With our intention to convert the old fruit shed/barn to a holiday let we realised that we were going to need somewhere to house the ever increasing amount of paraphernalia we kept in the barn such as the lawnmowers, a large number of tools, stocks of spare fencing, timber, paint, electrical and plumbing spares etc. We also needed somewhere to store the logs for the log burner we have in the mill as currently these were stored outdoors and chopped when needed, but the dampness of the timber was an issue. To this end we decided to build an array of sheds that would also provide storage for feeds and other equipment needed for the various animals that were currently squeezed into the old potting shed meaning it was extremely cramped.
A bit of thinking ensued and we decided to build five sheds all 3 metres deep of which two would be 4 metres wide and three of which would be 2 metres wide. The smaller ones would house the lawnmower, wood store and animal feed whereas the two larger ones would provide storage for supplies and gardening equipment. The sheds would be built as a single timber framed block (with internal partitions to make up the individual spaces) on a concrete footing with a bitumised corrugated roof and shiplap walls. The fives sets of double doors would be made from tongue and groove and the whole building would be coated with Sadolin to protect it from the elements.
The location for the sheds was to be opposite the chicken enclosure midway along the western boundary of the property tucked under some overhanging trees (that will be trimmed back) as the land there is fairly ‘dead’ due to the shade and we have no other use for it. It also means they are easily accessible from the properties rather than being on the south end of the land which was the other possible location.
The first job was to clear the woodpile (used for chopping into logs for the wood burner) that was stacked where the sheds were to be built so these were all sawn and chopped into logs and stacked away for loading into the log store shed at a later date. The land was then cleared down to about 200mm below ground level and a layer of MOT1 hardcore laid and compacted with a whacker plate. Shuttering was then built for the concrete bases and this was done in two sections due to the amount of concrete the ready-mix wagon would deliver in one drop. The concrete was poured with reinforcing mesh embedded in the centre of it as while they are only sheds it doesn’t hurt to make the base as strong as possible.
Clearing the site and installing the concrete base.
Once the concrete base was cured a row of bricks was laid around the edge of it and under where the partitions were to be installed on top of plastic damp proof course. The idea of this is to lift the timber frames off the floor a little so on the off chance of any standing water on the floors the timbers will be elevated and not exposed to the excess moisture. Next up a sizeable delivery of C16 70x 47 arrived and the shed wall frames were built up for assembly in a modular manner.
Frames being made and installed.
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