An orangery sits between a conservatory and a proper extension: an oak frame with large windows and glazed doors, often a glass lantern in a solid roof, joined to the back of the house. An oak garden room is the same idea standing on its own at the end of the garden. Both are popular in Surrey, where oak suits the older houses, and several of the county's oak firms build them.
This guide lists nine firms, says what each one actually does (design and build, put up a frame, or sell a kit), gives the two sets of published prices we found, and sets out the planning and building regulations rules. Everything comes from the firms' own websites and the Planning Portal, read on 2 November 2026. The photo shows the walled garden at Loseley Park, near Guildford. For garages, porches and other oak buildings, see our guide to oak-framed buildings in Surrey.
What an oak orangery or garden room costs
Most firms quote each job individually; none of those below publishes a price for an orangery joined to the house. Two publish prices for oak garden rooms, which give a useful guide. Neither says whether VAT is included.
- Small, 3m × 3m, built and closed in
- £20,000–£30,000 (Sussex Oak Structures, 2026)
- Medium, 4m × 5m, built and closed in
- £30,000–£45,000 (Sussex Oak Structures)
- Large, 5m × 6m, built and closed in
- £45,000–£60,000 (Sussex Oak Structures)
- Medium, completely finished
- £40,000–£55,000 (Sussex Oak Structures)
- Oak garden room frames
- £5,000–£30,000 for its range (English Heritage Buildings)
Sussex Oak Structures' “built and closed in” prices cover the oak frame, insulated wall and roof panels, roof, glazing and outside finish; foundations, electrics and inside finishing are extra. It says a typical bespoke oak garden room takes 10 to 16 weeks from survey to completion. All the oak prices we have found are side by side on our page of oak building prices in Surrey.
Do you need planning permission?
An orangery or conservatory joined to the house follows the same rules as any extension. On a house (not a flat), a single-storey rear extension can usually be built without applying to the council if it reaches no more than 4 metres beyond the original back wall of a detached house, or 3 metres for other houses, and is no more than 4 metres high. Within 2 metres of a boundary, the walls can be no more than 3 metres high where they meet the roof. It can't go in front of the house, and extensions and other buildings together can't cover more than half the garden. A larger rear extension, up to 8 metres for a detached house or 6 metres for others, is possible through a quicker “prior approval” check with the council.
The rules are stricter in the Surrey Hills, conservation areas and other protected land: any side extension needs planning permission there, and the outside can't be clad. Listed houses need permission. “Original house” means the house as first built, or as it stood on 1 July 1948, so earlier extensions count towards the limits. A free-standing garden room follows the separate outbuilding rules explained in our oak garages guide.
Building regulations
Extensions normally need building regulations approval (the council's separate safety check). A conservatory can be exempt if it is single storey, at ground level, under 30 square metres, separated from the house by outside-quality walls, doors or windows, has its own heating with separate controls, and its glazing and electrics meet the regulations. An orangery that opens straight into the house without doors, as many do, won't be exempt, and any new opening knocked through the wall of the house needs approval even when the conservatory itself is exempt.
Nine firms for oak orangeries and garden rooms
Sussex Oak Structures
Faygate, near Horsham, West Sussex
A framing yard just over the border near Horsham that publishes the most detailed oak garden room prices we found, and will prepare and manage the planning application for you.
- Builds
- Bespoke oak framed orangeries and garden rooms, with insulated panels for the walls and roof
- The whole build or just the oak frame
- Also oak conservatory kits
- Surrey towns named
- Redhill, Reigate, Dorking, Esher, Guildford and Woking areas
- Contact
- 01293 851287
English Heritage Buildings
Woods Corner, East Sussex
A frame maker that says its designs can be delivered anywhere in Surrey. It gives planning guidance, and its frames come with a 10-year structural guarantee.
- Supplies
- Oak-framed garden rooms and orangeries in green oak or Douglas fir, with insulation as standard
- Who puts it up
- One of its approved contractors, or your own builder
- Delivery
- Most projects ready to dispatch 6–8 weeks after the design is signed off
- Contact
- 01424 838643
Crown Oak Buildings
Edenbridge, on the Kent–Surrey border
Supplies and fits oak buildings across Surrey, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, and sells kits nationwide. Its example garden rooms, about 4m × 3.5m to 4m × 4.4m, use solid oak posts and beams 150mm or 200mm thick.
- Builds
- Orangeries and garden rooms joined to the house or standing alone, with options such as bi-fold doors and a glazed roof lantern
- Contact
- 01732 866910
Eavoak
Oakhanger, on the Surrey–Hampshire border
Works mainly in Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex, including the South Downs National Park. Its planning team prepares and submits applications and says its success rate is over 95%. It doesn't publish prices.
- Builds
- Oak garden rooms and sun rooms with floor-to-ceiling glazing, vaulted ceilings and roof lanterns
- Service
- Design and planning through to groundworks and decorating
- Contact
- 01420 488870
Surrey Oak Design & Build
Cranleigh
A Cranleigh firm working across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire that can help prepare and submit planning applications. Ask for a quote; no prices are shown.
- Builds
- Oak-framed extensions and orangeries, garden buildings, home offices and garages
- Contact
- 01483 399815
Oakwrights
Frensham, near Farnham
A Frensham firm building oak frames throughout Surrey since 1995, which notes that oak extensions are often favoured by planners for listed buildings. It isn't connected with the similarly named Herefordshire company.
- Builds
- Bespoke oak framed houses, extensions, orangeries, balconies and barns, in traditional or modern designs
- Contact
- 01252 794325
Country Barns
Guildford
Takes projects through planning and building regulations and then builds them from the ground up. It describes its glazed rooms as extensions rather than orangeries.
- Builds
- Oak framed extensions, including fully glazed gable ends
- Surrey projects
- An extension on Hallam Road, Godalming
- A glazed oak gable end at Churt
- Extensions in Farnham, Cranleigh and Upper Hale
- Contact
- 01420 768145
Arbour Bespoke
Farnham
A small Farnham team that builds free-standing oak garden rooms across Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex and guides you through planning. It has no page for orangeries joined to the house.
- Builds
- Oak framed garden rooms, including the inside fit-out: insulation, heating, electrics and flooring
- Towns named
- Guildford, Woking, Epsom, Farnham, Godalming, Dorking, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge, Camberley and Leatherhead
- Contact
- 01252 710518
Oakmasters
Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Makes the frame only, guaranteed for 12 years against structural defects, and works with a network of designers and fitters rather than doing it in-house. Its projects include a glazed veranda on a listed house in Surrey.
- Supplies
- Bespoke oak garden room and orangery kits, made in under 12 weeks, with its own sealed glazing system for green oak
- Quotes
- Within 24–48 hours of receiving your design
- Contact
- 01444 455455
Before you commit
Decide early whether you want a room open to the house or one closed off by doors, because that decides whether you need building regulations approval. Check the depth and height against the extension limits, and whether your house is in the Surrey Hills, a conservation area or is listed. Ask each firm exactly what its price covers (frame only, closed in, or finished), who handles planning, and what the guarantee covers. For a cheaper route, see our guide to oak frame building kits. Many orangeries open onto the kitchen; for the firms that make those, see our guide to kitchen makers in Surrey. For the garden beyond, Stone and Soil covers planting on Surrey's chalk and sand.
Common questions
How much does an oak orangery cost in Surrey?
None of the firms in this guide publishes a price for an orangery joined to the house. For oak garden rooms, Sussex Oak Structures' 2026 prices are £20,000–£30,000 for a small 3m × 3m room and £30,000–£45,000 for a medium 4m × 5m room built and closed in, and £40,000–£55,000 for a medium room completely finished. English Heritage Buildings says its garden room frames cost £5,000–£30,000.
Who builds oak orangeries in Surrey?
Surrey Oak Design & Build (Cranleigh) and Oakwrights (Frensham) build oak orangeries and extensions, and Country Barns (Guildford) builds oak extensions with glazed gable ends. Just over the border, Sussex Oak Structures, Crown Oak Buildings and Eavoak build oak orangeries, garden rooms or sun rooms for Surrey homes, and English Heritage Buildings and Oakmasters supply frames.
Do I need planning permission for an orangery?
An orangery follows the same rules as any extension. A single-storey rear extension on a house can usually be built without permission if it reaches no more than 4 metres back (detached house) or 3 metres (other houses) and is no more than 4 metres high, isn't in front of the house, and extensions and other buildings cover no more than half the garden. Rules are stricter in the Surrey Hills, conservation areas and for listed houses.
Does an orangery need building regulations approval?
Usually, yes. A conservatory is exempt only if it is single storey, at ground level, under 30 square metres, separated from the house by outside-quality walls, doors or windows, has its own heating with separate controls, and its glazing and electrics comply. Any new opening into the house needs approval even if the conservatory itself is exempt.
Can I buy an oak orangery as a kit?
Yes. Oakmasters makes bespoke oak garden room and orangery kits in under 12 weeks, English Heritage Buildings supplies garden room and orangery frames for its approved contractors or your own builder, and Sussex Oak Structures offers oak conservatory kits as well as frame-only and full builds.
How long does an oak garden room take to build?
Sussex Oak Structures says a typical bespoke oak garden room takes 10 to 16 weeks from survey to completion. English Heritage Buildings has most frames ready to dispatch 6–8 weeks after the design is signed off, and Oakmasters makes its kits in under 12 weeks.
