Building my own shed

[Steve]

Hi, so I'm going to be building my own shed. I'm planning it now. I recently went down to a shed place local to me, thinking "how bad can they be?" Well, if I want a shed made of balsa wood I know where to go.

So anyway, this shed I'm planning. It's going to be approx 16ft x 10ft with the side walls 6ft6 high and an apex roof to about 8ft high (or whatever looks "right" for the roof slope).

Its use will be varied. There will probably be a fridge, freezer and dryer in there, a workbench and storage for tools, bikes, garden stuff etc. We're having a boy in July and I want somewhere to "bond" with him when he's older. I hate all sports so I'm thinking some hobbies like electronics, model building etc, might be something we could get into. If not I've got a bloody good man cave.

My plan is to build a wooden insulated platform framed in 6x2 on 6 legs or piers (snooker table type layout). Surface this with 18mm ply.

Then I will build 6 frames (two each for the long sides and one each end) in 4x2 and join them all together with 4x4 fence posts (set so that these are visible on the outside and the cladding will butt up to them). The frames will be faced both sides with 12mm ply and insulated with kingspan. Does this need a vapour barrier? Inside or out? I will face the outside with horizontal featheredge. The two intermediate fence posts will be jointed together firmly at the top to prevent spread and give a middle support for the ridge beam.

For the roof, I intend to fix a length of 6x2 end to end at the ridge, then cut each of the 4x2 rafters to suit at 2ft intervals. Surface with 12mm ply, insulated with 100mm kingspan and fix 12mm ply underneath too. Does the roof need a vapour barrier?

I'll then wire it up and fit it out internally. I might even paint it inside. For the doors and windows, I plan to get hold of second hand uPVC units.

Could I use cheaper sheet material such as OSB anywhere? Or everywhere? I've just priced up all the plywood I need and it'd cost over a grand just for ply (B&Q prices).

Is there a better way to do anything I've said here?

Are the timber dimensions I've quoted sufficient?

For the roof, I want to use felt shingles - I will lay a layer of normal felt under this. Should I use adhesive? Is metal sheet roofing hard to work with? A local shed supplier offers this as an option.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Steve

 

[motorbiking]

Be careful that you don't creep on the dimensions if you plan to place it close to the boundary of your garden/land as my rough sums suggest its close to the 15m2 limit. it sounds more like a garden room/man cave.. it wouldn't cost too much to buld a decent one.. Most of the cost is in the insulation and ground work..

have a look at this: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQ8mKMs
cost me about £4k

 

[Steve]

Looks good. That looks more leisure than what I'm planning. I'm after more of a functional shed. It's going to have a single upvc or wooden door and a single window.

I think for a start I might skip the insulation and internal finish and do that at a later date as and when I can afford it. I can do the frame and external ply for about a grand. Feather edge will then cost about £300.

The shed is going right in the corner of the garden against two boundaries. Are there any rules I should be aware of?

A further complication comes with the shape of that corner. It is about 110 degrees so one of the sides will be about 400mm longer than the other as I intend to follow the corner shape. This might cause issues with the roof but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

[motorbiking]

You need to think about a flat roof option to maximise your internal space if you want 6'6" internal height. The max height must be under 2.5M if within 2M of the boundary and it needs to be under 15M2 floor area to avoid building control. Apart from that your electrics need to be approved/signed off/tested. Or you just put a plug on the end of the outbuilding power cable. Ebay is the best place to get windows and doors. My window was £30 and the the door not much more, but the door locks were expensive relatively.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings/2

 

[Steve]

The electrics will be done by an electrician. He is already aware of my intention and left a spare MCB in the consumer unit he fitted last year.

16ft is about 5 metres? 10ft is 3m, so inadvertently I'm actually building a 15sqm shed, on the limit. I might take your advice on the flat roof option. It'll be cheaper and save on guttering too. I'm a fan of ebay so I will definitely use that for sourcing some items.

 

[motorbiking]

I wouldn't skip on a gutter, you can't see it in the photos, but there is a gutter running along the rear connected to a downpipe in to a soak away running away from the building. The risk is the water runs off and causes rot on the walls you can't access.

 

[Steve]

I just meant I'd only need one gutter instead of two

 

[scbk]

The first thing is don't buy timber from B&Q.

Ply is probably overkill, most timber frame houses use OSB.
But even then, you can build a nice dry shed with just cladding on a frame of 3x2 or whatever

Yes metal roofing (box profile or corrugated iron) is very easy to work with, and will last a long time. Just bare in mind minimum pitch angles etc

 

[cwhaley]

Sounds a great idea. Wish I had the money to do the same!

Get down the local timber yard and start talking to them there, rather than the DIY chain stores. If they know they'll get a decent order for something like this they are much more open to negotiation on price and when you get to know them, they don't mind doing free cuts too. Much better way to go.