New workshop project about to start

[Kris the Handyman]

I've been calculating the pitch on the workshop and unless I can ask BT Openreach to move the telephone cable higher up then I won't be able to put tiles on the roof. I've emailed them and I hope for the best as it's a simple job.

 

[deema]

I built my new workshop which is an industrial building two years ago, admittedly it’s a lot larger than what is proposed but it worked out at just under £30 / square foot finished by a contractor including insulated concrete floor and 3ph electrics. The actual building (steel frame, cladding, roof lights and doors) itself cost £7.4 / square foot. The reason for bringing it up is that since having it built I was very surprised by how inexpensive the cladding was. The cladding and roof lights all have 100mm of insulation built in. The price per square foot was far cheaper than I could have clad the building in shiplap wood excluding any membrane, insulation etc etc. There is a good range of colours available and I’ve always wondered why this material isn’t used for workshop garden sheds. (The thickness of insulation can be specified) it meets none flammability rules (boundary requirements), it’s very easy to cut, fix, and should the need arise replace. Its fully waterproof, won’t rot and fully insulated. It can be used to clad a simplified wooden frame that will be cheaper than the frame for the same shed that is wooden clad.

Just a thought.

 

[Kris the Handyman]

Thanks for that. What kind of cladding is it? I couldn't work it out from your post.
Did you mean that it DOES meat flammability requirements or it does not?

Cheers

 

[deema]

Sorry, it does meet fire retardant requirements.

I selected a dark green to tone in with the fields and not stick out. It’s 10 foot to the eves which is all I need and makes it harder to spot and also easier to heat. The roof lights coupled with white walls really provide superb lighting. I don’t have any widows for added security and don’t miss the potential extra light.

The roller shutter door is also insulated. The workshop provides really good sound insulation as it’s near neighbors.

I don’t have any shots of the workshop other than when it was going up. It’s around 1500 sq/feet.

 

[deema]

I would also like other posts recommend going for planning, it’s not difficult and if your in England they don’t seem to care about the size as long as it’s within the boundaries of your house. You can then build a smaller shed than you have planning for that is capable of being extended to the maximum size you have planning for. Once you’ve started planning is for ever. I’d move the shed right up to your boundaries and also consider what else you or the next person may build upon the spot the shed will be located.

 

[Kris the Handyman]

That looks impressive but would look too industrial for my area. If I were in a detached house out in the sticks that would be ideal.

I don't have any problem with applying for planning permission but also no need. In Scotland we can build up to 4m high without it and up to the boundary if the eaves are not higher 2.5m - which is exactly what I'm aiming for. Building Regs on the other hand say that if I'm building 1m or less to the boundary then the external cladding has to be fire resistant and that's where the cement fibre external cladding would come in place. So all good here

The are only 2 things that I'm still trying to work out
1. Whether to go flat/sloping roof or pitched
2. What external colour scheme to go for

 

[Kris the Handyman]

I need some advice on concrete. With a 30 sqm slab would I be cheaper and quick enough with a cement mixer or would it be better to order a truck? I'm on my own either way

 

[Steve Maskery]

Order it. Get it all well prepared and order it. They can mix up just enough on-site, so you don't pay for more than you need and you are not left with a hole of just a couple of feet.

 

[Dandan]

Definitely order the concrete, I had a 30 sqm slab to pour and I couldn't imagine doing it with a mixer! Also get some help if you can, the more the better, there were 2 and a half of us (one with a bad back) when we had the concrete delivered and we couldn't level it fast enough and ended up significantly overfilling, I reckon I wasted nearly half a cubic metre which I had to shovel back out.

In unrelated topics, does anyone want a large loft water tank completely filled with concrete...?

 

[Kris the Handyman]

Thanks guys for the advice.

Dandan so are you saying you went all the way up into the loft with the excess concrete? :lol:

Steve from reading your topic I think you had a few people helping with the wheelbarrows. Looking at this today I think I will be on my own so I would either need to be really really quick or lucky

What's the cost of such an exercise per sqm?

 

[powertools]

Having quickly scanned this thread I would suggest that if you think you can lay that much concrete on your own you would be better off not trying to build it.

 

[Steve Maskery]

IIRC I spent about £1200 on 64 m2. But we had two loads, one to extend the footprint of the original garage and then a second later on to screed the lot. The depth varied from 2" to more than 6", so it is quite difficult to say how many cubic metres it was.
But even just barrowing the stuff was hard work, let alone mixing it as well.

 

[MikeG.]

Readymix is roughly £100/ cu m for a full load (6 cu m)*. 30 sq m by what depth? 100mm deep and you'd knock that up reasonably easily, particularly if you have someone pushing it roughly into place for you as you barrow back and forth. However, if you can't get your materials delivered adjacent to the formwork, then that would turn into something of an ordeal. I've mixed up 8 cubic metres in a day, with a friend, and that was seriously hard work.

*Budget price. Obviously this varies greatly.

 

[Kris the Handyman]

Having quickly scanned this thread I would suggest that if you think you can lay that much concrete on your own you would be better off not trying to build it.

I think I'll be alright, thanks for your concern though =D>

Steve and Mike - thank you. The closest the truck could get to the form is about 30m. I will try and get my brother or my neighbour to help

The build should start in a couple weeks time

 

[Kris the Handyman]

It's been a long time but the house move took longer than I anticipated and there was lots to do in the new house before I could start on the workshop. The time has come to start the project. Some pics from yesterday. Today the weather wasn't great so nothing was done.

1. Get rid off the old shed and all rubbish

 

[flying haggis]

Kris, re the BT cable, cut it off at the house end and when you ring up BT to order a new phone line tell them "it was like that when we moved in" they will then have to reroute it to clear your shed

 

[Setch]

I did the Base shown below with my dad and a friend, and it was hard, hard work, starting at sparrows fart and finishing after dark.

The friend in question started emphatically that he never wanted to do any concreting again, ever. He is still a friend though!

Just take a look at the bags of aggregate in the first pic,for a not very large, or thick, base. I really wouldn't fancy trying to do the job solo...

 

[Kris the Handyman]

It's too late for the BT phone cable story but I've checked it and the new workshop may only just touch it and even if it does there is lots of slack in it which I have checked when on the roof of the old shed, so no drama. They've told me it's £140 iirc to move one cable! Shocking

My current state of affairs is that I have planned most of the build, spoke with my neighbours which some are eager to help, I've dismantled the old shed, organised a skip (some boards are going to one of my neighbours and I will some for the form), mini digger arrived today + 8T of hardcore, 1T of pea gravel (for the soakaway), 5 sheets of mesh, DPM and a bag of mesh-men, 4 soakaway crates + pipes. I also bought some new windows from ebay and an up and over garage door from gumtree (for £20!) almost brand new.
I'm gonna have the concrete poured once the ground is ready
Busy weekend ahead!
Ain't true without pictures

 

[mbartlett99]

Hey Kris
Have you checked EDC on the planning? I remember as a kid when dad built our house in Colinton that Edinburgh had really strict rules - admittedly that was for a house. Where are you btw I can't place it from the photos?

 

[Kris the Handyman]

I'm not in Edinburgh anymore, I'm in a tiny village just outside Falkirk. Everyone does whatever they want round here :lol:

The soakaway crates might be an overkill because the old shed was sitting on an old school soak way, ae lots of rubble, which actually does work very well but it's belt and braces for me.