UKH

So...I'd love to build a garden room for our kids to have some more space...table tennis...table football, etc... Problem is that we really don't have much cash around at the mo. I've thought about a shipping container but they're too narrow for our purposes...what would people recommend as the cheapest way of building a 8x3m approx room...happy to put in the labour myself so guessing timber frame and concrete base may be the way forward.

Any creative ideas?

In reply to Jim Houghton:

Timber frame then collect old pallets for shingles and cladding?

Could get trendy and scorch the wood with a torch for a cheap finish?

In reply to Jim Houghton: I ve just rented a shipping container and I’m really impressed with it  . How about two side by side , cut a hole , clad with timber  ? The price of timber has , pun intended , hone through the roof . I watch a guy from Tebay put up a stable a few months ago , took him two days  with all the timber pre cut and built on a steel sled . Not badly priced for what it was . It’s also he does . Ask Somebody similar local to you for a price , might be cheaper than you can buy the bits ?

In reply to Jim Houghton:

We got a DIY garden shed type garden room. We thought, 'wouldn't it be great if the kids had somewhere in the garden they could use a den'. They didn't really play in it, preferring the xbox and ipad instead. Similar story with the tree house I built.

I used spaced paving slabs as a base, so there is some airflow underneath. Also, its up hill, so easier to carry slabs, than lots of cement and ballast. If you're mixing concrete, then hire a mixer. Its surprisingly hard work by hand, and you need a lot of it. I'd also have a think about heat, as it will be cold and possibly slightly damp. A wood burner, and / or isolated mains feed from an RCD might be an option. Consider other uses. Could you use it as an office, family garden room, outdoor gin palace, bbq hut, if the kids dont play table tennis.

We painted ours with those waterproof garden paints, so it blends in. A shipping container or two, might be practical, but look a tad industrial. Ponder about how you might incorporate it into the garden, so it looks like its meant to be there. (Traverse wall on the outside?)

I found it was really nice as a makeshift office in summer. I could get wifi and sit there for an hour or two, listening to the birds. With a mains cable and a stove, it would be more practical.

In reply to Jim Houghton:

A tent or gazebo

In reply to Jim Houghton:

You could look into using ground screws instead of a concrete raft, definitely cheaper IMO. I'd also consider metal stud instead of timber for the framing. I used to follow a guy on YT who built these but got bored with the repetitive format so I un-followed him. I'll try and remember the name though as the videos might be of interest to you.

Edit: this was the guy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChqWFbSX8STP_c8W0RVW1Xw/videos

In reply to Jim Houghton:

8x3 is a big shed!

How you build it really comes from what you want in yiur garden, what it will be used for, how long it needs to last and what you're willing or able to spend.

If the aim is just a big cheap shed then look at how farmers build barns or modern industrial units if the goal is a little less rough. Steel and timber framing, wriggly tin roof, same or rough timber walls. Concrete or rammed floor. Insulation in industrial units tends to be rockwool (cost and flamability I guess) sandwiched between skins. Pretty utilitarian but you could mix up the materials or the design a bit so it isn't a blight (eg fence panel walls).

You've got non-traditional options like straw. Insulating, builds fast, cheap. A mate built a temporary ish house that sort of size in straw, it was really cozy. 

Years ago another mate built a prefab sheetmetal garage that sort of size, I think it was the cheapest quick option back then. Nasty space (cold, drippy, noisy) but it did the trick.

Jk

In reply to Jim Houghton:

Have a trawl of Facebook Marketplace/eBay/Gumtree/etc for 2nd hand sheds and garden rooms.

In reply to Jim Houghton:

As an example 12mm exterior 2.4 x 1.2m ply from my local timber merchant is about £55 per sheet. Its structural (for some reason 9mm which is still structural costs more) and so framework needn't be excessive. I reckon 8 or 9 sheets should easily be sufficient for even for 2.4m high walls and door inc some to insert for roof slope (less for min roof ht of 2m). With planning most can be cut to size at merchant, probably free. A long length of acrylic sheet cut to size and framed with eg cheap roof battening would provide enough window light (could use plastic roof eg rather expensive polycarbonate for letting in light). Obviously many extra costs inc solvent based preservative from eg Barrettine, sealant adhesive at ply edges, dpc arrangement etc.  I've recently built a rather overengineered shed with ply/felt roof and suspended floor using similar method.

I 

In reply to oldie:

8 sheets will only do a 2.4 by 2.4 shed without putting a roof on it or a floor. The OP is looking for an 8x3 shed, each side would need 7 sheets plus 5 sheets to do the 2 ends, 14 or so sheets for a flat roof, more for pitched, something for the floor and a metric arse load of 4x2 and 6x2 for the framework. 

In reply to oldie:

I wouldn't trust exterior ply not to blow after a couple of years, no matter how well sealed the edges.

8m x 3m is a bloody big garden shed. I've got an old agricultural shed that size and it would fill many peoples gardens. That size shed is quite a project.

Edit:

It depends how 'liveable' the OP needs the shed to be. Full on weathertight with insulation and proper doors and windows, or a covered space with maybe a stove that the kids can hang out in, that doubles as a bit of a 'beach bar' for parties and BBQs?

I built a new chicken / tool shed to replace an old solid wood shed covered in wriggly tin that was rotting with loads of crevices for mites. I did the doors and walls as a wooden frame and clad it with 4” wide fence boards with maybe a 5mm gap between them for ventilation. I'm amazed how dry and warm it is, even if it's torrential rain and blowing a hoolie. Rain doesn't seem to penetrate and the air flow prevents damp. I might well do a bigger version with a partially open long side for sitting out in, with a cheap wood burner for winter. That would be a fairly cheap option.

In reply to Ridge:

Mine's so far lasted about 4 or 5 years with no sign of blowing. I was worried about the only exposed 4 sheet ends (at each corner).  Used CT1 adhesive sealant between adjacent boards and exposed edges and a Barratine coloured non-water based preserver. I was prepared to put PVC trimming over corners (square drainpipe cut longitudinally down each side gives 4 cheap long lengths) but it hasn't been necessary.  

In reply to oldie:

I'd probably use OSB rather than ply - a LOT cheaper and more water-resistant.

In reply to Dax H:

Thanks. Made big mistake in just estimating for a single 3 and single 8m wall! I was able to save a bit on ply by having the board lengthways on one wall with a window with a long precut acrylic window above that (even more expensive per unit area of course). I do think one could considerably reduce the frame work needed due to the structural support of the 12mm ply walls.  I deliberately didn't mention materials for floor (OP would possibly just have concrete) and wall as there are many possiblities for the OP....eg multiwall polycarbonate roofing can be bought long enough to cover a 3m length and would allow plenty of daylight through (might be cheaper if side walls were a bit under 3m and allow for a generous eave at either end. I considered some sheet metal roofing for my shed which would have been quite good value but the delivery costs were enormous....,obviously intended for barns etc.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Have had absolutely no problem with water resistance of ply. I used OSB for my shed floor and found the surface was easily damaged so had to use a sealant. OSB is considerably cheaper than exterior ply though I don't know if it would require more framework strengthwise..

In reply to Ridge:

I forgot to also mention that the bottom edges of the ply are still OK after a few years. Sealed and not touching ground. Its obviously worth paying attention to detail when investing lots of time and money. I used to have a plywood housing for an outside tumble drier. Lasted many years and only rotted where I had let it touch the patio.

I imagine there's also variation in quality of board from different manufacturers , I rarely buy timber from B and Q .

In reply to oldie:

10-12mm dry OSB would only really need perimeter framing (8x4) to use as a shed wall. In practice you might want more framing (or engineering) to carry the roof if the roof is big and personally I'd want something more than paint to keep the weather off OSB long term. An 8m long wall will experience quite the wind load, if it's not to be heavily built then triangulation of the whole structure needs consideration.

PVC sheet is cost comparable with cheaper sheet wood materials. Self coloured, inherently watertight, zero maintenance and 8' sheets would only have vertical seams to caulk. You must be able to get it as a foam core sandwich too though it's probably not worth the cost, the insulation would be inadequate and the rigidity unnecessary.

If it were my project and assuming it's more habitable room than barn that the OP actually wants and also assuming there is space for the bulk I would seriously be looking at pricing it up in straw bales. They can be used to insulate and carry the floor too with care (drainage/pests). Lightly build diy roof trusses, rockwool over plasterboard ceiling, wriggly tin on top. Big overhangs to keep the straw dry. If digging out for a straw bale floor and there's clay on site that can be used to plaster the walls. If not then plasterboard is weirdly much cheaper than buying clay. Insulate the hell out of it, design to maximise autumn to spring solar gains and provide summer shade, if it's nice it'll get used, if it's too hot or cold it wont. Routinely heating a garden room seems like an extravagance in this day and age.

jk

In reply to jkarran:

I built a slightly smaller room 8 years ago on a very tight budget. I dug 7 400x400 holes 500mm deep and concreted in Metpost 100mm post brackets. These keep the tanalised posts out of the ground and wet. One corner is single skin bricks and bigger foundation for hearth and woodburner to keep with Building Regs J. I bolted a perimeter 6x2 C16 floor frame (to the inside) and hung C16 6x2 and the short axis every 400mm. This was insulated with 75mm Celotex that I picked up for a song on Gumtree and 18mm ply used to floor. Framed the exterior and insulated with 50mm polystyrene. Made roof trusses (King pin) and insulated with more of the Celotex. Wrapped in moisture barrier then shiplap exterior, Onduline roof. Windows and doors were double glazed units for £50 on eBay. Reclaimed laminate flooring, plasterboard interior with tongue and groove in the vaulted ceiling. Power via 2x 13a plugs, separate SWA cable to save on electrician. Never had a hint of dampness of mould in 8 years. Total cost, including wood burner and furniture (chairs, footrests, tables, lights etc)  was £960. 

In reply to Toccata:

That's very cheap it'd barely cover the framing timber these days!

jk

In reply to Jim Houghton:

Colin furze builds a shed on his YouTube channel which would be worth checking out, he sets off to do it cheaper and better than buying a pre fabricated one although goes slightly over when he puts a slate roof on.

In reply to Jim Houghton:

Cheapest......

Find a local woodland that needs thinning out and cut your own wood (with permission obviously) 

 https://northmen.com/en/about-us/wooden-house-project

In reply to jkarran:

What about the wolf problem?

In reply to Bob Kemp:

In my mate's case the wolf came dressed as a Hampshire council planning officer, there was a lot of huffing and puffing and the wolf did indeed blow the straw house down.

jk

In reply to Jim Houghton:

Thanks all, very helpful

In reply to jkarran:

I would have imagined that as a minimum if using external 12mm ply as you say all edges including joining edges, corners, top and bottom should be screwed to framing.  The whole structure would be considerably strengthened if the roof was basically structural plywood (to be felted) screwed to this (again with timber 'rafters' across all joining edges with steel brackets where necessary). However I'm certainly no engineer.

Would even good draught proofing and insulation be sufficient without heating in winter?  I'd imagine heating just while in use would be necessary.

Interesting suggestion of PVC....I used it over tiling in the bathroom but my source was quite pricy. I've found many sheet materials sound reasonable but delivery costs are often huge and I don't have a car.

In reply to oldie:

As I described is about as light as I'd want to build a shed but it doesn't need to be a bombshelter unless you live somewhere really wild. 

No, not most winter days without some pretty significant engineering but good design can really stretch the warm enough bit of the year into winter. 

Jk