Replacement garage /workshop??

[jerry]

Need some advice guys

My new House in Cricklade is lovely but when I bought it i knew the ancient 1960s prefab concrete garage was old and knackered , yes I got a discount on purchase price,, its rusty , leaky and the roller door jams and is past its best ,, also its wet and damp,

I want to replace it and the options are a new Concrete modern garage or a log cabin wood garage ,, they are in my price range ,,

I also want the garage to be insulated a bit and an insulated floor , Prices between log garage 40mm logs and 40mm concrete garage is minimal ,, wood seems more warming and maybe less condensation , It will be a workshop 3-4 bikes and tools

The current concrete base is 6m x 3m but I need to move the garage back 2.5m to have a garden gate fitted between the house and new garage .

So base will need to be 8.5m x 4m

Can I extend the base or do i need to get a completely new base made ,, I will want the garage raised by 70mm to improve drainage and fit a membrane base and some extra soak away in driveway..and move garage half a metre sideways to leave gap between neighbours boundry for maintenance


i wont be able to do groundworks or assemble garage kits as my health is not good enough so have to get supplying company do construction .and groundworks .and get credit for 12 months

fortunately the 3 bikes and tools currently fit in the lounge and conservatory so they are safe and dry... and i can diemolish the old garage ,, roof is not Asbestos ...

[Mr Gazza]

I'd go for the timber building every time. It'll be warmer and just nicer.
Only trouble is when the insurance company asks were you keep your bikes. They prefer a concrete garage as they don't usually burn. So thinking of some sort of flame retardant inside would be a good idea. Plaster board and a skim would do, (ceiling as well.) Or two layers of plasterboard. Obviously puts the cost up.

Regarding the base; I prefer to not have a pad at all but rather build a base wall maybe only 2 bricks high and then plant the timber building on that. I'd then fit floor joists on jiffy hangers fixed to the base wall and floor with 22mm moisture resistant chipboard.
Before flooring insulate between the joists level to their tops with the thickest insulation you can budget for.
Make the slope up to the doors from outside as long and shallow as you can. It's hard to push a bike uphill!
Steer well clear of up and over doors. Roller doors are marginally better but you can't beat a pair on hinges with good tie backs for windy days.

Go with LED lights from the start and don't forget to put a nice heavy cable in for your Electric bike charging point..

[900Rebuilder]

I've had a concrete sectional garage in for approx 5 years now and its a constant battle with either minor leaks or condensation.

Personally if I were to do it again I'd go for timber. I'm actually looking to move in approx 2 years and will be after a bungalow with brick garage for the Jeep and bikes but will also install a wooden workshop for when doing jobs / projects / hiding from the world.

[Ron1000]

+1 for timber here.

I’ve got a timber build, insulated and boarded inside with heat, light and power. It works well and is dry internally all year round, I did need to re-felt it but that was a minor issue; only took 1 day to do.

I paint the outside every couple of years and it looks pretty decent.

The shed builder’s specifically convinced me to put moisture resistant flooring down and showed me an example of stuff he had left outside and it was in good condition. It’s heavy duty enough to take the weight of three bikes.

I reckon I’ll get about 10-12 years out my current build before it gets tired. But considering the price I paid it’s a bargain.

[Nickj]

My experience over the yeara with, certainly with concrete sectional garages is that they are a disaster; leaks everywhere, roofs are prone to damage, impossible to seal and make weather tight over the long term.
So when we wanted a workshop and gin palace in our garden we went with a custom wood 'shed' that an ex-neighbour who used to do this kind of thing as a business made. I did all the lining and stuck a cedar shingle roof on it about 7 years ago. It's slightly L shaped 7m wide and 4m at it's deepest on a concrete base, mega insulated and all lined. The woods all treated with a fire retarder so has a 60min fire rating, it's got alarms and extinguishers.
There's power, it's got wired network and local wireless.
Does it leak? Nope
Does it stay warm? Yep
Does it get cold? Nope

It's essentially a pretty simple thing to build, you take a load of wood, make a load of frames and screw them whatever you have as a base. Make a few fink or scissor trusses to hang a roof onto, if you are really flash a clerestory truss roof which I kind of wish we'd done on ours, might go that way when the roof needs replacing in a few years.
Nail a skin of T&G over the top, slap on a roof and then get the services in.

As long as it's not too tall or has too big a foot print it's permissive development, though that does bear checking.
I'd honestly say if you go to a company that sells or make 'garden rooms' you are going to be royally shafted.
The cheapest option by far is to get a base laid or a strip foundation done by a small building company then find a local chippy because the whole thing is essentially based on panels so anyone that can make up internal partition walls can do the main construction. Any good sparky can lay in wiring, link it to the house supply and certify it.
Avoid anything 'garden sheddy' on skinny 2x2 frames, they're cheaper but that's because they're flimsy, you want chunky 4x2 for the wall panels and roof trusses. Same for the skin fence panel grade stuff is cheap but its not going to last 5 minutes.
The next cheapest is to get something prebuilt that you can have thrown up on the base, there are loads of systems which essentially are a bit like log cabins, the wood just slots together.
In all of these the materials are the expensive part, our 'shed' has literally a bit over a ton of wood in it, some double glazed doors, windows and roof lights and a huge pile of cedar shingles hundreds of the bloody things The price of timber has gone up considerably of late. Sourcing enough decent salvaged timber, something like a big truck load of old roof trusses would work but take ages to collect plus very few demolitions these days do anything but smash everything up and landfill it.
At the time ours ended up costing about half the price of a more commercial 'shed' for over double the size. Still came out at a few grand though.

[jerry]

Originally Posted by 900Rebuilder

I've had a concrete sectional garage in for approx 5 years now and its a constant battle with either minor leaks or condensation.

Personally if I were to do it again I'd go for timber. I'm actually looking to move in approx 2 years and will be after a bungalow with brick garage for the Jeep and bikes but will also install a wooden workshop for when doing jobs / projects / hiding from the world.

was it a new build ?????

[900Rebuilder]

Originally Posted by jerry

was it a new build ?????

Yes - the main problem areas is where the wall meets the base (fixed with a concrete fillet), the cold walls which attract condensation and also where the roof screws are "protected" with clear plastic caps which UV destroys.

Mine is 8m x 4m with main door and side door which cost £3,500 so cheap space but not ideal

[Nickj]

Amusing after thought ... despite the 'shed' having better fire prevention and active fire surpression systems in place and being more fire resistant than our house insurance companies still look at it as more risky.

[utopia]

I would also go for the wooden option.
Particularly if you want to heat it at all, even occasionally.
I remember Capo struggling with his old concrete sectional garage. He had a seemingly never-ending plan to insulate it and install a dehumidifier system ... which he never got round to.

The other advantage of wood is that it is much easier to attach things to it ... shelves, cupboards etc or even just a nail to hang something from.

[900Rebuilder]

I've lined my concrete sectional garage with sterling board attached via batons to the walls and painted it all white with 7mm recycled plastic floor tiles for "warmth" and drop / break protection and to reduce the awful amount of dust that concrete bases create.

Timber all the way and once the base is down you can build it yourself

[Kato]

Have you considered Steel ? buddy of mine has just got one of these, helped him with finishing off last weekend

It is really nice

https://secure-garages.co.uk/23x13ft-secure-workshop/

[jerry]

Originally Posted by Kato

Have you considered Steel ? buddy of mine has just got one of these, helped him with finishing off last weekend

It is really nice

https://secure-garages.co.uk/23x13ft-secure-workshop/

Too much condensation and none seem to be available with window,

[Kato]

Originally Posted by jerry

Too much condensation and none seem to be available with window,

Thats why I posted the link totally customisable as many windows as you like fully inulated zero condensation even after having the heater on

[jerry]

Wood is not secure enough it seems and also insurers dont like it .
Steel has damp problems but secure , difficult to Insulate
Factory built Concrete some rave about them many say damp not structurally sound ..

Breeze Block or Brick seems good , secure , minimal damp, easy to insulate, structually very sound ,no insurance problems , zero maintainance .. but seems much more expensive ??????

Im confused ,,

[jerry]

just looked it up If the garage is inside your property boundary its covered by buildings and contents policy under UK law even if wood /timber construction .