Garden and shed project

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Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
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5potTurbo said:
Looks very good so far!
Are you nailing those up by hand, each cladding board? If so, why not hire a nail gun?
- *ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping* - 1 board done! wink
Thanks! I am screwing them in actually (as I didn't want to nail them by hand), but I might take your advice and nail them in with a nail gun, it probably would be a lot quicker! Although, to be fair, what takes the longest is the cutting and measuring, and holding the 3.6m boards level as I try to screw them in!

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
quotequote all
Rosscow said:
Hmmm.... good work OP but if I'm being honest I'm surprised you're just fixing feather edge straight onto the framework. Also surprsied that you've just built the framework straight off the concrete without a course of bricks.

I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
Can you tell me what problems you are thinking of? I've never done any of this before so it's entirely possible I made a few mistakes here and there!

For the house wrap stuff, as far as I know once the boards are on and treated it should be waterproof. It will then be insulated (an air gap will exist between the outer boards and the insulation) and boarded inside.

For the frame, I was informed there should be no issues using treated timber directly on concrete, so I didn't really look any further. As this isn't a living space I didn't think I need to worry too much about it...

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Sunday 10th May 2015
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Thanks for the advice. I'll just have to hope for the best I guess! I will make efforts to keep the wood protected though.

Current progress;







I still have to build the remaining door frame and door, 8 window frames, fit the windows, then just the "trim" pieces (corners, eaves, and corners of the roof).

After that, get some self-leveling compound on the floor, get it insulated and boarded, get the light and electrics in, build some furniture, shelves, worktops, and a half party wall... Only a couple of things then!

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Sunday 10th May 2015
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BlackZeD said:
Looks like you forgot the "man bar" methinks.......
No bar in there unfortunately, but we have a minibar in the house though. This is all stuff that is stored out of the rain for now, I haven't actually decided where everything is going to go yet!

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Monday 25th May 2015
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I had a weekend off last week as it was getting a little tiresome doing nothing but the shed every weekend... So I don't have too much progress to report yet, but I now have two locking doors and some windows!




I've started collecting the supplies for the next stage, ie electrics, insulation, boarding, etc. Before I get onto that though I will get the patio and path done, as I've had enough of looking at the pile of earth out of the french doors.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
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TotalControl said:
That looks bloody good. Has this been kept within budget? If so, if I could cheekily ask, how much has this set you back so far?

Edit - just read the figure of £850. Not bad at all.
Thanks! As for budget, Ha! It's so over budget and over time, I just have to get my wife pregnant and I can give Kevin McCloud a shout!

Nah it's not too bad really, but I realise as I go along there are a number of things I forgot to budget for. I've spent a shed load on tools for example, all the ironmongery, some extra bits of wood here and there. It's not much but it adds up quickly! I think, ignoring the tool spend, I'm up to £1300-£1400 for now. I think the total cost when finished will be close to £2400. It's still good in my eyes as similar sized sheds (bought not built) are usually much flimsier and more expensive.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Monday 10th August 2015
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Believe it or not, I'm still at it!

Progress has been much slower lately, mostly because I've had a few things to do over the weekends, and I've not worked as fast as I wanted. In any case, the next step of the garden project is done:




It is nice to have somewhere to sit outside in the evenings now, and not to look at a big pile of earth anymore!

Next on the agenda is a bit of tidying up here and there, and insulating and boarding the shed.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Monday 10th August 2015
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hornetrider said:
The patio looks very good, what's the wall for?
It's only there to delimit the patio, I prefer it visually. There will also be a chiminea in the corner so it will help radiate the heat towards the centre of the patio hopefully.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Monday 10th August 2015
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bazza white said:
Shed looks great I'm about to build the same although a bit smaller (4.2mx2.4m) and using pvc window and door.

The breather membrane is something that's still up for discussion. I was for this route but also thought sod it do it the same as yours.

What roofing did you use after
Sounds good, let us know how you get on! For the roof I used 12mm ply/OSB and felt tiles.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Monday 10th August 2015
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paulrockliffe said:
Just seen this thread, great work!

Are you making the greenhouse yourself? If you do, please put loads of pics up as it's a job I've got lined up for some time in the future.

On the vegetables; if you're going to be growing stuff, why not use the front garden area that you've ear-marked for pebbles to grow herbs, spices, house flowers, etc?

Keep up the good work!
Thanks Paul.

There were a few constraints when I was planning all this, but it is good to hear different views. I'm hopeless at bricklaying and do not enjoy doing it, so I think this was a big factor in deciding to build it out of wood. Bricks are also much more expensive, although they will last a lot longer, and I simply wouldn't have had the budget for that.

I would build the greenhouse myself, simply by making a wooden frame anchored to metal stakes driven a few feet in the ground, and covered in clear PVC sheets. My wife is quite keen on just buying one though, and I have so much to do I might just do that to save on time.

Part of the reason it's not right up to the boundary is the concrete slab running down the length of the garden, this would have to be broken up and it is a big part of the reason why the fence is still up. In other words, if the concrete comes off I need to budget to replace the fence too. This will be done to make it look like the other side, but not until later.

The space will be handy for compost bins and water butts in the meantime though.

For the front garden, it is facing directly north so doesn't get much direct sunlight for a lot of the year, and with the traffic (vehicular and pedestrian) I'm not sure about having stuff growing there. Although to be fair I hadn't given it much thought so far!

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2016
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Well, I did not realise I'd left this that long without an update!

Progress has been slow over winter, as it is with such projects once the cash starts to run out and the weather isn't great, the motivation just isn't there!

Over the last few months, I have insulated and boarded the shed, installed the lighting and mains ring. Here are a few pictures of the process.











As you can see, since the shed is in use, I keep having to move all sorts of stuff back and forth so I can get to the walls!

This week I will be finishing the boarding on the ceiling, get all the joints taped up, paint the walls and ceiling, and varnish the roof trusses.

Then on Monday I will receive the materials for the floor, I've decided against self-levelling compound and I am going for chipboard flooring and lino.

Once that's done I'll be able to put the furniture in the right place, build a workbench, and start getting the place tidy at last!

ETA: Oh and the electrics will be tidied up in conduits once everything is finished and painted, I won't be leaving all the wires dangling down!

Edited by Alex@POD on Tuesday 3rd May 14:19

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2016
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
There is a small access down the side of the house. This is my track bike so doesn't get out often anyway, my road bike lives out front (and probably won't fit down the side!).

This is going to be another project, modify the access so I can get it through easier. It is a shared access but thankfully the neighbour is on side to get the garden gates moved a bit.

Alex@POD

Original Poster:

6,166 posts

216 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2016
quotequote all
Yes that's right, I used concrete anchors, every 2m or so around the walls.

Your plan sounds good, definitely the way I'd go should I build another.

Another thing I'll do is use bigger beams for the roof structure, so I don't have to build trusses like that.