for the environment than concrete.

Because you will be focused on what the garden room will look like and what it will be used for, the question of foundations may not be the first thing you think of. 

But it is a crucial and practical issue, ensuring that the facility remains on firm ground for many years to come.

What Are Garden Screws?

Garden screws, also known as ground screws, are made from galvanised steel. They are inserted using specialised machinery that literally screws them into the soil. They will hold anything laid on them very firmly and securely in place.

Our approach is to use garden screws unless concrete foundations are already in place. This is partly because there is no point removing concrete that is already there, but also because if there is an option, there are several good reasons for using garden screws:

  •       They are recyclable
  •       They avoid the embedded carbon involved in making concrete
  •       Installation is fast and can be done in any weather
  •       Disruption to the garden is minimal
  •       They are suited to different ground conditions
  •       The last for many years

All of these are important considerations, although the embedded concrete issue is perhaps the most significant, as this highlights why we prefer this alternative way of establishing foundations for garden rooms.

Why Is Embedded Concrete An Important Issue In Construction?

The concept of embedded carbon, sometimes known as embodied carbon, takes into account the full carbon footprint of the manufacture and installation of a material over its lifetime.

This can apply to various materials, but in construction, concrete and cement are flagged up as producing a lot of carbon emissions in their manufacture, as well as in the transportation of the material to the site where it is to be used and also in the eventual demolition.

Indeed, as of 2023, concrete and cement accounted for seven per cent of global carbon emissions, although the figure was only 1.5 per cent in the UK.

That UK figure was 21 per cent down from 2018, and one reason this is happening is that architects increasingly favour reusing and revamping old buildings over demolition and starting afresh, due to the embedded carbon effects of taking the latter approach.

Of course, the situation can be more complicated when dealing with a whole building than it is when there is simply a concrete foundation in place, as sometimes a complete building will have such a poor environmental performance that it still makes sense to replace it entirely.

That is not a problem that will occur with a concrete foundation on its own, which simplifies matters greatly.

Why Should An Existing Concrete Foundation Be Reused For Your Garden Room?

What all this means is that we have a very good reason not to use concrete in the first case if we can avoid it, something that can be achieved through the use of garden screws.

However, it is also why, if concrete foundations are already in place, it would make no sense to demolish them. Instead, we would be following contemporary best practice by re-using them for a new garden room.

Of course, there may be situations in which, especially in a sufficiently large garden, you might want your garden room located in a different place from where the old concrete foundations are.

If that is the case, then we would use garden screws for the new location, which leaves an open question about how you might use the space with the concrete.

However, in such an instance, because you have a lot of space, there would be the option to have a second garden room or build another structure on it, such as a garage or greenhouse, so it could still be put to use.

What Other Materials Do We Use To Make Your Garden Room Eco-Friendly?

The approach we take to the foundations can be the basis of ensuring that your garden room is generally eco-friendly.

We use steel frames rather than wood, which some might think is less sustainable because the material is not organic. However, the fact is that steel is fully recyclable, so at the end of its working life, it can be melted down and used for other purposes.

Indeed, the steel that will make up the frame in your garden room may have had many past uses.

In the meantime, you can add your own eco-friendly touches, such as creating a garden with habitats to encourage biodiversity.

What you can be sure of is that, whether using existing concrete foundations or new garden screws, your garden room will have firm foundations that will stand the test of time.