I built tiny home in my garden & now watch the Euros in comfort next to my own bar – it’s perfect for the kids
A FOOTIE mad dad-of-two couldn’t always snare a seat at the pub, so he built a £20,000 bar in his back garden for the Euros instead.
Sean Rishton, 48, says despite the initial costs it works out cheaper than the pub in the long run.
And he always gets a seat with a great view of the telly.
The operations director says: “Finding a seat in the local can be difficult when the Euros are on. It’s much cheaper than going to the pub.”
Bradford-based Sean built a £20,000 log cabin in his back garden, turning it into a garden bar where he can watch the footie to his heart’s content.
He also uses it as a place to work from home, hosting weekly darts nights and sleepovers for his two children.
Sean shares the space with wife Kimberley Rushton, 34, a finance manager and daughters Rosie, 10, Amber, 8, Millie the cockapoo and Sally the cat.
Sean says: “It’s great being able to get out of the house without going too far when you don’t fancy going to the pub, with no expensive drinking and having a space where I can enjoy a few drinks and watch the football with friends.
“We always enjoy watching big events in our garden.
“I love to have everyone around for the football and I’m a big darts fan too, so we also watch that.
“Sometimes the kids even have film nights in there.
“We can see them in there and keep tabs on them and it’s safe.”
Sean also pointed out that having a garden bar meant keeping the mess out of the house.
It’s no secret Brits love a trip to the pub, but to save on rising costs, many are keen on their own garden bars.
The term garden bars received 324,200 Google searches in the last year.
Sean added: “Everybody loves it – it’s a great space to get together and socialise where friends and family can make themselves at home.
“Friends bring their own drinks, so it makes it much cheaper for everyone, rather than going to the pub all the time.
“Although it’s a big initial expense, we’ve found the time and money saved from fewer trips to the pub will eventually pay it off.
“With all the fun we have and the memories we’ve made in the garden bar, the space is truly priceless. A few friends have even bought one themselves after seeing ours.”
Backyard sheds and bars: the rules
Thanks to law changes in recent years, building a shed doesn’t normally require permission.
Since 2008, “permitted development rights” means you can usually get hammering without having to follow a painful application process.
This includes: sheds, greenhouses, garages, sauna cabins, kennels, swimming pools, ponds and tennis courts.
The main rule is that has to be built for the enjoyment of whoever lives at the house.
In other words, constructing a building for accommodation isn’t allowed without planning permission.
If you’re in England and Wales, these are the rules, according to according to shed manufacturer Waltons:
- Not including the area occupied by the house, the shed does not cover more than 50% of the garden.
- Your shed is not located on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation – not in front of your house.
- The shed is single storey with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and a maximum overall height of 4 metres if it has a dual-pitched roof, or 3 metres in any other case.
- If the shed is located within 2 metres of the property’s boundary, the entire building is not more than 2.5 metres high.
- The shed has no veranda or balcony. Raised platforms such as decking should be no higher than 30cm from ground level
- The floor area does not exceed 15 square metres. (Up to 30 square metres may fall under permitted development providing that other conditions are also met).
- The shed is for domestic use only, by those who occupy the house and contains no sleeping accommodation.
In Scotland, you need permission if it’s within one metre of a neighbouring property, or more than 2.5 metres in height.
Rules may also differ in Northern Ireland, including the distance between the shed and a road that runs behind the hou