Considering a lean to. Non-secure, no bikes going in just DIY and garden stuff. I reckon I could do way better than what’s on offer for less money, and I can custom build to suit the sloping ground.

Anyone else done it? Good results?

Thinking of treated softwood frame and exterior grade ply for the walls and floor, with roofing felt. Maybe some kind of tiles to look good. Plywood sides would look rubbish though.

Not cheap, but neither are ready made sheds.

I’m sure it was discussed here, but a while ago. Good luck with a search!

Maybe some kind of tiles to look good

This is where you go from throwing up a shed to actually having to put some effort into the structure.

Lots of ideas on YouTube. If my garden wasn’t solid bedrock, I’d consider screw-piles for the foundations. When you check out the price of plywood, you might want to consider OSB and then cladding. Metal profile rather than felt for the roof if you want it to last.

you might want to consider OSB

HAs OSB supply issues eased? for a while durign covid it was nowhere and amazingly expensive wasn’t it?

Unless you can get some cheap timber, be prepared for it to be costly.

yes woods expensive these days but thatll also reflect in the ready made stuff anyway, so id have thought wood from the local woodyard and self-build would be cheaper and to your own spec anyway.

maybe on a bigger scale than youre considering, but i built a shed/gazebo with no prior experience and help from here 6ish years ago now. it was waste ground and sloping too, and the advice was to make a ‘ring beam’ base which i did and is still standing now and is my greatest achievement in life to date 😀

this is the thread if youre interested, the relevant pics of the ring beam base start at page 3. certainly made sense to me for sloping ground.

Make it as big as you possibly can. It will still fill up.
Make it as solid as you possibly can. It will stay up longer than you originally planned.
Make it as waterproof as you possibly can. Water will always try to get in, wreck what is inside and rot the whole thing.

I can post some pictures of the garden cabin I built myself for all of the same reason you are building yours – cheaper, better, fits the size and shape I need. I am pleased to say it is still large enough, standing and waterproof.

I reckon I could do way better than what’s on offer for less money

I’d say pick one or the other. You could certainly do it better, but unlikely cheaper.

Cabin base – mounted on concrete block pillars on concrete foundations about 1 fott deep. Extra strong timber because of the weight of the hot tub full of water.

Cabin walls made as sections from standard length timber to minimise cutting. The long side is 2 x 2.4m and the short side is 2 x 1.8m. Each wall has one half fixed and the other half will be top mounted sliding doors to allow feeling of openness when in the tub rather tjhan being shut in a box, also big windows.

Cabin Roof. EPDM rubber is slightly more expensive but comes in wide strips and is really easy to fit. Also almost impossible to rip or pierce.

Cabin Cladding. Some kind of overlapping planks, I am sure someone else will say what, with each one nailed in place with the nails hidden by the next plank. A pain to do but very effective and only recoated once in 7 years so far.

And the end result.

All built with just a sliding chop saw, drill, hammer and a router I bought to do the quartic around the windows. I was amazed how simple it was once I thought it through and planned it first.

Cost was WAAAAYYYY Cheaper than anything I was quoted. Forget all the glasswork and fancy sliding doors and I was still being quote £20K + for a shed of that size. I think this came in at about £12K INCLUDING the hot tub and sauna.

as above it’s unlikly you’ll do it cheaper but it will be better for the same money.

i’ll be doing one soon with my brothers help who has done a few, he reckoned it would cost a little more but be much better.

last time i wanted some OSB it was actually slightly cheaper to get ply although that was the back end of last year so may have changed again now.

I tend to look on Davies timber for an idea of current sheet material and timber prices.

Note that 18mm birch ply is currently £139.95 per sheet ex vat!!! 😭😭😭

In this day and age, the idea that in a builders merchants you still have zero clue on how much you’re going to be charged until you start getting your card out to pay is utterly ridiculous. Does my nut.

I did it about 5 years ago. Lean to, T&g walls, OSB roof with edpm, decking floor. Was an easy build with a circular saw and impact driver.probably spent loads on wood but it’ll be there forever

Have you considered a metal roof?

If you want something specific or are willing to use alternative materials then DIY is the way to go. For a standard shed I doubt you’d build it cheaper but you are limited in size and shape. I’ve build a couple now. My workshop is blockwork with wooden cladding and a metal roof. Materials were largely sourced from gumtree, Facebook, eBay, etc. Quite a lot for free or very cheap. Worked out very cheap and fills the angled plot nicely. It’s OSB lined and that came from old building site hoarding, it was even pre-painted.

Another small shed is built from pallet wood. I used hardwood pallets that are used for shipping paving stones. Quite a job to de-nail but zero cost.

You’ll easily pick up tiles free or cheap. You can also get half rolls of roofing membrane cheaply.

You can do better than a lot of ready to erect sheds but I doubt it will turn out cheaper.

I previously built a playhouse – fully custom but it ended up costing a fortune (back 6-7 yrs ago).
Last shed I bought an internet one… chucked the felt and put a EPDM roof… chucked the door hinges and such and then insulated and ply lined/OSB floor..

Took my time proofing it before erection and then some cuprinol 5yr … made sure creeping plants can’t get between any gaps.. Its raised over sloping ground so I did concrete a foundation but then raised it 1 breeze block height… Base is painted in a tarmac type preservative over the top of proofing and the base itself is then made from pressure treated then tarmac type painted fenceposts

Just a thought but it was cheaper this way for me than starting from scratch…

Demolition sites are a great source for 6×2 and 4×2 timber. I’ve rescued loads of lengths before they were thrown on the site bonfire or crushed into a skip.
A bit of de-nailing and a good soaking of timber treatment and they are good for re-use.

Built his some time ago now after I was gifted a set of folding doors (damaged) and just built around them. Time consuming but pleased with the end result. Not technically difficult and going to build a mini shed for my son in the next week or so. It is totally over engineered and not a single issue since completed but was built without cost in mind (within reason) so additional reinforcement etc everywhere. As others have said you can build better but not cheaper..

Here is one I helped build for a mate…

Shed building level… Expert 🙂

Not content with that, he went a built another one the other side of the yard

As above wood is very pricey so it won’t be cheaper than an off the shelf shed but it will last longer.

In this day and age, the idea that in a builders merchants you still have zero clue on how much you’re going to be charged until you start getting your card out to pay is utterly ridiculous. Does my nut.

This

In this day and age, the idea that in a builders merchants you still have zero clue on how much you’re going to be charged until you start getting your card out to pay is utterly ridiculous. Does my nut.

You just ring them in advance, go through to sales, tell them what you want and ask them to email you a quote. Take the quote with you and that is what you pay!

Do the same with all your local merchants and play them off against each other a bit till you are happy you are getting a fair price.

Stop showing off with your mega shed builds you lot. I was just chuffed with assembling my metal Screwfix one.😃x

To echo all the above, you can build something better, that fits the space you have… but probably not cheaper.

My shed thread : built to fit a wonky gap. Still solid 2 years on, so I’m calling that a success 🙂

You just ring them in advance, go through to sales, tell them what you want and ask them to email you a quote. Take the quote with you and that is what you pay!

Do the same with all your local merchants and play them off against each other a bit till you are happy you are getting a fair price.

Yeah I’ve heard this suggested before. I haven’t got time to do all that shit! 😂

Might work ok if you’re doing massive builds with thousands of pounds of materials that run over several months or you’re doing it diy and have the luxury of taking your time, but if you’re wanting smaller quantities, different stuff and pretty often on many different jobs, it’s a massive pita!
If you do one type of work you’ll have a good idea of costs already of course, but I have to find out about all sorts that I’m not perhaps familiar with.

It’s hard enough as it is to research all the stuff you’ll need to give someone a fairly accurate quote without spending half a day ringing round everywhere.

I also find you often can’t get everything you need from one place either. Especially when you’re into birch ply and stuff like that.
Nobody directly pays me for giving them a quote. I need that info quick and easily otherwise, as I so often am now, I’m doing all that research for nothing in my time.

You generally need to have an account at all these merchants anyway so unless you also waste time opening an account in every one in your radius it’s not worth ringing them really.
There’s this idea that by opening an account you suddenly get good prices above ‘civilians’. That’s generally rubbish too ime and just perpetuates this ridiculous system.

Just such an antiquated way of working that I just have no clue how it persists.
Infuriating.

1 email listing what you want, all the BM in the “to” box, click send.

No need for an account to get a price.
It’s really not difficult.

Ok then…

I was going to build my own but time doesn’t permit it so it’s off the shelf for me.

As for builders merchants. If I go in in my work gear I get different / better prices than if I go in in my civies. Also with a bit of crap patter at the sales counter sees them work some magic to get the best price.

As for builders merchants. If I go in in my work gear I get different / better prices than if I go in in my civies. Also with a bit of crap patter at the sales counter sees them work some magic to get the best price

Exactly. Ridiculous situation… 🙄

Thinking of treated softwood frame and exterior grade ply for the walls and floor, with roofing felt. Maybe some kind of tiles to look good. Plywood sides would look rubbish though.

Do a base like WCA’s photo.

Otherwise you’re there or thereabouts, I think.

My recent effort was about 4m x 4m. Cost about £3k (in early 2020 prices). 11mm OSB for the interior boards on a 2×4 stud timber framework. I didn’t use matching boards on the exterior – went with membrane wrap direct over the framework then cladding on top. You could use another layer of cladding under the membrane if you want more security I guess.

My roof was trusses made out of the same timber as the framework, spaced about 600mm apart, then 18mm OSB on top and then felting. Plenty solid to walk on. Cheap and cheerful poly bead foam sheets in the stud framework for insulation. The door was made like a section of the wall.

I used featherboard for cladding. It would have looked fancier to use shiplap or something, but the cheap stuff worked for me. After making a few jigs to cut & hold the strips, it went on pretty quick.

Softwood ply might be cheaper than OSB, shop around.

All of my stuff came from Wickes. CBA with builders merchants accounts and VAT registration and all that – and Wickes deliver to your house. Yes, I know, quality, etc. It’s a shed.

Are you going to have windows?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzsjmvQDFfBFwsCCA

I built a lean to last year. Thankfully got the wood just before prices went crazy. OSB went from £25 a sheet (12mm) to £37 when I last looked.

I used featherboard for cladding. It would have looked fancier to use shiplap or something, but the cheap stuff worked for me. After making a few jigs to cut & hold the strips, it went on pretty quick.

Watch out for Ivy type plants… (blackberries etc. etc.)
That’s what killed all my previous sheds and fencing… especially sheds as it prises them open then you get water ..

In this day and age, the idea that in a builders merchants you still have zero clue on how much you’re going to be charged until you start getting your card out to pay is utterly ridiculous. Does my nut.

My local merchant uses the last price on your account for that item, so I pretty much know how much it will cost. Works very well if I buy one sheet of Ply after having bought 10, as I get the bulk buy price applied to the single sheet. For anything in volume (as in more than a £200) I phone in advance and get a price added to my account before turning up eg floor boards for a room or a set of 50 rafters for the workshop…

Pallets are the way forward, there are loads of them around FOC, just need a van or roof rack to collect them. I’ve just built a shed from them used for base, walls and roof. They need to be checked for squareness as none are. Measure corner to corner and adjust then add some screws to firm up. I did spend some cash on angle brackets, deck screws 100mm and 150mm length some structural timber to make a frame for the base and for door frame. All in has probably cost me about £300 for fixings and timber, a UPVC door and frame which was £100, around £40 for a roll of breathable roofing material, plus I need to factor in the corrugated roof sheets which I haven’t bought yet. It’s a proper sturdy a 3.25 x 1.8m shed that would be hard to break into. Used pallet strips for the cladding. Will also need to buy some timber treatment / stain. Call it £600.

I’d say go for it as you will end up with a shed that is fit for your own particular requirements. I’d just read plenty of threads, watch plenty of youtube videos and actually accurately sketch out what you are going to build (instead of winging it). Make sure you have some decent tools like a chop-saw, panel saw, drill, tape measure, etc. as it makes the whole enterprise much more enjoyable. It’ll be hard work if you need to put a base in as well, but at least you can stand back and be proud of what you’ve built (hopefully)! As others have mentioned though, I doubt it will be cheaper than a ready made one. Good luck!