Workshop - Interior design

Workshop - Interior design

Here are my first thoughts on the layout – given limits of time and cash I am planning a combination of ikea cabinets and a hand-made workbench. I would like to make this a dual purpose entertainment and (small) project space, but this plan tends to favour the latter activity. Unless you count a bench as...

Here are my first thoughts on the layout – given limits of time and cash I am planning a combination of...

outstanding workshop jobs - trim

outstanding workshop jobs - trim

One of the little jobs I had forgotten about was to fit some trim between the soffits and the walls. I used oak trim from B&Q, glued and screwed them to the wall and then filled the countersunk screw holes.   I stained the wood with a mahogany stain and then varnished it, and...

One of the little jobs I had forgotten about was to fit some trim between the soffits and the walls....

Door and Window Trims

Door and Window Trims

A trip to B&Q was the nudge I needed to finish a couple of jobs on the inside of the shed. I made a corner trim out of some left over plywood to tidy up the join between the door and the window, and also added a bit of aluminum trim over the...

A trip to B&Q was the nudge I needed to finish a couple of jobs on the inside...

Exterior finished

Exterior finished

I have completed version II of the pillar cladding and I am reasonably happy with it. This means the outside building work is now all finally done, bar a couple of coatings of clear coat for the cladding and a bit of silicon sealant between the pillar and the doors. I used paint from Bedec...

I have completed version II of the pillar cladding and I am reasonably happy with it. This means the outside...

Cedar Maintenance

Cedar Maintenance

It is a much put about myth that cedar is maintenance free – it is true that you don’t have to treat it, but it can’t be guaranteed to fade to a consistent grey colour and frequently ends up as a blotchy mess. So what clear coat to use? Well what I have discovered...

It is a much put about myth that cedar is maintenance free – it is true that you don’t have...

Corner Post Cladding

Corner Post Cladding

in the end I decided to use plywood, rather than cedar, to cover the corner post – mainly because I had a piece of marine plywood to hand and if it ends up looking terrible I will have only wasted £10 on materials. Besides I am getting impatient to be done with the exterior and start...

in the end I decided to use plywood, rather than cedar, to cover the corner post – mainly because I had...

Cedar Cladding continued

Cedar Cladding continued

I’ve got the knack with cladding now and managed to get a lot more up in a couple of hours this afternoon. cladding top tips 1. It is impossible to keep the corner pieces together when you nail the boards up unless you brace them first. I found this out the hard way. In...

I’ve got the knack with cladding now and managed to get a lot more up in a couple of...

Completing the Roof - fascias

Completing the Roof - fascias

Got a few hours in between interruptions to fit the fascias and roof trim – great to get a bit completed at last. I spent a good hour faffing around creating mitred corners for the plastic fascias, and although the results were passable, I am pretty sure they would have opened up as soon as the...

Got a few hours in between interruptions to fit the fascias and roof trim – great to get a bit completed...

EPDM Rubber Roof - installing the gutters

EPDM Rubber Roof - installing the gutters

Now I have my timber delivery I could finally finish gluing down the epdm rubber membrane on the roof. Step 1 was to create an upstand so water does not overspill the edges at the side and front. I cut a 45 degree chamfer on the upstands as I thought this would make it easier...

Now I have my timber delivery I could finally finish gluing down the epdm rubber membrane on the roof. Step...

Cheap Cladding

Cheap Cladding

I stumbled across a possible cladding material for the out-of-sight sides for the workshop, called ecosheet. Light, completely waterproof, hard-wearing, does not need painting and can be drilled and sawn like wood – perfect! It is also made of 100% recycled plastic so good for the planet. That was the good news, the bad news is...

I stumbled across a possible cladding material for the out-of-sight sides for the workshop, called ecosheet. Light, completely waterproof, hard-wearing,...

Timber

Timber

I finally got around to ordering the timber and it has arrived, but due to a combination of the bad weather and other things keeping me busy, it remains stuck on the drive. The shopping part is definitely the low point of shed building, and this particular episode was not any different. To liven things...

I finally got around to ordering the timber and it has arrived, but due to a combination of the bad...

EPDM Rubber Roof

EPDM Rubber Roof

I got an hour or two this afternoon to stick the roof cover down. I am using a roofing material made from EPDM which is a synthetic rubber. It can be bought in large sheets and is glued down – there are two main manufacturers selling in the UK, Classic Bond and Firestone. Firestone seems to...

I got an hour or two this afternoon to stick the roof cover down. I am using a roofing material...

Roughly Weatherproof

Roughly Weatherproof

a minor milestone has been reached and the workshop is now more-or-less wind and rain proof. Bob arrived with the replacement window on Tuesday and helped me fit it. It turns out there is a right and a wrong-way for a modern glazing unit to face – apparently one of the surfaces is ‘low emission’ and...

a minor milestone has been reached and the workshop is now more-or-less wind and rain proof. Bob arrived with the...

Dry Roof

Dry Roof

lovely day today but since I haven’t got much I can get on with I faffed around silicon sealing the windows and doors. Finally got the roof dry. I should probably be shopping for plaster boards & soffits etc (yawn)....

lovely day today but since I haven’t got much I can get on with I faffed around silicon sealing...

The Weather. Again

The Weather. Again

a brief pause while I wait for Bob, of Bob Best’s Windows fame to deliver my new window unit (next week I hope). I explained my amateurish mistake while breaking the old one, and he said sagely: ‘it does happen, mate’ which made me feel better about the whole thing. The other important step...

a brief pause while I wait for Bob, of Bob Best’s Windows fame to deliver my new window unit...

Windows and Doors

Windows and Doors

I have turned what should have been a simple job into a bit of a palaver. Things started off fairly comically when I did a trial fit of the window frame and found out it was 25mm too short. Panic! I had just about come to terms with the fact that I had somehow failed...

I have turned what should have been a simple job into a bit of a palaver. Things started off fairly...