Workshop Build - Wood construction or brick?

[Hudson Carpentry]

Why not build within the constraints as shown on .gov planning portal? Then do it again alongside or behind, if adjacent walls were of timber construction you could perhaps get consent to link them later. You could even do all the footings in one go. Would get you working much sooner and save that mortgage money.

Because planning say no more than 30m square of floor without permission, any more then 10 square meters and you need building regulations to be involved. I need to raise the roof of the garage (if converting into a shop) as well as extending the floor space and as its not 2 meters from the fence I require permission to go any higher. My current workshop is about 50m/sq and with all the machines I struggle for floor space as is.

Planing also say that you can't erect a new building within 2 meters of an other.

Good idea but not possible or in my case suitable.

Cheers
Alan

 

[Charlie Woody]

Whilst you wait for planning etc could you rent a smaller workshop for say 6 months so that you could continue to earn before your permanent workshop is ready?

If you can believe what you read in the papers there are lots of businesses closing at the moment so landlords / administrators / liquidators etc might consider a short term rent whilst they try to sell a property. It would at least keep the property in working order during the sale process and they would have some income.

You may have considered this already so just in case.

 

[siggy_7]

Having helped my Dad build his new garage workshop (36'x30'), I would definitely recommend a portal frame construction with rendered/clad block walls. You can build very quickly in block - a building of that size I would have thought you'd be able to manage a course a day on your own, the frame and joists took us a weekend to erect, and the roof again took us a weekend which goes up in pre-insulated panels with roof-lights in. There are several advantages of the frame as far as I see it:

* It gives the building loads of strength without having to build in pillars everywhere
* It's quick to erect
* You can have high side walls and a shallow pitch to the roof giving the overall building height a lower profile
* The roof is easy to put up and incorporates plenty of skylights, which makes the building a much nicer enviroment during the daytime
* The roof takes up no internal space with trusses etc (although you can still build in a mezzanine if you want storage)

If you want more info, I can ask him for the company he used for the frame and a rough cost breakdown.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Whilst you wait for planning etc could you rent a smaller workshop for say 6 months so that you could continue to earn before your permanent workshop is ready?

If you can believe what you read in the papers there are lots of businesses closing at the moment so landlords / administrators / liquidators etc might consider a short term rent whilst they try to sell a property. It would at least keep the property in working order during the sale process and they would have some income.

You may have considered this already so just in case.

I have (well not read the papers) and looked yesterday (quickly) and found nothing. Ill have a better look and maybe make a call or two after tomorrows meeting with the mortgage people.

If someone could confirm a rough price. I have got it to around £10k? and rough time scale 6weeks (lons has already confirmed this for the bigger build thank you).

I know timber will be cheaper but I want to quote the mortgage people the brick price.

Thanks.

More info on the portal frame would be good tar!

 

[siggy_7]

Right, some info on the portal frame. Dad sourced it from Wareings, who are a company based in Lancashire - http://www.wareingbuildings.co.uk. Apparently they weren't the cheapest around but matched what was wanted the best at the time. The kit was about £6,900 (ordered about 3-4 years ago so prices aren't current) and included the insulated roof sheeting and the guttering, as well as the four roof light panels which were extras.

Foundation requirements will depend on local building control and the site, as well as what you want to do regarding cladding. The frame will need a minimum 1 cubic metre pad for each leg of the portal, so 6 in total. As we were building traditional block walls into the structure and had wet clay soil combined with the usual jobsworth building inspectors, we had big trench foundations and poured a total of about 50 cubic metres into the foundations and floor (for a 36'x30' structure). Then you just need to add in the cost of whatever method of enclosing the structure you want to use - wood/metal/block.

Because planning say no more than 30m square of floor without permission, any more then 10 square meters and you need building regulations to be involved.

Regarding planning permission, I'm fairly sure the information you have about size is wrong. With regard to outbuildings, the following restrictions apply for permitted development (assuming you're not in a listed building or on designated land such as an area of outstanding national beauty):

* Cannot be forward of the principle elevation
* Total area of all outbuildings since 1948 cannot exceed 50% of the grounds of the property
* No living accomodation or TV antenna
* Max eaves height of 2.5m and overall height of 4m for a double pitched roof, or 3m max otherwise
* Any part of the building must not exceed 2.5m in height if any part of the building is within 2m of a boundary

If all the above criteria are met, then what you are proposing is permitted development and does not require planning permission. If the structure is over 30 square metres in size, then you have to comply with building regulations - but planning should not be an issue.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Thanks for the info Siggy.

I got my numbers from Planing Portal Website a couple of nights ago but may have understood them wrong.