Buying Guides
Outdoor Buildings Buying Guide
Choosing an outdoor building for your garden
To make the most of your outdoor space, we have a range of garden buildings from greenhouses, sheds and storage solutions to elegant summerhouses, statement garden pods and fully insulated garden studios for year-round use. This outdoor buildings buying guide will help you weigh up your options.
Exclusive and handmade designs for your garden
The majority of the outdoor buildings we offer are manufactured by Crane Garden Buildings.
Some are exclusive to John Lewis & Partners.
A family run business with nearly 50 years of expertise, Crane uses high-quality materials and responsibly sourced timber to produce outdoor buildings at its site in Norfolk. Every building is handmade with care and commitment, delivery and installation are included in the price.
Our assortment includes the National Trust Garden Building Collection, developed and designed by Crane exclusively for the National Trust. These summerhouses are traditionally designed and inspired by outbuildings on the country house estates owned by the National Trust.
Types and styles of outdoor building
Garden Sheds
Choose from a range of sizes to store garden equipment, such as large lawnmowers, or simply use it as an overflow from the house.
- Highly secure and lockable
- Single pane toughened safety glass windows
- Planning permission not required
Greenhouses
- Practical environment for growing plants and vegetables
- Edwardian-style design
- Self-opening and closing ventilation
- Secure and lockable
- Single pane toughened safety glass windows
- Planning permission may be required
Garden Hubs and Studios
- Separate living or working space at home for year-round use
- Fully insulated with double-glazed toughened safety glass
- Matchboard lined interiors
- Secure and lockable
- Buildings under 2.5-metres high do not need planning permission
Garden Summerhouses and Chalets
Octagonal summerhouses offer a panoramic view of the garden, while storage chalets combine a storage space at the back and a smaller summerhouse or cabin at the front. The National Trust collection includes four styles, from classic to beach house.
- Winter storage solution
- Single pane toughened safety glass with leaded design
- Double opening doors
- Secure and lockable
- Larger summerhouses may require planning permission
Outdoor Storage
Gazebos
Outdoor building material and finishes
Crane garden buildings
Timber
Crane Garden Buildings is an FSC-certified company and all of its buildings are made from FSC-certified Northern Scandinavian Redwood, sourced from cold-climate latitudes in north Sweden where trees grow slowly and produce more hard-wearing timber. The timber is then kiln-dried for up to three weeks to make it stronger, reduce warping and splitting, and to remove moisture so that the wood is more closely conditioned to our climate. The superior-quality timber has a closer grain with less knots.
FSC-Certified Timber
We aim to have full traceability on all of our timber, to ensure it’s legally compliant and where possible, independently certified as being from a responsibly managed source.
The FSC is an international organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. When you see the FSC logo on a product, you can feel assured that it’s made with or contains wood that comes from FSC-certified forests and is produced by sustainable forestry practices helping to curb the worldwide trade in illegal timber.
Painted finishes
Crane works with microporous paint, which is breathable and flexible. As the timber expands and contracts with the climate, the paint stretches and shrinks to ensure a watertight building. Every building has three coats, protecting it for up to five years and giving it a seamless finish that looks good for years to come.
You should treat the building every three to four years to ensure the outside remains in good condition. When any retreating is required, matching paints are available to order from Crane.
Door furniture and security
The National Trust by Crane summerhouses feature cast iron fleur-de-lys black door furniture. The Hub has chrome door furniture. All other Crane summerhouses, garden studios and greenhouses feature heavyweight brass door furniture hinges and handles. All of these buildings have a mortice lock for security. Crane sheds are fitted with a seven-lever security lock bolted to the door. The sheds are supported by hinges that cannot be unscrewed and the door cannot be lifted off, making them highly secure.
Roofing materials and styles
Felt roofs
Crane garden studios and hubs have pent roofs that slope gradually from front to back. They’re protected with heavy-duty nylon-backed felt, heated to a high temperature and stuck to the roof timbers to ensure a frost and watertight barrier. This remains maintenance-free for 10 to 12 years, depending on where you site your building. Crane’s storage chalets have a gable roof made from extreme-wear mineralised roofing felt.
Slate replacement tiles
Crane’s Large Garden Room has a vaulted roof with long-lasting tiles designed to resemble natural slate. They’re made from resin and rubber and last up to 45 years. Just like real slate, they’re a pewter-grey colour when dry and blue-purple when wet.
Cedar shingle roofs
Crane works with microporous paint, which is breathable and flexible. As the timber expands and contracts with the climate, the paint stretches and shrinks to ensure a watertight building. Every building has three coats, protecting it for up to five years and giving it a seamless finish that looks good for years to come.
You should treat the building every three to four years to ensure the outside remains in good condition. When any retreating is required, matching paints are available to order from Crane.
Corrugated roofs
Crane’s National Trust summerhouses have traditional corrugated apex or flat roofs.
Where to site your outdoor building
- Opt for south-facing if you want a sun trap with more light
- Overhanging branches and falling leaves can impact roof and gutters
- You might want access via a garden path
- The building needs to be in a dry place away from heat sources
Planning permission
Outdoor buildings are considered to be permitted development and in most standard situations where buildings are under 2.5-metres in height they do not need planning permission. Some of the buildings we offer are over 2.5-metres in height and need to be more than 2.0-metres away from a neighbour's boundary otherwise they will require planning permission.
Garden buildings cannot be closer to a main road than the house itself, so buildings cannot be in front gardens. If you live in a conservation area, national park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, check with your local planning office. In addition, any changes to listed buildings and grounds always need planning permission.
Find out more about planning permission.
Preparation for your outdoor building
Most outdoor buildings require a solid and level concrete base to be installed at least two weeks prior to the building being delivered. A garden pod can be placed onto a patio but there will be a minimum size requirement, whereas a studio, summerhouse, shed and greenhouse need a solid, flat concrete base to support its weight. Contact a local, professional contractor, builder or landscaper who can install the base. Check the product information for installation details on each building style to view base plans and dimensions.
Services we offer
Delivery
Outdoor buildings will be delivered directly by the manufacturer, rather than by a John Lewis & Partners van. The supplier will contact you directly with a proposed delivery date.
Guarantee
