Fire up the Fergie, time to build my new studio.

It looks awesome. Still very inspiring. You better produce some absolutely astounding art out of this thing. 😉

Like National Trust, are you having an open day for members? 😉

Like National Trust, are you having an open day for members?

The garden is open this summer again, so perhaps it’s a goer, things are a bit bleak just now, maybe sometime in mid May.

The garden is open this summer again, so perhaps it’s a goer, things are a bit bleak just now, maybe sometime in mid May

You’ve published it now, I’m booking May off 😀

I’m so jealous I actually feel sick

Apologies if this has been done, but I saw this and was reminded of this thread. Kinda the anti-McMoonter…
Bad Shed

After not following this post but going back to it now its finished ,its so inspirational,i’m loving the idea and the step by photos make it look do-able almost? I am looking to build a studio in Thailand next to my home there and the builders wanted big money to put in a brick garage like structure that would have very little light except with the doors open (useless at night there )great thread and thanks for sharing, T

been watching for a bit – just awesome!

Who did that bust if you on the bench Pete? Will be great when its finished

Who did that bust if you on the bench Pete? Will be great when its finished

He came from a Gentleman’s Outfitter in Edinburgh. Aitken & Niven. His biggest asset is his portability. No one asked which side he dresses to.

well I think he’s got a lot to be proud about.

I am looking to build a studio in Thailand next to my home

There’s all sorts on here – that’s probably why I like it so much.

McM > talk me through the floor stain – I’m quite surprised as it’s a pretty strong colour now compared to leaving it natural with just some matt varnish for protection.

Sharkbait, it was a difficult decision. I did like the pale colour of the white wood boards. But in the house all our boards are sanded and varnished. I prefer the rich red colour which the new boards lack. Hopefully the gloss will replace the lost light. I wanted the space to have a more rustic and recycled feel and the newness of the boards irked me. I think the darker colour will hide muddy footprints better too.

Here’s the second and final coat.

Great space – looking forward to seeing the first painting created in there!

fair enough….. I can safely say that you know more about colour than me!
I’m loving the stove – we have the same one in our beach hut, always happy days when that gets fired up.
What’s the machine on the left in the top picture?

The machine? It’s an Elu flip saw. The table flips to become either a chop/mitre saw or a rip saw. It was my dad’s. Somehow a wee block of wood had found it’s way into the mechanism which limited the depth of cut on the rip side. Once removed it will cut close to three inches deep.

The stove has been a revelation, it provides a ton of heat using next to no fuel. It’s a great value stove if anyone is after one.

I took an old painting of mine out of it’s frame and did some reworking, the light in the studio is great to paint with and surprisingly constant.

It feels good to be creative again.

any trouble at all with condensation on the underside of the metal roof?

any trouble at all with condensation on the underside of the metal roof?

Only once when we had a heavy overnight snowfall and then the sun came out. The tin was fine, it was the skylight that dripped. I think that was before the stove was installed though. I’ve never seen condensation on the windows after all the lower areas and gables were clad and insulated with the stove on. It’s my dream studio.

what about with the stove off? just wondering if you can get away with a tin roof in unheated space or if it would have to be boarded over somehow to keep moisture off it?

Before the stove was fired up, I could see the membrane holding water droplets, but they never fell. Once the sun warmed both the roof and the interior space they evaporated.

In my brother’s shed with it’s shallow pitch and no membrane drips are more of a problem, but it’s only an issue after a very cold night followed quickly by intense sunshine.

The roofing material was almost double the price with the membrane. If you don’t have sky lights, it might be worth going for the cheaper tin and insulating the roof space with rock wool and OSB.

I got the soffits up today and gave them a lick of undercoat.

Yesterday afternoon my brother and the kids came over. We cleared a lot of the brash I’d cleared and built a big bonfire.the kids love it as i build the biggest fires. So big in fact that they had to build a second smaller one to fry their sausages.

When the clouds cleared I had a break from picture painting to put some topcoat on the soffits.

I feel as if the grey paint isn’t reflecting as much light as the white undercoat, so I might try a test area with some of the interior colour later.

are you going to put soffit vents in?

very interested in condensation/ventilation requirements for this (not having a go btw, know you have said its fine once stove is on)

are you going to put soffit vents in?

The castellations of the roofing sheets should provide adequate ventilation where they meet the board the gutters are mounted to, I hope.

Re condensation, I’ve not seen any recently when I’ve gone up in the morning before I light the stove. Then again, as the stove has cooled late in the evening I’ve not seen any either.

Are you local? You’d be welcome to come and have a look.

down in deepest galloway, but my shed will probably be unheated and I want to avoid any condensation/damp issues if possible as that’s the main reason for replacement of the existing one

Studio update, I’ve got a presentation to make on Friday and I’m working my way through the framing.

Jeepers Mcmoonter! You are a serial achiever, I need to raise my game to even post on this thread.

After I finished the studio there was a patch of spoil which sat in front on the south facing side. It was mostly chainsaw dust, bonfire ashes and gravel scrapings from the drive repairs. We planted a whole series of meadow flowers, some from seedlings brought on here and some from various meadow flower sites like meadowmania.

The spot isn’t ideal as it’s partly shaded by the trees, but we’ve cut back the canopy to let the light reach the ground.

The whole site was a spot we had largely overlooked and usually by this time of year it would be knee deep in nettles.

I will maybe build another Holz Hausen and I’m toying with either an extension to the studio or another smaller shed along similar lines to use as a wood working workshop.

charming, mcm.
I tried to seed a wild flower bank, but after a fierce and frenetic blooming it then became very thick and overgrown so had to be razed and trying something a bit different now with bulbs instead.

We planted on poor ‘soil’ where really only nettles thrived, so there is perhaps less competition for the meadow flowers. Time will tell. We thinned and transplanted lots of snow drops and daffodil bulbs so hopefully we should have some near year round colour.

McM – looks fab, we thought about growing wild flowers in large planters. Which species did you grow?

They are mostly a mix of poppies, corn flowers, cosmos and marigolds. The fun of a meadow mix is not really knowing what will come up. You might want something longer lasting in a planter though.

cheers

Only just caught up with this today!, read all 8 pages it’s food for the soul
Well done and thanks for sharing

Only just caught up with this today!, read all 8 pages it’s food for the soul
Well done and thanks for sharing

I think partly what kept me motivated to see this through and to consider the changes, upgrades, parts sourcing and the multitude of decisions you need to make on any build was the support and enthusiasm of the folks on here. One could do a lot worse than post an build blog here.

This afternoon I ripped up an old fence, strimmed the nettles and pruned back the lower branches of the conifers. It’s made a big difference to the light that finds its way into the studio.

how did i miss this thread ,
i want one

So, I went for a hybrid of Farrow and Ball’s Dove Tale and Elephant’s Breath. It’s pretty subdued but when the sun catches it it becomes much warmer. By the end of the day much of the sun had gone, but the pics should give you a flavour.

BBC Radio 4, You and Yours on Monday. Essential listening for wood shed fabricators I reckon:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b039zg2r

And we talk about posh paint given names like “Elephant’s Breath”.

my shed is painted in ‘sea grass’, with pretty bunting up over the windows 🙂