Workshops/sheds

Another point with translucent roof panels - check the heat transmission specifications, I think it is the "white" ones which let a lot of heat through, some of the cream ones are OK, and the darker ones reduce the heat transmission. Strike a balance. Probably need only one sheet in every 4 or 5 or it will get too hot. I only have 2 on the South side on my shed. Standing under some panels at a display centre is enough to feel the difference.

When I had my 9m x 6m shed floor concreted some 20 years ago, my concreter recommended 75mm reinforced instead of the standard 100mm un-reinforced (approx same strength). Reason mainly to avoid the grooves they put in to avoid cracking, as the reinforced won't crack, and I have a very smooth, almost shiny, surface with no grooves, very easy to clean. I did coat it with 2 or 3 coats of Bondcrete at the time before using the shed, but have noted that some spills attack the Bondcrete a little. The extra cost of the reinforced floor has been worth it to me. Maybe that is standard these days?

Cheers.
 
You would be unlikely to get approval for an unreinforced floor, and the need for code reinforcement cover put an end to those skinny slabs. Even a reinforced floor is subject to shrinkage cracking, and a large slab should consider this.

The council may require a slab design drawing, in which case the building codes would be followed.

Bondcrete is primarily a PVA adhesive and there are better solutions - chlorinated rubber, which includes paving paints, or epoxy which is more expensive but harder wearing if needed, which is unlikely. Steel trowelling gives a polish to the slab. Some of the expensive finishes may require more preparation.

You don't need much rooflighting for a lot of internal effect, Sheet colour makes little transmission difference when measured. The problem comes from the lack of insulation under the translucent sheet.
 
alan moore said:
In my first and probably only new shed, I insulated the walls and roof, and lined the walls with villaboard. Painted the walls an off white for light reflection and painted the floors with a pale yellow epoxy. Definitely paint the floor before you move anything in. My shed is 15 x 7M with a toilet and shower room at one end, along with a workshop area. My wife jokingly calls it the Shed Mahal, and tells everyone it is bigger than the house, it's not, but it is close.

The council kept asking, "Are you putting in a kitchen?" No, why would I put a kitchen in my shed? "Well you already have a toilet and shower." Eventually I convinced a town planner that I wasn't going to have 10 Asian Students living in my shed, and wasn't going to have a business working on vehicles. "So why do you need such a big shed?" It's not a big shed. I said I have a lot of cars and motorbikes. "How many." At the time it was 8 cars and 10 motorbikes. "Any of them registered." Yes, 7 cars and 4 motorbikes. "What are they and what are the rego numbers?" I told them and they said they would get back to me like they had said half a dozen times before, but never did. Next day, I get a call, " Mr Moore we can see why you need such a big shed, your building is approved." The approval had taken 18 months. It then took Titan Garages another 18 months to get it erected. It is a very long story I won't go into.

Went a bit mad with the lights (at a time when LEDs were still way too expensive) having 18 double 4 foot fluros, but have 11.8 Kw of solar panels with two 5 Kw, 3 phase inverters to compensate. I have 3 phase on the shed, and although I am an electrician I haven't got around to putting any 3 phase outlets in yet for some gear I already have. I have 14 double GPOs and one 15A outlet. Can never have too many power points.
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Strewth! I never thought about the Dead Hand of Bureaucracy!


I'm on 6 acres and already have a stable block & some shedding.


I'd better get cracking. That 3 year window till my 1st crop just got smaller.
 
JohnW said:
I wish I'd painted our garage floor....

My suggestions are:

1. Twice as many power points as you think you could possibly need. And then a few more.
2. A small table (mine is 400 mm square by 700 mm high) on castors and with a lower shelf of the
same size as the top. I use this by wheeling it from job to job to give a surface onto which to put
tools and bits and pieces removed from the car(s) when working on them. Should have made it years
earlier!
3. Good strip lighting on walls behind work benches - the LEDs that replace fluoro tubes are fantastic.
4. The widest roller door money can buy, powered
5. Another roller door on the other side if you want to move things through the shed
6. A floor layout that allows dust, leaves etc to be blown out as easily as possible through those roller doors.
7. A separate side door for access without opening the roller door.
8. As Shane said, make it bigger if you can. I doubt the cost increases in direct proportion to the size.
9. Consider increasing the floor thickness a bit from what seems adequate.

Strongly support suggested roof light panels and good insulation.

We look forward to photographs!

Cheers
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10. Viewing chair (s)
11. Tea making capability
12. Sleeping accommodation
13. Ensuite
 
Strewth again. 11.8 kW is quite some capacity. :eek:

Viewing chair is a good idea. Not sure about bedroom - I've seen it done though.
 
Forgot one thing. One of the best things I've done in years is to mount a Reinol (fantastic hand cleaner) dispenser on the wall beside the main door. It has a single action lever to dispense exactly what you need to clean both hands and it is a near-dry paste. I've no idea how it works so well, but it is by far the best hand cleaner I've ever come across. It was $100 or so, which seemed a lot but the convenience is so good I'd have paid $200 with hindsight.

I still wish I'd known to paint the floor 20 years ago... Any suggestions on how to clean it well enough to paint after 14 years of Citroen CX ownership?
 
JohnW said:
Forgot one thing. One of the best things I've done in years is to mount a Reinol (fantastic hand cleaner) dispenser on the wall beside the main door. It has a single action lever to dispense exactly what you need to clean both hands and it is a near-dry paste. I've no idea how it works so well, but it is by far the best hand cleaner I've ever come across. It was $100 or so, which seemed a lot but the convenience is so good I'd have paid $200 with hindsight.

I still wish I'd known to paint the floor 20 years ago... Any suggestions on how to clean it well enough to paint after 14 years of Citroen CX ownership?
Click to expand...

Here are a couple of ideas John:

https://www.concretenetwork.com/fix-concrete-cleaning/removing-embedded-oil.html
 
nauli said:
Brake cleaner works well John....
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. Hope you can buy it in bigger packs than dinky pressure packs... Good idea - most is now old stains rather than new oil, so will be partly biodegraded already I suspect. Col's link is really interesting!
 
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