Big Shed with a Small Office/TV Room

donbot on 01/04/2024 - 06:12

Has anyone designed and built an office/studio/tv room inside their existing shed and have pointers on what was good/would do differently?

We have a huge (4 car plus some) shed that were rejuvenating with new cladding/etc - and going to build in an office/tv room in there. Probably 6x3m is what we'll end up with is the thinking as usable space.. maybe a bit longer, but can't be wider.

Roofer recommended putting up roof insulation under the colorbond sheets for the part above the office room whilst he redoes the shed roofing - piece of piss at the time, much harder job afterwards?

Already on the list:
Reverse cycle AC will be there.
Running ethernet into the shed.
Plan is south facing windows to let natural light in and ability to open for fresh air. South facing as only other option is westerly facing - too hot.
Accessible only from inside shed - thinking glass door to give feel of bigger space.
Some level of soundproofing would be ideal as AC heat pump and pool heat pump are in very close proximity.

Any pointers from those that have done it before?

Home & Garden Garden Shed

Comments

  • Dollar General on 01/04/2024 - 06:16
    +3

    A chair

  • MS Paint on 01/04/2024 - 06:22
    +3

    going to build in an office/tv room in there. Probably 6x3m

    Ozbargain recommends that 3m x 3m is perfect for an 85" TV and a couch

    • freefall101 on 01/04/2024 - 13:07
      +1

      Can fit a 3x3 office and 3x3 tv room.
      I’d recommend a 12 seat boardroom table for the office.

  • AustriaBargain on 01/04/2024 - 07:06

    Yes to insulation and shading the shed as much as possible. And yes you'll probably want an AC, split system will be much more efficient than a portable at heating and cooling.

  • vshek on 01/04/2024 - 08:34

    i got a quote from a friendly builder as I needed a seperate office/ work pod. He gave me a detailed plan and the quote was about 16K. I can share more details if you need.

  • Euphemistic on 01/04/2024 - 08:58
    +1

    Insulate the whole roof.

  • barge-in hunter on 01/04/2024 - 09:55
    +2

    Without a roof cavity, insulating the whole garage is likely to be quite costly and ineffective given it sounds like a huge colourbond roof.

    I would recommend making your room a “box inside the shed”, and focus on insulating it individually - assuming there’s enough ceiling height in the shed to do a false ceiling.

    This way, you could even use pre-insulated sandwich panels for the walls and ceiling (think the stuff caravans are made of)

    • MS Paint on 01/04/2024 - 13:35
      +1

      Agree with this. I put a 40ft shipping container in our shed as a freestanding, semi secure, storage facility. So much easier than building/adding something new.

      • vshek on 01/04/2024 - 13:48

        How much did that cost? + delivery?

        • MS Paint on 01/04/2024 - 14:45
          +2

          $3300 delivered.

    • Sal in SA on 01/04/2024 - 14:00
      +2

      Would also agree - but to ensure that the new framing can be built for the loading. - the shed roof was designed for top loading for it's expected size, not then to have a heap of insulation/plasterboard etc hanging off it - some have very large spans between roof joists.

    • donbot on 03/04/2024 - 15:32

      Sorry, this was the plan - build a box inside the shed, rather than try to build it as part of the shed. There's enough ceiling height to do it.

      Eg. Wooden framed structure, plasterboard on the inside, insulation in the frame, cement sheeting/similar on the external (so its got some substance to it).

      How does the pre-insulated sandwich panels stack up cost wise?

      • barge-in hunter on 04/04/2024 - 15:10

        Not as crazy expensive as when I last looked, but a bit more than plasterboard and cement sheeting I think.
        This random place has some coolroom rated sheets from $95+ per sheet

        • donbot on 04/04/2024 - 15:20
          +1

          EPS panelling? All I can think of is our insurers at work jumping up and down about EPS panelling in property insurance given its fire risk.

          I like the idea though - definitely a good insulator!

          • barge-in hunter on 04/04/2024 - 17:00

            @donbot: Yeah interesting- hadn’t considered fire risk with eps panels; just thought “caravans are pretty good insulated boxes”. 🤣

  • nicktork on 01/04/2024 - 09:58
    +1

    Running ethernet between buildings is not recommended. Use fibre optic cable or some form of wireless link.

    • donbot on 03/04/2024 - 15:33

      Why not recommended? Fibre is a hell of a lot more expensive for a

      I currently have a wireless link in there in the form of a Eero unit that connects wirelessly. Figured it would be a better result as the Eero is likely at its max range, whilst sitting inside a tin shed.

  • Sal in SA on 01/04/2024 - 13:57
    +1

    Not just insulation - but you need some sort of vapor barrier under the roof - makes sure it is installed the right way and can have natural venting and not touching the roof sheets, then another gane and insulation, then the plasterboard.
    If you do not have the vapor barrier the insulation will just continue to get condensation from the roof and can get mould.

    You can get combined sarking/vapor/insulation products as well. But basily if you have no barrier before the roof is put on - then you either need to lift all the sheets and get the barrier down 1st OR - get creative to make a air gap then say something like fence panel extrusions running the length of the shed attached to the roof joists - that you can then attach the barrier to (don't forget to tape joints).

    Condensation control is perhaps the most important part - you should also test the concrete floor for moisture content and if it will draw water up and into whatever flooring you go with - shed floors slabs etc - not all are done to same specs as houses - don't want to put in a nice floor only to find it constantly gets damp.

    • donbot on 03/04/2024 - 15:43

      Thank you! Interesting, but I cant visualise what I need to do… layer by layer, should it look like:

      Roofing sheet
      Vapor Barrier/Sarking between Roofing Sheet & Purlin
      Screwed into Hardwood Purlin (Existing)
      Which is screwed into Galvanised Steel Portal Frame (Existing)
      Airgap (100mm?)
      Freestanding box structure for the office - sandwich panel or timber/cement sheeting clad, which is properly insulated within itself?

      Same for the concrete floor - is this an issue with the wooden subframe that the whole structure sits on? What if the subframe was galvanized/properly painted steel that sat on the concrete, which then had timber joists sitting on top of it - still an issue of drawing dampness up into the floor? Or is there a better solution keeping existing concrete? Reason being I have access to (relatively) cheap steel, but not concrete/testing/other issues - if I can do the subframe in steel to the concrete, its probably the cheapest option for me.

    • donbot on 03/04/2024 - 15:46

      Further to this, would it change the flooring if the existing concrete was epoxy sealed? Plan is to do this anyway to brighten it up - if this fixes the solution will do it before the box starts getting built and stick with timber subfloor.

  • yellowfever on 01/04/2024 - 16:23

    You gonna keep the shed walls as is? Half a millimetre tin

  • MagicMikez32 on 10/04/2024 - 15:38

    I have a 21x6m shed, 7 bays if you will. 2 bays (let's call it 6x6m) built in for 'man cave/office'.

    It's not enough room. By the time you have a TV and somewhere to watch it on, you've got bugger all left for the office/desk/pc?

    How much time are you spending in the room?

    How far from the house is the shed? It gets old walking many times a day for things that aren't in the shed, think fridge. Coffee/kettle.

    You will absolutely need AC. Internet, cell coverage doesn't work well in sheds so some kind of wifi if you get mobile calls/sms authentication codes etc.

    I wish mine was better insulated, and better ventilated.

    • donbot on 11/04/2024 - 09:35

      I hear you - but its almost planned to be just a WFH escape - a day a week for sure, 2 days tops. Think desk, filing cabinet, bookshelf and thats it for WFH. I currently WFH from our master bedroom - so know how to work within a confine.

      I've used a scale drafting design app online, and reckon I can squeeze a fold out sofa in as well, and a wall mounted TV. It will be tight and small, but would only have 1 adult in there at a time and if being used as a tv room - maybe two small kids in there with me… aka 'mum/dad needs a break from the children, go watch something in the back shed' type scenario. Not routine.

      Its not a mancave to have mates around in - its a case of work and a small escape and thats it.

      The WFH/TV pod in the shed is probably 10m from the house. That said, I WFH upstairs now (not sustainable) and would be lucky to go down once or twice a day, so not too worried about traversing between the two. Already have a beer fridge in the shed, so keeping things cold is easy - and have a garden tap just outside the shed for water topups and a lemon tree for number 1s.

      AC - definitely. No brainer - both summer and winter.
      Insulation - what did you do, and what do you wish you did?
      Ventilation - again, how can I learn from what you'd do 2nd time around?
      Internet - will be hardwired into my router in the house, and cell reception already works solidly out in the shed - I've used it plenty already when working on stuff out there.

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