Could someone suggest what's going to be needed to make this shed suitable?

BetterThanThou

I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum, seems to be the most suitable.
I'd like to build a shed to keep reptiles in, as I'd like to build up a big collection and it simply won't fit in my house too well(plus having a lot of animals in a small space can smell very bad), I'm going to need to insulate and heat the shed that I want to use, this is the shed:
http://www.adverts.ie/sheds-storage/garden-sheds-pressure-treated/2600250#comment_19480736
I'd like a 12x8 shed for this, I know I cannot do this job myself, as it will need to be insulated which I cannot do and hooked up to the mains of my house which I definitely cannot do. This shed will need to hold a temperature of around 20-30 degrees celcius, does anyone have any idea how much on average it would cost to insulate and hook this shed up to the mains? If anyone could estimate the cost of materials as well as the cost of labour separately that would be good, as I know some people who will be willing to do the labour cheaply. Thank you.

Edit: Also would anyone know where, if anywhere I would be able to buy 100 watt heat resistant screw in light holders?

Tokyo

Insulating the shed walls should be a pretty straightforward process of packing as much insulation as possible in between the battens that I can see in the picture, and sheeting it off, or getting panels of rigid insulation and sticking it to the walls and roof (thin felt roof, practically NO insulation qualities and will need to be beefed up). The problem that I foresee from the picture of the shed alone is that you are going to lose an awful lot of heat through gaps in the door, gaps in the floor (you'll need to insulate this too), the single glazed window, so on and so forth. Trying to maintain a constant temp of 20-30 degrees in that thing in winter is going to cost an absolute fortune if there's wind whistling through the cracks and that kind of constant heat is going to try out the timber and open up any cracks even wider.

Apologies if I seem overly negative, I'm not trying to be. It's just worth knowing these things in advance, and perhaps initially spending more on a more weather-tight shed may save you money in the long run.

I can't give you a cost on wiring the shed here as my sparky work experience is limited to Australia, but it's going to depend on how far you need to run cables - if the shed is going to be at the end of the garden then the cables will have to be ducted underground, but if the shed is up against the side of the house, then there are other far cheaper options.

BetterThanThou

Thank you, I agree, much better to shell out more money in the start than to have a shed which cannot hold heat and must be constantly maintained in a year. most of those problems I have solved I believe, I was going to modify the shed to have a flat ceiling on the inside, so I'd imagine if I do that and place some insulation between the outside roof and the ceiling the roof should be adequately insulated(though, I may be wrong), I was planning on insulating the floor and laying wooden floor boards over it, so I'd imagine that would make the floor adequately insulted.(though, again, I may be wrong), and the door I was planning on using a new, more secure air tight door with a lock(the kind you'd find as a back door in a house), so that'll take care of the door I believe. and I'm planning on getting the shed made with no window, as I thought I'd lose a lot of heat through a window, plus I'll have all walls covered with cages, so a window would not be any use anyway. Do you feel if I take these precautions this shed could be made suitable? or do you feel I'd be better of looking for another shed? also, do you know what type of insulation would be good for this job and roughly how much it would cost per square foot? because while I do want the job done well, I am looking to do it as cheaply as possible while having it done well, and do you feel insulating the floor, roof and walls could be a job done in a day by one builder? thank you.

Tokyo

BetterThanThou wrote: »

Thank you, I agree, much better to shell out more money in the start than to have a shed which cannot hold heat and must be constantly maintained in a year. most of those problems I have solved I believe, I was going to modify the shed to have a flat ceiling on the inside, so I'd imagine if I do that and place some insulation between the outside roof and the ceiling the roof should be adequately insulated(though, I may be wrong), I was planning on insulating the floor and laying wooden floor boards over it, so I'd imagine that would make the floor adequately insulted.(though, again, I may be wrong), and the door I was planning on using a new, more secure air tight door with a lock(the kind you'd find as a back door in a house), so that'll take care of the door I believe. and I'm planning on getting the shed made with no window, as I thought I'd lose a lot of heat through a window, plus I'll have all walls covered with cages, so a window would not be any use anyway. Do you feel if I take these precautions this shed could be made suitable? or do you feel I'd be better of looking for another shed?

To sum up...

1. You're buying a new shed.
2. Immediately after buying said shed, you're going to install a new floor, new door and frame, new floating ceiling, and seal and insulate it, and pay a tradesman to do all of this.

Yes, I'd certainly investigate getting a shed with some or all of this already done.

also, do you know what type of insulation would be good for this job and roughly how much it would cost per square foot? because while I do want the job done well, I am looking to do it as cheaply as possible while having it done well, and do you feel insulating the floor, roof and walls could be a job done in a day by one builder? thank you.

I'd probably just use rigid insulation all round - it's a bit more expensive than the fibreglass roll, but you can just cut it to fit the space between the timbers and bond it into place. You won't have to sheet it off either, which you'd have to do with the roll, so it'll save money on that, not to mention labour cost. Insulating a shed that size shouldn't take long at all... but again I have to reiterate, surely it's worth buying a more expensive shed that's already kitted out closer to your needs, rather than pulling apart and retrofitting a cheap shed??

Other people will have to guide you regarding cost - I've been seven years working abroad so wouldn't know how much it'd cost these days.

[edit]I took a closer look at the photos of said shed that you posted earlier - the roof isn't as bad as I thought - at least it's timber covered with felt. I wouldn't bother putting a flat ceiling in the shed - just glue some rigid insulation panels to the roof too, in between the joists, and it'll be fine, and a lot roomier. Regarding the floor, you could put an insulating panel UNDER the floorboards (the shed is raised a few inches from the ground) rather than insulating over the existing floor and putting in new timber. I'd still be looking at a more suitable shed though.

Also, have you thought about the possible fire issue of having a permanently heated, powered, wooden shed??

homer911

I know its flippant, but the only way you would heat a shed like that to 30C in winter is to set fire to it

You should really look at building a block shed..

Fat Nav

BetterThanThou wrote: »

I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum, seems to be the most suitable.
I'd like to build a shed to keep reptiles in, as I'd like to build up a big collection and it simply won't fit in my house too well(plus having a lot of animals in a small space can smell very bad), I'm going to need to insulate and heat the shed that I want to use, this is the shed:
http://www.adverts.ie/sheds-storage/garden-sheds-pressure-treated/2600250#comment_19480736
I'd like a 12x8 shed for this, I know I cannot do this job myself, as it will need to be insulated which I cannot do and hooked up to the mains of my house which I definitely cannot do. This shed will need to hold a temperature of around 20-30 degrees celcius, does anyone have any idea how much on average it would cost to insulate and hook this shed up to the mains? If anyone could estimate the cost of materials as well as the cost of labour separately that would be good, as I know some people who will be willing to do the labour cheaply. Thank you.

Edit: Also would anyone know where, if anywhere I would be able to buy 100 watt heat resistant screw in light holders?

I got a shed/home office built in timber and insulated walls,roof and floor for 2100.
It had double glazed window and door and is 12 x 8 in size.
Best money I ever spent.:D

Tokyo

Fat Nav wrote: »

I got a shed/home office built in timber and insulated walls,roof and floor for 2100.
It had double glazed window and door and is 12 x 8 in size.
Best money I ever spent.:D

I was looking at a few of these online last night out of curiosity as a result of this thread - some of them even come prewired with their own breakers, so a sparky just has to run power to the box and job done.

€400 for the initial wooden shed, plus insulation costs, plus the cost of a new door (sounds like the OP is thinking PVC, plus handyman's hours, plus sparky's hours, plus the unforeseen extras that are going to pop up... you wouldn't feel running up a 2k bill pretty easily to get it the way you want...

gallag

Its hard to keep them warm, cant fit much insulation in, I have mine insulated, double glazed and connected to the central heating. It gets very warm but it will always be hard to hold the heat for long. Ill post a few pics if I get a chance.

gallag