SO now the biggest project so far, seems logical they just keep getting bigger.
what i love about this is everything i have done i have started knowing NOTHING about how to achieve it !!!……..thanks youtube.
research research research is the key and if you think that the staff in bunnings are all experts then you should think again ! ESPECIALLY on a weekend !
so lets get started.
we have a metal shed 4.7m long by 2.4m wide, its a really cool easy design built @ 30years ago i suspect. the frame is like 3 duplicate arches, front, middle, end, which are joined by 3 x 4.7m wood 2×4’s top,middle,bottom. then at the roof there are more wood beams to secure the corrugated roofing mostly metal but 2 are skylight type.
the MAJOR issue here is although the entire structure is level the concrete is not ! what they have done ( and i understand why) is they have slightly slanted it to the front right which is the “down hill” side, makes perfect sense………….until now.
best way to describe it is that the BOTTOM RIGHT wood beam that runs the length of the shed is level AND level WITH the bottom left beam, the back wall is thus also level, so that will be my ruling factor.
what they did was ensure that was level , slop the concrete and then make the metal frame to suit , thus the right side metal is 2cm’s taller then the left.
so YES, i have a 2cm drop left to right but in actual fact its also back left to front right, it was obviously done as a water dispersal technique.
the shed has 2 large metal doors on hinges that open up, they sit outside the main slab by just a few cm’s so the slant doesn’t effect them, works well BUT we plan to take them off and replace them with wooden french doors which involves framing and door jamming ON A SLANT !!!
so at this stage i think i know what i am going to do, i has accessed every opinion i can find like:
leveling the slab
cutting a level into the front of the slab
ignoring the slant and creating my own level
having a left side level and a right side level !
cutting the doors on a slant !!!!!!!
so in actual fact its still undersided but i think we will end up with creating my own level being ruled from the highest left side point, time will tell.
THE VISION:
I have a clear vision of the end result, there is a window on the right side that overlooks the lower garden where plants will be grown so helena wants to over look that so the work bench will go to the right.
the overall interior will be “light,white and bright” as its presently dark.
the outside roof will get cleaned and the transparent sheets replaced and DOUBLED, 2 on the right and then staggered 2 on the left to increase natural light.
internal lighting will increase down the middle of the studio as well as on the right above the work area.
there is a classic old 2.4M workbench which will be the workbench but we need to add a little height to it, i’ll do that by adding length to the feet so as to put in a bottom shelf and the joins will be hidden and SUPPORTED by 20mm beams which the shelf will sit on.
the left side was a group of shelves and mishmash cupboards now removed to reveal the metal casing, this will now become a feature wall of recycled pallet timber distressed and in front will be stand up shelving.
the concrete floor is dirty with 30 year old stains and we would perhaps like to keep that character so once we get all the current mess out we can access it and think of options, ideally i’d like to simply give it a coat of polish so its smooth and easy to clean/sweep as a raw concrete floor hold dust where a polished you can sweep then mop nicely.
at the moment the outside is “army green”, basically only 2 sides show to the world , the front !, the right which is viewed from the back yard, but there is also the right side which is going to be a pot storage area so maybe WHITE is not the answer there?
the roof gutter is stuffed so that needs replacing, the drainage is shocking so i’ll have to put in a long french drain to stop water entering the studio as we are DOWN HILL form another 4 properties so the water just runs through their back yards and hits our concrete slab !!!
YEP, a lot of work, should be fun and as always we’ll try to do it with a as much recyled/reuseable items we can.
so far the french doors have come from the “dump shop” , just $10 each x2 and we have side panels from the same place a few weeks later for only $5 each x2 .
the feature wall wood ( to be distressed ) has already been source from bunnings through away, as well as the framing wood for the wall also the bench leg extensions and shelf base ( 5 ply )
i have also got some door jam wood from “hard rubbish” which is high quality but i will be purchasing the main wood for the french door framing as its just to important and needs to be without defect.
the electrics need to be checked as it looks like they have been added to over the years so i NEVER stuff around with electricity so we will bring a professional to do that work, its JUST NOT worth the risk.
i think thats a good intro, i have more to say but we’ll get there.
tim