Small workshop - Pent or Apex?

[Inspector]

Would it be possible to make the walls straight up to shoulder height?

That's what's on my to do list.

If you put the Gambrel on top of the shoulder height walls won't that put you above the 2.5m total height maximum height you guys usually have to follow?

Pete

 

[J-G]

If you put the Gambrel on top of the shoulder height walls won't that put you above the 2.5m total height maximum height you guys usually have to follow?

Pete

The 'height' is to the eaves - though there may well be another restiction as to ridge height - it will depend upon the specific council/area.

 

[Sachakins]

my old shed was 7.5ft so i know 8 would be nice XD but i dont want to loose to much of my garden ha! most of my projects are small, so handling sheet material isnt a major concern! Thankfully

I have a uPVC Door but i also have a really nice 1930s dougles fir solid door which looks just beautiful plus the uPVC door is massive and would actually increase the cost of the shiplap!




I have to disagree, i can get 20m of felt for £30 vs a epdm at around £100 am i looking in the wrong place?

That felt sounds like the thin cheap stuff, not worth the effort, short life span, cracks and tears easily.
Go for reinforced Polyester Mineral Felt, much dearer and a lot heavier, but lasts many years longer.
EDPM! Better as can get it a single sheet so no joins.
Need good warm weather for laying either one though.
I USED the polyester felt, very heavy, stays flat, no problems fitting it.

 

[Scruples]

So I'm in the final design stage of my new shed build and wanted to get some advice for the pros and cons of each.

I am only 5ft 4" so height isn't a major factor...much! I intend on using felt on the roof with insulation later on.

Here is a very rough 3d model of both with me in Blue View attachment 144122

I intend on using the shed for storage and the use of a mini workshop as I do a lot of woodworking in my spare time

This is where it hit me, Pent or Apex? I like both and so far the pros I have noticed are that a Pent roof will cost me less (£23.04p exactly).

Here is a very rough 3d model of both with me in Blue

So thoughts? cons/pros etc?

Cheers guys!

I built my shed on the footprint of my old garage (18 feet x 8 feet) I designed an apex roof but used bigger roof timbers to support a lot of spare wood. I had my chippie mate make up the roof trusses from 4 x 3, 2 foot spacing and pitched at 45°. It was worth it. Insulated the floor, roof and walls with 1 inch foiled insulation board. My one regret was using foil as it screens the inside from Wifi signals.

 

[Ollie78]

I have to disagree, i can get 20m of felt for £30 vs a epdm at around £100 am i looking in the wrong place?

Epdm will last 20 odd years felt will last 5 and you will be doing it again.
Also I like the fact the Epdm has no overlaps or nail holes. It's just one piece.

Ollie

 

[artie]

If you put the Gambrel on top of the shoulder height walls won't that put you above the 2.5m total height maximum height you guys usually have to follow?

Pete

Possibly, but I live out in the sticks and tend to forget about such things.

 

[stormy121]

That felt sounds like the thin cheap stuff, not worth the effort, short life span, cracks and tears easily.
Go for reinforced Polyester Mineral Felt, much dearer and a lot heavier, but lasts many years longer.
EDPM! Better as can get it a single sheet so no joins.
Need good warm weather for laying either one though.
I USED the polyester felt, very heavy, stays flat, no problems fitting it.

Depends if green mineral 40kg felt is a cheap option? ive no idea! im happy to replace in 5 years, maybe EDPM will become more viable then XD

I built my shed on the footprint of my old garage (18 feet x 8 feet) I designed an apex roof but used bigger roof timbers to support a lot of spare wood. I had my chippie mate make up the roof trusses from 4 x 3, 2 foot spacing and pitched at 45°. It was worth it. Insulated the floor, roof and walls with 1 inch foiled insulation board. My one regret was using foil as it screens the inside from Wifi signals.

How did you find the foil stuff? i have thought about that as an option for my shed, full insulation wouldn't be worth it due to it being a hobby not a job also im assuming you used the same for roof and floor?

 

[Yorkieguy]

I bought a pent-roofed garden shed when we move into a newly built house in 1991. No time to construct a shed back then. It was roofed with mineral felt and underfelt. By 2000, the roof was leaking as the felt had degraded over the years due to snow and ice in winter, so I re-felted it. At the same time, I built a workshop in 2000 and decided to use an apex roof, which I 'tiled' with felt shingles, (from Wickes) and flash-band along the ridge. 21 year on, it's still as good as new, and the storage space in the rafters for lengths of timber etc has been really useful.

In 2013, the felt on the pent-roofed garden shed began to leak once more, so rather than re-felt it yet again, I decided to convert it to an apex roof, making trusses from B&Q 'CLS' timber, which you can self-select to ensure it's not bowed and is fairly knot free. As with the workshop, I used felt shingles (from Wickes) to clad the roof. Again, the space in the rafters has proved very useful and the roof is vey sound. Some pics attached. Hope that's of interest.

Pic 1: The apex roofed workshop, and pent roofed shed as it was, prior to conversion to an apex roof..
Pic 2: The apex roof trusses and ridge I prefabricated in my garage.
Pic 3: Pent roof removed and apex roof trusses fitted.
Pic 4: Inside view before trusses were clad with T&G boards, part salvaged from the pent roof.
Pic 5: The roof clad with T&G boards.
Pic 6: The finished roof.
Pic 7: Taken today - the workshop is 21 years old, and the apex roof on the garden shed will be ten years old in Feb next year.
Pic 8: I've included that to show the moisture content of B&Q CLS kiln-dried timber in Feb 2013. Just 11%. Excellent stuff. ('CLS means 'Canadian Lumber Stock' but my guess is that it's more likely sourced closer to home. From Kielder maybe?).

 

[Yorkieguy]

Ooops, here's the pic of the CLS timber moisture content.

 

[stormy121]

I bought a pent-roofed garden shed when we move into a newly built house in 1991. No time to construct a shed back then. It was roofed with mineral felt and underfelt. By 2000, the roof was leaking as the felt had degraded over the years due to snow and ice in winter, so I re-felted it. At the same time, I built a workshop in 2000 and decided to use an apex roof, which I 'tiled' with felt shingles, (from Wickes) and flash-band along the ridge. 21 year on, it's still as good as new, and the storage space in the rafters for lengths of timber etc has been really useful.

In 2013, the felt on the pent-roofed garden shed began to leak once more, so rather than re-felt it yet again, I decided to convert it to an apex roof, making trusses from B&Q 'CLS' timber, which you can self-select to ensure it's not bowed and is fairly knot free. As with the workshop, I used felt shingles (from Wickes) to clad the roof. Again, the space in the rafters has proved very useful and the roof is vey sound. Some pics attached. Hope that's of interest.

Pic 1: The apex roofed workshop, and pent roofed shed as it was, prior to conversion to an apex roof..
Pic 2: The apex roof trusses and ridge I prefabricated in my garage.
Pic 3: Pent roof removed and apex roof trusses fitted.
Pic 4: Inside view before trusses were clad with T&G boards, part salvaged from the pent roof.
Pic 5: The roof clad with T&G boards.
Pic 6: The finished roof.
Pic 7: Taken today - the workshop is 21 years old, and the apex roof on the garden shed will be ten years old in Feb next year.
Pic 8: I've included that to show the moisture content of B&Q CLS kiln-dried timber in Feb 2013. Just 11%. Excellent stuff. ('CLS means 'Canadian Lumber Stock' but my guess is that it's more likely sourced closer to home. From Kielder maybe?).

Okay so i have to ask, how have you got away with using untreated wood? i was under the impression it wouldn't last outside? i considered using it but wondered how i would treat it to the same standard as bought wood that is already pressure treated? btw your sheds look amazing, great inspiration for mine

 

[Inspector]

If untreated wood is kept dry it will last forever. Good roof, gutters, siding, on a foundation above ground, etc. Unless you have wood munching insects that go after it. How did sheds, houses and barns get built before treated wood?

Pete

 

[stormy121]

If untreated wood is kept dry it will last forever. Good roof, gutters, siding, on a foundation above ground, etc. Unless you have wood munching insects that go after it. How did sheds, houses and barns get built before treated wood?

Pete

That is a fair point, chances are it will get a bit wet, especially as it will only have a breather membrane to project it haha i did think about just going for some cheap CLS from the likes of Wickes etc but maybe i might just play it safe and go treated

 

[Inspector]

If it is any consolation to you a guy down the road put up two sheds and after 6 years there has never been any siding on it. The OSB is a little weathered (grey) and swollen a little. That said we only get about 10" of precipitation a year. Your rot may vary. Maybe the new owners will clad it.

Pete

 

[SaintD56]

So I'm in the final design stage of my new shed build and wanted to get some advice for the pros and cons of each.

I am only 5ft 4" so height isn't a major factor...much! I intend on using felt on the roof with insulation later on.

Here is a very rough 3d model of both with me in Blue View attachment 144122

I intend on using the shed for storage and the use of a mini workshop as I do a lot of woodworking in my spare time

This is where it hit me, Pent or Apex? I like both and so far the pros I have noticed are that a Pent roof will cost me less (£23.04p exactly).

Here is a very rough 3d model of both with me in Blue

So thoughts? cons/pros etc?

Cheers guys!

If you are planning to use the shed for both storage and a workshop, I would be thinking large as possibly, because soon as soon as you start putting things in there you will be looking for room for both storage your shop.
Your choice, Have A Great Day.

 

[Yorkieguy]

Okay so i have to ask, how have you got away with using untreated wood? i was under the impression it wouldn't last outside? i considered using it but wondered how i would treat it to the same standard as bought wood that is already pressure treated? btw your sheds look amazing, great inspiration for mine

The wood isn't 'outside' it's inside.

The framework, roof trusses, floor and floor joists are all internal. The T&G roof is clad with underfelt and thick felt 'shingles'. The shed and the workshop walls are clad with shiplap timber, which I just treat with Cuprinol 'Ducksback '5-yr' shed and fence treatment annually. I can't think why I would want to use any pressure treated timber - its not like say wooden fence posts for example,

The garden shed is now 31-years old, and the workshop is 21-years old. Both are still in excellent condition with no sign of deterioration. I lined the workshop walls internally with tarred paper, fiibreglass insulation and 6mm MDF sheet. I didn't insulate the roof of the workshop as 'Kingspan' was too expensive. I double glazed the windows as the units from a local glazier were only a little more expensive than two sheets of glass. I laid foundations for both the shed and the workshop and built a brick base with two courses about ground level, with air bricks. I made brick 'piers' to support the floor to prevent 'springing'. The floor in the shed is T&G - in the workshop it's flooring grade chipboard of 10cm x 5cm joists at 40cam intervals.

Really, the key point I wanted to get across is that where pent roofs are clad with mineral felt - however good the quality - expect to have to replace the felt every ten years or so. With an apex roof, the roof drains better, dries quicker after rain, and felt shingles are not only far more durable than felt, they look nicer (in my opinion). I used Wickes shingles, but there are other makes and suppliers. This link has lots of information about them, such as the minimum angle 15 degrees with no underfelt, or 8 degrees with underfelt. (I think the pitch if mine is 40 degrees or so, but I fitted underfelt anyway):

ARS Square Butt Roof Felt Shingles 3 Square Metre Pack Grey / Green / Brown / Black / Red

I hope that's of interest.

 

[ey_tony]

Here's my shed. I needed both a potting shed and storage shed for garden equipment etc but because of lack of space in the garden, I ended up building a dual purpose shed. The front half being a potting shed in which I actually grow tomatoes as well as seedlings etc and the rear half where I keep garden tools, mower, barbeque, bicycles and everything else we can get in there.
I preferred the look of a pitched roof as opposed to a pent roof and I made use of the height of the central partition for hanging more than one layer of garden tools etc.
I have guttering to the rear of the shed and the run off water from the from the front half falls onto sealed pavers which takes the water onto the lawn and hedge.

I'm also getting a bit long in the tooth these days to have to climb up and renew roofing felt every few years or after a gale so I chose shingles and not only are they secure, they look far better too.
The potting shed side of my shed faces due South so it gets really hot in summer but the shingles handle it really well. It's been built over five years now and not a sign of an issue. If that was felt I wouldn't give it five years.