Insulated Shed for gaming/office - help...

[b737]

I've ran out of room in my house and need more space for my office computer and gaming setup. I've got space outside (approx 23' x 7') and thought about getting a shed (10' x 7'). I would then insulate it to protect it from damp and cold, also providing electric to it. As I have not done this before so need some guidance and questions answering.

1. What is the best solution, i.e wood shed, metal shed, plastic shed, metal storage container etc?

2. How would I insulate the walls? I've heard preference to putting a vapour protection layer on, then leave 25mm of air gap, then 50mm of kingspan, then something in front of that (not sure what, plaster board, foil backed stuff / MDF etc.?) Is this the best approach

3. How would I insulate the ceiling and the floor?

4. What roof should I go for? Felt or corrugated?

5. The shed would need to be located about 8 inches from my gas flue.. Is this too close and could the fumes get into the shed...? How far would you recommend being away from it?

6. Where would I best bring the electric in? At the top of the shed or the bottom etc?

7. I live in the UK so weather can get cold in the winter. I plan to be in there 2-4 hours a week and when not in there the PC's will be switched off. I will have an electric fan heater or element heater to warm it up.. Is Damp or cold temperatures an issue for the IT kit?

8. I don't need any windows so it will increase security.

My budget is £1000 to get the shed and insulate it and hopefully provide the electrics. I contacted a know good shed company today and they wanted £1200 for a junior workshop (whatever that is and how does it differ from a shed I don't know) then they also wanted £1200 to insulate it. This is way over what I ever imagined. Am I being ripped off or am I under estimating what I really need to do?

Hope you can help?

Thanks

 

[motorbiking]

Did something very similar myself last year

Cost me about 4k - would have been about half if I'd gone less OTT with the insulation, waterproofing.

Its a bit bigger than you plan 5M x 4M
1 Insulated concrete slab - 6m2 (I went a bit ott)
1 wooden frame 4x4 and 4x2 mostly
clad in ply and t&g
celotex 100mm (I'd go 70mm if I was doing it again) 20+ boards
a soak away and some guttering

I think 1.5-2K is reasonable for the size you are thinking about

things that cost a lot more than you think are items like insulation, roofing felt and concrete. The cladding I thought was going to be expensive but actually wasn't

 

[b737]

Interesting... Its more than I want to take on.. I could just about handle getting a shed, putting it on some 2x3 wood to raise it off the ground, then insulating it (no concrete floor for me)..

Did you put a vapour protection layer in, or just go for the celotex? If so what gap did you leave between insulation and walls?

 

[motorbiking]

Its marine ply at the back where you can't see and softwood t&g on the sides you can. All treated with wood stain/preserver and then painted. The celotex is foil backed both sides and the internal finish is plasterboard. I used mastic to seal all the wood joints, basically just like you would a conservatory. The roof is double underlay and double overlay, the floor has a DPM which I ran up the sides to about half way. The roof overhangs so very little water ever gets on the walls.

 

[b737]

Hi, couple more questions:-

1. Did you leave an air gap between the celotex and the wall?
2. Did you install any form of extractor fan to get air movement when required?
3. Did you install electric in the shed, if so where was the ingress point?

Thanks

 

[motorbiking]

1 about 5mm just because I forgot that 100mm joists are actually 95mm when dried so I used 12mm ply strips to pack where the plaster boards screws went. as the celotex is a true 100mm. I wouldn't Call it an air gap tho
2 no
3 yes.

I installed a ring with 4 double sockets, fused 13A via a garage consumer unit and lights off this on a 5A currently on a plug awaiting electricians to do the checks. cable is rated 20a. there is a fan heater hardly used as I think the U value is .25 or less. but when I need ventilation I open he doors.

 

[motorbiking]

It would be worth you looking at SIPS too, this was my first option, but because of the tight access, I was worried I wouldn't be able to clad the SIPS after erecting them, hence I built them with outside complete and then screwed them to my timber frame.

SIPS by the way are pre-fabricated Foam panels sandwiched between two OSB chip board panels, which are then screwed together on-site. There are SIPS providers that will produce insulated sheds well in your budget, but you do then have to add waterproofing etc.

 

[b737]

Do you have any links to these SIPS providers?

 

[motorbiking]

I nearly went with this guy
http://www.simplysips.co.uk

 

[b737]

Thanks. I thought they may make the sheds or offer designs but it would seem not... I'll keep looking but starting to struggle to find something suitable really. I'm not at log cabins and looking at this type of thing:-

https://dunsterhouse.co.uk/premiumplus-carsare-w3-5m-x-d2-5m

Any experiences with this company? Or suggestions of other similar companies...

 

[motorbiking]

have a watch of this

or this one
https://sipsecopanels.co.uk/uses/sips-garden-rooms/#!prettyPhoto[garden-rooms]/7/

 

[lukieno1]

already have a 5m x 3m timber shed in the garden, came with the house I bought so i've got a decent head start problem is the previous owners didn't bother insulating it at all...........so it's like an oven in the summer and an icebox in the winter.

Friend works for a well-known PIR insulation manufacturer so he's sorting me loads of boards free as OMG they are expensive so that'll take a big sting out of the cost.

I just seem to be getting confused by the fine details........seen a few different ways of doing it.

Can anyone explain the difference between a warm roof and a cold roof......with or with out a gap etc

Also when you create the air gap does it need to be vented somewhere to stop damp?

Also seen one guy build his internal frame only fixed to the floor to allow for vertical expansion/contraction........how necessary is this on something thats already had time to 'settle' so to speak

I'll start my own thread too so not meaning to hijack this one, it's just my questions might provide the right answers for the OP too

 

[lukieno1]

Did something very similar myself last year

Cost me about 4k - would have been about half if I'd gone less OTT with the insulation, waterproofing.

Its a bit bigger than you plan 5M x 4M
1 Insulated concrete slab - 6m2 (I went a bit ott)
1 wooden frame 4x4 and 4x2 mostly
clad in ply and t&g
celotex 100mm (I'd go 70mm if I was doing it again) 20+ boards
a soak away and some guttering

I think 1.5-2K is reasonable for the size you are thinking about

things that cost a lot more than you think are items like insulation, roofing felt and concrete. The cladding I thought was going to be expensive but actually wasn't

how much did your doors cost and where did you get them mate?

 

[motorbiking]

I bought them off ebay - they are wickes 6' wide softwood, I then had to buy the mechanisms which cost be about £100 as I wanted a 5 point setup.

Where are you based? I have two sets of hardwood wickes french doors that I was going to bung on ebay. A 6' wide pair and a 4' pair. Open to offers.