A new inventing shed arrives - build thread

[FridgeFreezer]

Thought people may enjoy some softcore shed porn

No sooner had I got my workshop as I wanted it than we moved house, so once the dust had died down and the credit card had stopped coughing up blood it was time to make some space for inventing.

Upon removal of 34 huge Leylandii we uncovered a small shed cowering in the corner:



One Freecycle advert later (and far too long spent painting the bl**dy fence):


A bit of (very) amateur carpentry later and a visit from ABJ Minimix (who come highly recommended):

The nice man from ABJ introduced me to the wheelie-bin as a sturdier alternative to the wheelbarrow for concrete transport as apparently they're less prone to collapse than wheelbarrows.

After a lot of weighing up of options, wandering local shed emporia, etc. we plumped for Midland Sheds who sell via eBay.


The criteria were:
10x12ft, tongue-and-groove rather than the usual wafer-thin shiplap-and-matchsticks, decent construction, treated wood, and some windows.
The shed ended up coming in at ~£900 delivered and assembled, which was knocking half the price of the next nearest equivalent. It's a bit rougher round the edges but nothing a bit of effort with the sander couldn't sort, it's really solid, and for £800 saving I can live with a few rough edges.
It was delivered insanely quickly, and assembled in the time of 3 cuppas by two guys with the thickest black-country accents I've ever heard.

Inside view - all the beams are 3x2's:


As this is going to be an inventing shed (not a metal-bashing one) some comfort was called for. While I was very busy off-roading at Seven Sisters, SWMBO got busy treating the floor with industrial-strength "Death to everything and a curse on moisture and all its children" wood preservative on the grounds that we only want to do it once. After that, a roll of DPM was wrestled into submission and I completely justified the purchase of a new staple gun after the first few panels:


While weighing up insulation options, Astro Al stepped in to swing the vote by offering a pile of surplus polystyrene sheets and plasterboard he wanted gone from his yard - what a smashing chap, and what a load of pennies it saved. This was half the load arriving (thanks must also go to Dave for the loan of the trailer):

It did prove to be a little more than we needed, I still have enough left to insulate & board my 8m x 5m steel workshop and we had to go to two different tips to dispose of the remaining ~75 sheets of plasterboard (admittedly many of which were quite dented - we used the best first).

For cutting the polystyrene sheets, I looked round at heated wire cutters - there are model-making ones out there for £50, but a browse round eBay turned up 1m of nichrome wire for £1.99 delivered. Some more (very) amateur carpentry and wiring produced this beastie with a ~600mm throat:


Test piece proves successful:

Power was supplied by a lab PSU, I found 6 amps was perfick.

Many, many hours later - cutting huge WHITE sheets of stuff on the hottest-day-of-the-year is a good way to tan yourself stupid and induce snow-blindness:

You may notice the wiring for lights and whatnot is already tucked in. It was surprisingly noticeable in the blazing sun that the further across the roof we got, the cooler the shed got.

Hardboard for the ceiling for lightness (improved cornering & side-slope ability) plus double twin tube HF battens (no one ever said "I wish my workshop was darker").


18mm T&G chipboard over polystyrene insulation over DPM to go on the floor:






Plasterboard on the walls then attack with the emulsion:


Power, lights, carpet - the cheap stuff from Carpet Rite is all of £50 for a 3x4m end-of-roll - nearly ready for the scatter cushions and soft furnishings:



That's all the photos but not all the story, a fair few tweaks have been made in the name of comfort & security. I won't detail the security ones (but PM me if you have questions), the rest are:

Electrics - fed from armoured cable via a separate feed off the house's board, into an MCB in the shed with RCD and breakers for lighting & sockets.

Internets - a cat5 cable fed from the house to a LAN socket in the shed.

Tube-type electric frost heater with frost stat

Foam insulation tape around all doors & windows

Blinds on the windows

It will be getting gutters & downpipes too, to stop water splashing up & rotting the base, but for now we're concentrating on getting it all up & running and some of the junk out of the house.

[Anderzander]

Look marvellous !

[snailracer]

Now that is a shed!

[Maverik]

cutting huge WHITE sheets of stuff on the hottest-day-of-the-year is a good way to tan yourself stupid and induce snow-blindness:

hehe this had me laughing rather loud. great wee write up and awesome looking shed/budwaa.

[Daan]

Like the polystyrene cutter, very doctor Who. When are you moving in?

Daan

[dirtydiesel]

If only you put that much effort into finishing off the 109!!!!!!

[studmuffin]

Not only is that softcore shed porn - its another one to add to 50 Sheds of Grey. I want one.

Barry

[Landy-Novice]

we too got a new shed/workshop from ebay. but in the flavor of 20"X12". cost just over £1400 delivered and assembled. first week, half inch gaps appeared in the tongue and groove. and as soon as it rained outside. it poured inside. so after a swift phone call and 3 weeks waiting, they have just finished stapling ( ) another layer of felt. they blame "a dodgy batch of roofing felt" LOL. they filled in some of the gaps with silicon, that wont last more than a few months. overall, mum is pretty upset but never mind. only took her a year and a half to save the money. and got a large pile of **** to show for it. had my mate who is a master builder to have a look and what do you think of it. he laughed and walked away.

and not to mention 2 mths earning loss as it cant be fitted. probably now owes up and about £2500.

just hope yours is better and wont be such a headache like ours.

[Aragorn]

You might want to look into polystyrene and PVC electrical cable.

From what i've read, the two really dont get on, and the PVC cabling should be installed inside conduit when mounted in/on polystyrene due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the PVC and the polystyrene, which damages the PVC cable!

[CwazyWabbit]

You might want to look into polystyrene and PVC electrical cable.

From what i've read, the two really dont get on, and the PVC cabling should be installed inside conduit when mounted in/on polystyrene due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the PVC and the polystyrene, which damages the PVC cable!

Yep, seen that happen, they sort of become one with each other IIRC

[TheRecklessEngineer]

Looking good FF.

I've finally insulated and plasterboarded my 'inventing shed' - which is really just an upstairs space in my workshop. It's amazing the difference it makes.

I am kicking myself that I didn't put down underfloor heating pipework in the concrete floor though. I can't think of anything that would make lying on a concrete floor a more pleasant experience.

[discomikey]

nice! i wish my workshop was that warm!

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

and the credit card had stopped coughing up blood

:rofl:

Looking v nice, worth all the effort

Not moving again then for a while ? ..............

[FridgeFreezer]

Yep, seen that happen, they sort of become one with each other IIRC

Well it's behind the plasterboard now, as long as it doesn't dissolve and catch fire it can stay there as I'm not stripping it out!

Landy-Novice - the T&G does vary a bit with the humidity, but they always will. The roof is marine ply with felt over, so more stable hopefully. As I said, the construction is a bit basic / rough finished but seems as solid as others costing twice as much. We saw plenty of quite ropey ones costing twice as much too!

[Cynic-al]

Looks good. I got a 12x8 from timberlux via eBay. £580 including delivery from Cannock to S****horpe and erection. Gave me the install date when I ordered it and they stuck to it despite a 12 week queue.

Live the hot wire cutter! You think you have a polystyrene problem...

Lol

[miketomcat]

If only you put that much effort into finishing off the 109!!!!!!

I'm saying nothing :-X

Mike

[FridgeFreezer]

If only you put that much effort into finishing off the 109!!!!!!

The 109 now lives 50 miles away from me, it kinda gets in the way of just nipping out to the workshop of an evening to work on it

Next on the list is extending the garage so the 109 can come home, but that involves more expense and construction and possibly planning permission.

[landroversforever]

That looks great Fridge :-)

[Bowie69]

FF, very very nice, been looking for sheds myself, a larger stronger one, but mainly to store bikes and other assorted garden/loft junk.

Did you have to involve an electrician for the external electrics, or are you certified for Part P already?

[Cynic-al]

He can do the work himself and get the building inspector (or his appointed representative) to approve it I believe...

Or just have a 3 pin 13 amp plug on the end and do as he likes

[Bowie69]

Of course they are options, was curious how FF handled it though

[FridgeFreezer]

My other shed I got an electrician to install ~2ft of cable from the house fusebox to a 32A commado socket on the exterior wall and just plugged the shed in but that was mainly because the electrician (who is also plumber & gas tech) was round servicing the boiler, otherwise I'd have done it myself.

This one is hard-wired, I'm not certified but I figure it's just about within my capabilities, if it's ever an issue I'd do as above and put it on a commando socket or disconnect it.

I'm hoping that with the main incomer breaker, a 32A breaker in the fusebox, then an MCB incomer in the shed plus separate breakers for the sockets and lighting in the shed fusebox it's not going to burst into flames too easily.

Do the regs cover temporary outbuildings?

[Bowie69]

I don't for one minute doubt your competence I would do the same and get it checked after installation, though technically you are supposed to inform building control before you start work... red tape in it's finest form...

It states 'outdoors' or 'garden' (and bathroom/kitchen/wetroom), and includes sheds taking a source from a dwelling, so pretty clear, I think:

http://electrical.theiet.org/building-regulations/part-p/faqs.cfm

Only applies to new circuits, so you can still replace that faulty shower/socket/light fitting in any of the above.

[A Twig]

Yeah, Part P is a ****. Absolute money making scam IMO, but hey ho...

M'learned friend is right, you have to notify LBC, submit plans, get them approved, then be inspected after first fit. LBC are within their rights to make you rip stuff out if you get an arsey one. Hypothetically, if you had a hypothetical friend, who happended to be Part P, who had hypothetically "done the work for you" and would sign it off for some non monetary reciprocal arrangement... jobs a good 'un.

[Anderzander]

If you've used old coloured wiring then it could have been done years ago ?