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Well here is the reason (well, one of the other reasons) why the mini hasn't been getting as much love as it should have been lately… I've been building a shed in the garden, as its coming along its turning out to be more solid than I thought it would be and better than a shed normally would be so its going to be more of an outhouse or possibly my own private pub as there is not one within walking distance! I know its not a motoring project but its something that I've built all by myself and I'm not a chippie so hopefully you'll appreciate the craftsmanship… (if you can call it that lol). This was started early last summer and like all of my projects I came and went with my normal inconsistency, after all the mini was getting a look in now and again too..

So, behind my garage was this sort of nothing bit of garden measuring approx 4 x 3.5 metres. I dug it down about a foot, threw a small bit of hardcore in there and then covered it all in the stone in the pics below. This was tampered down several times then over a few weeks until there was no more movement in them. I then layed 27 concrete blocks at equal distances in a bed of cement so a frame could be constructed on them…





Trying to get them all level was a right pain the arse, some ended up cracking as I tapped them into their beds of concrete so they were out by a few millimetres here and there… I then started on the main base, this was built out of treated 4 x 2 timber…







As I walked on the frame there was a bit of movement where there was a gap between the timber and concrete block so I fixed this by cutting strips of damp course and packing out the gaps…



I ended up putting some on nearly every block to eliminate any bowing at all...

Edited by evad1980 on 11th Oct, 2016.

So neat. I wish I had the time to make a garden shed thing - I have so much junk in the garage I'd love to move!

The floor was to be decked out with 4 x 8 ft sheets of 18mm ply so I measured from the back and put a noggin across where the sheet would finish so the edge could be secured all the way round, I figured over the years the front would get the most floor usage so was probably a better idea to have this at the front rather than the back…



And then insulated the whole floor by filling the gaps with some 100mm polystyrene sheet that I cut up with a handsaw…



I stuffed the polystyrene in there so tightly that you could stand on it and it wouldn't move so was quite chuffed with that…



I had actually started building the walls before I insulated and decked it out, I basically built the rear and then the front slightly higher and then did the sides once I levelled the front and back frames temporarily in place…







Then the foreman turned up and I had to stop drinking tea and look busy…

I actually forgot to take a few photos of the base decked out as just a floor so don't have any of those… but here it is with all the walls screwed into place and then boarded on the outside with sheets of OSB chipboard… starting to look like a shed now…

















There is about a 500mm gap all the way round the the two sides and back, this will be cladded eventually so I needed to be able to access the outside walls. I could have made it bigger but then I wouldn't be able to paint/stain or maintain it.. I'm not a huge guy anyway so I can just about shufty down the gaps..

Impressive, especially as you say youve never done anything like this before... i always hate that bit behind the garage! I always think what a waste could of had a huuuge garage! Have it as pub/workshop so you can free up space for working on the car.. plus itll be warmer for just pottering about in t' shed

That was how it was left for a couple of months before I got round to doing anymore to it… unfortunately the tarpaulin I used to cover it was made out out of several pieces and the rain we had here was sideways on a couple of occasions so needless to say it ended up like a swimming pool inside once or twice… I got a friend of mine up to help with the roof, he is a chippie and wanted this bit done correctly for obvious reasons…

The difference in colour of the wood after a few months of weathering is amazing…



My mate in full swing…



We built a 300mm overhang at the front and had about 100mm on the other three sides… we then put a soffit all the way round… the roof was also decked out with 18mm ply..





It also has a fascia all the way round too but don't have any pics of that… we also wrapped the three external walls with a moisture proof membrane and that was held in place with batons from top to bottom that the cladding will eventually be fixed too..



Next job is to felt the roof, I have all the materials and another mate lent me his gas gun and gave me a bottle of gas so I'll have a crack at that too when its dry..

We used the same bits of tarpaulin as I had used previously and didn't learn from my mistakes.. we just lay it flat and held it down with other offcuts of wood and a few screws, but this was not a good idea as the water pooled in places around these bits of wood and saturated it further…

So, I built an A frame out of the spare baton and placed it in the centre of the roof.. went to Wickes and splashed out £15 on a 8 x 5 metre tarpaulin and pulled it tight over the frame so it has no contact with the flat roof… hopefully it will dry out now!

As it stands right now, temporarily boarded up like a squat looking cold and miserable…





Thats it for now

Edited by evad1980 on 15th Jan, 2016.

I think i remember from when i picked up that front end that your garage is slightly larger than average anyway? And now a shed.. lucky u! Cant wait to get another house so i can have such luxurys

Yeah for a single garage I have to admit I'm quite lucky, it is bigger than normal. In fairness the shed was going to be used by the wife for something completely different.. she has since lost interest and I have inherited my new cave!

Happy days!

Always handy to have a good sized shed to keep the garage clear.

So the shed is partly to blame for the mini not running yet!

Ohhhh i see..... you deliberately took your time waiting for your mrs to lose interet for its original purpose so now its yours.... ALLL YOURS... mwah haa hhaaa haaaaaaa!!! (Said as you curl your evil genious style moustache..)

You got it Dave!

Great shed and building skills.

Inevitably it WILL end up just as crowded as the garage unless you are very strong minded.

Then you will have to build another - as I did.

Funnily enough, I built a 3x5 shed at the house with great aspirations of a spacious workshop. It ended up full of bikes and kids garden toys which have now been decanted into a newly built playhouse

Good work!

I've just evicted all non-mini stuff from the garage to give me some space to work in, now the shed is full of all the crap... Now I'm sorting the side extension on the house to lose some of the shed crap...

The circle of shed life!

Yes indeed! Thanks for the positive comments chaps!

Out of curiosity, have any of you ever attempted to lay torch on roofing felt? I have the underlay and felt and in my head it seems quite straight forward but I'm sure it's not as easy as I think it looks? I've watched plenty of videos on youtube… just need it to dry out now!

Do the roof in fiberglass its much better!

Or one piece rubber membrane

Ya looked at both of them.. Fibreglass costs around a £1000 though... Got all the felt stuff already for £160!

I did my single garage for £450 and its twice the size of that

Corrigated sheets ftw

I did mine with a built up felt that technically would have given me a 20yr warranty if it had not been done as a favour.

The fibreglass stuff is good for a novice. Single ply stuff is ok as long as it never gets walked on or exposed to extreme weather

in aus our sheds are usually make from color bond and galvanized/zinc plated steel on a concrete floor

most guys have 6mx6m or bigger

i know your only doing a small budget shed but timber would be my last choice in a cold damp place?