Building your own shed/workshop

This one's at the budgeting stage right now...

Next year, I would like to build my own workshop from scratch - simple timber construction, insulated and very very strong. I need a weird shape to avoid planning issues (the >5m rule from house rule - I need a chopped off 45 degree corner on one bit) so standard offerings are unlikely to be much good. And it will be fun to build something structural from scratch :)

Any tips on a good source of wood that's solid, stable and inexpensive?

(I reckon I would need a few 6x2's for the floor beams, 4x2" or 3x3 for roof and walls and something to clad the outside).

I was thinking decking timber for the structural bits and the floors as it's fairly ubiquitous. Is there a better source and how much might I expect to pay per metre for say 4x2" ish (so I know what to shoot for).

The whole thing will sit on brick or concrete bearer walls so I can store long things (ladders) underneath and get good airflow. I'll be insulating it and lining the inside walls too.

Ta

Tim

Reply to
Tim S
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That rule doesn't exist anymore does it (at least in England)

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Reply to
Airsource Ltd

Airsource Ltd wibbled:

Reply to
Tim S

From memory, the new rules are even more relaxed. You best check on the planning portal but believe that the size is not related to distance from the boundary but is something like 50% of ther garden!! The distance from the boundary does impact height though and whether building regs is also required.

thanks

Lee.

Reply to
Lee Nowell

1st rule of sheds / workshops: they are never big enough!
Reply to
John Rumm

I used 3x2 framing on the last one I did, with 19mm shiplap on the outside, and 12mm ply lining - that was massively over engineered and very strong. I used 4x2 for the ridge beam and the floor bearers (but I had lots of pad bricks on a slab).

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Reply to
John Rumm

The planning rules have recently been relaxed. It would be well worth your while going and talking to the planners before you go any further.

Peter Crosland

Reply to
Peter Crosland

Tim There was a query here on the 7th August on "Concrete base - reinforcement" to which I gave a fairly extensive reply on shed building based on 30 plus years of maintaining and building sheds. That may be of use to you.

I did get a hard time from a similarly aged friend recently for my over-engineering on the grounds that he wanted his structure to last the rest of his possible occupation of that house and beyond that he didn't care. He did argue quite logically that he wasn't building a shed for 2 generations hence !

Rob

Reply to
Rob G

John Rumm wibbled:

Can I add a cellar?

Talking of which, someone once told me that subterranian buildings didn't need planning permission. Wonder if that was an urban myth?...

Reply to
Tim S

John Rumm wibbled:

Nice :)

Reply to
Tim S

Rob G wibbled:

Found it - that was very interesting - thanks Rob.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Yes, that's brilliant!

As for a shed never being big enough: I built one of 3x2.4m (it fits against the existing brick shed of the same size), so doubled my space. Get it sorted out and tidy - my cousin turns up with her old kitchen units and fills the place! I couldn't refuse and they're better than mine, but then a couple of friends turn up and are staying intermittently for several weeks, so I can't move the units.

I need another shed...

Reply to
PeterC

Yes.

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Reply to
John Walliker

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Hi John Good to see some detailing photos - that was quite a major garden reconstruction operation. Well done. I wish I could find an excuse to have a go with a mini digger !

Couple of comments though on the workshop construction - and I will admit that these are thoughts based on the shed lasting a lifetime or more. I made efforts to make sure that the insulation didn't touch the inner side of the weatherboarding and ensure that there was the possibility of air circulation on the inside of the wood and roof lining. And I'm also sensitive about condensation within the insulation and correspondingly put a dpm under the lining (OSB in my case). The moisture level won't be as high as in a house but then the not-in-use temperature will be lower.

Just out of interest, why did you go for a wooden floor as I've always avoided them having seen too many rotten ones?

Rob

Reply to
Rob G

It sounds like you have an imagination problem, rather than a lack of a task for a digger problem! There is always a reason if you try hard enough! ;-) (the real skill is getting SWMBO to suggest it!)

(especially if you go for the small ones - 700 - 850kg class. You can get them pretty much anywhere). ;-)

(diggers - just one of those things that have to be done!)

Yup ideally a visqueen sheet or something could have gone there - or probably better still something breathable. I worked on the principle that using expanded poly it was going to be fairly impermeable anyway.

I added some ventilation and heating as well - the latter controlled on a stat set at a low temperature. That stops tools ect getting damp.

Mostly for comfort of working. It was intended to be a workshop rather than just a shed, so something that was warmer and smooth underfoot seemed attractive. I also made sure the whole structure was off the floor so air could circulate under it. That meant the floor also kept the draft out! The smooth surface made sweeping up easy as well - although bag of latex SLC would probably fix ordinary concrete in that respect.

As to longevity, I may never find out since I don't live there any more. I expect it will last better than most though!

Reply to
John Rumm

It's a lot of fun :-)

How big is this thing going to be? If it's a sizeable workshop I'd be very tempted to go for a concrete floor and lower walls (i.e. up a couple of feet from ground level) - point noted about ladder storage, however. I just like solid floors in workshops, not something that might be prone to vibration or moisture issues.

Typical on this side of the Pond is pretty much that - something substantial for the floor (2x6 or 2x8 with 1/2" or 3/4" board atop, or solid concrete) then 2x4 for the framing / roof with 3/8" or 1/2" particle board on top of that. Cover with some sort of moisture barrier and then some sort of wood / vinyl / aluminium cladding over the top. You can insulate from the inside between the framework and then clad that in whatever you fancy, too.

Untreated 2x4's in 8' lengths are less than $2 here at the local DIY shed

- which is what, about £1.20? (be intersting to know how that does compare to UK price at the Sheds, actually)

5'x8' 3/8" board works out at less than £5 - I don't recall how much more the thicker stuff is.

Insulation's dirt cheap for a big roll. It's the moisture barrier material, cladding on top of that, and whatever you cover the roof with which pushes the cost up.

Personally I can't wait to tear our old double garage down and rebuild it, and also get stuck into fixing our barn (one of those classic old US arched-roof affairs). I've got a floor to raise in our back porch and a deck to build first, though ;-)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

Jules coughed up some electrons that declared:

:)

About 15m2 +/- (we won't be too pedantic about planning - as long as it looks about right to the neighbours...)

Planed definately costs more in 2x4 (having bought that recently). Don;t see so much rough sawn in my local places, unless it's really crap gardening grade stuff.

I was considering celotex, but it's probably cheaper to use bigger wood to compensate for glass wool being a poorer insulator. Or use polystyrene.

Cool - enjoy :)

Reply to
Tim S

John Rumm wibbled:

Ok - Decking joists 4x2" can be had for 1.30 ish per metre inc VAT and 6x2" for about 2 quid/m online.

Flooring (decking boards) is also cheap.

But - can I ask how much 19mm shiplap can be had for at a sensible price? Wickes is quoting about 15 quid / m2 and as you can imagine, the wall area is high so that adds up to more than the rest of the wood.

A 15m2 2.5m high "shed" to any random design:

So far, I can build a frame and base for about £351 over engineered with

4x2" walls and roof and 6x2" floor, all assuming 400mm spacing (not allowing wastage and braces and fiddly bits).

Floor covering costs about another £294. But the wall cladding is reckoning up at about £750!!

And I haven't costed in the ply for the roof and internal cladding nor the auxillary bits like felt, plastic barrier and insulation...

I think I'm right that decking joists and decking board floor is the way to go for cheapness and solidity but I need a better estimate and source for my cladding or it's all getting a bit expensive.

Recommendations? I hate buying wood - so much effort needed to avoid botty piracy.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Tim S wibbled:

Oh - just found some:

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like £9.50/m2 for 16mm tanalised. That's better :)

Reply to
Tim S

Hmm, no plans to ever sell? I had the impression that not dotting the i's and crossing the t's was a big no-no these days in the UK because it could really mess things up at selling time... CBW, though.

Yeah, this is all planed. The good stuff's pretty good, the downside is that there are always a few horrors that creep into the pile (enormous knots or really warped boards), so it pays to sort through at the store and get a good load.

I found a label on one of my off-cuts, but it wasn't exactly a lot of help. Poking around the Shed's website suggests it's probably Southern Yellow Pine, but that's by no means definite.

(Oh, and FYI the pressure-treated 2x4's are $2.97 for an 8' length at the nearby Shed - so £1.80 or thereabouts. I might be tempted to use some of that around a doorway where it might catch some rain / moisture occasionally, although it's probably just as easy to treat the normal stuff with some brush-on gloop after building)

moisture barrier

I thought polystyrene wasn't supposed to be as good as glass wool, just a bit easier to work with - BICBW. (I don't have much in the 'surplus' pile to compare with - the poly stuff that I have laying around is indeed worse than the glass wool I have, but then it's also only around

1 1/2" deep, compared to the glass wool at about 3 1/2")

I think blown paper fibre's actually supposed to be quite good on the price/performance front and has a nice recycling feel to it, but having lots of paper in the walls of a workshop makes me a bit jittery.

The barn's going to be interesting - 40' up to the roofline, plus I need to do some work on the frame behind the end wall, and shoring that much weight up while working on it will be fun.

The new porch floor and deck are trivial in comparison... which might actually be a key to good DIY - always have a harder project lined up so that the current one seems really easy ;-)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

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