Starting with the garden shed

After Planning Permit approval, David was eager to get out of the office and move away from the paperwork.  Constructing something at the site would be a great way to warm up for the project.  What better way to start than building the garden shed for the third home?  After obtaining the appropriate Building Permit, the team leapt into the project with gusto.

Standard materials used for garden shed frame.

Once the slab was poured, David built a conventional frame with standard materials.  We didn’t use any materials from the old house at this stage.  The time and effort required to sort through the piles of wood to find suitable timber wasn’t justified.

Selecting materials to clad the garden shed.

Now for the fun part!  The garden shed framework was a blank canvas, just waiting for David to clad it with something functional, as well as attractive.

What to use?  There was plenty of choice from the piles of timber stacked up at the back of the property.  Each piece came from dismantling the old house.

David thought the plinth boards from the old house would scrub up well and add interest.  At first glance, the old boards didn’t look too good.

However, with a bit of tender, loving care (sanding and oiling), they showed their true colours.

Make a feature at the front.

The design quickly evolved to using timber cladding to highlight the front of the shed and part of the western wall.

Using feature walls means finding something different to serve as the background.  David rummaged around in the piles for something to complement the timber.  He selected steel roofing from the back of the old house.  We  didn’t know the steel was there until Ben flew his drone over the top of the old house before it was dismantled.

As well as being a durable material, the old steel roofing sheets add character to the garden shed.  This is the complete opposite of a bright, shiny shed, fresh from the manufacturer.  Rusty sections speak of age and experience, reminding us of their history in this place.

The steel roofing was laid vertically on the walls, warts and all.  One piece has a rubber plug in it which David left in place.  Why is the plug there?  Who knows?  It’s going to be a topic of conversation for the life of the shed.

The rear wall and wall next to the neighbour’s fence are completely clad in steel.

Other reused materials appeared.

Thinking about the old house as a source of useful materials highlights other possibilities.

The shed needs a window.  The old house had windows.  David simply selected the best available window and set it aside.  Once the frame was finished, the bedroom window resurfaced as a shed window.

Every shed needs a bench.  Every kitchen has a bench.  Could we …?  Of course, we could.  The trip from the old kitchen to the shed was another step in the journey of these materials.  Everything used to construct the bench originally came out of David’s shed as items he’d collected from other jobs.  Bench modifications are likely in the future but, for now, we have a bench and sink combination that does the trick.  After we install the shed’s rainwater tank and pump, there will be a tap for washing things like vegetables from the garden or paint brushes. Libby has warned me of the consequences of any paint brushes finding their way into a laundry sink.

Some more work to do.

The garden shed needs a bit more work.

A black roller door is going into the open doorway to ensure a secure storage area.  Black looks good when framed by the wooden cladding.

Electricity arrives once we dismantle the carport and move the off-grid power system to the garden shed.

Beginning with this small part of the project shows how reusing old materials can create interesting, attractive cladding.  Our garden shed won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but we love it.

• recycled timberreusingsustainable design