Painting a garden room or home office
A garden room is a small building with a very exposed skin. Most of them are timber, most are painted once by the supplier, and most are then left until the south face starts to grey and lift.
Getting the exterior right early
Timber cladding protected properly in its first year lasts far longer than cladding rescued in its fourth. End grain, cut edges and the base of every board are where water gets in, and they are usually the parts the original coat missed.
End grain and cut edges sealed before facing coats
Base of cladding checked for splash-back damage
Flexible, breathable exterior systems rather than hard films
Inside a room you actually work in
A working office wants light, even walls and no glare — which means finish sheen matters as much as colour. Plywood and OSB linings need sealing before they will take an even coat.
Small building, quick programme
Most garden rooms are a two to three day job in settled weather. The main risk is starting in the wrong week, so we watch the forecast rather than the calendar.
3 questions we get about this building type
- Does the factory coat need removing?
- Not usually. Sound factory finish can be cleaned, keyed and overcoated. Where it is flaking on the exposed face, that face comes back to bare timber.
- How often will it need doing again?
- It depends on exposure and the system used. A breathable exterior system on well-prepared timber typically runs several years before the sunny face needs attention.
- Can you paint plywood linings inside?
- Yes, but they must be sealed first or the grain and knots will read through every coat.
Next step
Send photographs of the worst elevation and we will tell you whether it needs a refresh or a strip.
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