Good day dear since my post about Disassembling my old garden house passed more than 9 months and today I'd like to finish this story and tell you about process of building new garden house.
So after disassembling, I had just a empty plot of land and we started preparing trench for building foundation for new garden house. After preparing and marking out the trench, we began building the foundation.
To do this, we purchased bricks and concrete blocks. The actual process of building the foundation took us about two weeks, considering that we had to juggle it with our regular jobs. To be honest, I’d never before had to lay the foundation for a building — even one as small as this — on my own. Perhaps that’s why it took me quite a bit of effort and energy. But no matter how you look at it, that stage was behind us, and we had to keep moving forward.
Next came the preparation of the lumber—specifically, cutting it to size for the framing of the future walls.
Since the building was designed to be constructed as cost-effectively as possible, and was intended primarily for non-residential use — yet still needed to remain frost-free in winter — the maximum possible thickness of boards were purchased for the walls.
A special mesh was laid under the floor and along the perimeter of the foundation to prevent rodents from getting inside, should they attempt to do so. The floorboards were laid over the timber joists and the protective mesh. They were fitted tightly together using a jack and securely fastened to ensure there were no gaps in the floor and no cold air could seep in from below. Also, once the floor was installed, my kid pitched in and helped us treat it again with a special solution to protect it from insect damage and rot.
Here, I found that I not only had to verify the dimensions for each side of the building, but also had to cut grooves to prevent moisture and wind from entering at the joints. Since I am quite tall, and to ensure the room was spacious enough, we decided to make the ceiling height over 210 cm. This also meant we didn’t have to cut the boards to size.
Once the walls were finished, it was time to install the door and build an interior partition, since one section was intended to house the hens. After the walls, it was time to tackle the ceiling. To do this, crossbeams were laid across the longitudinal beams, and ceiling boards were cut to size and fitted onto them. This also took several days. In addition, we had to use a jack to adjust the boards so they fit more tightly together, preventing heat from escaping through the gaps during the cold season. In addition, we used OSB panels in the attic to make the ceiling thicker and to help retain heat
So, step by step, summer was coming to an end, and to make the most of our time — and since we love taking care of animals — one fine day in August we bought a few hens and a rooster to go with them. We were able to settle them into their designated space even though the building wasn’t finished yet. The only thing we did beforehand was treat the walls with a compound that protects them from mold, bark beetles, and rot.
And of course my son was responsible for checking the chicken entrance.😀
Next, it was time to cover the roof; for this, we used corrugated roofing sheets.
But that wasn’t all, as we still had to enclose the attic space. For this, we used boards on the long side and OSB sheets on the other sides. Although I consider this a questionable decision and would have preferred to use boards on the other sides as well. But we’ll leave that to the conscience of the “responsible homeowners.”
And so, in September, it was time for vacation. When I returned, I treated the walls with a protective coating and checked the roof and attic once more to make sure they weren’t drafty or leaking. In addition, a plug-in active ventilation system was installed and electricity connected to it.
By October, all the work was finished, and we became the proud owners of a new shed, where my old man and I not only set up a workbench and tools, but even my bicycle fit in there. And the chickens settled in perfectly in a separate room. And now, in April, I can proudly say that the chickens spent the winter perfectly in the shed. It turned out to be cozy and spacious enough for our needs, and I plan to paint it this summer.
