New Workshop - Saved around £12-15k

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

robdr1

Member
Joined
17 Nov 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
26
Location
Harlow
Here are a few photos of my build timeline from an old shed to a new workshop.

Just for context, I have never built anything like this before, so shoutout to Liam @thegardenroomguru whose YouTube videos are a lifesaver!

I'm guessing I saved myself £12-15k by doing it myself.

If you have any questions, fire away.
 

Attachments

  • Shed_1.jpg
    Shed_1.jpg
    862.7 KB
  • Shed_2.jpg
    Shed_2.jpg
    998.1 KB
  • Shed_3.jpg
    Shed_3.jpg
    817.9 KB
  • Shed_3a.jpg
    Shed_3a.jpg
    1 MB
  • Shed_4.jpg
    Shed_4.jpg
    892 KB
  • Shed_5.jpg
    Shed_5.jpg
    936.8 KB
  • Shed_6.jpg
    Shed_6.jpg
    811.9 KB
  • Shed_7.jpg
    Shed_7.jpg
    794.1 KB
  • Shed_8.jpg
    Shed_8.jpg
    1.1 MB
  • Shed_9.jpg
    Shed_9.jpg
    876 KB
More photos...
 

Attachments

  • Shed_10.jpg
    Shed_10.jpg
    806.6 KB
  • Shed_11.jpg
    Shed_11.jpg
    870.6 KB
  • Shed_12.jpg
    Shed_12.jpg
    894.2 KB
  • Shed_13.jpg
    Shed_13.jpg
    673.5 KB
  • Shed_14.jpg
    Shed_14.jpg
    732 KB
  • Shed_15.jpg
    Shed_15.jpg
    673.8 KB
  • Shed_16.jpg
    Shed_16.jpg
    747.5 KB
  • Shed_17.jpg
    Shed_17.jpg
    787.2 KB
  • Shed_18.jpg
    Shed_18.jpg
    491.6 KB
  • Shed_19.jpg
    Shed_19.jpg
    934.4 KB
Looks very nice.
I am always amazed at the prices of as it were "off the peg" wooden buildings, usually pretty flimsy too. Far better to do it yourself.
My latest is 4.8x3.6m external. 4x2 frame, membrane, battens and featherboards outside and T&G chipboard flooring boards inside. Roof membrane and corrugated bitumen sheets on battens on a shallow pitched roof. No insulation as just a storage shed. All on an existing concrete base. All in cost me about 2k.
Looking around the various garden buildings places I would be looking at 3-4 times as much for something made out of matchsticks.
 
Looks very nice.
I am always amazed at the prices of as it were "off the peg" wooden buildings, usually pretty flimsy too. Far better to do it yourself.
My latest is 4.8x3.6m external. 4x2 frame, membrane, battens and featherboards outside and T&G chipboard flooring boards inside. Roof membrane and corrugated bitumen sheets on battens on a shallow pitched roof. No insulation as just a storage shed. All on an existing concrete base. All in cost me about 2k.
Looking around the various garden buildings places I would be looking at 3-4 times as much for something made out of matchsticks.
I agree, crazy pricing, this is why I decided to do it myself.

I also got quotes from a couple of garden room builders, both over £22k for a similar size structure.
 
Attached is a PDF breaking down all costs, down to the screws.

Worked out to be £5600. That includes all electrics, floor tiles, bunch of misc items etc.
Wow, that is very comprehensive!
I saved a bit in that I already had most of the screws etc, I think the only thing I had to buy on that front was the spax flooring screws for the walls. I had an existing concrete pad from an old building, solid although the surface is just roughly tamped but ok for a store. Likewise already had cable and other bits and pieces for inside, left overs from house extension and big shed so just had to buy the consumer unit and some 4mm armoured cable to go up the garden. Already had 2.5 that would have reached but for a 30m run I went for 4.
Only have one double socket, lights and alarm.
Do like the lights, looking for similar to replace the old tube ones in my big shed.
Just goes to show what you can save, and you have the satisfaction of doing it yourself, and being able to do it exactly the way you want.
Nice job, now you just need to make it untidy :)
 
Last edited:
Looks like it will be a comfortable little shop.

I know there is a vast difference in what codes allow but I noticed you have run your ceiling electrical against the roof sheathing. That wouldn't fly here because of the danger of someone down the road driving a fastener though it from above. We have to run the wire down the middle of the rafter/studs/joists or they won't pass the inspection. Is your method common in the UK?

Pete
 
That looks great and you've got to love a spreadsheet....

I'd appreciate your thoughts on using 50mm PIR over anything deeper in the walls given you've used 4x2's for the uprights and the electrical cabling seems to be run through surface-mounted trunking so doesn't appear to be within the airgap behind the OSB, suggesting that there's space.

I ask this as I'm currently helping our eldest with a smaller (than yours) garden room where he can occasionally work and set up his road bike training frame but where we've considered 75mm PIR too.

I believe the company he's looking to use for the PIR are called Pinks where the difference in cost between each sheet is nearly £9 (£20 vs.£28.74) and I frankly don't feel I've enough experience to persuade him that the extra costs will be more beneficial in the long run. Perhaps it's just illogical on my part but I want to persuade him to get the 75mm and just fund it for him but if there's no real difference and he's happy with 50mm, I don't want to interfere.
 
Looks very nice.
I am always amazed at the prices of as it were "off the peg" wooden buildings, usually pretty flimsy too. Far better to do it yourself.
My latest is 4.8x3.6m external. 4x2 frame, membrane, battens and featherboards outside and T&G chipboard flooring boards inside. Roof membrane and corrugated bitumen sheets on battens on a shallow pitched roof. No insulation as just a storage shed. All on an existing concrete base. All in cost me about 2k.
Looking around the various garden buildings places I would be looking at 3-4 times as much for something made out of matchsticks.
Same spec, but fully insulated. 3.8x7.2 ext, 3.6x7 internal. £4600 inc insulation and electrics. Fully clad in decent 19mm finished Shiplap. Took five weeks single handdd to construct. Quote for an off the shelf was £12k installed, no electric or insulation or membrane.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0256.jpeg
    IMG_0256.jpeg
    3.9 MB
  • IMG_9746.jpeg
    IMG_9746.jpeg
    2.5 MB
  • IMG_9745.jpeg
    IMG_9745.jpeg
    2.8 MB
  • IMG_9744.jpeg
    IMG_9744.jpeg
    2 MB
Last edited:
Same spec, but fully insulated. 3.8x7.2 ext, 3.6x7 internal. £4600 inc insulation and electrics. Fully clad in decent 19mm finished Shiplap. Took five weeks single handdd to construct. Quote for an off the shelf was £12k installed, no electric or insulation or membrane.
Very nice!!!
 
Looks like it will be a comfortable little shop.

I know there is a vast difference in what codes allow but I noticed you have run your ceiling electrical against the roof sheathing. That wouldn't fly here because of the danger of someone down the road driving a fastener though it from above. We have to run the wire down the middle of the rafter/studs/joists or they won't pass the inspection. Is your method common in the UK?

Pete
I mostly see guys push the cable hard to the ceiling so as not to interfere too much with the PIR installation.
Is that a code requirement in the UK, I have no idea, I just followed the herd :)
 
Back
Top