John’s workshop

[JohnH]

Mike, would your ‘concrete lintels laid on compacted hardcore’ method be suitable for a heavier roof (eg concrete-tiles) on a workshop my size? Sorry if that’s a stupid question!

 

[Mike G]

Mike, would your ‘concrete lintels laid on compacted hardcore’ method be suitable for a heavier roof (eg concrete-tiles) on a workshop my size? Sorry if that’s a stupid question!

Yep. They'd need to be chunkier than the ones in your drawing.....but then they'd need to be bigger anyway to get the timber frame further off the ground.

 

[JohnH]

Yep, understood - 100x150 lintels. This certainly seems like the most economical route; just been looking at the cost of ground screws - even as a DIY installation it ain’t cheap…

Anyway, plenty to occupy my thoughts with for the time being!

Cheers, have a nice evening.

 

[JohnH]

Evening all, thought I’d share some updates. Well, still no actual building work has taken place - but I have dismantled the old shed at the back of the garden and carried it down to the allotment, where it’s been re-erected and re-purposed as a potting shed. So the existing slab is now clear(ish) and thoughts are once again turning to how best to go about casting a new slab in its place… A big consideration will be height/headroom, if the workshop is to be constructed within PD limitations. However, I’ve applied for planning permission to gain some extra height (3.2m ridge line) so we’ll see…

For the planning application, I did the drawings myself and cobbled together a supporting statement. I consulted the neighbours and the eventual plans were based on (understandable) concerns that one of them had about being overshadowed. I had originally designed a fairly standard-looking symmetrical dual-pitched roof but ended up with an asymmetrical one so as to move the ridge line away from this neighbour. I guess it’ll take a bit more head scratching to construct, but I quite like the look of the new design:


The resulting off-centre doors also suit the situation of the workshop within the garden better (away from the beds and more central to the lawn).
Here’s a pretty rough ‘n’ ready rendering (from back when the garden was much neater and less full of junk…):



Anyway, the Planning Officer came over the other day and literally spent two minutes in the garden, taking a couple of snaps. I should get a decision within the next 4 weeks. Fingers crossed!

 

[JohnH]

Here are the plan views too, might be of interest to someone who’s wondering what level of detail/dodgy draughtsmanship was considered acceptable by the planning dept:

 

[Steve Maskery]

I hope that your BCO is as helpful and constructive as mine was when I built SCW* He solved more than one unfrrced errorsfor me. Great bloke.
Famous quote: "I go to see houses that are not being as well-built as this is".
I'll take that.

S
*Steve's Cathedral of Woodwork, (Copyright Pete Maddex).

 

[JohnH]

I hope that your BCO is as helpful and constructive as mine was when I built SCW* He solved more than one unfrrced errorsfor me. Great bloke.
Famous quote: "I go to see houses that are not being as well-built as this is".
I'll take that.

S
*Steve's Cathedral of Woodwork, (Copyright Pete Maddex).

Compared to your cathedral, Steve, my humble workshop* is a mere priest hole (about 13.5m2) - so no BCO involvement. I’m relying on you lot to solve - or, even better, prevent - any errors (of which there’ll be many) on my build!

* referred to as a ‘garden room’ in my planning application, in an effort to sound less noisy, dirty, dusty, etc