Shed builders Recommendation Perth

[BobL]

I have the green light from SWMBO to upgrade the shed.

Problem is we have a small block and what to do with all the stuff that's inside and outside the current 3.5 x 5.3 m shed.

I then came up with the idea of building a 6 x 4 m shed with the short side along side the current one. Move all the machines and stuff into the new one and then rebuild the old one.

I was going to go DIY but have no time so I thought I would get a quote - all I want for now is the one shed. I might rebuild the old one myself. Problem is two companies I have approached so far have looked at the job as though it was a doggie doo.

Can anyone recommend a shed builder in the Perth area that is prepared to have a go at something a little different and doesn't use alfoil for building material? If possible like to go one more level up in structural strength than the usual garden shed

[BobL]

Well I have gone and done it - signed up for a 4 x 6 x 2.4/2.7 m workshop.
This will give me 42 m^2 of total shed space so I can get my ww and mw machines off the back veranda.

I'm planning on having a metal working end with a proper metal work/welding bench, grinding stations and drill press and metal working lathe. In the other section I will have my bandsaw/TS with router extension/thicknesser and small ww lathe and eventually, a linisher. The DC will be upgraded and be located outside in a small lean too as will be my compressor.

Product production will have to take a back seat while this happens.

[Larry M]

Congratulations Bob. Exciting times.

Cheers

Larry

[BobL]

Congratulations Bob. Exciting times.

Cheers

Larry

Is yours finished yet Larry?
How about the air filter system - I will finally have enough height to put mine in as well.

[Pops]

A new shed!! Long time coming. Onya Bob. We will be expecting photos of the build of course. :)

Cheers
Pops

[Larry M]

I guess that mine must be finished Bob - I've run out of room. It's all lined, insulated and painted and clearly fully loaded. Time for a revamp I think. I couldn't have that much stuff could I?

No serious progress on the air filter. I did join the two units back to back with a piano hinge and catches, and put wadding inside. I've experimented with the blower from a garden blower/leaf vacuum. I must get onto that.

Cheers
Larry

[BobL]

I guess that mine must be finished Bob - I've run out of room. It's all lined, insulated and painted and clearly fully loaded. Time for a revamp I think. I couldn't have that much stuff could I?

No serious progress on the air filter. I did join the two units back to back with a piano hinge and catches, and put wadding inside. I've experimented with the blower from a garden blower/leaf vacuum. I must get onto that.

Cheers
Larry

What did you end up doing for dust extraction?

What lining material did you use?

[Larry M]

I've got a 2hp dusty with a pleated cartridge filter on it. I also have a large shop vacuum that I use on power tools.

I used gyprock fixed onto steel studs. This gave me a gap for insulation batts. The termites in my area are quite voracious so I didn't want to use any timber products for lining. I found the gyprock easy to use and the cost was reasonable. Although I was advised by several people to use something stronger so that I could mount things to the wall, a few well placed battens fixed into the studs give all the holding capacity I need.

[BobL]

I've got a 2hp dusty with a pleated cartridge filter on it. I also have a large shop vacuum that I use on power tools.
Sounds good.


I used gyprock fixed onto steel studs. This gave me a gap for insulation batts. The termites in my area are quite voracious so I didn't want to use any timber products for lining. I found the gyprock easy to use and the cost was reasonable. Although I was advised by several people to use something stronger so that I could mount things to the wall, a few well placed battens fixed into the studs give all the holding capacity I need.

I used Gyprock on my attic so I know what to expect. I like the idea of the battens.

I need to do about 16 m of a low (max 450 mm) retaining wall around the shed line. I'm thinking reconstituted limestone. Anyone know where good places to get these from?

[BobL]

OK - have the green light from the council on the shed so now the retaining walls can begin. Today was dismantle the retic and tackle the remainder of the dreaded monstrous purple bougainvillea. Two trailer loads to the tip and one more to do tomorrow borning. Boy what a good feeling it was to reduce the thing to a stump with the chainsaw. Tomorrow I have to grub the stump out because it is right where a corner post of the new shed has to go.

Will post some pics tomorrow.

[BobL]

It's been too hot to do much during the day but early on the cooler mornings I've been working for a few hours on the retaining walls and sand pad of my new shed

The new shed is 6 x 4 m and is hard up against my existing 5.2 x 3.3 m shed. Once my new shed is built I will transfer everything from the old one to the new one and then rebuild the old one to blend with in the new one - ie connect the two with a wide opening.

The limestone block retaining wall consists of 32 - 500 x 350 x 250, and 32, 500 x 350 x 200 blocks. This all then has to be filled in with 8 m^3 of sand. The shed sits on top of the sand pad to make it level with my existing shed floor.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=159080&stc=1&d=1295348536

The bigger blocks weigh 72 kg and the smaller ones weigh 62 kg. I can lift them OK but I use a sack trolled to get them close and then roll the big ones into place. The smaller ones I can lift into place relatively painlessly as long as I wear my back support/brace.

I see it as good weight lifting training for working the new mill!

Everything has to be carried 50 m into my back yard by wheelbarrow or hand cart. So far have put down 36 limestone blocks.

Adventures so far include removal of a vicious Bouganvillia that nearly took my right eye out and getting rid of a wasp nest.

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

Looking good. Is going to be a terrific work space when both sheds are done, the covered space between will be very handyreckon.

With you on that Bouganvilllia, dangerous stuff, still have a thorn point in my hand from years ago. Can't wait to see it all finished and full of tools.

Cheers
Pops

[BobL]

Cheers Pops.

I've taken a couple of days off work so I could get a good run at finishing the retaining wall which I did this morning.
159363
159364

Now I have 8 m^3 of sand to move and compact!

I'm feeling a bit fitter already.

[beer is good]

G'day Bob,
I really hope that you didn't get your shed from Aussiemate, AKA Spic and Span sheds. PM for info if you did.

Peter

[BobL]

G'day Bob,
I really hope that you didn't get your shed from Aussiemate, AKA Spic and Span sheds. PM for info if you did.

Peter

I looked at a lot of sheds, including the Spic and Span, but have gone for a Highline - its more twice the price of the S&S but it's 300 mm higher and much stronger. I need to be able to suspend stuff from the roof without it caving in on itself.

[Burnsy]

Looking good Bob, Dad bought a HIghline for his property down south and it was a nice shed. Sorry I did not see this few weeks ago, I still have a blocklifter and other tools from my Landscaping days that may have helped make life a little easier (might have even been able to persuade me to help out and got the blocks layed in a few hours:p

When I was first reading the thread I was thinking a front of recycled brick or limestone with a regular framed and clad three sides behind it could have been added to your existing and would suit your place nicely:D.

[BobL]

Looking good Bob, Dad bought a HIghline for his property down south and it was a nice shed. Sorry I did not see this few weeks ago, I still have a blocklifter and other tools from my Landscaping days that may have helped make life a little easier (might have even been able to persuade me to help out and got the blocks layed in a few hours:p

Thanks for the good intentions, I spent half a day making a block lifter but I never ended up using it.


When I was first reading the thread I was thinking a front of recycled brick or limestone with a regular framed and clad three sides behind it could have been added to your existing and would suit your place nicely:D.
I was think that too - might do that for the remake of the old shed.

[BobL]

G'day Bob,
I really hope that you didn't get your shed from Aussiemate, AKA Spic and Span sheds. PM for info if you did.

Peter

Hi Peter,
What do you know about S&S that you can't post on the forum?
Bob

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

Looking good. You will have the muscles of Samson by the time you have finished.

Cheers
Pops

[BobL]

Went away for a few days and got back this afternoon and looks what had started to spring up! Due to lack of time I'm having it built for me.

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New 6 x 4 m on LHS and Old 5.2 x 3.3 shop on the RHS.
Gap shows a 1.2m wide door. I'll eventually clad the old one to look like the new one.

160849
This shows how the sheds are touching each other. Once the new section is complete, the RHS cross beams are unbolted and the old wall between the two shops will be removed. Still debating whether to keep the upright. I might build an archway and remove it. Gap between old and new roof will become a south facing skylight.

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Proposed metal working end of the shed. I'm planning on a small vented welding booth in the middle of that wall and a couple of grinding stations either side..

So far I'm quite pleased with it.

[beer is good]

The shed is looking good Bob. I had problems with leaking in the shed I bought from Spik and Span. The Highline sheds have a good reputation, and I was quite impressed with them, but the S & S was about half the price. But as the old saying goes - you get what you pay for.

[BobL]

The shed is looking good Bob. I had problems with leaking in the shed I bought from Spik and Span. The Highline sheds have a good reputation, and I was quite impressed with them, but the S & S was about half the price. But as the old saying goes - you get what you pay for. Cheers BiG, That's what I found too.

[martrix]

good work Bob, you wont know yourself. All I can say is plan out the interior and make plenty of cabinets for storage and a spot for everything! Well organised and you'll have more space than you know what to do with.

[BobL]

good work Bob, you wont know yourself. All I can say is plan out the interior and make plenty of cabinets for storage and a spot for everything! Well organised and you'll have more space than you know what to do with.

Cheers Martix. Shed is finished and floor goes in tomorrow.

I have lots of plans, main one being getting the ww and mw machines off the back verandha, but also fully reticked Dusty, vented Welding bay, aircon and even a sink!

[BobL]

Well it's all happening - floor is going in as I type. Next I'll need the sparky.

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

It is going to be a great setup, woodworking and metalworking, a dream workshop. Look forward to seeing the first shavings photos. :)

Cheers
Pops

[BobL]

Hi Bob,

It is going to be a great setup, woodworking and metalworking, a dream workshop. Look forward to seeing the first shavings photos. :)


Cheers Pops. The shed and floor are complete, now I have to have the electrics done, then I will insulate and line it. I have plenty of time to do all this because it's going to be a while before I start moving stuff in because I'm waiting for the floor to dry/cure so I can berger jet dry it.

Here are some more pics.
WHole Shed complete
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I was pleased with the contractors that put it up. The shed contract stipulated that there would be 1m of clear access on all sides which meant removing the two small trees in front of the shed. Instead I left them in the ground and when the contractors came I negotiated with them (ie 2 cartons) to leave the trees in the ground. Then when they left they also left behind a heap of sheets of colourbond plus a BIG bag of bolts and various tek screws. There are in fact almost enough sheets for me to clad the old shed.

here's some shots of the inside,
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The large MDf box is the sheds first project. I'm taking the opportunity while I have the space to help my son build a racing car simulator cockpit. It will also be upholstered and have a lid so it can live in a living room and act as a sort of giant footrest - I'll post some pics when there's a bit more to see than a box.

The big blue thing is my celebratory machine - it's a huge 3HP Carbatec DC. I was north of the river on Saturday morning and whenever I do that I invariably wander over to Carbatec just to have a look see and one thing I wanted to do was look at DCs. Well, when I saw their biggest unit was on sale for $200 below their regular price I called SWMBO to tell her and she said it sounds like a good deal and any new shed has to have a new dusty so why don't you get it. Anyway, longterm the DC is not staying inside the shed but going outside in it's own enclosure when I get the new ducting set up but just for now it's better than nothing. It has 5 micron bags which is overkill for being outside but the neighbors will probably appreciate it when I start up the thicknesser.

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Here you can see I've opened up the window in the old shed so you can see thru to the other shed. Eventually they whole wall will come down. It was a real surprise to see visually what length of shed I will have to play with (9.3m!) The big gap between the sheds will become a skylight and vent.

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This is the northside of the shed. Just enough room to walk down the side. Still a fair bit of cleaning up to do.

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This is the back wall of the shed. Distance between shed wall and fence is 1.5m. The top of the retaining wall is wide enough to support a few things - one of these will be an enclosed compressor, plus storage for long timbers and metal.

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This shows the gap behind the old shed ( 1.2m). The pile of RHS on the left up against the fence is what I'm planning to use for a welding bench and some serious internal shelving. The transparent lean to houses my old DC and I will be rebuilding that to hold the new one. The 3HP make a tad more noise than the old one so some mild sound proofing will be needed as well.

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

I'm getting more envious with each photo. Really, really good decision to keep the trees, (guessing the two on the left of photo), makes the shed look like it has been there for some time and wil provide some shade. Two cartons was a good investment, not to mention the left-overs.

Like that dusty, big sucker. :) Keep us posted.

Cheers
Pops

[WIGdj]

Hi Bob,

You shed, or should I say 'Your Kingdom' looks great, nothing better than doing it all your own way from start to finish.

If anyone is ever after an excellent quality custom shed, go and see Avalon Sheds and Stables in Midvale just out of Midland. I knocked down a tin and asbestos shed that had one brick wall and chimney over 100 years old that i wanted to keep as it has historic family value, then build a new shed around it. I went to all the big name shed builders and they said the wall has to go, Avalon happily accomodated it and also incorporated the chimney so it's still functional.

They also use 65mm galv SHS throughout where most others use C section. Yes they were a bit more pricey, about 10% but the materials used and the ability to custom from start to finish was priceless.

I've attached some pics of the old and new sheds. If anyone wants more details let me know.

Cheers
Dan

[BobL]

I love that veranda all the way around.

[BobL]

Still waiting for the sparky but as he's doing me a good deal so I am prepared to wait. Meanwhile a relative is demolishing a very tired 70's house in the northern suburbs so I got first dibs at anything inside the house. The first thing we rescued was a large built in Jarrah wall unit with solid jarrah tops that is probably going to go back into the new house. I scored a 2.2 HP in wall Carrier air con for the shed - it probably has a few years of life left, but seeing it was free I'm not fussed. After much swearing and breaking of tiles and cutting of fingers I also extracted a laundry trough with cabinet and taps, also for the shed. Other things we got out were a large Carrier air con unit - it must weight 60 kg? A wall safe, a heap of double power points and lots of other bits and pieces.

I'm fast running out of room where to put this stuff!

[KevM]

I'm fast running out of room where to put this stuff!

Maybe you need another shed! They are never big enough.

[BobL]

Maybe you need another shed! They are never big enough.

It's a disease or at least a disorder.

Sparky came yesterday to lay the cables out so I could I start lining the shed.

Two type of lining will be used. The metal work end/corner of the shed is being lined in miniorb. This is so if sparks or hot metal lumps or metal grinding dust strikes the lining it will survive. The rest of the shed will be done in Gyprock.

In the same manner the miniorb section is being insulated with rockwool, the gyprock section with the aircell type stuff. if I used the aircell under the mini orb and it melted that would be the end of it.

Here's the end wall rockwool insulation going in.
164105
The miniorb is relatively expensive but it does not need battens and stuff like light shelving or hooks can be tek screwed straight onto it. the disadvantage is installing the insulation is a PITA. To hold the insulation in place I taped black plastic strips to the cross beams. After this photo was taken I went and had a cup of coffee and came back to find half the rock wool on the floor. If you decide to try this method make sure you use extra tape and don't expect tape to stay up in hot weather for more than an hour or so. The aircell stuff is so much nicer and easier to use,

I then started on the miniorb.
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It's harder than it looks to get straight. The 2.4m sheets are a super snug fit on a one-of basis, which is great but the floor is not level in places and even a 1/2 mm out at the floor throws the sheet out 2mm at the top. Cutting the lengthwise strip with a tin snips is much harder than standard corrugated iron as the miniorb is quite stiff lengthwise, so it's out with the angle grinder and thin cut off wheel.

This corner will be metal work central.
164106

The FUP fairy only visited twice, once was when I tried to tek screw into the top of another tek screw, and the other time the angle grinder slipped and cut one of the sheets crooked! Argggh!

[Groggy]

I don't know how I miss these threads :doh:

Great looking shed coming together Bob. I like the idea of the two stage build, a great solution :2tsup:

[BobL]

I don't know how I miss these threads :doh:

Great looking shed coming together Bob. I like the idea of the two stage build, a great solution :2tsup:

Cheers Groggy. I'm really enjoying the build. I reckon there's at least a couple of years of weekend work involved in getting it to what I have in mind.

[Groggy]

I'm really enjoying the build.I bet you are - more space and a fresh layout - I'd have a grin that wouldn't quit.

[Bob38S]

Looking great - you won't know yourself.

[BobL]

Cheers guys. It's great to have all that space but like freeways the expectations quickly grow to meet and of course exceed the available space so some innovative solutions will be required. The more I think about it the more useful it will be to have dedicated metal work and wood work sections. SWMBO is really impressed with the miniorb and said why don't you do the whole lot in that stuff but I have to demonstrate some restraint! :2tsup:

[BobL]

I did the remainder of the miniorb today.
164654

I was only going to do one corner of the new shed (the metalwork corner) in Miniorb but the more I thought about it the better I liked the miniorb. For example around a metal work lathe with cutting fluid/lube flying everywhere and near the sink with water I thought miniorb is gonna be so much better than gyprock for those areas. Anyway I ended up lining one half of the new shed in miniorb and I'll do the rest in gyprock.

I found out something about miniorb and that is it's not all the same profile. I needed 10 sheets and I bought 8 sheets from the local Bunnings because that is all they had. Then was over at Stratco looking at a few bits and pieces and noted their minorb was a few $ cheaper so I bought two sheets but today I found out it is not exactly the same profile. I couldn't return it as I had already cut it. Anyway it's functional even if a couple of joins are not pretty.

I also worked out how to cut the stuff straight with a thin kerf cutting wheel and that is not to let the cutting wheel too far into the cut. I found that by using an 18 mm thick piece of mdf under the angle grinder it cuts much smoother and doesn't grab like it does with the full depth cut.

[dai sensei]

Hi Bob, this looks really great :2tsup: I am really jealous of the room you now have :( Look forward to seeing it all complete with machinery installed on my next trip :p

Interesting you chose to poor the slab after the shed. What is the detail under the bottom girt? I assume there is a drop to ensure the outside sheeting is lower than the slab level and ensure water doesn't seep in.

I hope you took note of where the girts were before cladding it. I attached all of my shelving to my girts for the strength, rather than the sheeting, although I have a lot more girts for the wind loads here :rolleyes:.

Enjoy :U

[BobL]

Hi Bob, this looks really great :2tsup: I am really jealous of the room you now have :( Look forward to seeing it all complete with machinery installed on my next trip :p
No worries.


Interesting you chose to poor the slab after the shed. What is the detail under the bottom girt? I assume there is a drop to ensure the outside sheeting is lower than the slab level and ensure water doesn't seep in.
This should explain it
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164661&stc=1&d=1300575321
The reinforced 100 mm concrete slab sits on the sand pad. The concrete oozes out and partially fills the standoff gaps between the colorbond and the girts in the standard trimdeck colorbond profile but the remaining gaps were fixed with a small plug of rock wool and some with a $16 can of gapfiller.


I hope you took note of where the girts were before cladding it. I attached all of my shelving to my girts for the strength, rather than the sheeting, although I have a lot more girts for the wind loads here :rolleyes:.
The miniorb is attached by tek screws to the girts so I can see those very easy.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164662&stc=1&d=1300575324
Also I am not cladding the galvanised angle posts - too bloody handy for hanging things off! This means I can see the "girt to post" bolt line and know the girts are 50 mm either side of this line. I will also be able to tek screw lighteeight things direct onto the miniorb.

[Sawdust Maker]

I'm not sure how I missed this either - maybe the title, didn't expect it to develop into a major shed build

I'm green with envy you lucky b. erh chap

Like the idea of a metal work section :2tsup:

[BobL]

I'm not sure how I missed this either - maybe the title, didn't expect it to develope into a major shed build

I'm green with envy you lucky b. erh chap

Like the idea of a metal work section :2tsup:

Yeah it's turning into a bit of a "Ben Hur" Production. I have to admit the miniorb looks good even if it is a bit more expensive and a bit of bear to install.

I spent most of yesterday installing C-channel battens for the gyrock in the walls of the other half of the shed. Because I don't want to encroach into the valuable internal space I'm not just screwing the battens on top of the girts but lapping them around the girts like proper wall studs. This still leave 15 mm of space between the studs and the cladding for the electrical cable to pass but means a lot of angle grinder work cutting the lap joints into the channel so it will fit. I also decide to use 1.2 mm thick C-channel instead of the standard thinner battens material - but this means drill every gyprock screw hole!

There's still a looooooooonnnng way to go . . . it's like a giant cubby build. The mind races on far faster than one's ability to build - all in all a lot of fun.

[stevepay]

Looks great Bob,

I'm in a similar position as yourself, I have a new shed just finished and was going to post on here about the company I used but it appears I am very much too late :)

I too am looking at options for the internal walls...Never thought to use mini-orb as a wall lining but have to admit it looks very slick.

I was considering the usual selection of either plywood or some sort of mdf panels, perhaps even gyprock as you have done.

I'll post a quick photo to show how it looked for about 24 hours :D

[BobL]

Looks great Bob,

I'm in a similar position as yourself, I have a new shed just finished and was going to post on here about the company I used but it appears I am very much too late :)

I'll post a quick photo to show how it looked for about 24 hours :D
Looks good! but I am glad my shed company put the girts the other way around so I have a lot of surface to screw the interior panels onto.


I too am looking at options for the internal walls...Never thought to use mini-orb as a wall lining but have to admit it looks very slick.

I was considering the usual selection of either plywood or some sort of mdf panels, perhaps even gyprock as you have done.

I'm wrestling with the gyprock at the moment. I have worked with gyprock before and forgotten what a PITA it is.

Despite the expense, I really regret not doing the entire lining with miniorb. The gyprock requires, battens, gentle treatment and then patching and painting. The miniorb just goes onto the wall and in my case slipped perfectly between the roof trusses and outer girts. Where as the gyprock is too thick and I have to line it in two parts - not that this affects you.

Plywood and MDF are termite food where I live so I did not want to use those.

Anyway I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

[Sawdust Maker]

...

Plywood and MDF are termite food where I live so I did not want to use those.

...

I've an old hardwood framed fibro clad shed :U It was originally called a garage :2tsup:

I've not lined it as to do so would hide the termite trails - I've found them twice so far about 3 - 4 years apart, bloomin things. :((

So I do woodwork and have termite trouble, go figure :doh:

[BobL]

I've an old hardwood framed fibro clad shed :U It was originally called a garage :2tsup:

I've not lined it as to do so would hide the termite trails - I've found them twice so far about 3 - 4 years apart, bloomin things. :((

So I do woodwork and have termite trouble, go figure :doh:

That sounds a bit lile like my 33 year olf original shed. It has 2" steel pipe pillars and jarrah girts. There is a massive (300 m long) termite nest running down the backs of all the houses on our block. I have found the blighters in our house twice so this time I'm not taking a risk - steel - steel and more steel for the new shed.

[BobL]

This weekend progress was hampered by the hot weather and family duties.

Anyway, I've completed enough of the gyprock so that the sparky can finish up and add 3 more power points .
I'm getting him to install stall two pendant power points from the middle roof truss in the shed, and a 15A external plug in case I want to upgrade my compressor to something serious.
165544
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The gyprock is more difficult that I thought it would be to installed as full 2.4m length sheets because it is too thick to fit between the girts and the roof truss so they had to be installed in two separate pieces. It also need to be prepainted before it went in behind the roof truss ie a PITA.

I still have to insulate and line the door.
Then I need to join the two sheds together and put windows in the skylight void.

D-day is 5 May which is when I can paint the floor with Berger Jet dry. Then I can start moving in!

Can't wait.

[Bob38S]

Just a question, I see the greenish dusty flex hose - I have only ever come across grey [light/dark] and almost clear [the super flex stuff] - any info on it?

[BobL]

Just a question, I see the greenish dusty flex hose - I have only ever come across grey [light/dark] and almost clear [the super flex stuff] - any info on it?

I picked that piece of flexy up along with a whole pile of 6" metal ducting second hand a few months ago. The guy I bought it from also bought it second hand along with his DC so he has no idea about where it comes from either. I has some corrugations (more than I'd like to see) but it has to be better than smooth wall 4" and I will be able to measure how well it works using an air speed monitor.

I have a lead on some different 6" flexy from a local plumbing supplies. The supplier reckons it will be "reasonably priced". I'll post something when I have more info.

[Bob38S]

Thanks for the info - Enjoy the shed.

[BobL]

Well the sparky finally came to finish up the shed today.

The first thing I was impressed by was the size of the cable. House does not have 3 Phase yet but will hopefully come when we get underground power and then shed will be able to have 3 Ph so I thought I would get it prewired.
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This shot shows the numbers of powerpoints.
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There are 12 double switch power points and 4 Lighting points controlled from a switch by the door.
Point #8 is a dedicated 15A and there is a single weather proof 15A plug outside at the back of the shed where I plan to locate my compressor in a dedicated housing.
167704
This gets the compressor noise out of the shed. The big 3HP DC will be run on the existing original 20A line to the old part of the shed - I decided to leave that there rather than go to the expense of pulling it out.

I've never been this excited by sparky work before and although this is costing me far more than I'd like, I have decide to play it safe so I can sleep stress free at night.

One more week to go and I can paint the floor and then move in!

[RETIRED]

You still won't have enough.:wink::D

[BobL]

You still won't have enough.:wink::D

I'll definitely be adding some switched power strips to some of those sockets.

I forgot to say my old shed has 7 double switched powerpoints ( 3 of the 14 sockets are used for lights). Two of these will be lost when I removed the old wall between the two shed But when I renovate the old part of the shed I will get the wiring redone and have a similar number of power points in that half.

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

Good idea to pre-wire for 3 phase. You never know what machine you might come across in the future and it is cheaper now rather than later. :) Going to be a joy to move into.

Cheers
Pops

[BobL]

In my old shed I have a compressor in one corner and a hose that runs from the compressor to the middle of the ceiling where I have a pair of air outlets. This works but I am forever tripping on the air hoses radiating out from that point and I have damaged half a dozen air hoses by tripping/standing on them, dropping stuff on them or melting them with hot metal.

At work we have reticulated compressed air in the workshop and i thought I'd make a effort to do the same in my new shed. I Though about using copper pipe but because I already had access to some 1/2" galvanized pipe and fittings and a pipe threader I decide to go that way. If you use air tools you need a bigger compressor and bigger hose/pipe.

It all starts here - The compressor is located in a sound suppressing enclosure outside the shed. I had the sparky already put a 15A line outside.
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Inside the air comes in at almost at floor level. The blue hose is a temporary line (from the compressor still currently located in the old part of the shed) connected to the new retic system's drain tap (see below) so I could test the line as each segment is added, otherwise if I had a leak I might have to undo many segments of pipe.
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Coming in at ground level is deliberately done to create a low spot in the incoming pipe so that any water that condenses before the water filter can be drained and won't rust the pipe. The drain tap can be opened every now and then to flush the line of water.

The hurdy gurdy arrangement half way up the wall is a water filter and the first outlet. The water filter works with air flow top to bottom so I have to loop the flow with flexy line.
The other good reason for attaching things like filters using flexy is that they do eventually break and then having them attached to flexy line makes them much easier to replace.

The line then goes up the back wall of the shed and across the ceiling to the middle where a pair of T junctions distribute the air to the other 3 walls of the shed. The pipe is mounted ~15 mm below the roof truss using 2 mm thick galvanised strap and is strong enough for me to hang off it. The pipe then becomes as defacto rail for hanging stuff off all the way down the middle of the shed.

Because I'm not sure where I will want my outlets, about every 2m(:oo:) of pipe there is either an outlet or blank T-piece that I can swap/add an outlet if I need it.

On the other side (metal work end of the shed) there is a pressure regulated arm of the line. This is where a small ventilated spray booth and plasma cutter will be installed.
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All up there are 6 elbows, 10 T's, 7 outlets and ~16m of pipe.
The FILs pipe threader and pipe cutter came into their own. He also had a excellent stash of galv pipe fittings but unfortunately he was a 3/4" man and there were not many useable 1/2" fittings, but galvanised pipe fittings are dirt cheap as (~$2 a piece).

Cost wise, I already had many of the galvanised pipe and some brass BSP fittings, 5 air outlets and ~4m of pipe.
12 m of new pipe cost me $100.
The most expensive component was the regulator ($40) and water filter ($12) so all up it it has cost me ~$200.

The most irritating thing was I could not find a cheap direct way of going from 1/2" to 1/4" and as a result I ended up cobbling various bits and pieces, or drilling and tapping blank ends.

[Christos]

I will admit that I have not thought of this myself as I am new to this type of thinking. The compressor that I have was a gift and really only used sometimes. Still happy to learn. :2tsup:

[BobL]

I will admit that I have not thought of this myself as I am new to this type of thinking. The compressor that I have was a gift and really only used sometimes. Still happy to learn. :2tsup:

For occasional users, that don't mind the noise in their shed and/or are more nimble than me, give the time required to put this together it's probably not worth the effort. However, especially when I'm metal working I will often just leave the compressor on all day. Then it's worth maybe considering.