The questions we are asked most.
Answered as precisely as we honestly can. Where a question does not have a settled answer, we say so rather than guessing.
Do I need planning permission?
It depends on the product, site and intended use. AAVA designs its products around the current Irish planning framework, but every site must be assessed individually.
It is also worth separating two questions that are often merged into one. Planning permission and Building Regulations are separate regimes, with separate thresholds and separate class numbering. A project can sit inside one and outside the other.
What is the difference between AAVA Garden and AAVA Living?
AAVA Garden is non-habitable garden space — a room in the garden for working, training, making or relaxing. It is designed around Planning Class 3 for garden structures, with our core range at or below 25 m².
AAVA Living is a habitable auxiliary dwelling of 32–45 m². It is designed as a Planning Class 3A detached auxiliary dwelling and is subject to its applicable regulatory requirements, including Building Regulations in full. It is used in conjunction with the principal house and is not an independent dwelling.
The practical difference is that one is a room and the other is a home. That distinction drives the fabric, the services, the cost and the regulatory route.
Can I use an AAVA Garden as a home office?
Use matters. The regulatory treatment of a garden room depends on how it is used. If your intended use includes business or habitation, we'll assess the appropriate route before proceeding.
We are deliberately not giving a blanket answer to this one. It is a question where the position depends on the specifics, and where we would rather establish the facts for your project than repeat a general claim.
How big can an AAVA be?
There are three bands:
AAVA Garden — a core range at or below 25 m². The flagship format is 21 m² (7.0 × 3.0 m), with 15 m² and 25 m² options either side of it.
AAVA Living — 32–45 m². Typically 8.0 × 4.0 m at 32 m², or 9.0 × 5.0 m / 7.5 × 6.0 m at 45 m².
AAVA Extension — up to 45 m², subject to the existing house, previous extensions and site conditions. That figure is a ceiling rather than an entitlement.
All sizes are subject to site-specific qualification and applicable conditions.
Can AAVA install on any site?
No. Access, boundaries, existing structures, site conditions and regulatory eligibility all matter.
Access is the constraint that surprises people most often: if the structure and the plant cannot physically reach the location, the rest of the conversation is academic. Existing extensions are the second, because previous work counts cumulatively against what remains available.
This is exactly what site qualification is for. Check your site
How long does it take?
We are not going to invent a number. Lead times and programme durations will be published here once our operational model is confirmed, and they will be figures we can stand over.
What we can say now is how the process is sequenced: site qualification, consultation, survey, design, regulatory route, manufacture and groundworks in parallel, then installation and handover. See how it works
What energy rating will it achieve?
We do not claim a specific BER or energy performance rating until it has been independently calculated and verified for your project.
What we can describe is the intended system. For AAVA Living that means 150 mm mineral wool external wall insulation, a warm roof, airtightness designed below 5 m³/hr/m², a heat pump, MVHR, a 2–3 kWp photovoltaic array and triple glazing, designed around NZEB requirements where technically appropriate. Those are design specifications, not guaranteed outcomes.
Is an AAVA Living a separate house I could sell or rent out?
No. A Planning Class 3A detached auxiliary dwelling is used in conjunction with the principal house on the site. It is not an independent dwelling, and it cannot be sold, subdivided or let as a separate property.
What does site qualification cost?
Nothing. It takes about five minutes to submit and it is the most useful thing you can do before spending money on anything else.
It is a general assessment based on the information you provide, not legal, planning or building-control advice, and a full site visit may be required before anything is confirmed. Check your site
Still have a question?
Ask us directly, or start with your site and we will answer it in context.