Ubershed project!

[Malt_Vinegar]

I decided that I needed a building in my garden that would allow me to store the motorbikes I am currently working on, and also be somewhere warm to work on them in the winter to make "out of season" projects a little more fun and practical naturally, I wanted to electronics, heating, insulation, and a nice solid floor!

Of course, having never been involved in building anything other than stuff that moves on wheels, i decided to do all the work myself, and start in late October to give me maximum weather compliance.

Regardless, My current shed situation was not conducive to such a plan, so this had to change. I had two sloping roof old sheds in the back corner, and they were sat on a makeshift hard-standing/part concrete base.

The smaller of the two was worth saving, but the larger was essentially dead, rotten roof, and one corner was holed, with water seeping in. I did toy with the idea of rebuilding it, but since I wanted something larger, it seemed to make more sense to replace it. So i scoured the minefield of Facebook marketplace to find a nice looking shed secondhand, as new prices were, frankly, mental!

Finally found an 8x10 that was for sale from a local couple, and they needed it shifting FAST. So I did what any sensible person would do..

I borrowed the wife's estate, and took it home on the roof in stages

I think it took 4 trips in total, no mishaps on the way!

The widest panels I had to take were the short sides with the angles for the roof:

Took for some careful navigation, but it was only a 5 mile journey on small roads No damage to the car of shed was sustained in the process, much to my wife's relief.

Next was the easy bit.. Unfortunately, my property only has rear access through my garage.. Which meant that none of the larger panels would fit... Still, I had a flat roof over the garage, and some rope, ratchet straps a (very slight, just over 5 feet tall, but suprising strong) Mrs to help.

There are no pictures of "The Raising" but with some jiggery pokery worthy of Heath Robinson or perhaps the A-team all the panels were raised, by me lifting from the roof with ropes, dragged over the flat roof, and deposited safely to the other side.


The old sheds had to be removed, and moved, respectively.

Mid-ripping down the old big shed with its rotten roof and other bits.

Didn't take too long, and we had a nice bonfire

Now to rip this abomination up. It seemed to consist of MANY different materials, from concrete, to broken slabs, and basically whatever that found that was not soil, and just lobbed it in, and compacted it down. The concrete was actually half decent, but just too small to be any good, and not exactly where I needed it, or the right size. I toyed with the idea of integrating it, but decided to just pull it all up in the end.

These bits all took a long time, breaking up the concrete:

Since I was not planning to use the old base that came with the shed, I was going full concrete, i used the old floor that was chopped in 2 as a way to work out the footprint to work out where I needed to dig/level/take out.

More digging out:

View of the work area, using the old base as a rubble dump:

Yet more digging out:

A couple of locals kept getting stuck in my hole, had to move them out of harms way quite a few mornings before work started or the dog decided to have a play with them.

She did have her uses though:

Got down to decent soil in the entire escavation site, and the side manager inspecting proceedings:

I needed some boards for the shuttering: The audi A4 estate CAN fit 3 meter boards in without cutting, and with the boot closed:

A rough idea of the plan!

Hardcore and some MOT sub-base going in:

It seemed to need tonnes of the stuff:

I gave up with the bagged stuff, and bough a big bag, and got it delivered

This is a cool tool!! Went about 4 inches deep:

Next - Concrete!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The (second load of) sub-base, the cement, and also ballast were all delivered by lorry:

Then I started to learn how to mix cement for a shed base. Due to access restrictions, the Mrs was shovelling loads and wheel-barrowing them through the garage and utility room to me, whilst I mixed (borrowed the mixer from my dad), and laid the cement. A DPM was laid under the cement, because that's what you have to do, then we started to make a nice thick base!

I was worried I had miscalculated the materials, and each load was a nerve-wracking experience as their piles got smaller, and the gap they had to fill did not quite look small enough to make it work out!

I had some other help, and thankfully no doggy paw prints appeared during the various pours:

Laid and tamped! My first base

Then there was just the matter of letting it dry in the wonderfully hot British mid-November sun (frost)

So it had to be covered, and left for a week or so to give it a chance:

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

5 days later:

The shed panels were taken from under their tarps, and Construction started!

It went up surprisingly quickly:

The roof panels were looking a but worse for wear, so we stripped and re-felted them:

I took too few pictures during this process, but one was up, and then it started to rain!! So we had to sort of cover up the gap to protect the inside as best we could:

Both panels up, and we are watertight (ish)

Mostly dry, I had to add a roofing felt strip or two over the centre-line to stop anything seeping in. I did this by climbing over the roof and using roofing nails to whack it down. Slightly worried the whole thing might collapse under my weight, seeing as I built it, but it stayed put!

Now I had to work out how to get rid of this lot:

Some of the electrics stuff that was due to go in:

Working out the insulation, had to be cut quite tight to allow it to be fitted and leave an air-gap behind to help stop moisture getting in/condensation in the walls:

There was quite a lot residual humity from the still drying base, and drying out wood, so I had some fans on in there almost 24/7 during the insulation installation:

I did a couple of wood repairs, and preventative stuff whilst the structure was now up, and held in its correct shape:

Starting to come together:

Mostly done:

Door to be attacked later

 

[Zefan]

This is awesome

You mention the gap behind insulation for condensation, how is this made? I imagine some thin timber could be fixed inside the edge of each area to act as a spacer, but I feel like this is my "bodge" brain at work and there's a better solution! Is it just that it's tight enough that you can get away with it simply gripping the edge and you're just not pushing it all the way to the back?

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

This is awesome

You mention the gap behind insulation for condensation, how is this made? I imagine some thin timber could be fixed inside the edge of each area to act as a spacer, but I feel like this is my "bodge" brain at work and there's a better solution! Is it just that it's tight enough that you can get away with it simply gripping the edge and you're just not pushing it all the way to the back?

Cheers

So the gap is a funny thing. I tried to cut the insulation perfectly, but it was very time consuming and slow. So generally I cut it ever so slightly too big and used small wedges of insulation wedged against the wood to help with joins and some corners where it was hard to place accurately.

I suspect it's basically fine as long as most of the structure has an airgap ,as there is always a wooden bridge in the main beams, so it's never going to be perfect, but will help a lot with keeping the heat in and damp out.
I did a LOT of reading on this subject and found many different opinions, but followed the most common methods and it seemed to work out ok

 

[Zefan]

Nice. Just so I get it straight, there's no extra gapping material behind it, you're just using the outward "grip" of the insulation to hold it in place inside each are of timber frame?

I'm just like you, I'll spend a ludicrous mount of time looking this sort of stuff up when I come to doing it so every little piece of prior advice can save whole evenings of otherwise wasted time scrabbling around odd corners of the Internet.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Nice. Just so I get it straight, there's no extra gapping material behind it, you're just using the outward "grip" of the insulation to hold it in place inside each are of timber frame?

Exactly, except where there are joins, when i wedge a bit of insulation materials down the back (so to speak) to ensure the two separate bits line up, and it can also be used in the bottom/top corners to help space it away from the walls.

These little bits are bridging, but are so small (and made of insulation themselves) as to make no real difference in the cold light of day

it does not need to be perfect looking either, as they will be covered later anyway

 

[Zefan]

That makes sense to me, cheers! I assume it's much further along now, as base pour was November. Looking forward to seeing progress.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The floor is basically dry now, and ready for some apoint, i trimmed back the DPM that is tucked under the wood, and the sides were bolted into the conrete after drilling down into it, and using concrete bolts with big washers to hold it in place

I laid a primer first to help with adhesion, bus as this is not going to be the final layer, this did not need to be perfect, its mainly to help stop with dust creation under the flooring

Couple of coats, and its looking ok.

Whilst it was drying, I made up, and fitted some treated wood end panels to the roof:

Then I bought another shed, and took it all in one load on the roof of the trusty pickup truck:

Home, safe and sound:

The new shed is going to the right of the Ubershed, and next to the original small shed that survived, and was moved far right out of shot:

*edit, found a better photo... HERE!

The new shed is going next to the old here, on the right:



notice the mud-pile is gone!!

It went through here:

Knocked up some paving out the front of the shed with some reclaimed materials

Let it dry, and prettied it up a bit

Next up, was to get the electrics ready!

I did a lot of reading, and understanding of "safe areas" and wired it up as the guidelines published online, and also took some advice from an electrician who agreed to do the final hookup/inspection and certifications. The most work I have done with domestic electronics before was fitting sockets, and changing light fittings, so it was a fun little project working it all out, and making sure I didnt do anything that was make it an illegal or dangerous installations!

I had to drill, and feed the wiring through the insulation gaps in between the wooden joists, and ensure I keep everything in line and level with the sockets, and then ensure the cables do not stray below or above the designated "safe zones" defined in the guildelines.

This was mostly just mocked up and prepared so I could work it all out, i did run it from an extension at one point to test some stuff, and to run the fans for a little while.

Lighting plugs:

Working out socket locations in the insulation so i can make the required holes:

Other new shed base, working out where it will fit, but still leave me enough space to wheel a motorbike in and out:

Missed some pics here, but I laid down the 5mm foam insulation over the top of a layer of silver DPM/insulation fabric. This first layer was installed shiny side down, and then 5mm foam was laid and taped on top:

Joins were all taped:

The aim is to create a near air-tight bubble inside, to help lessen the chances of lots of moisture getting in:

Done, just needs taping too:

I installed the lights around this time, just hanging by their wires for now:

You can see the big roll of silver fabric barrier stuff in the background above, and installed here:

This took a bit of time, but i got faster as i went:

other side:

Second layer on the floor, shiny side up this time:

Lino going in!

Trimmed lino:

Some plasterboard going up:

progress:

Almost all barrier done:

Working around the lighting:

Buttoning up the last layers:

Done!

Now its time for more plasterboard. The weather was closing in fast, (January time iirc) and I was keen to get done asap! So i added the sockets where I could.

THEN - DISASTER!

I was sat in my office during a storm, at about 1am... It looks out over the garden, and through my headphones I hear an almighty CRACK and I look up, to see the roof is making a bid for freedom! Its lifting and pivoting on the centre. It seems a freak gust caught the underside of the front edge, and apparently twisted, and snapped the wood in the roof where it was screwed to the sides.

I frantically ran outside to make arrangements to pin the roof down. It had managed to land mostly back in place, but I manhandled it (mid storm in my dressing gown) and fought the wind, and laid some slabs on the roof to help stop the situation getting any worse:

Most of the roof insulation was cracked, and driopped, the lining was all torn and hanging down. I was pretty miffed and swore off it for a few days.

So it was looking like this for a while:

You can see here it actually split the woof in the sides where it was screwed in, so I am not sure there was much I could have done to improve it at the point of installation, as I essentially re-did it exactly how it has been installed at the last owners:

Both sides were like this:

It tore tight down to the lightswitch level:

mercifully, the otherside was mostly ok:

I added some extra long roofing nails at strategic points to help bring the structure together more tightly:

Heating in, plasterboard up and we are back on track! We even have a bike in there!!

The other side:

Lighting up on chains. I am not going to plasterboard the roof, I decided it was too much of a pain, and I like the NASA look, it also reflects a lot of light down into the room!

Furniture is appearing!

Working out the layout:

Second bike is in, Alexa is installed, and Wifi exended to cover the whole garden and sheds

That'ts pretty much as it stands today, with a few more bits and bobs on the shelves, and i have to get the entertainment/PC systems/screens installed next. I also covered the door, but no pics yet.

List of things to do:

Install Screen(s)
Change heater - This one defaults to 26 degrees whenever the power is shut off to the shed (which I dont do often, but its annoying)
install a kickboard on the door lower inside
Add some insulation seals around the door
Tidy up the window frames (toying with the idea of a perspex second glazing layer)

However, it is warm, dry, and the electronics work perfectly. So its been used for some work on the 400, and monkey, but I unexpectedly have room in my garage at the moment whilst one of the cars is having some work done, and as it is warm, i have not had to retreat into there too much during the spring so far

 

[AfrogoatST]

Awesome build! Out of interest where did you get the insulation board from? Also what did you use to extend the wifi down there or was it a straight booster plugged into a socket in the shed?

 

[Duke]

Great write-up, thanks for sharing

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Awesome build! Out of interest where did you get the insulation board from? Also what did you use to extend the wifi down there or was it a straight booster plugged into a socket in the shed?

I ordered the foam from Amazon 25mm foam sheets

I added a wireless AP to my office (where I have network), pointing out over the garden with a new SSID. Could go powerline, and might have a go when I have a PC in there later if the WiFi is not cutting it.

Great write-up, thanks for sharing

No worries! It's been a fun project, and hopefully might give some others some ideas, or clear up how it can be done on the cheap!

 

[Hedge]

The monkey bike is coolest thing to see here.

Good thread

 

[200sols]

When I saw the foil going on I though this was going to be a weed farm.

 

[Nevakonaza]

When I saw the foil going on I though this was going to be a weed farm.

This made me laugh

Great build though,love this kind of stuff hope to do my own one day,with electronics,heater,proper kitchen worktop bench in there etc for messing about with stuff..proper man shed.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

A year on since the base was done, it's still holding up well, it also houses a full height freezer so we can bulk buy from Costco and make some extra savings

No more weather related issues, it's warm and dry. I did add in a temperature controlled thermostat to the socket for the heater as the thing was so stupid. Anytime it lost power it would default to full heat on the digital settings, and make it into a sauna. I stopped trying to fix that, and just use the physical thermostat set to about 10 degrees just to stop it getting too chilly.

I also have a smart plug on it so I can see the power it is using at all times. I decided to change the home WiFi to a mesh, and I am hanging a powerline from one of those to a switch in the shed which works great over the nice thick cable that runs through the garden. I am running an old corporate PC (slightly upgraded) with a wall mounted monitor. I may add a mesh extender in there later if needed to help the Garden WiFi in the summer.

Couple of little niggles to work on, the plasterboard did not fair well on the back of the door, so I will redo that in wood which I have reclaimed from some old pallets.

Also the door is a little catchy around the base, so will sort that when doing the rest of the door stuff.

I am using it for riding on the turbo trainer a lot recently when the weather is not being nice, also punted out a couple of small bike restorations/fix ups using the shed as the main base of works. Right now it's got my CBR in there with the Monkey bike for their winter months hibernations.

Debating installing an exhaust hose/extraction device to let me run bikes up in there a little more safely, but for now I just open the door, lob some ducting on the exhaust, out of the door and put on a fan

I will add some pics later tonight once the kids are in bed!

 

[BigBoy]

Excellent update Malt! Out of interest why did you use plasterboard rather than OSB on the walls it would or worked out cheaper and improve frame strength in the long run?

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Excellent update Malt! Out of interest why did you use plasterboard rather than OSB on the walls it would or worked out cheaper and improve frame strength in the long run?

Cheers

Budget really, just used it to keep the costs down and try to make it feel a little less shed like. I found plasterboard cheaper than OSB!

I think I will change it at some point though. It makes wall mounting stuff a lot easier if it's OSB!

 

[Tattysnuc]

great little project write-up.
Am building a small garage for my bike(s) which I'd also like to use as a workshop for my woodworking, and this is very helpful to see the different elements of your build.

Great stuff.

 

[psd99]

looks good but omg is that a snake!? where did that come from
hope it is a pet!