Oak and Timber Garages in Surrey: Prices, Planning and Who Builds Them

Oak garages are a familiar sight around Surrey, and their prices vary enormously. A timber garage that arrives as a kit, an open oak carport, and a big oak garage for two cars with a room above are all called garages, and they cost anything from a few thousand pounds to over £100,000.

This page sets out the prices firms publish, when you need permission from the council, and ten firms that build or supply oak and timber garages for Surrey homes. Everything comes from the Planning Portal, legislation.gov.uk and the firms' own websites, checked in October 2026. For porches, garden rooms and bigger buildings, see our main guide to oak-framed buildings in Surrey. The photo shows a wooden cart shed from the late 1700s, open at the front like a carport, at Little Henny in Essex.

Oak or timber?

Most oak garages are built from “green” oak: freshly cut oak that hasn't been dried. As it dries over the years it shrinks a little, the joints pull tighter, and small cracks appear, which is normal. Eavoak says most of this happens in the first two years, and advises against painting or treating the outside of the oak. “Timber” garages are usually made of pine-type wood (often Swedish or Scandinavian redwood), which is cheaper and is treated to protect it from rot and woodworm.

Many “oak” garages are only partly oak. Crown Oak Buildings' garages have an oak frame, but the inner supports, the roof timbers and the boards on the outside are softwood (cheaper pine-type wood) as standard (oak boards cost extra). English Heritage Buildings says its garages are made from oak and Douglas fir, another type of wood. So ask which parts of a quote are actually oak.

What does a garage cost?

These are the prices firms publish on their websites. Most don't say whether VAT is included; Passmores' prices don't include it. A “bay” is the space for one car, so a two-bay garage holds two cars.

Oak carport (Crown Oak)

• For one car, with a flat roof (3m × 5.3m)from £3,000
• For two cars (5.5m × 5.3m)from £5,500

Two-car garage with an oak front (Crown Oak)

• Oak at the front, softwood sides and back, 5.5m × 5.3mfrom £5,500

Timber garage (Passmores, before VAT)

• Single 4.8m × 3.0mplus £472 to put it upfrom £4,523
• Double 6.0m × 6.0mplus £1,013 to put it upfrom £8,868
• Delivery extra

Oak garages (English Heritage Buildings)

• Wooden frame alone, most garages£5,000–£35,000
• Two-car frame, on averageabout £15,000

Oak garage with room above (Sussex Oak, 2026)

• Two cars: the oak frame put up£40,000–£55,000
• With roof, walls and windows£65,000–£88,000
• Completely finished£95,000–£150,000

Sussex Oak Structures compares the same finished two-car garage with a room above built in oak (£95,000–£150,000) and with an ordinary timber frame (£55,000–£85,000), and warns that difficult ground can add £10,000 or more for the foundations.

Do you need planning permission?

You can usually build a separate garage without asking the council, as long as it stays within these limits: one storey only; no more than 2.5 metres high where the roof meets the walls; and no more than 4 metres high at the top if the roof slopes both ways (3 metres for other roofs). If it is within 2 metres of your boundary, the whole garage can be no higher than 2.5 metres. It can't go in front of the house, and garages, sheds and extensions together can't cover more than half your garden.

The rules are stricter in protected areas such as the Surrey Hills and conservation areas: a garage at the side of the house needs permission, and anything more than 20 metres from the house can be no bigger than 10 square metres. If your house is listed, any garage needs permission. A garage with a room above is more than one storey, so it always needs planning permission; Crown Oak and Sussex Oak both say so.

Watch the wall height: Sussex Oak's two-car garages are typically 2.4 to 3.0 metres high where the roof meets the walls, and anything over 2.5 metres needs planning permission.

Building regulations (safety approval)

Building regulations are a separate safety check by the council. A garage joined to the house normally needs one; a carport joined to the house, open on at least two sides and under 30 square metres, normally doesn't. A separate garage normally doesn't if it is under 15 square metres, or between 15 and 30 square metres and either at least a metre from every boundary or built mostly of materials that don't burn. A typical double garage of 6m × 6m is 36 square metres, so it will need one.

How long does it take?

For a simple timber garage, Passmores says a double is typically put up in two days. Oak takes longer: English Heritage Buildings delivers a frame six to eight weeks after you approve the drawings, and Sussex Oak quotes eight to twelve weeks from approval to a finished two-car oak garage. A garage with a room above takes much longer: Sussex Oak says six to nine months for a straightforward one, including eight to thirteen weeks waiting for planning permission.

Ten firms for oak and timber garages

Before you sign

Check the heights against the planning limits before you fall for a design; a garage with a room above will always need permission. Ask what the price includes: VAT, delivery, putting it up, the foundations, the roof tiles and the doors. Ask which parts are oak and which are softwood. Read the guarantee: some only apply if the firm's own builders put it up, and most don't cover the small cracks oak gets as it dries. And allow for building regulations if the garage is joined to the house or bigger than 30 square metres.

For porches, see our page on oak porches in Surrey; for studios and offices, our guide to garden rooms and home offices.