On 29/04/2012 18:26, rmwebs wrote:
Hi all,

I'm basically planning on buying a shed, and converting it to an office.
I know that its likely cheaper to just build the whole thing yourself,
but I really am not confident that I could do that, so have decided to
go down the conversion route.

I'd like to start with something like this: 'Suvi 212 Log Cabin -
Summerhouses& Log Cabins - Garden Sheds& Buildings -Gardens - Wickes'
(http://www.wickes.co.uk/suvi-212-log-cabin/invt/218595/) or this:
http://tinyurl.com/7a3radx

Which I'll then insulate, and basically I want the final finish to be
plaster-boarded internal walls, with a good thick insulation all around,
ad I'll be working in it year-round.

The annoying thing is that pretty much every 'high-street' shed is
really awful quality, and very expensive. However at this stage I'm not
sure I could undertake a self-designed/self-built one as I have never
done anything like this before.

I'm really looking for some advice, mainly for the insulation and damp
proofing. From my understanding, if I take a box-standard shed like the
one linked to above, is the following correct?

1. Wrap the internal walls , roof and floor in a damp-proof material
such as celotex. (How do I go about venting this, and does the air vent
just need to go through the celotex, or all the way through the internal
plasterboard?)

2. Add battens as you normally would for a wall, get internal wiring in
place, so the electrician can then just hook it up to the shed's fuse
box (the electrician will be doing all the stuff he has to, but I'd be
ok putting the plug sockets in place ready for him)

3. Insulate the walls (at this stage I have no idea what type of
insulation I should be using. Advice?

4. Add plasterboards over insulation and fix in place.

5. Roof: Add insulation (again, no idea what type) followed by
plasterboards

6. Floor: Add internal batters, with insulation, followed by ply (or
should it be mdf?) flooring, which will be covered with laminate at the
end.

7. Door: Once the floor has (I assume) been rased due to the internal
insulation, I'm guessing a few inches will need lopping off the bottom.

I could have this all majorly wrong so any advice would be appreciated
greatly. I've been searching high and low for some decent info, but a
lot of the places only cover US sheds, and while there are a few
similarities, the construction of them seems very different with a 'farm
barn' style that we dont really have in the UK.

Getting back onto the subject of a completely custom / diy one. I think
the biggest problems I have is A) the plans and B) the roof. I'd have no
idea how to plan it, and I'd be worried that the roof wouldn't be strong
enough.


Where is this going to be installed? Have you bottomed out all the
Planning and Building regs issues?
--
Cheers,
Roger
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