Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: infowarrior on February 11, 2007, 22:51

Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: infowarrior on February 11, 2007, 22:51: I'm still looking for a shed but nearly all the ones you see for sale are really flimsy, and new ones are too expensive + flimsy. Is it worth building your own from scratch? I suppose it could be built quite sturdy but prob canny expensive. Anyone built their own??
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: muntjac on February 11, 2007, 22:53: use old doors n cover them the staple of allotment sheds
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: jack russell on February 12, 2007, 02:11: hey mate

building you'r own will work out loads cheaper and learn you to be more frugle....................... which is a good thing i must add. there are loads of factory units etc... that have an abundance off pallets and used wood outside that will fit in your big van the same as mine :wink: do a tour when its quiet

cheers

steve
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: Gwiz on February 12, 2007, 06:03: much more fun to build yer own.
even more so if its from skip stuff. :wink:
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: infowarrior on February 12, 2007, 07:11: Might give it a try, but I need a shed up asap. Might look around for a week or 2 & if I cant find much stuff, just buy one.

Cheers.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: Annie on February 12, 2007, 10:00: Try freecycle.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: John on February 12, 2007, 10:21: I costed buying wood and building a shed to my own specs for the back garden. It is cheaper to approach a small shed builder who does bespoke than the raw material costs to me.

For an allotment, if you are stuck for time, look in your local rag second hand columns. Amazing how many 8x6 go for 50 squid or even free.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: noshed on February 12, 2007, 17:15: I ended up getting a cheap flimsy one and strengthening it with scrap wood - it was mainly for quickness really.
Treated wood isn't that dear though so if you can measure and use a spirit level - give it a go!
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: infowarrior on February 12, 2007, 18:01: There's been nowt much in our local paper for the size I'm after. Want minumum 10x6. I've been on www.shedstore.co.uk, they seem to have the cheapest 10x6 around, brand new free delivery & stuff, £325. All toungued & grooved, apex roof, double doors, 1 opening window. Dont really want to spend that much like but havnt really got the time to build own (although I'd like to) and might re-enforce it a bit when I get time.
Do you people reckon that sounds like a good deal from www.shedstore.co.uk???
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: John on February 12, 2007, 18:11: Doesn't look a bad deal to me, but I'd check my local suppliers first if I was you. A couple of phone calls won't take long.

It's all 12mm shiplap T&G so not that wheatabix board roof you often find in cheap sheds - one bit of water and they're falling apart.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: ziggywigs on February 12, 2007, 20:20: Try this link too......

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/search/search.jhtml

I, well say I, but mean OH built our own shed. It was really simple to do. Cost about £200 when finished would've cost us £500 to buy. Used T&G shiplap and stirling board to sark roof and then covered with felting the strong stuff. We got a door from the builders merchant and also made a window using a damaged door - it looked really good when finished.

We used 2 x 2 (if i remember correctly) built framework and then bolted together...made the roof in situ and then covered with sarking and felt. It was surprisingly easy. Size was 8 x 10.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: Aunt Sally on February 12, 2007, 20:33: Quote from: "noshed"
I ended up getting a cheap flimsy one and strengthening it with scrap wood - it was mainly for quickness really.
Treated wood isn't that dear though so if you can measure and use a spirit level - give it a go!
That is what we plan to do on our lottie. Might even insulate it and line with some hardboard. (Got to have somewhere warm for a brew while Worzzel is digging) :lol: :lol:
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: purplebat on February 12, 2007, 20:43: We were given a shed, well, the bloke said it was a shed, amnd I thought how generous is that? that is until we went to build it! there was two sides of different lengths, a floor, no back, no door/front, and no roof!!! we made the sides the same length, shortened one so the roof was slanted (sod trying to do an apex) and boarded across the back and found an old door and some more boardsd to finish the front, and used corrugated tin for the roof; so you could say we built our own shed; it doesn't look terribly pretty but it does the job, and didn't cost anything, just hours :lol:
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: noshed on February 12, 2007, 21:34: Thosed metal ones look quite good - Yardmaster or something
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: shaun on February 12, 2007, 21:38: we have had 3 sheds on our plots broken into since Christmas.thats why i refrain from having one,
seen those concrete panel garages that folks throw away wouldnt mind half of one :wink:
you can get sheds made of the same stuff quite expensive i bet
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: shaun on February 12, 2007, 21:42: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/concrete-pent-store-shed_W0QQitemZ7755119113QQihZ018QQcategoryZ90746QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

anyone wants to go halfs 3 ways :wink:
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: rmd on February 19, 2007, 08:46: We've got some of those concrete panel garages at work (I work at a cemetery). Some scumbags wanted to get in so they just smashed the concrete and stuck crowbars between the panels to sprise them off. We've replaced the damaged parts with block walls. Nowt's safe from the scumbags.
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: philskin on May 25, 2007, 19:29: Hello everyone, can I just add my experience? I purchased an old shed for £10 off the family of a deceased neighbour, dismantled it and put it up again on a concrete base. The shed was 8 ft by 10 ft but the thing leaked like a sieve. So when I finally got the chance, I took the roof back off and replaced it with perspex sheets, then I got some roofing felt and was going to felt the sides, when I got the idea of using the roof to make a tool store. This was added onto the end and that floor concreted ,then I used the roofing felt to cover the 2 exposed sides. I've now ended up with a menagerie thats half greenhouse and half shed but its fantastic for starting my seedlings off. One sheet of perspex I had left rolls over in a half round shape on the bench and it seems 95% of my seeds germinate, lucky or what? Anyway, cost-wise I've spent about £150 so there are good buys out there for people who are handy with hammers, etc. Sorry to go on, I've never done this before. Thanks for reading, Philskin. PS. If you want to see pics I would be more than happy to post them if I can work out how to!!
Title: Is it worth building your own shed??
Post by: David. on May 29, 2007, 20:05: Quote from: "philskin"
So when I finally got the chance, I took the roof back off and replaced it with perspex sheets

I was lucky enough to get my last plot complete with a triple bay pig sty - sheds and runs, in terrible state, which will have two thirds of the roof overclad with 2nd hand corrugated iron I have been given and the sides covered with shiplap pallet boards. The end 3rd is being turned into an integral greenhouse using some plastic sheeting left on the plot and I should have enough corrugated iron to make a canopy to shelter under when raining. All the structural timbers will come from the 250m of roof timbers I got from a skip from a house having a roof conversion. Just some preservative and a few nails to buy (I don't bother saving the ones out the fireplace from our pallet kindling as they get a bit bendy).