# Garden Storage Area - Advice/Opinion Needed



## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Hi All

I'm moving to a new build house in early June and need some opinions on turning a pretty useless space into something more useful.

This space is alongside my house. It's 9.0m long and 1.8m wide at it's narrowest points. On one side is the wall of my new house and on the other side is a sturdy stone built wall which is part of my property so I can do as I please with it.










My first idea was to put a shed there but then I decided that I only really need to put a cover on it. Why pay for a wooden shed when I've got brick/stone walls already in place and just need a roof? Also, not many places make a 1.8mx9.0m shed.

I *don't* want to go as far as putting in a proper lean-to with flashing along the house wall or anything like that. It doesn't even need to be fully wind or watertight. It'll be somewhere to store garden furniture, kids garden toys, garden tools, wheelbarrow, an old rusting motorbike I can't bring myself to sell, BarBQ, cement mixer, etc so just something to keep it reasonably sheltered compared to being fully open to the elements. I don't really want to go spending a fortune either, but I also want to make sure I don't do anything that causes a problem (i.e. damp) with my new house walls, or causes the stone wall to fall over or something.

Would it be a terrible idea just to screw a 2x4 or something to the wall of the house and then screw in some OSB covered in roofing felt and fix it to a plank screwed onto the top of the wall? That seems to be the simplest way to cover the area but something is telling me it probably isn't sensible.

My other idea is making a shed to fit the space with OSB panels, framed with timber, and a felt covered roof. It's fairly well sheltered with the walls at either side and aesthetics aren't important as no-one will see it.

The house has a large garage for the important stuff, this area will just be for the stuff that doesn't really need to be in the garage but could benefit from being under cover rather than left in the wind/rain.


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## Juke_Fan (Jul 12, 2014)

Seen a few like that round my way - sounds like a good idea.

Just be careful with the run-off, it would likely go over the wall onto next door's property and cause some arguments.


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## Alfa male (Jun 16, 2009)

If a jobs worth doing...! 
Personally I'd do a robust solution so you have the comfort it will last years ! 
As above I'd personally not attach to or affect the boundary wall. Whilst noting you think it's yours, on most new developments these are shared responsibility so best to double check. 
Again I'd that was me I'd keep it separate from wall with some guttering solution to prevent rainwater run off from going into neighbours property. 
A simple well built wooden lean to structure with nice doors at front end would be a good solution and last years without the need for any major maintenance !


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks guys. I think I can make a well built unit with timber framed OSB. Really leaning towards not using either wall for anything other than shelter. Whatever I do will have guttering. There's a nicely place drain at the far end I can put it into.


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## ngy (Mar 12, 2010)

I have the same gap at the side of my Bellway house. Doing the same thing too, garden tool shed! Haven't decided how but interesting thread to keep an eye on.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

A quick browse online shows structural grade outdoor OSB (OSB3) at £16.99 per 1220*2440*18 sheet. 

6 of those is 7.3m. 20 of those sheets is £340. 3 roof, 3 floor, 6 either side = 18. Another 2 sheets for the end which won't be visible. 

For the framing and base I would use treated kiln dried C16 regularised 45X70X2400MM which is around £4.99 per length. Since I won't be able to get at the sides to screw it into the frame when it's in place I'll pre-fabricate each sheet with the framing then screw/bolt the framing together. One length each side, one in the middle and a half length at top with same at the bottom will give four 2.4m lengths per sheet and should make a very strong building compared to what you'd normally get with a shed. That works out at £370 for the framing materials and base leaving only the roofing felt which will be about £50. A length of gutter pipe, gutter clips, bolts and some hinges for a door won't add up to much. 

My maths makes it about £800 to build the shed myself. The only thing not included would be a couple of tons of hardcore to create a suitable area of ground.

To be honest I suspect the above is probably fairly over-engineered for what the requirements are. 18mm OSB with 45x70 C16 structural timber framing is fairly chunky for something that will be well sheltered.

I could probably save £250 just by using less chunky framing materials and another £220 by using OSB2 instead of OSB3 and splashing some cuprinol over it. To be fair I suspect I'll end up doing that. It'll be built better than the ****e sheds I've bought for my last two houses and they lasted pretty well in much more exposed surroundings.


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

On a few outdoor projects recently I've used normal c16 stud timber at about £2 a piece instead of the pressure treated version at about £5 a piece. Then used a quality water repellent wood treatment. The saving adds up. If I was looking for a piece of wood to survive externally, in a position that will mean it frequently gets wet or is in contact with the ground then I'd go for pressure treated on those bits. I lined a path a few years ago with normal c16 stud timber as it was do that or throw it out, and its doing just fine! If your frameworks going on the inside I personally would make a saving and use normal internal c16. All comes down to how eager you are to save money I guess!


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

turbosnoop said:


> On a few outdoor projects recently I've used normal c16 stud timber at about £2 a piece instead of the pressure treated version at about £5 a piece. Then used a quality water repellent wood treatment. The saving adds up. If I was looking for a piece of wood to survive externally, in a position that will mean it frequently gets wet or is in contact with the ground then I'd go for pressure treated on those bits. I lined a path a few years ago with normal c16 stud timber as it was do that or throw it out, and its doing just fine! If your frameworks going on the inside I personally would make a saving and use normal internal c16. All comes down to how eager you are to save money I guess!


Good plan. With the quantities I'm looking at even B&Q do it for £2 a length. The only bits that need to be treated will be for the base, sitting on top of a length of DPC. That's a big saving and framing will be inside anyway.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

I've decided to just stick a roof on it. £200 got me a load of 18mm OSB3 and 2x4 timbers for construction as well as roofing felt. Haven't decided how it will be constructed but have at least got the materials on site.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Done!

7.2m by 1.8m of useful covered storage for not a lot of money, time or effort.
























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## robsri (May 1, 2006)

Looks good, are you going to add any guttering to it?


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Yes. Gutters will be hidden inside.


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