# Considering building a workshop/shed



## den656 (Mar 30, 2014)

Hi all, have been debating this a while, and thought I would ask a few questions here as we seem to have quite a collection of smart people on here,so any thoughts/ input appreciated .
Basically my house is a run of the mill 3 bed semi detached with a dual driveway at the front,but no space for a garage as the front room bay window overlooks the drive ,but however the rear garden is pretty decent ,being approximately 120 feet long,and stretched over 3 levels that graduate down ,the lowest level is the longest ,and I was thinking of building myself a block work shed for storing all my random tat but also to give me space for my various projects .
Now,if you have read this far ,cheers lol , I have had a brief read up and due to the height ,the coverage and having decent room I should be able to build without planning permission,but will have to make a visit to confirm all this before going ahead .
Have spent a good few nights reading up on various methods, and was thinking of doing standard foundations ,900mm, using aearated concretely blocks for thermal and ease of handling as I would like to do a similar much of this myself as possible as I a man not afraid to slave lol .
It would be singled skinned blockwork too , and potentially looking at either a concrete floor,or a elevated joist floor,not sure yet as both have pros and cons .
What I would like a bit of thoughts on, is I feel possible I would like to run water down for a basin , but was a bit unsure as to the best way to do this,and handle the waste water,that's my main query, sorry for such a long winded post, but wanted it all hopefully clear, again,please any input appreciated,cheers,Dennis .


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

Hi bud, one small question? Why do you need to build a workshop with foundations like that? Please don't take offence at this but it would appear extremely over engineered giving me an idea that you have limited knowledge in this area? Also with regards to the sink you have a few options, depending on how much effort or how permanent you want it. If you want any help or have any questions I've now subscribed to this or you can pm me


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## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

You'll still have building control regulations even if you get away without needing planning permission. I presume that there will be a gap between the workshop and next level up to prevent soil being stacked against the wall above the DPC ?

Could waste water could go to a soak away ? you'll need one anyway for the guttering ?

I'd prefer double skinned personally, but appreciate that it means extra cost.

Power would have to be run from the house by shielded cable, I presume that water supply would have to also be run in a certain way / protection.


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

Crafty said:


> You'll still have building control regulations even if you get away without needing planning permission. I presume that there will be a gap between the workshop and next level up to prevent soil being stacked against the wall above the DPC ?
> 
> Could waste water could go to a soak away ? you'll need one anyway for the guttering ?
> 
> ...


It won't need building regs as its going to be more than 30ft away from the house as long as it's less than 30m2 foot print.


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

Make it *bigger* than you think you'll ever need, because you'll fill it faster than a fast thing going fast.


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## den656 (Mar 30, 2014)

Ah,my own thread from the dead lol,thankyou for replying people, and briefly, I am going over engineered ,as ideally I would like it to be secure,as it will be at the very bottom of the garden,so if any lowlifes were to get into the garden , I would like it to be a decent building,rather than wooden shed etc .
Also, in the house I have collected quite a bit of stuff, that I would not want to keep in freezing conditions outside, I am hoping that by building a decent block building,with decent rendering,and probably studded inside with insulation , it will mean a lot of my junk I keep in the house can be moved down to there.
I do have limited knowledge of actually building something like this, basic diy,car mechanics I am comfortable with,and obviously the internet has a wealth of good and bad info lol .
Crafty, there is already power to a shed at the bottom of the garden,but I would be replacing that with cable housed in metal piping to ensure safety , and how the garden is, where the building would be ,I would have approx 10 metres until the next level goes up ,so no raised earth would be near it, double skinned would be nice,but yes,expense, and also my skill , I could manage single block lol , just looking into digging foundations,and either mixing and laying my own,or potentially paying for a ready mix delivery as my estimate is I would need six cubic metres for foundations .
Also yes guttering ,and potentially a water butt, which the water could be used for compost heap,and maybe even washing the car if I get time lol ,cheers again guys,as ever thoughts appreciated


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I built my own shed. 8'x8'. From 90% recycled timber. The only new bits were the feather board cladding, concrete for the base and the roof felt.
Its what you could call "hefty". Its definitely not going anywhere.
Probably better built than my house 

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