Custom garden sheds can be quick and easy

Panel construction ensures smooth assembly

In some cases this involved real (re)construction work, in others just a few small investments in garden furniture, playground equipment or maintenance tools. As autumn and winter push us more indoors again, however, even those small items need storage.

For Houtland, which launched a completely new range of summerhouses and pool houses under the brand name Vaja at the beginning of this year, the extension to this type of outbuildings has already been a hit. According to manager Kristof Valcke, attributing the success explicitly to the lockdown or other corona-measures is going a bit far, but it is certain that the family business has already been able to count on quite some success with the new line.

Five models, numerous possibilities

Houtland has been manufacturing wooden gates and fences for 41 years. Expanding the range towards wooden outbuildings was a logical step, according to Valcke. "We noticed that the demand for this type of construction increased year after year. Given our extensive expertise in garden wood, we had to jump on that bandwagon. Thus, Vaja was born."

'With the online configurator, customer choices are quickly visualized'

Today, Vaja counts five different models of wooden garden houses, distinguishable by their shape and the profiles used, almost all of which can be extended into a luxurious pool house by adding an optional lounge. "Besides the standard sizes, each model can also be adapted to the specific dimensions and orientation of the garden in question," Valcke clarifies, "with a maximum length of eight meters. In terms of design, there are also various options for the integration of windows, doors, ventilation or interior finishing. The exterior finish can be realized with impregnated pine, thermo pine, thermo ayous or padouk, each in a minimum thickness of 22 millimeters."

Benefits of panel construction

Yet it is not the garden contractor who has to worry about the realization of all that customization. "With Vaja, we work entirely according to the principle of panel construction. This means that we produce every wall of the garden house, including structure, moisture-resistant cloth, door and or window opening(s) and wooden finish, as one finished unit. Those panels, with a maximum length of four meters, are then delivered ready-made to the job site, where the garden contractor only has to place and assemble them on the concrete floor slab. He doesn't need much more than some manpower, a screw machine and a sealant gun to do this."

Houtland is also already making the necessary preparations for a high-quality roof finish. "The roof will be finished with osb panels, which will be calculated completely according to the design," Valcke said. "The EPDM foil is supplied in one piece and to size, as are the provisions for drainage."

Configurator

To simplify the design of Vaja garden houses and to offer private individuals immediate insight into the look and price of their customized garden house, Houtland is launching a configurator for its dealers this year. This will visualize all choices immediately, allowing people to order quickly and without worries. Four to six weeks later, the panels will already be delivered to the yard, and thanks to the smooth assembly, even the garden contractor will be able to reduce his costs and worries.