# Small Workshop WIP (including costs)



## kdampney

Seeing all the fun that people have had making their own workshops, I’ve started on mine!

Variously described as a shed/workshop/sort-of garden office/man cave (depending on who I’m talking to), I want it to be a woodworking workshop, but look good enough to be a smart home office (if/when we sell in the future). Broadly based on Mike's and Steve's workshops (except for the foundations).

This is what I'm aiming for:






Spec:

4m x 3m, and 2.5m tall;
Concrete piers (extending below the frost line);
50mm sheet polystyrene under the suspended ply flooring;
120mm Kingspan-equivalent insulation (got an extremely good deal from Seconds & Co) in the walls;
100mm loft roll insulation under the...
EPDM Complete Firestorm single-pitched roof;
British-grown Western Red Cedar cladding (got a good deal from Code 6 Timber in Somerset);
Double-glazed French doors.

Timber used/ordered:

Floor joists and bearers: 50x150mm C16 Treated, at 600mm centres, with joist hangers for the joists;
Floor: 18mm shuttering ply (will probably put 22mm floorboards over it at some point to make it more rigid);
Front/Rear Floor/Top Plates & Studs: 75x100mm C16, at 600mm centres;
Sides Floor/Top Plates & Studs & all noggins : 47x100mm C16;
Diagonal bracing for studs: 47x100mm C16; (may not strictly be necessary due to the sheathing);
Lintel over doors: 47x150mm C16 doubled up (so 94x150mm to fit in the 100mm stud work);
OSB sheathing: 9mm;
Rafters: 47x150mm at 600mm centres.
A vast quantity of lath to hold the floor insulation in place, and pad out the 95mm studwork to take 120mm insulation (one was ordered before the other)!

I was thinking of making it bigger and taller (concrete slab, around 4m x 5m, 3m high double-pitched roof) and even applied for planning permission, but that was vetoed by my darling wife when she thought it was too much effort for me (we have a young family, and getting concrete or large amounts of aggregates to the back garden is tricky). My father-in-law's a structural engineer, so that helped with the specs!

I know that nothing actually happens without photos, so here goes...

Last year (note the 5m tall Cupressus hedge at the back):





Destruction of the rainforest:





Those stumps were hard to shift:









Current progress:





Using a post auger (150mm wide, 1 metre long corkscrew) I made the holes, filled the bottom with some hardcore, tamped it down, inserted 150mm diameter 500mm long ventilation pipe levelled up with each other, and am filling them with concrete. They have a 500mm long metal strap inserted into the concrete to screw the base timbers to (and try to act as rebar).

I have the long Easter weekend without the family to crack on with as much as possible, and a couple of friends coming round at different times - please wish me luck. I can do basic DIY, building a couple of built-in cupboards, but have never taken on anything this big!


*Questions*, if anyone can help please. I've got some DG French doors already, and some small DG windows, and some long DG sealed units (without frames).

*Should the studwork be made so the holes for the doors and windows are exactly to fit, or should I leave space for cladding trim to go around them?*

*Does anyone have links to diagrams or WIPs that do this (I tried looking again on Steve's monster thread, and couldn't see any obvious examples)?*

*Does anyone have links to diagrams or WIPs that make timber frames for sealed units (to be done in the future)?*

*For now, what kind of gap should I leave for the sealed units' frames?*

Many thanks for reading, will try to update regularly!


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## nabs

for mine I allowed height of frame + cill +10 mm; and width of frame +10 mm. The gap is to make room for small plastic packers that stop the frame flexing when you screw it into the opening (they also make it harder for someone to pry out the unit if they are trying to break in). 

The glazing units are expected to go in a design that will shed water to the outside of the building when any water enters the gaps between the unit and the structure, so you seal them with silicon from the inside and then use your cladding/trim to minimize the water that enters any gaps. You might also want to allow a couple of mm for flashing where water might collect (e.g under the cill).


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## kdampney

Thanks Nick. So the trim is purely water-proofing/decorative, it doesn't hold the frame in place?

If I understand correctly, I should: build the studwork (with frame height and width +10mm gap), fit the window, fit the trim, then the cladding up to the trim.


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## Fitzroy

Take a look at my workshop wip it may answer a few of your questions. I made frames for DGUs, openings are dgu size +3mm (edge gap) +35mm (frame thickness) +5mm (fitting gap) x 2 (each side). But that's for a non opening window. Gaps between frame and stud work are filled with expanding foam. 

Fitz.


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## kdampney

Thanks Fitzroy 

So last night saw the last of the concreting finished. Not the neatest perhaps, but should suffice.





Everything levelled off, and weed fabric down:





1 tonne of hardcore and gravel levelled out...





Right, now where's the instruction manual? Oh yes, in my head.





Bearers and joists attached. Lathe ready for insulation.





And then it started raining... more tomorrow!


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## ColeyS1

Looks like you're making good progress! The concrete pillars look very professional . 

Coley

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## Paul200

Nice slick design and very neat foundations. Makes mine look like overkill :roll:


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## nabs

kdampney":3mk8poka said:


> Thanks Nick. So the trim is purely water-proofing/decorative, it doesn't hold the frame in place?


yes, you will be screwing the window frames into the timber used to make the opening in the main structure. 
It is worth thinking about the details that will keep the water out at this stage - it is quite straightforward, but a good idea to think it through early on. The below article is good (albeit a bit long).
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/46910/0024271.pdf
You did well getting the conifers out - must have been a nightmare!


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## kdampney

nabs":1u7jnnb2 said:


> You did well getting the conifers out - must have been a nightmare!


Yes, required a few afternoons! What we did in the end was dig about 30cm down all around the root ball, then used a bow saw to cut *underneath* and through the tap roots.

So yesterday's progress was slow - I didn't want rodents living in the insulation, and saw someone suggesting to use breather membrane underneath insulation to keep them out. As the frame was too heavy to lift by myself, I thought it would simple enough to staple it to the joists from on top. Hmm. It took forever to staple the paper to make a big enough sheet, then to fit it. At least any rodent who lives down there will have earned it.
_Edit: I wouldn't bother with this if I did it again, as the breather membrane underneath has all gradually fallen down. Hopefully the mice/rats won't find out!_





Use a sharp carving knife to cut polystyrene, unless you want your neighbourhood to look like it's snowing! But finally looking good:





And with the plywood cut with a circular saw, we finally have an insulated deck at the bottom of our garden! 





After this, I started on the walls. I made sure I cut a 600mm noggin to use as a template, used the 3m lengths for one side's top and bottom plates, and cut down the 2.4m lengths for studs, and was feeling pleased with myself. Then I tried using the first side as a template for the second side... and realised I'd chopped down a 3m length for the 600mm noggin template. I only had 4 of those to start with, and had to go back to the timber merchant to collect them as they left them off my original order... so now I needed to get some more for the second side.

*Top Tip 1: Mark everything important with what it is!*

I was so annoyed with myself... so forgot to take photos. Then I had to wrap everything up with a tarp as as Sunday (today) was due to be written off by rain. 

*Top Tip 2: Ignore weather forecasts!*

In the end, today turned out to be almost completely dry! So with the help of a friend, Stu, we cracked on with the rear wall. The air framing nailer was misfiring quite a bit - nails seem to fire out at a downwards angel, bending the nail as it enters the wood, and leaves them sticking out by 1cm... So I went old-school and just hammered the nails in.

*Top Tip 3: When in doubt, hit it with a hammer*

Remember the plan that was in my head? Well, when I originally drew everything in Sketchup, it was for the 3m-high planning permission version. The workshop's only going to be 2.5m high now, so I had to reduce the height of all the studs. Everything was hunky-dory when cutting and arranging the front plates and studs... until I realised that we hadn't left enough room for the French doors (along with the 150mm lintel and 72mm top plate that go on top of them). Grrrrrrr! I think the roof will need to be a bit higher...

*Top Tip 4: Proper Planning & Preparation...*

I think I can rescue it, but again - too annoyed to take photos!


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## kdampney

The rain that stayed away on Sunday arrived on Sunday night. The first order of the day, after going and getting some more timber for the 3m side top/bottom plates (thanks Jewsons for opening early on a Bank Holiday Monday!), was to mop up all the water that had gone through the tarps.

Then, with Mark's help, the remaining walls were built. I should have taken someone's advice about not cutting the bottom plate (where the doors will go) until everything was upright and square, as the top plate was a bit cupped, and the measurements were all a bit out. A spare timber across the door width held things in place, and a mallet 'persuading' gaps to close up got it together.

I had to make do with some of the studs not being quite long enough to cope with the French doors + lintel + top plate, so this isn't as neat as it could have been. Here's Mark:





Then everything was slowly moved into place. The front, being made of 75x100, was rather heavy, but we managed to prop it upright...





The other walls quickly followed, and some bracing to keep things square. I was amazed at how quickly it went from 2D to 3D, given how it had taken to get this far! The rafters will be vertical, not horizontal - they're up there mainly to support the tarpaulin.





Nice view from this window...





The family were arriving back soon, and we were starving, so decided to wrap everything up and get it watertight:





Tarp across the front as there's no door yet. I always wanted a big blue tent in the bottom of the garden...


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## BluegillUK

Looking awesome! Looking forward to the next instalment


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## Brian18741

Great work so far, watching with interest! 

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## kdampney

Thanks  The next instalment may be a little way off, due to my poor office-based body aching and groaning. I take my hat off to people who do this day-in, day-out.


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## Droogs

kdampney"I take my hat off to people who do this day-in said:


> Ooh, you don't wanna do that! You'll get kicked off site :lol:
> 
> very good WIP, please keep it up


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## Alexam

Fantastic WIP so far. Looking forward to seeing the next steps.
Malcolm


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## kdampney

I didn't get a huge amount done this weekend, but with the help of a friend we got the rafters down, cut them to size, cut birds mouths (in all except for the outer two, which will be floating in a gable-ladder style), put them back on the roof and nailed them in place using twist-straps (http://www.screwfix.com/p/sabrefix-rolled-edge-restraint-strap-twist-5-pack/96232).

I also cut the 2.4x1.2m sheets of ply down with a circular saw to 2.4x0.6m so I could get them up onto the roof - I'm much happier with it being water proof now the taurpaulin's fairly flat.

Also been cutting noggins, diagonal bracing and some insulation to size (my quieter job for the evenings!) - sorry, no photos of that.


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## kdampney

No progress made unfortunately. Just some more questions!

Blue below is the EPDM rubber layer, red is breather membrane, green is insect mesh (more to go at the bottom of the wall cavity). The 'thingy' (no idea what it's called!) on the left is to keep drips on the roof (sloped to the rear where there will be guttering), and provide a drip edge.





How does this look? I'm just not sure how to put fascia/cladding on the side of the outer joist without making it much thicker (if I put a ventilation cavity there, for example).

Thanks for stopping by


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## stewart

Sorry, not a roof expert so can't answer your question, but I'm enjoying watching your progress!


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## will1983

just out of interest, what depth did you bore the foundation holes to?

great build BTW!


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## kdampney

will1983":1su1tx1s said:


> just out of interest, what depth did you bore the foundation holes to?


About 50cm, with 5cm hardcore compacted at the bottom. I believe that's down below the frost line, so hopefully should be stable...


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## Fitzroy

I found very little info on EPDM edge options, apart from the nail on plastic strip, horrid! I crafted something of my own design, not dissimilar to your solution. I'm not convinced there is a best way, but can't see much wrong with yours. 

F.


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## HOJ

Just a few observations:

With regards the side and front edge of the roof you could fix an up-stand, (Check curb/Cant strip), to the top of the joists rather than on the side edge, take the EPDM up, 
over and down the outside face, fix fascia to the joists, tall enough to close in to the the top of the up-stand, and if needs be, nail on a cover strip over sailing slightly the fascia and the up-stand.

Don't forget on the the gutter edge, the roof needs to oversail the fascia by 50mm (depending on gutter width) for it to reach into the middle of the gutter.

Also on your drawing you are showing an insect/ventilation strip, that looks like a lot of work, I would probably fix the soffit straight on to the underside of the joist
and drill and fit some round soffit vents in each joist row, making sure you leave a void in the insulation for an air flow through (cold Roof)

I also noted you have sloped the horizontal cladding counter battens, this should be at 15 degrees, the direction of slope will depend on the way the cladding is fixed,
if you are using a continuous faced cladding, backwards as you have shown is correct. 

Also you show the ceiling OSB on top of the inside wall battens, I would fix the batten up to the underside of the joist/top of wall plate, then fix ceiling board up to the batten, which should push up to your 120mm wall insulation nicely.


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## kdampney

HOJ":2i9dt4z6 said:


> With regards the side and front edge of the roof you could fix an up-stand, (Check curb/Cant strip), to the top of the joists rather than on the side edge, take the EPDM up,
> over and down the outside face, fix fascia to the joists, tall enough to close in to the the top of the up-stand, and if needs be, nail on a cover strip over sailing slightly the fascia and the up-stand.


The fascia I was planning on using was cedar cladding door/window trim, which is only 140mm wide, so to cover any EPDM that wraps around the front/bottom of the joists it can't be too high, or I'd need several bits. As it is, I may cut it down (I accidentally left it at the 140mm size on the drawing below).



HOJ":2i9dt4z6 said:


> Don't forget on the the gutter edge, the roof needs to oversail the fascia by 50mm (depending on gutter width) for it to reach into the middle of the gutter.


Useful to know, thanks 



HOJ":2i9dt4z6 said:


> Also on your drawing you are showing an insect/ventilation strip, that looks like a lot of work, I would probably fix the soffit straight on to the underside of the joist
> and drill and fit some round soffit vents in each joist row, making sure you leave a void in the insulation for an air flow through (cold Roof)


My vents didn't show on the cross-section drawing, so I've added them in (see purple air flow below). I guess I would need less insect mesh if I drilled occasional holes rather than leaving a 10mm gap, good idea, thanks!



HOJ":2i9dt4z6 said:


> I also noted you have sloped the horizontal cladding counter battens, this should be at 15 degrees, the direction of slope will depend on the way the cladding is fixed,
> if you are using a continuous faced cladding, backwards as you have shown is correct.


It's channel cladding, so I believe it should be sloping inwards, draining any moisture to the cavity created by the counter battens. http://www.code6timber.co.uk/fine-sawn-channel-cladding/4588337466








HOJ":2i9dt4z6 said:


> Also you show the ceiling OSB on top of the inside wall battens, I would fix the batten up to the underside of the joist/top of wall plate, then fix ceiling board up to the batten, which should push up to your 120mm wall insulation nicely.


I've shown that below. There will be a gap between the batten and the insulation, but there will be plenty of those anyway that need filling with expanding foam!

Thanks for the observations HOJ 

New design:


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## HOJ

Looks good, another quick one, the general consensus with regards cladding is to leave a 10mm gap at the top, to allow for air to flow up behind the cladding, I would run my soffit hard up to the wall plate, then fix the wall battens 10mm shy of it with an insect mesh on the top, treat the walls and roof separately with regards ventilation.

I would be interested to see how your Cedar cladding looks and works, I have a need for 100m2 of it for my current project.


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## kdampney

Thanks HOJ.

It's British Western Red Cedar from Code 6 Timber in Somerset. The price of British-grown is half that of the Canadian WRC (albeit it's almost a different product). Carmen there was very helpful, and I've got a good deal on a mix of grade A and B lengths that were accidentally cut too short for a different order. They don't advertise B grade as it usually gets snaffled up by locals. The rear and one side of the workshop was going to be any cheap feather-edged cladding as they aren't particularly visible, but the discounted grade B Cedar worked out about the same price.

240 linear metres (roughly 30m2) of 19x140mm grade A & B British Western Red Cedar, door/window trim and corner posts for £777 (incl delivery and VAT).

Delivery is later this month, fitting will be some point quite a bit later (need to sort the roof first, holidays etc.!). There will be photos!


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## kdampney

*Top Tip 5: Lightweight Tarpaulin is not very waterproof.*
The blue tent leaks like a sieve in heavy rain. Wednesday's torrent left me looking at puddles on the plywood floor, tools with rust on them, and I wasn't very happy. Fortunately I was able to take yesterday off and it stayed dry, so I set to work fixing the roof (while the sun shined!).

I set to work finishing the purlins (I think they're called) between the rafters above the top plates. Due to the rafters being bird's mouthed, and sloped, I used an electric hand planer to plane the top edges to be a flush fit... or at least I did, until the planer jammed... on the planer cable! Fortunately the fuse did its job, and I didn't get blown off the roof. Lesson learned! Hand plane was the way to go... And it took much longer than I thought.

I tried to tidy everything away so I could store the cladding that was due to arrive later. I didn't want that getting wet.

I also started tongue and grooving the plywood sheets for the roof, to make sure it was really flat. Unfortunately the boards were slightly warped due to the rain that got through the tarpaulin, and didn't fit together. So an hour and a half wasted. When screwed down they were pretty flat, so I just went with that (leaving 3mm expansion gaps).

Then the cladding delivery arrived. Grade A & B British Western Red Cedar. Most of it looks nice 





Some detail of the gable ladder holding the outside rafter.





I realised I was running out of plywood mid afternoon, even trying to utilise offcuts, so wasn't able to entirely fix the roof while the sunshined. So frustrating!





I decided I couldn't face another evening of puddles, so decided to get the rubber membrane up onto the roof, lay it out and temporarily batten it down.

*Top Tip 6: Premium EPDM rubber sheet is the heaviest known substance in the universe. Use friends!*
A roll of 5m x 5.5m x 1.5mm rubber (weighing about 63kg) is quite tricky to get onto a roof. Heck, it's quite tricky to get in/out of a car. After using a sack truck to get it to the end of the garden, I tried lifting the roll - I got it onto my knees, and no further. I didn't have any friends on standby to help unfortunately, and heavy rain was forecast for the evening, so had to try to get this sheet onto the roof. I managed to get one corner onto the shed roof, slowly pulled the rest of it up there (it must have taken 15 mins of backbreaking effort), and then from the shed roof onto the workshop roof. With my kids home from childcare, I had to batten down the roof as well as I could (nails will have punctured the edges of the rubber, but I think I ordered enough spare that it won't affect the waterproof-ness). I just hope it's heavy enough not to get lifted by the wind.

Current progress (note the blue sarcophagus of cladding):





I'm now barely able to stand up or sit down due to excruciating pain in my lower back/upper glutes. So not likely to get much done for a little while...


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## Fitzroy

Great progress, keep on going it'll all be worth it! 

Fitz. 

PS. I'm sat here giggling as having been through many of the same lessons. EPDM really is bloody heavy.


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## kdampney

Finally sorted the plywood for the roof, and the EPDM rubber glued down (except around the undersides). The water-based adhesive was easy to spread (similar to paint or PVA) with a paint roller, but the solvent-based contact adhesive was horrible. Brushes sticking to everything. Definitely a good idea to have a supply of disposable gloves around!

Cutting insulation is taking forever, especially when having to first dry out the insulation, and I'm running out of space inside the workshop. And family time is impacting a bit. I was intending to use the 120mm insulation mainly in the walls, but figured that most heat will be lost through the roof and the north-facing wall, so am trying to use the insulation in those areas first. In the top cm or two are some ventilation holes to allow any moisture underneath to escape and not condense (I hope).






I've also mocked up a rough section of wall to work out how the cladding will work.





So to repeat myself: 47x95mm studwork with 120mm insulation inbetween (internal battens, not shown, will be on the inside of the walls, then internal OSB sheathing). Breather membrane, then vertical battens, then horizontal battens, the tops of which slope inwards to re-direct any moisture getting inside (bit difficult to see). Stainless steel screws for both. Then vertical British Western Red Cedar cladding with hidden stainless steel screws.

Note the air gap:





Also, 4mm gap between cladding to allow for expansion:





From those who have been here before, I presume that's all in order?


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## Brian18741

Great thread, any progress? I'm designing something similar as a garden bbq hut thing so looking for all tips possible! 

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## kdampney

Thanks for the reminder Brian!

Fitting the window frames and French door frames was easier than I was expecting, though the flashing I used seems more suited to bitumen roofs than windows (hence the battens holding it in place!).








(Yes, there are some annoying bubbles in the rubber roof overhang. And already the workshop is housing an inflated paddling pool. Sigh...)

Fitting the UPVC window beading back in was a bit more tricky, and I managed to crack one of the sealed units after hitting the beading too hard with a rubber mallet. And French doors are the 2nd heaviest substance known to mankind (after EPDM rubber). But in the end there were place (and the rubber cut back). Almost looks like a workshop!




(If you happen to notice the centre of the roof being fractionally lower than the edges, of course that's entirely deliberate to drain water inwards, and isn't the result of me mismeasuring anything, honest... :? )

After that I started cladding the rear, which is the least visible side - hopefully I'll know what I'm doing by the time I get to the front! Vertical battens, then horizontal counter battens (which I had to bevel inwards with a hand-planer then weather-proof with stain), then the British Western Red Cedar vertical cladding:




The counter-battens were only 2.4m long as that's what would fit in my car, so are lapped in the middle to help support the cladding.

I gave the cladding one coat of Treatex Cedar Oil before fitting, which gave it a great golden colour, I'll give it another coat when in place. 4mm expansion gaps, hidden TongueTite 3.5mm x 45mm Stainless Steel Torx fixings (you might just be able to see the screw in the 2nd photo). Slightly bevelled the top and bottom of each plank to drain water outwards.









I had to put some insect mesh over the back of a couple of loose knots to stop any bugs making their way in, will need to insect-mesh the top and bottom later.

I've now clad the whole of the back of the workshop (pictures to come!). Getting this far was so satisfying, though doing the sides (which increase in height towards the front) will be more of a challenge. I also need to paint the side windows (Anthracite Grey) before I clad around them, and then make and paint the front window frames on either side of the doors. And the rear and side soffits, and finish off the insect mesh...


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## kdampney

It's been a while since the last update - not a huge amount has happened, due to illness, kids, holiday, etc.! But here goes...

The back of the workshop is now cladded (need to finish off the roof-line and insect mesh)...





And the side, with the window (sprayed in Anthracite Grey) trimmed:





Now for the large side window frames... I wasn't sure of the best way to do this, and probably wouldn't do this in the future (too much risk of kickback!) but I cut sections out of 65x95 redwood using a plunge saw with several passes and many clamps (this is a side of one of the frames):





Bridal joints at the corner with a bit of room for adjustment (thanks for the advice on your workshop post, Fitzroy!). A nice big sill to ensure water gets beyond the battens, counter battens and cladding (I may need to cut it back later).





A nice fit for both the frame into the hole (held in by 85mm screws) and then the glass into the frame (with glazing packers). The glass is held in place using security tape, with battens in front, attached with butyl tape and panel pins. Frames and battens were coated with wood preserver, to be sprayed later.





Dad came to help with the window frames and cladding, but, annoyingly, I ran out of window flashing to go around the edges of the windows (which goes under the cladding) and had mis-cut the top and bottom window battens for the right-hand window, so we finished insulating inside (it's amazing how much space 120mm thick solid insulation takes up!), and disassembled the shed which needed to go soon to allow cladding of the left-hand side. To do that, we had to empty it and then store everything in the workshop. Without the insulation, and things tidied away, there's a surprising amount of space (no photos of inside, sorry!).





I filled the gaps in the window frames, and sprayed the left-hand window. Once the right-hand battens' wood preserver has dried, they can be fitted, filled and sprayed.





Hopefully to be continued! Thanks for watching


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## kdampney

Lots to update you on...

The whole of the workshop is now clad (with the exception of the underneath of the overhang, and around the edges of the EPDM. Unbelievably I've forgotten to take a photo since finishing it, but here's how it look partway through (sorry for the rubbish photo):





Inside we've laid out the cables, trying to keep them all at the ceiling and running vertically down studs. The consumer unit will go in the top-left:





And sheathing can start! 9mm OSB3 onto battens (regular readers will remember that I have 95mm deep studs and 110-120mm thick insulation!). This neatly lets cables (even the overkill fat ones I ordered) to run down the gaps, as the battens aren't quite as wide as the studs. 12 double sockets should be enough...right?





Sheathing continues...





My clever camera-work has carefully hidden the large amount of mess everywhere!





The 50m of armoured cable arrived, and I invented a stand to help run it down the garden. My invitation to Dragons Den hasn't arrived yet, but I hope to sell them for a fortune...





The recent hot weather helped with bending the cable so it runs up between cladding and insulation, curves around in the roof void, before heading inside through the insulation...





Window and door trim, and most insect-meshing is done (no photos, sorry).

Still to do:

Attach the armoured cable to the fence with clips.
Clad underneath of overhang, and edges of roof.
Finish off internal sheathing.
Wire-up all sockets, lights, etc.
Finish off the corner cladding where the armoured cable went in.
Get an electrician in to connect up the armoured cable at both ends and sign off our connections.
Insect-mesh around the bottom of the cladding.
Neaten up the edges of the cladding (along the top and bottom of each side) by running a circular saw along them.
Spray the left-hand small window.

Then I can actually do some wood work!


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## Fitzroy

Keep going, nearly done! Looking good. 

Fitz


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## martin.a.ball

Do you have any details on the anthracite grey paint you used on the windows? I'm looking to do something similar with white uPVC door and windows.

Martin


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## kdampney

martin.a.ball":yw9nu8r0 said:


> Do you have any details on the anthracite grey paint you used on the windows? I'm looking to do something similar with white uPVC door and windows.



Hi Martin, it's Monster Satin Anthracite Grey Spray Paint https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monster-Satin-Anthracite-interior-furniture/dp/B00ZAISDBU/ref=sr_1_1 (was £9.99 when I ordered).

I washed the frames with soapy water, and let them dry. I sprayed them with Monster PVC cleaner spray, wiped the frames again and let them dry, then sprayed the frames (having masked the glass and surrounding area).

It was easier than I expected, but took a bit of practice to avoid a streaky finish. The paint can scratch off if you're not careful, but it's far cheaper than getting coloured frames!


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## kdampney

kdampney":3p3lisbo said:


> ...it's Monster Satin Anthracite Grey Spray Paint...



Quantity-wise, 2 x 400ml cans did the 2 small windows, 2 large windows and the French doors with one coat.


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## Elsmorian

Thats a neat trick to paint them, they look great, thanks for the link! Will be interesting to see how they hold up in the weather


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## martin.a.ball

thanks for the link. I had searched and found the Monster range so its good to know it worked for you.

Martin


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## kdampney

It's been a while since the last update, so here's where I'm up to:

Possibly repeating myself, but the cables conveniently fitted into the gaps between the insulation and battens (on the studs). See previous posts for why I've got battens on the studs  





And then I got distracted. My lovely wife suggested we get something in the garden for our kids to play on, and, of course, that meant me building it... (I may do a WIP at some point, but it's fairly straightforward, and should be easy to extend):





Climbing wall at the back:





And then, as another distraction, we got someone in to put down decking around the house, remove a large concrete slab in the middle of the garden and turf it, and put down a patio in front of my workshop. Before:





We carried on wiring up the workshop, and tested the spotlights (also check out the patio):




Looking good  

Here are the cables and the armoured cable coming together. I planned for the CU to be mounted on a smaller bit of OSB so that if it needed taking down for maintenance it wasn't on a huge unwieldy sheet.





The electrician finally came round (a year after first quoting!) to wire up the consumer unit in the workshop, connect up the armoured cable to the house consumer unit, and test all of the sockets and connections. CU visible in the top left. And I shifted things around inside, so finally had enough room to do stuff in there!





First step was to build a good-size workbench/mitre station (based on this Modular Mitre Station - I'll probably build the other bits later).




It's a bit high currently, so I'll either chop the legs down, or use the assembly cart to build on.

Still need to finish off the underhang all the way around, sort out insect mesh and the last bit of cladding. Almost there!


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## Fitzroy

Looking good. What did the sparky charge you for that? 

Cheers 

Fitz


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## kdampney

Fitzroy":1amv5k4d said:


> Looking good. What did the sparky charge you for that?



Thanks 

"To install new fuse board in workshop, wiring all new circuits.
Supplied 4 x new 20a MCB fuses to accommodate new circuits.
To wire in 10mm, 3-core SWA cable into main fuse board in house which powers workshop at bottom of garden.
Supplied 50a MCB fuse for circuit.
Total £225.00"

He supplied the armoured cable, I supplied the sockets, cable, spotlights, etc.


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## kdampney

Full Cost Breakdown (pricing is up to 2 years old, sometimes delivery is included, and sourcing from a couple of different places - your mileage may vary!):

*Base, floor: £595.76*

2x Tarps £19.98
1x Bulk Bag MOT Hardcore £57.60
5x 1x6" 3.6m Gravel Boards £19.20
1x 2x2" 4.8m Treated timber for Gravel Board posts £4.76
10x 150x500mm PVC Vent Pipe (Concrete Piers) £29.39
1x 25kg bag General Purpose Cement (Concrete Piers) £3.83
2x 25kg bag Sand (Concrete Piers) £4.06
4x 25kg bag Ballast (Concrete Piers) £8.11
1x 600g bag of concrete fibres (Concrete Piers) £6.50
8x 600mm Rolled Edge Restraint Strap Twist (Concrete Piers to Joists) £11.81
8x 50x150mm 3m C16 Treated (Joists) £57.60
3x 50x150mm 4.2m C16 Treated (Joists) £30.24
12x 50mm 305mm Leg Joist Hangers (Joists) £14.32
113 linear metres 25x38mm Battens (Insulation) £40.68 (also used for bulking out studwork to fit insulation)
6x 1.2x2.4m sheet 50mm Polystyrene (Insulation) £59.99
5x 1.2x2.4m sheet 18mm Shuttering Ply (Floor) £112.50
(there was also some weed fabric under the hardcore, but I had that anyway)

That got me to this point:






*Studwork, insulation: £670.45*

4x 75x100mm 4m C16 (Front/Rear Floor/Top Plates) £43.20
16x 75x100mm 2.4m C16 (Front/Rear Studs, Noggins) £103.68
63 linear metres 47x100mm C16 (Side Floor/Top Plates, Side Studs, Noggins) £100.23
2x 47x150mm C16 (Door Lintel) £11.52
18x 1.2x2.4m sheet 9mm OSB3 (Sheathing) £183.17
40x 0.6x1.2m sheet 120mm Kingspan equivalent £184.96 (from Seconds & Co - absolute bargain!)
1x 1x50m Vent 3 light (Breather Membrane) £29.99
Expanding foam, cleaner (insulation gap filler!) £13.70

*Roof: £645.45*

9x 47x145mm 4.8m timber (Rafters/Purlins) £133.68
1x 50x150mm 3.6m timber (Purlins)
8x 50x100mm 2.4m timber (Curb)
4x 25x150mm 2.4m timber (Front/Rear Fascia) £56.46 (for this and the 2 above)
8x 600mm Rolled Edge Restraint Strap Twist (joining Rafters to Top Plates) £11.81
5x 1.2x2.4m 18mm Shuttering Ply (Roof) £112.50
1x 5L Firestone Water Based Adhesive (EPDM) £56.50
1x 2.5L Firestone Bonding Adhesive (EPDM edges) £39.90
5.4x4.95m Firestorm Premium Membrane (EPDM - 500mm overlap on sides) £234.60 (note this stuff is heavy!)

That got me here:





*Glazing: £289.30*

4 Double-glazed windows/sealed units, (incl replacement unit for one I broke!) £82.00 (from Facebook)
Glazing Packers £12.99
Double-glazed French Doors £120.00 (from Gumtree)
Timber (to make Window Frames for long sealed units) £55.00
UPVC window glazing tape £5.33
150mm x 10m Window/Door flashing Tape £13.98 (I think I bought the wrong stuff though)

Getting there:





*Cladding: £1,011.97*

110 linear metres 19x140 British Western Red Cedar, Grad A/B pack (Cladding!) £554.40 (from Code 6 Timber)
20 linear metres British Western Red Cedar (Door/Window Trim) £57.60 (from Code 6 Timber)
12 linear metres British Western Red Cedar (Corner Posts) £63.00 (from Code 6 Timber)
Delivery of the above £102.00 (from Code 6 Timber)
122 linear metres 25x38mm Battens (Battens/Counter Battens) £54.82
600 Stainless Steel Torx 3.5mm x 45mm Screws (for Cladding) £37.10
200 Stainless Steel Torx 4.0mm x 50mm Screws (for Battens) £28.53
2x 2.5L Treatex Cedar Oil £102.53
1x 85mm x 30m Insect Mesh £11.99

Nearly...





*Electrics: £1,018.58*

50m of 10mm 3-core SWA (Armoured Cable) £295.00
12.7mm² Diameter SWA Cable Cleats (for Armoured Cable) £4.80
BG 10 Way Metal Dual Split Consumer Unit c/w 1 x 80A & 1 x 63A RCD's c/w 10 MCB's £68.40
6242Y 6.0mm² Grey Twin & Earth Cable 50m Reel (Power) £61.20
6242Y 1.0mm² Grey Twin & Earth Cable 50m Reel (Lighting) £16.20
13 Amp 2 Gang Switched Metalclad Socket c/w 2xUSB sockets (with surface box) £22.74
13 Amp 2 Gang Switched Metalclad Socket (with surface box) £52.67
2 Gang 2 Way Metalclad Switch (Light Switch) £4.79
13A 2 Gang DP Switched Outdoor Socket - IP66 £15.54
6w LED Fire Rated Downlight - Daylight (Exterior Lighting) £40.80
Brushed Chrome Bezel for LTCD6 LED Downlight (Exterior Lighting) £4.56
Infinity 30w PIR Motion Sensor LED Floodlight (Exterior Lighting) £31.42
600x600 40W LED Panel Light (Interior Lighting) £51.60
Mounting Frame for LED Panel Light (Interior Lighting) £36.00
70cm/90W Tube heater £49.49
2 ft guard (for Heaters) £38.38
Electrician: install new fuse board, wiring all new circuits; supplied 4 x 20a MCB fuses; wire in 10mm, 3-core SWA cable into main fuse board in house; supplied 50a MCB fuse (Labour/Parts) £225.00

_There were some extra bits and pieces, small amounts of timber, tools, guttering, etc. but I don't have a breakdown of them._
_Physiotherapy for a bad back, caused by lifting the EPDM onto the roof myself, is also excluded! :shock: _

*Grand total of £4,231.50*

Given that I saw similarly sized garden offices available on EBay for £12K+, sometimes without groundworks/base, little insulation or only basic electrics, I think that's not bad!


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## Marineboy

Great to see so much money saved, but that is insignificant compared to the satisfaction you’ll have in years to come every time you look at it and think “I built that!’

Bloody well done.


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## Bodone

Great build and great write up. I'm struggling to work out internal height clearances and stay with 2.5m overall height.

Do you know what your internal heights were once finished, front and back? And did you stay within the 2.5m overall height guidance at the external front?

Thanks.


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## MikeG.

Bodone":3mnfraag said:


> .......... I'm struggling to work out internal height clearances and stay with 2.5m overall height.......



You don't need to. I thought we'd established that.


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## Bodone

MikeG.":2ncqiv0c said:


> Bodone":2ncqiv0c said:
> 
> 
> 
> .......... I'm struggling to work out internal height clearances and stay with 2.5m overall height.......
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You don't need to. I thought we'd established that.
Click to expand...



Hi Mike,

it looks like my only options are within 2m of a boundary.

Hence working out internal spaces.


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## MikeG.

Right, pay attention! :lol: :lol: 

Once the option of Permitted Developments is dead and gone, as it is in your case, then the restrictions put in place under the Permitted Developments regime no longer apply. That 2.5m rule applies *only* to outbuildings allowed under Permitted Development Rights. You can happily apply for Planning Permission for something as tall as your house._ (You won't get permission for something as tall as your house, so that was just hyperbole)._


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## Brian18741

Great build, well done on getting it done! [THUMBS UP SIGN]

Sent from my COL-L29 using Tapatalk


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## MikeG.

Brian18741":20zz0wma said:


> Great build, well done on getting it done!.......



:lol: Unless the OP has achieved Planning Permission and built an entire workshop from scratch, all in about 3 weeks, then congratulations at this stage are more of a prediction than a response. :lol:


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## Brian18741

MikeG.":2osktu72 said:


> Brian18741":2osktu72 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Great build, well done on getting it done!.......
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :lol: Unless the OP has achieved Planning Permission and built an entire workshop from scratch, all in about 3 weeks, then congratulations at this stage are more of a prediction than a response. :lol:
Click to expand...

That was to kdampney [FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE AND WINKING EYE]

Sent from my COL-L29 using Tapatalk


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## Trigs

Good job sir. How's your floor holding up and what sort of machines if any or benches are going in ?


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