Prep office/shed ideas.

[Kris369]

So I've finally bought the biggest prep of all a small house in a little village near work.

I am currently clearing spacein my garden for a summer house/office/whatever space 6x2.4m just under 15m2 size before building regs as I have neighbours on all sides. I will be insulating it and providing power to it.

Basically I want to create a off grid set up inside a grey man shed that I can use as a office/gym normally, but have the option of a secure space incase of long term power cuts or worse. Feel the main house to big to heat and light, plus no fireplace.

Ideas to incorporate so far:

small solar panel setup with deep cycle battery,
12v lighting + maybe small fridge
small wood burning stove for cooking and heating
Waterbutt
And some space for storage.

Any ideas or comments welcome.
Thanks.

[Catweazle]

Shipping containers work well. They're secure, anonymous, and available in small sizes too. They are unfortunately quite heavy and difficult to move, so won't suit everyone.

[Kris369]

I like the idea would be great for my storage shed/workshop but unfortunately don't have wide enough access, plus would love to see the neighbours face as a container is crained over the house!

Any structure will have to be made onsite and made of wood to avoid planning permission but that's half the fun!

Have a gd plan of what I'm going to build, looking for ideas on what to include, will built it as a shell first, waterproof it and then add features once that's done.

Been looking at a lot of posts some really gd low voltage ideas for lighting and equipment.

[Catweazle]

I understand your issues, neighbours can be a pain.

Consider doing the roof/guttering/rain systems in fibreglass - it's cheap, easy, and lasts for decades. Inside, you can use plasterboard with insulation pre-glued on. I lined my shipping container with it, brilliant results.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Insulation...... And a MVP membrane then inner skin

Gutteing is cheap enough water intercept for water barrel

12v lighting , with 12v socket so you can charge phone or whatever if mains is off

[Arzosah]

So I've finally bought the biggest prep of all a small house in a little village near work.

Congratulations!

I am currently clearing spacein my garden for a summer house/office/whatever space 6x2.4m just under 15m2 size before building regs as I have neighbours on all sides. I will be insulating it and providing power to it.

Basically I want to create a off grid set up inside a grey man shed that I can use as a office/gym normally, but have the option of a secure space incase of long term power cuts or worse. Feel the main house to big to heat and light, plus no fireplace.

I'm a bit confused, tbh - its a small house, but its too big to heat and light? If the main issue is still a fireplace, could you instal a multifuel with a flue at the back? If bad stuff were to happen, the house is a lot more secure than a shed, whether its wood, fibreglass, whatever. And you've got the garden to grow stuff in.

Ideas to incorporate so far:

small solar panel setup with deep cycle battery,
12v lighting + maybe small fridge
small wood burning stove for cooking and heating thats the type you could put into the house with a proper flue
Waterbutt
And some space for storage.

Any ideas or comments welcome.
Thanks.[/quote]
A resounding *yes* to all those ideas And of course, if you're building it as an extension in reality, whilst avoiding formal planning laws, then a grey man shed like you describe is a great idea.

What about a toilet?

And, I think they're really expensive, but there are roof tiles that are themselves solar panels.

If its normal use is as a gym, could you actually set up some of your gym equipment (cross trainer? treadmill?) to act as a dynamo to charge your deep cycle battery?

[Kris369]

Thanks for ideas everyone.

For clarification I don't have a fireplace in the main house, want one but not possible. Putting in a combi boiler but as everyone knows they are useless without power.

See the shed as a fall back option, storage for half of my preps - rest in main house to share the risk. And just a experiment in off grid living tbh. Would love to get some woodland and build something. In normal life it's going to be a home office on one side and storage on the other but why not make it multi use in my view.

For the Man cave:
Insulation and waterproofing - Definately
Toilet - would like to but then becomes residential extension under planning and won't get the permission.
PV- have a 1kw set up going on main house roof, with a grid inverter.
PV for shed just a small panel and I use converted ups's for storage (Going to do a post on these at some point - great storage, contain everything, auto switch on and they can power 2,5,12 and 230v outputs. With really simple mods)

Once I've got the plans and laid a foundation wil make a separate post on the build of the man cave.

[featherstick]

If you are going to put a woodstove in, you will also need a carbon monoxide detector. Don't neglect this - people have died from CO buildup in sheds, and it's becoming more of an issue with the "beds in sheds" phenomenon.

[preparedsurrey]

If you have one outside wall I can't think why you couldn't have a wood burner in the house.
Don't forget ventilation - it's what you need to add once you've cured all the draughts LOL

[poppypiesdad]

Or roof . Vertical flue ...... unless your on a ground floor flat then your upstairs neighbours might get a bit arsey



J