MarkGolledge.com

Having recently come across a Lifehacker post entitled ‘Backyard Shed Turned Home Office‘ where Brian DeHamer talks about the conversion of his shed into an office it has sort of sparked me into action about our shed which is sitting rather unused somewhere at the back of our garden here in the UK.

Part of the reason for buying the house back in 2003 was the space that the shed offered us. Having fully insulated the loft and not re-boarded, the shed has been useful for storing bits and pieces although we’ve not been too productive in using it regularly. The previous owners of the house had it constructed and used it as a place to store war memorabilia.

It’s pretty big and already water-tight with full electricity connected from the fuse box in the house. I’d love to be able to use it as a home office (although I don’t actually work from home too much at the moment).

However, having started to do some reading around the subject, I’m know I’m going to need some independent advice and would therefore really welcome any thoughts on this.

At the minimum I believe we’re going to have to:

1. Have someone install front windows and replace the door. There are currently no windows on it which has an impact upon the heat in the summer and the coldness in the winter. I’m not fully aware how it has been constructed - certainly the outside walls are much thicker than wood but then it’s certainly not brick or concrete. There is probably only room to put windows on the front (as the above picture shows) as the other three sides look onto fences from neighbours. As for the door, it can be rather tempremental (often in hot weather) and needs propertly securing or preferably replacing;

2. Reviewing the electrical wiring as this is not buried to the building as you can see from the photo and checking that the fuse box meets current requirements;

3. Finish the interior with insulation, drywall, paint and carpet. The previous owners never insulated and instead just put up chipboard to cover the wiring. Having read the Lifehacker article and the associating DeHamerspace website, it appears that there might be benefit in installing some sort of air conditioning / heating unit as it can get very hot in summer and cold in winter (although this will no doubt increase the running costs);

4. Ensure that there is appropriate cabling i.e. CAT5 and TV Aerial if possible;

5. Secure the shed, particularly if it’s going to house a range of electrical equipment i.e. CCTV;

Hopefully I can use this space to blog about our progress. Any thoughts, much appreciated.