Frequently Asked Questions

As our Little Houses are bespoke and built onsite (i.e. they are not flat pack), at the moment, we only build in the wider Bristol area in England. We do not routinely provide our services beyond 40 miles of Bristol postcode BS7.

We do not charge mileage for travel to sites in the following postcodes: BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8, BS9, BS10, BS11, BS13, BS14, BS15, BS16, and BS34.  Outside of these areas, we charge mileage at 45p/mile.

We always advise that you should check with your local council to err on the side of caution, but planning permission is not required for  the majority of playhouses that we build, as we generally build our Little Houses no more than 2.5m in height which is permitted without formal planning permission.   

Planning permission is usually required for any building which covers over half of the garden, which is not for domestic use or which is over 3 metres high with a pent roof or 4 metres high with an apex roof.  Planning permission is usually required for a taller playhouse (over 2.5m high) within 2 metres of a boundary, so for our smaller city gardens, we advise to keep your Little House under 2.5m unless you wish to apply for planning permission. 

Planning permission may also be required if you live in a Conversation area, or if your playhouse is nearer to a public highway (road or footpath with a public right of way), than to the original dwelling. 

We always recommend that you share your design and proposed build site with your neighbours prior to your build for informal approval, and to advise your neighbours when the building works will be carried out.

Each of our Little Houses is unique and bespoke, in terms of design and location (groundworks, working around trees etc), so the prices vary quite a bit. Generally, they range between £900 - £3,800 for timber and labour, but it depends on the Little House in question. In terms of design, the size/complexity of the structure and how much timber is used contributes to the price difference (we use C24 grade timber which is very high quality).

Accessories are usually an additional cost (unless we can get a better deal for you on some items that we buy in bulk, e.g., climbing holds and monkey bars). We help you to source these, by providing you with a personalised Accessories Guide.

We do provide a free quote based on your own Little House design if you’d like a more specific cost; we hold a design consultation first (virtual or on site) to discuss what you might want before providing you with a no-obligation, detailed design and quote.

The vast majority of our builds take 2 – 4 days, with very simple ones taking as little as 1 long day and very big ones occasionally taking 5 days or so.

Our structural timber is C24 rated and should be structurally sound for over 10 years if cared for. All timber, including the deckboard, is pressure-treated and therefore requires no further paint / treatment.  Like any outdoor structure, you will get more life out of it (and keep it looking its best!) with a little TLC.

To prolong its life, we do recommend that horizontal surfaces are given a clean with a stiff brush or pressure wash after leaf fall annually (a pressure wash of the whole structure never does any harm), and a coat of decking oil  once every couple of years is advised.

Little Houses are garden play structures (e.g., not fully insulated and sealed), so will always be subject to a degree of moisture and to the elements (e.g. cold/heat/wind/rain).

We don’t recommend keeping items that are fabric/porous in your Little House during the winter months. If you have open windows or doors in your design, rainwater will obviously come through more easily than if you have bubble windows or wooden shutters.

In terms of roofing, our felted roofs offer more protection, as they provide a waterproof covering for your Little House. During your design session, we will ask you what level of rain protection you require, and/or please don’t hesitate to let us what level of water- resistance you would like.

If you have a shed-component in your design, this will be more water resistant than a playhouse with openings. We still recommend that you store any fabric items (e.g., outdoor cushions) in dedicated sealed storage bags.

For those sunny summer days, we can also include posts with rings to attach a sun sail, to provide a shade cover that can be easily popped on and off your Little House as required.

Of course, we can be creative with the smallest of spots to make the most of the space that you have!

The vast majority of the time, we can work with all sorts of tricky landscapes to build your Little House – if we are unsure, we’ll conduct a site visit to make sure it is suitable for your Little House design and feasible to build on.

As long as you have direct access through your house to accommodate 4.8 long timbers, and if you are happy to accept timbers being carried through your home to the build site, we can build your Little House for you. Sometimes, if we are unsure, we will check the route to the build site (either virtually or in person) to make sure that it is suitable.

This depends on the similarity of the sites between your old and new home, but we certainly have and can dismantle and move Little Houses so you can bring it with you to your new home.