Cork city · Carrigaline · Midleton · Mallow · West Cork
Garden rooms in Cork
An insulated, fitted garden room from a Cork builder costs €25,250 for 12 to 16 m² and €32,000 for 20 m², VAT included (Blue Mountain Garden Rooms). Since 27 July 2026, up to 30 m² can go in a back garden without planning permission (S.I. 338 of 2026).
Garden offices, gyms, studios and modern garden rooms, from Cork city out to Skibbereen. Send it in 4 taps and it goes to one garden room company that covers your part of Cork, who rings you back to look at the garden and price it in writing.
- €25,250for an insulated, fitted 12 to 16 m² room, incl. VAT, from a Cork builder's own price list (Blue Mountain Garden Rooms)
- 30 m²the planning-exempt total for garden structures since 27 July 2026, up from 25 m² (S.I. 338 of 2026)
- 39%of people at work in Cork city and suburbs said they work from home (CSO Census 2022)
- 29 pricesfrom 4 sources, read 2 November 2026: the cost guide
FreeNo obligationOne company rings you, not fiveNothing agreed until you accept a written price
Cost check
What a garden room costs for your size
Two taps: the kind of build and roughly how big. The answer is a published Cork or Irish price for that size.
Published price for your size
€25,250
Blue Mountain Garden Rooms' own guide price for fitted garden room, VAT included, subject to a site survey. It includes insulation, uPVC A-rated double glazing, sockets, lights, a heater, a fuse board, flooring and plasterboard walls; internal painting isn't included.
- A ground screw foundation is from €90 to €110 a m² (Loghouse.ie).
- Power from the house is from €15 a metre of cable (Loghouse.ie), and it has to be done by a Registered Electrical Contractor (CRU).
- Avant Money's national guide gives €13,500 to €17,500 for a medium room, 4 m × 4 m to 5 m × 5 m.
How this is worked out
Timber cabin: Loghouse.ie's listed price for that size; at 12 m², where none is listed, the area times their brochure rate of €900 to €1,200 a m² for smaller rooms. High-spec eco: your area times their "€1,500+" rate, so it's a starting figure only. Insulated and fitted: Blue Mountain Garden Rooms' own guide price for that size, VAT included. The multiplication is ours. Prices read on 2 November 2026. It's an estimate, never a quote.
What it's for
Four rooms people actually build
| Room | Usual size | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Garden office | 6 to 12 m² | Power, broadband, heat, a window you can see a screen beside |
| Garden gym | 9 to 20 m² | A solid floor, height for overhead lifts, air |
| Garden room | 12 to 25 m² | Insulation and glazing, so it's used in winter too |
| Studio or cabin | Any | Sound, light, and whether a kit will do |
Sizes are a rough guide from the room sizes Cork and Irish firms price (Blue Mountain Garden Rooms, Loghouse.ie). Anything up to 30 m² in total can be exempt from planning; the planning page has the conditions.
Prices
Three ways to buy one
| Kind | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Timber cabin from a price list | €6,720 for 3 m × 2 m to €17,200 for 5 m × 5 m | Loghouse.ie |
| Kit, delivered and put up | €5,600 to €9,758 for a Havana garden office | Timber Living |
| Insulated, fitted room by a Cork firm | €25,250 to €41,000 incl. VAT, 12 to 25 m² | Blue Mountain Garden Rooms |
The gap is what's included: insulation, glazing, wiring, lining, flooring and the base. Modular and prefab rooms sets the three side by side.
See it first
A garden room in your own garden
Take a photo from the back door, pick the cladding and the front, and see a room at the end of your garden before anyone quotes. Free, in under a minute.
- Upload a photo, or answer 4 questions.
- We pass it to one company that covers your part of Cork.
- They ring you with a written price.
Preview of your photo, not a guarantee. Your photo goes to Google's Gemini service to make the picture and isn't kept.
Before you choose a spot
- Measure the garden. At least 25 m² of it has to stay open for the room to be exempt.
- Check how far the spot is from the house: the power cable runs that distance.
- Look at side access. Panels and a base have to get through.
- Note which way it faces: glass doors facing south get hot in summer.
Working from home
Cork works from home
A spare bedroom isn't an office for everyone. A garden office puts a door and a garden between the desk and the house. The garden office page has every town's figure.
How it works
From the form to a room in the garden
- Answer 4 questions or upload a photoThe room, the build, the size and the town. Only your number is needed.
- We pass it to one companyOne garden room company that covers your part of Cork. Not a list, and not five companies ringing you.
- They look and price itAt the garden: access, the base, the cable run, the size that fits under the exemption. In writing.
- The buildNothing is agreed until you accept the written price.
Towns
Garden rooms town by town
| Town | People | Homes that are houses | Owner-occupied | Workers who work from home | 4+ bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork city | 222,526 | 83% | 59% | 39% | 30% |
| Carrigaline | 18,239 | 97% | 78% | 40% | 37% |
| Cobh | 14,148 | 90% | 70% | 31% | 26% |
| Midleton | 13,906 | 84% | 60% | 32% | 28% |
| Mallow | 13,456 | 92% | 58% | 27% | 29% |
| Youghal | 8,564 | 86% | 60% | 25% | 23% |
| Bandon | 8,196 | 87% | 57% | 26% | 26% |
| Fermoy | 6,720 | 90% | 53% | 23% | 24% |
| Kinsale | 5,991 | 87% | 62% | 43% | 28% |
| Clonakilty | 5,112 | 85% | 54% | 29% | 28% |
| Macroom | 4,096 | 92% | 59% | 24% | 32% |
| Skibbereen | 2,903 | 83% | 43% | 20% | 22% |
| Cork county (council area) | 360,152 | 94% | 75% | 34% | 42% |
| Ireland | 5,149,139 | 87% | 69% | 36% | 37% |
CSO Census 2022, built-up areas. Houses: private households in a house or bungalow, not a flat. Work from home: people at work who said they work from home, out of those who answered. Shares are our sums.
Free quote
Get a price in 4 taps
Tap what you need and leave your number. It goes to one garden room company that covers your part of Cork, and they ring you back to arrange a look at the garden and a written price.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How much does a garden room cost in Cork?
Blue Mountain Garden Rooms in Cork publishes €25,250 for an insulated, fitted 12 to 16 m² room, €32,000 for 20 m² and €41,000 for 25 m², VAT included. Timber cabins cost less: Loghouse.ie lists a 4 m × 4 m room at about €13,560. The cost guide has every figure.
Do I need planning permission for a garden room in Cork?
Not if it fits Class 3: behind the front wall of the house, no more than 30 m² for all sheds and garden structures together, at least 25 m² of garden left, no higher than 3 m (4 m with a tiled or slated pitched roof), and not lived in or used for anything but the enjoyment of the house (S.I. 338 of 2026). See planning in Cork.
Can I sleep in a garden room?
Not under Class 3, which rules out human habitation (S.I. 338 of 2026). A separate exemption since July 2026, the detached auxiliary dwelling, covers 32 to 45 m² units linked to the house's services, with notice to the council (Fieldfisher). That is a different build from a garden room.
Can I run a business from a garden room?
Working from home at a desk, as part of the household, is how most garden offices are used. Class 3 only covers use "incidental to the enjoyment of the house" (S.I. 338 of 2026), so a room with staff or customers calling is a question for the council.
Are you a garden room company?
No. Garden Rooms Cork is an introduction service run by Bartlomiej Standa, trading as Elevate Ireland. We pass your request to one garden room company that covers your part of Cork. They look at the garden, price it in writing and deal with you directly.
Who wires a garden room?
A Registered Electrical Contractor. Electrical work in your home has to be done by one by law, and they give you a completion certificate (CRU).
Where these numbers come from (3 public sources, checked 2 November 2026)
Sources (5)
Prices and facts on this page were checked against these published pages. We are not connected to these businesses.
- Blue Mountain Garden Rooms: bluemountaingardenrooms.ie
- Loghouse.ie: loghouse.ie
- Avant Money: avantmoney.ie
- Timber Living: timberliving.ie
- Fieldfisher: fieldfisher.com