Garden gym with bi-fold doors beside a black-clad sauna lit at dusk, built for a client in Caversham. The cold plunge between them wasn’t fitted by us

Garden rooms

Garden gyms and studios

A place to train at home, laid out around the way you exercise.

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Free design consultation and free quote.

Photo: the garden gym and sauna we built for a client in Caversham.

A gym of your own, down the garden.

A garden gym gives you a dedicated place to train at home, without giving up a room in the house.

The gym and sauna at the top of this page are ones we built for a client in Caversham. We built the Pilates studio further down too. Every gym or studio we make is planned with you around the way you exercise, then built using the same timber-frame methods as a new home, for use all year round.

  • South Oxfordshire
  • Test Valley
  • Berkshire
  • Surrey

Looking for a dedicated garden sauna? We also build standalone saunas and saunas alongside a gym.

Inside a Pilates studio

How the Pilates studio we built comes together, drawn from a photo of it.

Illustration Hand-drawn sheet of a Pilates studio we built, showing a sketch taken from a photo of it, an exploded build-up and a long section with arched mirrors and a reformer
Panel 1 of 4: main sketch Panel 2 of 4: exploded build-up Panel 3 of 4: long section Panel 4 of 4: wall build-up and notes
Click the sheet to see it full size.Tap a panel to see it full size.
Inside a Pilates studio we built, with reformers, arched mirrors and bi-fold doors onto the lawn
Inside the Pilates studio we built.
Outside the Pilates studio we built, a cedar-clad building with large glazed doors onto the lawn
Outside the Pilates studio we built.
Inside a garden gym, with a power rack, mirrors, rubber floor and a roof lantern
A client in Caversham: inside the garden gym.
Open-fronted garden sauna and cedar decking we built for a client in Caversham. The cold plunge shown wasn’t fitted by us
Looking along the decking to the open-fronted sauna. We didn’t fit the cold plunge shown.
Black-clad garden sauna and cedar decking we built for a client in Caversham, with a white pebble border. The cold plunge shown wasn’t fitted by us
A client in Caversham: the garden sauna and cedar decking we built. We didn’t fit the cold plunge shown.

What comes as standard

This is our standard specification for a gym or studio.

Frame
A bespoke timber frame, made for your room, with an optional decorative dwarf brick wall.
Base
A concrete slab or ground screws.
Insulation
PIR insulation in the floor, and Actis Hybrid in the walls and ceiling.
Roof
A flat EPDM roof, or a pitched roof in tiles or metal sheet.
Glazing
Korniche glazing in Matt Anthracite Grey, RAL 7016.
Cladding
Cladding from Southgate Timber, Millboard or Cladco.
Flooring
Waterproof LVT flooring from Oake & Gray.
Walls and ceilings
Plastered and painted in Dulux white.
Electrics
Done by our dedicated electrical team, signed off and connected to your house’s main board.
Heating
Smart electric heaters, sized to suit the space.
Plumbing
For bars, toilets and bathrooms, including mains connections.
Outside
On request: patios, decking, snugs and covered areas, planting areas and paths.

If your gym or studio needs planning permission, we’ll help with the application.

What this room needs

A gym, sauna or cold plunge puts real weight, heat and moisture on a building. We design for all three from the start.

  1. A base built for weight

    Usually a concrete slab, with rubber flooring around 15 to 20mm for general use, 30mm for heavy lifting and 40mm for drops.

  2. Moisture under control

    Typically an extract fan, a taped vapour control layer, and a sauna inlet and outlet for about six air changes an hour.

  3. Power for heaters and kit

    HUUM is the sauna heater we choose to install, typically 3.5 to 10.5kW for rooms of roughly 3 to 16m³, on its own circuit.

  4. Insulation that suits the heat

    A traditional sauna typically runs at around 65 to 80°C, so makers usually ask for 50 to 100mm of insulation behind a foil barrier.

  5. A cold plunge, supplied and fitted

    We can supply and fit a cold plunge, with the space, base (a concrete slab, or ground screws with decking above), drainage and power planned in from the start.

  6. Showers, planning and sign-off

    A shower is possible but may need planning permission, and we handle building control sign-off on larger rooms.

How we compare with a factory room

Design your garden room

Choose a use, a size and your finishes, and watch your room take shape. When you’re happy, send it over and we’ll arrange a site visit to talk it through.

Step 1 of 7What will you use it for?

Pick the main use. You can tell us about anything else at the end.

Step 2 of 7Size, roof and structure

A rough idea is fine. We’ll measure up properly when we visit.

Roof

Structure

Step 3 of 7Cladding

The outside face of the building, and the biggest choice in how it looks. We use cladding from three suppliers.

Southgate Timber

Millboard Envello Shadow Line+

Cladco Signature Composite Wall Cladding

Step 4 of 7Doors and windows

All from Korniche, finished in Matt Anthracite Grey (RAL 7016).

Doors

Windows

Which sides? Choose as many as you like.

Daylight from above

Step 5 of 7Inside

Flooring

Waterproof LVT from the Oake & Gray range. Swatches are a guide only, so ask us for samples.

Also available in herringbone

Lighting & plumbing

Included as standard

  • Electrics by our dedicated electrical team, fully signed off and connected to your home’s main board
  • Smart electric heaters, sized to suit the room
  • PIR insulation in the floor, with Actis Hybrid in the walls and ceiling
  • Walls plastered and painted in Dulux white throughout
  • A bespoke timber frame on a concrete slab or ground screws, whichever suits your ground
Step 6 of 7Outside

We can build the space around it too, from patios, decking and paths to planting areas, snugs and covered areas.

Decking

Southgate Timber

Millboard Enhanced Grain 176mm

Cladco ProDeck Composite Decking

Around the building

Lighting

Step 7 of 7Your details

We’ll be in touch to arrange a site visit and talk your design through.

See our privacy policy for how we use your details.

Rather talk? Call us on 07846 796056 or email info@watsonanddalton.com.

Garden gym questions

See all FAQs

Yes. We built the Pilates studio shown on this page.

Yes. It has PIR insulation in the floor, Actis Hybrid in the walls and ceiling, and smart electric heaters sized to suit the space.

Yes. We do the plumbing for toilets and bathrooms, including all the mains connections.

We fit waterproof LVT flooring from Oake & Gray.

Other garden rooms we build

Back to all garden rooms Tell us about your garden room