How far can WiFi reach from my house?

Realistically 10 to 25m through a couple of internal walls and one external wall. Past that, a consumer router signal gets unreliable. Garden offices typically sit at 15 to 40m and need either a stronger radio path or a cabled extension to be reliable.

Will a WiFi extender work for my garden office?

It might, but usually shouldn't. A simple plug-in extender doubles the path length (signal has to reach the extender, then reach the office), often halving the usable speed. Mesh systems with proper node placement work better. Point-to-point or cabled solutions are better still.

Should I cable my garden office instead?

If we can, yes. Usually. A buried Cat 6 cable is the most reliable, fastest and lowest-recurring-cost option for a permanent garden office. The exception is where cabling is impractical (listed property, unmovable patio, very long distance) or temporary (you're moving in a year).

How much does garden office WiFi cost?

Mesh extensions £250 to £600. Point-to-point wireless £800 to £1,800. Cat 6 cabled £1,200 to £2,800. Full PoE outdoor setups £1,500 to £3,500. We'll quote two options at survey if there's a real choice.

Can you install in winter / wet weather?

Yes, for cabling we'll trench in dry windows and weatherproof the cable runs. For point-to-point installs we mount in dry weather and seal connections properly. We schedule out around heavy rain or frost where it'd compromise the install.

Services/WiFi Installation/Garden Office

Reliable Outbuilding WiFi

Garden Office
WiFi.

Your house WiFi reaches the kitchen, drops out by the patio doors, and the garden office at the end of the lawn might as well be on Mars. CoreComms installs reliable WiFi to garden offices, outbuildings, summerhouses and home studios across the North West and West Yorkshire. Mesh, point-to-point or Cat 6 cabled, depending on what your space actually needs.

Book a free survey

0330 838 1000

WORK-FROM-HOME, PROPERLY

Reliable WiFi for Garden Offices & Outbuildings.

Garden offices and outbuildings are now a permanent fixture for hybrid working. A timber pod or studio gives you a dedicated, productive workspace, but the WiFi from the house often won't reach reliably once you cross the garden.

Three things kill garden office WiFi:

Distance. Most house routers struggle past 10 to 15m through walls

Wall materials, brick, stone, foil-backed insulation, rendered exteriors all eat radio signal

Modern roof linings. Foil insulation in newer house roofs reflects WiFi back inside

We solve all of them. Survey first, recommend the right approach, install and test under real conditions.

WHY IT'S DIFFERENT

Three challenges unique to Different.

Distance from Router

A typical home router has a usable range of 10 to 25m through a couple of internal walls. Garden offices are often 15 to 40m from the house with one or more external walls between, outside the comfort zone of any single consumer router.

Walls & Materials

External walls are denser than internal. Modern external wall insulation often includes foil-backed boards that act as RF reflectors. Rendered or stone walls absorb signal heavily, the signal that arrives is usually 20 to 30dB weaker than what's leaving the router.

Weather Resilience

Anything mounted outside has to handle wet, cold, hot, frosted and occasionally hailstone. Consumer-grade outdoor extenders aren't always rated for full-year UK weather. We use Ubiquiti UAP-Outdoor, Aruba 500-series outdoor and Cisco Meraki MR outdoor. Properly IP-rated for permanent external mounting.

Got a project in mind? Let's scope it together.

Get a free quote 0330 838 1000

OPTION 1 · BUDGET

Mesh WiFi Solutions.

Google Nest WiFi · TP-Link Deco · Eero, deployed properly with wired back-haul where possible.

Where mesh works

Short distance (typically under 15m) between house and garden officeClear or near-clear line-of-sight (a window facing the office helps)Lower bandwidth needs (web browsing, video calls, light file sync)

Where mesh struggles

Distance over 15m, especially through dense wallsHeavy bandwidth use (large file uploads, multi-stream video)Outbuildings with metal cladding or foil-backed insulationSites where the back-haul between nodes limits performance

OPTION 2 · MID-RANGE

Point-to-Point Wireless Bridges.

Ubiquiti NanoStation · LiteBeam · PowerBeam · Cambium ePMP · Mikrotik. Mounted at first-floor or eaves height for clear line-of-sight.

Typical install £600 to £1,500 supplied and fitted.

Two directional radios. One mounted on the house facing the garden office, one on the garden office facing the house, providing a dedicated wireless link between the two buildings. Inside the office, an access point shares the WiFi.

Usually the right answer where:

Distance is 15 to 80m
Cabling underground is impractical (paved patio, deep tree roots, listed property restrictions)
Bandwidth needs to be solid, 100Mbps+ on the link itself
Weather resilience matters

OPTION 3 · MOST RELIABLE

Cat 6 Cabled Solutions.

Buried armoured Cat 6 in flexible conduit at 300 to 500mm depth. Gigabit Ethernet to the garden office, terminated at a small switch or PoE access point at the far end.

Pros

Most reliable. A wired link stays solid in all weatherHighest bandwidth, gigabit Ethernet on the cable, then full WiFi inside the officeCheapest in the long run. Once the cable's in, no recurring kit refreshWorks for PoE, the cable can power an outdoor access point without a separate plug socket

Cons

More disruptive to install (trench across lawn or patio, wall penetration at both ends)Distance limit of 90m for a single cable runSlightly more expensive upfront vs. consumer mesh

Want a fixed-price quote? We'll come and survey first.

Get a free quote 0330 838 1000

BEFORE WE QUOTE

Survey & speed testing.

We survey before quoting, usually a 30 to 45 minute visit. We measure signal strength at the garden office with the existing setup, scope cable routes, check the structure for mounting points, and run a speed test of your existing house broadband to confirm it's worth extending.

If the survey shows your house broadband is the limiting factor (for example an older FTTC line capped around 60Mbps) we'll flag it before quoting any internal work, so you can upgrade the line first.

After install, we run a verification: signal strength inside the office, full speed test, and a sustained-load test to make sure the link holds under real use.

Free 30 to 45 min visit

PRICING

Pricing.

All prices include hardware, install, configuration and post-install testing. Site visits to scope first are free.

Mesh extension

£250 to £600

Well-placed mesh node, no cabling required.

Point-to-point wireless

£800 to £1,800

Two directional radios + AP at the office.

Cat 6 cabled extension

£1,200 to £2,800

Buried armoured cable + outdoor or indoor AP.

Full PoE outdoor AP

£1,500 to £3,500

Weather-rated kit, fully external setup.

GARDEN OFFICE FAQS