Thread: Shed design or OMG a new shed from scratch!

Which direction out of Canberra are you looking? I'm in Bungendore. The type of woodworking you're going to do will determine how big you need in the shed but I wouldn't want to go under 6x9 if you're doing any cabinet making. Budget will also influence where you go but insulation is a must and lining them makes a huge difference too. I lined mine for free with MDF cover sheets from a furniture maker in Hume.

Originally Posted by spbookie

Questions I have are:

• What basic design - Gable shed, Barn?
• What height should the eave height be? 3m? Could be less if you have a gable without a ceiling.
• What doors should I have and where should they be located? For the best draughting of the shed (with respect to dust) have two (roller?) doors at each end of the prevailing breeze axis.
• Ditto even more so for windows? Again, have a pair or two like the doors, but on the non-door walls so you can get other breezes/bitterly bloody cold winds
• How do I insulate and line the walls - what should I use as lining?
• Should I install a ceiling? Better insulation, but less room.
• As I am starting from scratch would it make sense to install LED lighting rather than the normal fluoros? I reckon. LEDs are virtually 100% efficient (no heat).
• What power should I include (how many circuits and what amperage)? A few 20A, a few 15A and a lot of 10A
• If I stick the dusty outside will I freeze in winter as the warm shed air is vented outside? I doubt it. If you don't put a ceiling in then all the warmth will be up the gable anyway.
• Names of quality shed suppliers?

Arrghh! Lucky duck Charles. I DREAM about sheds where one of the dimensions is double digit metres!

This is a current thread on LED lighting panels.

This maybe of some help in your planning.

If you want to go down the Excel path for planning I can email you my original as a starter kit.

HTH, and enjoy the process!
Brett

I would be interested Brett and thanks for the links. I will PM you my email address to stop spam.

Appreciate your comments against my questions.

Regards

Charles

Originally Posted by corbs

Which direction out of Canberra are you looking?

Out Sutton / Gundaroo way.

Originally Posted by corbs

I lined mine for free with MDF cover sheets from a furniture maker in Hume.

Hmmm good idea - If appropriate care to PM me the maker's name?

Thanks for your comments.

Regards

Charles

Originally Posted by spbookie

...

Hmmm good idea - If appropriate care to PM me the maker's name?

...

I can't remember the makers name but they were on Sheppard St over the road from the service station. You would probably find that anyone who does kitchen fit outs would also be happy to get rid of their cover sheets. It only took a few phone calls and I even got a tour of the factory floor. They had a huge cnc cutter which (from memory) could take a 2400x1200 sheet

Ah I think that was Douglas Joinery. They might have closed but it sounds like I could try all the joineries and one might have sheets to dump.

Charles

Straw poll time: What would you consider the best height (to the eaves or ceiling ) of a shed. I am thinking 3 meters as that would give clearance to flip a 2.4 board or sheet. Any other thoughts?

Originally Posted by spbookie

Straw poll time: What would you consider the best height (to the eaves or ceiling ) of a shed. I am thinking 3 meters as that would give clearance to flip a 2.4 board or sheet. Any other thoughts?

I have exposed trusses in mine so i just walk any 2.4 sheets (i got a tonne of good quality cover sheets recently from a kitchen place in queanbeyan) in between the trusses to stack agaisnt the wall and had no dramas. a 3m ceiling would be great in your place

My shed is 2400 at the low points going up in the gable. The good thing about 2400 sides is a 1200x2400 sheet of MDF fits nicely. If you go higher then you're going to have to think about the lining layout.

For mine the more air over your head on a hot day in a shed the better. I had a 7' shed years ago and you could feel the radiant heat. I now have a 10' shed and it is much better.

Enjoy the new shed!

Regards

Ian

I finished my new shed recently and whilst not as big as some its still 10 x 5 metres. I needed to ensure I had storage for the future so went with a 22 degree roof pitch instead of a common 12 or 15 degrees. Eave height was 2.4 metres to make lining it easier,(see above thread) and built a mezzanine floor the length of the shed and half across the width. This gave me an ideal place for storage. I included insulation in the roof and was out testing it today. Melbourne temp was 40 degrees. Couldn't tell how effective it was.. too hot today. Plenty of power outlets and I considered in floor G.P.O but decided against it in the end. See my blog here.

Ok looks like I will go for 3m to the eaves. I'd like to go more say 4 meters and build a mezzanine inside but I am sure my budget wont stretch that far.

Thanks for all the good info

Another question is a roller door width of 2.4m wide enough as a lot of manufacturers are pushing 2.7m?

Charles

Originally Posted by spbookie

Ok looks like I will go for 3m to the eaves. I'd like to go more say 4 meters and build a mezzanine inside but I am sure my budget wont stretch that far.

Thanks for all the good info

Another question is a roller door width of 2.4m wide enough as a lot of manufacturers are pushing 2.7m?

Charles

I just checked mine, my workshop is 8m length and 6m wide and has 2 roller doors at the front and 1 at the rear.

The rear one is 2.7m wide and has been a real treat when either taking large objects in and out or just cleaning the garage. Just out side the rear roller door i have a large paved area so i take the thicknesser out there when removing stock off large pieces.

2.7m of roller door is very handy

Originally Posted by spbookie

Questions I have are:

• What basic design - Gable shed, Barn?
• What height should the eave height be? 3m?

I'd go high or higher to allow for ducting, storage, and as others have said helps keep it cool.

• What doors should I have and where should they be located?

A major opening (Door or window) should be set up on the wall opposite where the DC venting takes place to minimise the amount of vented dust that gets back into the shed.
I would go for at least a 1.2m wide door or a roller door to make it easy to get gear in and out of the shed

• Ditto even more so for windows?

See above, windows are a trade off as you gain daylight (and heat) but lose wall space - you have work this out for yourself.
Skylights that you can shade are a way of letting in light without losing wall space.

• How do I insulate and line the walls - what should I use as lining?.

If you do metal work insulating and lining at least a section of your shed with something non-flammable is worth considering. I use rockwool and mini orb corrugated iron for mine. I was surprised to see (hear) of effectively the mini orb dealt with the noise.

• Should I install a ceiling?

Not if you want the storage

• As I am starting from scratch would it make sense to install LED lighting rather than the normal fluoros?

I investigated the whole LED lighting thing and installed and measured the light output from a 1 m strip of LED lights. The low power use is attractive but if you want the same actual lighting power as flouros you will need to install double the recommended LEDs to achieve this

• What power should I include (how many circuits and what amperage)?

If you have 3phase to your house I would make sure it comes to the shed.
The number of 15 A circuits you need will depend on what power your machinery draws.
If you are undecided I would arrange for at least 3 separate 15 A circuits.
I have DC plus TS, and my compressor on 3 separate 15 A circuits.
I run my 15A welder on the same circuit at the DC as I do not use my DC when my welder is running (sticky welding fumes will clog up a DC filter) and run a separate 1HP extractor fan in my welding booth when I am welding and only use this extractor in short bursts when I am actually welding so I can do this in summer and the air con can sort of keep up.

• If I stick the dusty outside will I freeze in winter as the warm shed air is vented outside?

I have the opposite problem - my shed is air conditioned so I lose all my cool air in the summer but my filters are very efficient so I do have a plan to set up a bypass to enable the filtered air back into the shed in summer.
Another alternative if your shed is big enough is to put the DC inside the shed inside a sealed cupboard but arrange to be able to vent it either inside or outside the the shed. On cold days arrange to vent inside to save your warm air.