As some of you may recall I have been doing a lot of home improvement over the last year or so. It started when we moved our fence and reduced our driveway a little to rearrange our garden layout, which then allowed us to move the shed, a new one from www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk and then create a new patio area where the old shed once stood, which still needs the slabs laying properly.

Our conservatory is finished and erected over the area of our old patio so we haven’t lost any space really and in fact gained some much needed sitting space in the sun as the afternoon gives way to evening. Before this shift around you’d have had to be sitting with the spiders in the shed with the door open to get the last few glimmers of sun.

The decking has had a clean and the mould and garden muck has been scrapped away, although I cannot for the life of me find the decking stain I was going to use on it to give it an extra couple of years life. I bought it, I know that much, but I have either left it at the hardware store or it’s been pinched or tossed away, although I find the last two accounts of where it would be a bit hard to believe as firstly our garden is now like Fort Knox and secondly you wouldn’t throw a brand new tub of stain away. The shed needs to be organised properly and you never know it might just turn up under the old tarpaulin behind the boxes, next to the lawn mower. A bigger shed seems to mean more junk, but that’s my fault not the sheds.

The sprinkler system is in.  The system consisting of one pop up rotating sprinkler which has a reach of up to twenty feet that happily soaks the conservatory windows, much to my wife’s annoyance, all the way to the pergola at the bottom of the garden, the boundary fences and the new patio (to be finished) where the old wooden shed used to be.  The bushes and shrubs around our garden are thriving from the twenty minute consistent watering they get on a daily basis now. Before we left it to the rain Gods to do most of the work, but I put the sprinkler in to the lawn to try and regenerate the scrub land that we had created from all of the construction materials we had left on it during the two or three months of building.

We decided to re-seed the lawn instead of re-turfing it due to the expense, but it is a slow process as we are doing it in sections to allow us and our highly active child to be able to use the lawn whilst we do it. So we have large areas of browned lawn that should have grass sprouting through it anytime now, before we move on to the next dead patch. Once this has been done the back garden will be nearing completion, which is a relief. It’s amazing how much hard work and time you need to put in, but it is worth it. Then next year we move on to the front garden and drive way and the veranda that clings to the front of our property, which needs stripping and staining.

And it all started by my wife saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if the shed was at the other end of the garden so we could actually sit in the sun in the evening?’ Thanks Sweetheart.      

My son had a birthday just the other day, he is now three.  He’s now at the perfect age to bring a playhouse in to his life and therefore a new garden building in to our outdoor living space. Since all of the work we have done on and around the house in the last couple of years is now close to completion we have found the perfect spot to erect the playhouse where his imagination can develop new worlds for him to explore and he can invent new games to play within it. It also has a slide which is over twice as long and twice as fast as his previous plastic based tower, which has been given to a friend’s child who will be able to use it for at least another couple of years, so we are saving the planet in our own little recycling way.

When the plastic tower was dismantled and lay in an unrecognisable mess on the floor the first thing my son did was walk all over it and laugh at how it wobbled under his feet. After three calls, in ever ascending tone and volume, from me for him to get off it, he finally did. I was amazed at how he took the news of the towers demise so well, although we had told him that he was getting a shed for himself (he likes visiting Daddy’s shed a lot although tools, nails and the like do not mix with three year olds ). His shed would be on legs and have a much better slide. So from just that short description he was sold on the idea of the ugly grey tower being extracted from our garden never to be seen again. It always amazes me what a three year old can understand. 

Without so much as being shown a picture of what my son’s shed (playhouse) would look like he was still very excited when the building arrived in our back garden. Although in pieces and without being told what it was he instantly said, ‘Is that my shed, Daddy?’ ‘Yes, mate. Daddy has to put it together first though.’ He smiled at me and then said, ‘Okay, put it together for me.’ There’s nothing like being told what to do to annoy you, even a three year old as cute as he is has his demands.  So for the next couple of nights after work I desperately tried and succeeded in getting it built and painted (preservative) for him for the weekend. Of course he was always saying, ‘Play with me?’ and I’d responded, ‘Daddy’s putting your playhouse together, darling.’ Our time together is precious to us both and working long hours can sometimes get in the way of the quality time (God I hate that sort of term) that we both desire from one another. But for the greater good I pressed on until completion.

By the weekend the playhouse was up and running and my son was up the ladder and down the slide ten or fifteen time in about two minutes flat and in and out of the door over and over again almost like he was testing it in some kind of European car testing facility, all that was missing were the crash test dummies and the black and yellow stickers.  The playhouse passed all of his tests and he hugged me, not because his Mummy told him to but because his world was that much more exciting and even bigger than before. He now has that place of his own to play and develop that was lacking in our home before. He has a new perspective on the garden, or is it the ocean or maybe the moon that he is looking out on to. Whether it is his castle, pirate ship or space rocket the playhouse has become in his mind for that particular time all I know is that I was sceptical that he would use it, but not now, I now understand the pleasure that a playhouse has given to my son and would give to any child.

Check out the range of playhouse available from www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk   

Follow Garden Buildings Direct on Twitter at: @GardenBuildings

Our mate @unclewilco runs a wonderful competition each year called the Shed of the Year on www.readersheds.co.uk. Anyone who has a shed for whatever purpose they deem fit can enter the extravaganza by posting their shed images and info on the www.readersheds.co.uk website and hopefully contribute to all the fun.

As a day job I photograph the products that www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk and our sister websites produce and sell. A lot of the time the garden buildings fall in to obvious categories such as wooden sheds, summerhouses, log cabins and playhouses, among others.  All terms that pretty much give rise to an all too common idea of what the innards of said garden buildings would look like when furnished, furbished and occupied.

However, @unclewilco and the readersheds massive brings your eyes to full focus, even if some of the images are a bit blurry, to the fact that not all sheds and summerhouse are for storing lawn mowers and escaping the, (uh-hum) summer sun in. There is a myriad of different uses and forms of decorative display that adorn these wonderful garden buildings and I’d just like to run some of them by you (with full permission from @unclewilco of course).

The pub shed is probably the best way of escaping your wife’s need to watch Coronation Square and Eastender Street fifteen times a week. You not only get to slink off and have a swift half or two, but you also get away with it because you haven’t actually gone out and left the missus on her own. (Please note that the roles are easily reversible and it could be the wife escaping the football, if you are looking for a second stereotype to complain about).   

There are those fanatics that love all things Doctor Who and Tardis sheds seem to be on the increase in numbers. Maybe they are all the same Tardis, but just at different times in the universes timeline, all converging here and now in so many back gardens. They do highlight the fact that the garden shed isn’t just a sterile building, although cleanliness is mainly pushed out the window in most sheds, but sometimes a fun and entertaining feature of the home.

A home cinema is something I’ve always wanted and a shed that fulfils this dream is just another one of the amazing things that some sheddies have been able to create with their out buildings.  What’s next, ice cream parlours, health spas, whatever it is I come back to the question that has been bugging ever since I started writing this entry (which wasn’t long ago) where do they keep all their lawn mowers, strimmers, deck chairs and wheel barrows?

Go and check out www.readersheds.co.uk and see what the nuttiest sheddies have done with their garden buildings and be inspired yourself to make much more of your garden shed than you may have thought of before.

www.gardenbuildings.co.uk

All images courtesy of @unclewilco and www.readersheds.co.uk

Mabel, Colden Common,Winchester,Hants Owned by: David Ashford

Our mate@unclewilco runs a wonderful competition each year called the Shed of the Year on www.readersheds.co.uk. Anyone who has a shed for whatever purpose they deem fit can enter the extravaganza by posting their shed images and info on the www.readersheds.co.uk website and hopefully contribute to all the fun.

As a day job I photograph the products that www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk and our sister websites produce and sell. A lot of the time the garden buildings fall in to obvious categories such as wooden sheds, summerhouses, log cabins and playhouses, among others.  All terms that pretty much give rise to an all too common idea of what the innards of said garden buildings would look like when furnished, furbished and occupied.

However, @unclewilco and the readersheds massive brings your eyes to full focus, even if some of the images are a bit blurry, to the fact that not all sheds and summerhouse are for storing lawn mowers and escaping the, (uh-hum) summer sun in. There is a myriad of different uses and forms of decorative display that adorn these wonderful garden buildings and I’d just like to run some of them by you (with full permission from @unclewilco of course).

The pub shed is probably the best way of escaping your wife’s need to watch Coronation Square and Eastender Street fifteen times a week. You not only get to slink off and have a swift half or two, but you also get away with it because you haven’t actually gone out and left the missus on her own. (Please note that the roles are easily reversible and it could be the wife escaping the football, if you are looking for a second stereotype to complain about).

Shark Shebeen, Shadoxhurst, Kent Owned by: Tony Warren  

There are those fanatics that love all things Doctor Who and Tardis sheds seem to be on the increase in numbers. Maybe they are all the same Tardis, but just at different times in the universes timeline, all converging here and now in so many back gardens. They do highlight the fact that the garden shed isn’t just a sterile building, although cleanliness is mainly pushed out the window in most sheds, but sometimes a fun and entertaining feature of the home.

BlueBox Type 40, Newport, South Wales Owned by: John Williams

A home cinema is something I’vealways wanted and a shed that fulfils this dream is just another one of the amazing things that some sheddies have been able to create with their out buildings.  What’s next, ice cream parlours, health spas, whatever it is I come back to the question that has been bugging ever since I started writing this entry (which wasn’t long ago) where do they keep all their lawn mowers, strimmers, deck chairs and wheel barrows?

reelwood, garden w.mids Owned by: pj   

Go and check out www.readersheds.co.uk and see what the nuttiest sheddies have done with their garden buildings and be inspired yourself to make much more of your garden shed than you may have thought of before.

www.gardenbuildings.co.uk

All images courtesy of @unclewilco and www.readersheds.co.uk

Some of you may have been following my attempts to make my garden a bit more user friendly. First off I moved my garden fence to expand our garden and reduce the amount of unused driveway we have. We only have one car and did have a driveway that could fit three cars, it made sense.

Then my gate blew off in the high winds a few weeks ago. The gate then swelled in the damp conditions and didn’t fit properly and my wife kept complaining about it being stuck and she couldn’t get her bike out.

I’ve finally put the post tops on and put on the anti swing through wood strip on the outside of the post, so hopefully the posts look finished and the gate won’t blow through any more.  I’ve also fitted a few cover strips to disguise the butchery job that I had to do to trim it down to fit once it had swelled.  These all still need painting though.

I’ve also been working on a sliding flap to close the hand hole that we needed to be able to reach the combination lock on the gate so it can be unlocked from both inside and outside, by those that know the magic number that is.

Next spring we intend to lawn the extra land we have acquired by moving the gate and fence and finally getting the new 8 x 6 shed and put it on the area of slabs that I have already laid. Once the shed is in place the old decrepit wooden shed will be removed and burnt or made in to shelves for the new shed and in it’s place a we will install a nice little raised seating and barbecue area next to the grape vine that has taken full hold of the pergola.

The snow has halted most garden activity and the lawn is now white and fluffy. The garden is really pretty in the coverings of winter and even the unfinished dirt space that has been left after all my hard(ish) work has a uniformed look with the rest of it.

If I had any sense I would have taken a lot of pictures this year as we made the transformation happen. Unfortunately I did not. So there is nothing to document that I-none-D.I.Y.-man has done all of this on my own with only my wife and son watching me muddle through the whole process.

For all new projects I must remember to take pictures.  Well, that’s next years plan.

For all of your garden building needs.

Winter has a way of dragging you down. The weather is bad which means you need to wash your car more often (a pet hate of mine) and the days don’t seem to have any light in them. So there is no time to get in to the shed to snatch up my bucket and sponge.  The summer holiday you had (don’t mention caravans) seems so long ago that it never happened. The only thing to look forward to is Christmas, but you know that there will be an awkward moment with the relatives that couldn’t be bothered to see you all year long, but with the whiff of a turkey dinner and the knowledge of a gift that they know you can’t afford with their name tag on it waiting for them they still all flock to your door.

And now there is the snow warning (At the time of writing this article the UK has been warned of a nationwide blanket of the white stuff landing all over the place causing chaos and much disruption).  I love the snow and love watching my son try and wade through it, which is hard work as he is only 2.3 years old. Last time we had a decent sprinkling of the frozen water kind we were on holiday (log cabin this time not caravan) and it came up to his middle.  It was fun for about one minute before he got too cold and began crying.

Times are hard and money is tight, everyone knows this, and when the calendar ticks round to January the powers-that-be have made the decision to put up VAT by 2.5%. Yippy! How this will save the economy I, a simple man in his shed, has no idea.  Surely this will put prices up and therefore people will become more selective with what they buy or rather can afford to buy.

Garden centres and DIY stores will feel the hit next year, of that we are sure.  Given the short length of time we all have left before the belt is tightened another notch, we should consider what we might be thinking of buying in 2011. I, for one, will be getting the new garden shed I’ve been threatening for the past year, pre the Janruary madness .  We may even dig deep to get our son his birthday present a wooden playhouse. His birthday isn’t until July, but we think that we will be priced out of most things next year and should either commit to these considered purchases now or forget about it completely.

Whatever happens this winter has brought with it a darker presence than before with the malevolent and impending price hikes to come.  You can, however, beat the VAT rise and grab a bargain at: www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk. Luckily garden buildings and wooden sheds are exactly what I am looking for.

BillyOh Tongue & Groove Apex Shed  BillyOh Classic Overlap Pent BillyOh-Country-Plant-House-Potting-Shed

This problem always comes up every year.  You buy a shed, nothing special, wooden framed panel building felt covered roof, but you want to be able to use it all year round and not just for chilling your Christmas beer during December. 

Sheds are much more than just a storage place in the modern garden.  They have become a special part of the home, or rather an extension of the home, where hobbies and activities have taken over from the usual resting place of the lawn mower.

The autumn and winter months are long and cold in Britain, probably not as wet as most people believe, but the cold is the real reason that the shed then becomes a neglected place and therefore a lot of creative time is lost to our dismal weather.  Imagine what all of you artisans could achieve if the shed was a much more inviting place to potter, construct and escape to - if only it was warmer.

Insulating your shed to improve it’s ‘comfiness’ during the cold periods of the year couldn’t be easier.  Using a roll of bubble wrap stapled to the inside of the shed is a nice, easy and inexpensive way to boost the cold prevention qualities of your garden retreat. The stress relief potential is also high, pop, pop, but remember each pop takes a little away from it’s insulating properties.

You can go further though and use products such as mineral wool to line the walls and then plaster board over. But be aware that you’ll probably knock a hole through it in no time so a hard board, OSB or MDF would be more appropriate.  Also the smallest amount of moisture will make the plaster board swell and deteriorate.

Polystyrene sheeting, at about two inches, between the framing will work well too to block the chill. Cover it with polythene, then a 12mm plywood board finished off with paint will protect the inside of the shed and keep it much warmer than if left uncovered. You will also get a handy winter snow scene from cutting the polystyrene sheets to fit the panels, which will impress the kids.

The greatest loss of heat from your shed will come from the floor, ceiling and windows.  Shed roofs can be covered in the same methods as the walls, but make sure you secure those boards above your head really well.  Silver insulation foil could also be included in your packing of the roof to reflect your own body heat back down from above.

For the windows you could go to the expense of fitting double glazed glass, but using UPVC will knock a lot of the heat loss away.  The floor is where most of the cold will enter your shed, also water can make it’s way through the boards if they are resting on the ground or if water is allowed to pool under them.  Raising your shed higher up above ground level, and the lying water, will counter this, but you will also need to consider insulating between the bearers with strips of polystyrene or using carpet underlay with boards over the top on the inside of the shed.  If you really want warm feet you’ll need to invest in under floor heating.   

You can spend as little, and do nothing, or as much as you want to make your little hideaway, or hobby room, or workshop warm for the winter. Consider the costs and the work involved in fitting the shed out and whether you really are going to make the most of the winter months before forking out for insulating your shed.

Britain has produced some of the world’smost famous pioneers from engineers to scientists, and adventurers to artists and to celebrate achievements made through these industrious and brave souls Garden Buildings Direct has given the name of Pioneer to the new range of BillyOh log cabins.

BillyOh Pioneer Raleigh Log Cabin

Garden Buildings Direct has developed it’s catalogue of leisure buildings with the introduction of two new products in the 28mm interlocking board range.  Firstly we have the BillyOh Pioneer Raleigh Log Cabin, which is a new design reminiscent of a Swiss chalet, but with the trademark BillyOh doors and windows finishing off the styling.

BillyOh Pioneer Darwin Log Cabin

Secondly we have the BillyOh Pioneer Darwin Log Cabin, another 28mm board log cabin, which is one of our big ones at 16' 4" x 17' 11" and it has eight windows as well as the usual double doors.  This building allows for more natural light to flood in to it than any other log cabin and truly is evolutionary.  The verandah adds an extra dimension to the building to give it even more versatility and class and which also contributes, along with the roof design, to giving this building an Australian homestead look.

The Pioneer range has been developed from the BillyOh Frontier and BillyOh Pathfinder log cabin ranges that Garden Buildings Direct has become famous for and the quality and craftsmanship continues in to this new line of luxury, but affordable, garden leisure buildings.

Why not take a closer look by visiting the log cabin’s individual product pages for a detailed look at these two new pioneer inspired log cabins.

Click here for product details on the BillyOh Pioneer Raleigh Log Cabin: http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Log-Cabins/BillyOh-Pioneer-Raleigh-Log-Cabin   

Click here for

product details on the BillyOh Pioneer Darwin Log Cabin: http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Log-Cabins/BillyOh-Pioneer-Darwin-Log-Cabin

Until the 30^th November Garden Buildings Direct is offering a 5% off promotion when a customer spends over £100 when visiting and purchase a product from: www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk

What this means is if you are interested in buying one of Garden Buildings Directs beautiful log cabins, such as the BillyOh Frontier ‘Santa Fe’ Log Cabin, with the 5% off offer you will save £72.50.

Click here to view BillyOh Frontier ‘Santa Fe’ Log Cabin:

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Log-Cabins/BillyOh-Frontier-Santa-Fe

If you had a wooden workshop in your sights then with the 5% off offer you would save £43.50 on the price of the 10’x16’ BillyOh Lincoln Workshop. 

Click here to view 10’x16’ BillyOh Greenkeeper Premium Workshop:

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Wooden-Sheds/BillyOh-Greenkeeper-Workshop

Alternatively if your kids are begging you for a new playhouse then this amazing 5% off offer would save you £17.45 on the price of a Mad Dash Peardrop Xtra Playhouse.

Click here to view Mad Dash Peardrop Xtra Playhouse:

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Wooden-Playhouses/Mad-Dash-Peardrop-Xtra-Playhouse

These are just three of the products that offer this 5% off promotion and it is also worth pointing out that all of the prices shown on the Garden Buildings Direct website include VAT and free* UK mainland delivery. To view the full website visit: http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk

Can it be done, a workshop for under £500*?  If you are thinking of tinkering in your garden shed on a grander scale than is possible now, as your shed is full of lawn mower and broken barbecue and not to mention the kids paddling pool that only saw the outside world twice this year, and you have only a limit amount of money to accomplish this with, then a BillyOh Overlap Workshop from Garden Buildings Direct could be the answer you are looking for.

Starting at 10’ x 10’ at a stitch under the £500* threshold the BillyOh Overlap Workshop is the entry workshop in this range that reaches up to 10’ x 25’.  The 10’ x 10’ is a very nice space and gives ample room for storage, shelving and work benches to develop your hobby or grow your workshop tinkering. 

Along with the double doors, robust framing and the light airy feel that you get from the large number of windows (the 10’ x 10’ has eight of them, two at the front), the BillyOh ten year warranty and free* UK mainland home delivery can only add to the amazing qualities of these wooden workshops.

So if you have outgrown your shed and you are looking for a workshop to expand into then visit here for this exciting Garden Buildings Direct wooden building: http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Wooden-Sheds/BillyOh-Overlap-Workshop

*Price correct at time of blogging.