'On Shed'

[roconnor]

Hi All,
As mentioned in earlier postings,I'm new to M.E. and would appreciate the advice of 'seasoned vets' on this message board.
I've just acquired a 9ft x 7ft shed which is to be my workshop.It is my intention to construct 2.5" gauge steam locomotives.
In the shed,I will have my mini lathe and mini mill/drilling machine.
My question is how best to keep the dreaded damp of a British climate from doing it's worst to my machinery.
How have you all insulated your workshops?
I've trawled the web and there seems to be many opposing views on the best materials to use.
Many seem to be against plasterboard with insulating wool behind it, as it is thought that the board will eventually crumble in the varying temperatures likely to be encountered throughout the year.
Others have suggested using plywood with insulation behind it,only to have this questioned due to the fact that the plywood might warp for the same reason??
Also,can anyone suggest the name/make of a good shed alarm.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many Thanks,
roconnor

[ron]

Hi
I've a 10X8 extension out the back of my garage which was originally my workshop for classic car building and has now been converted to ME use.
It is built from 2X2 framing with weatherboard on the outside and 1/2" chipboard on the inside, I think I also put some insulation above the false chipboard ceiling but I can't remember for sure.
It's very easy to heat and retains the heat very well but condensation can still be a bit of a problem overnight in certain weather conditions, I think you have a choice, either heat it all the time, keep the condensation at bay and end up paying huge electricity bills or what I do is spray everything with Screwfix's equivalent of WD40 in cold weather.
Only problem I have, in very cold weather the concrete floor is freezing even when the workshop is quite warm so I had to invest in a thick rubber doormat to stand on.
The garage it's attached to isn't lined so condensation is a bigger problem in there, I overwinter the TR6 there and to keep it condensation free I have a small tubular heater underneath it which works remarkably well so something similar or maybe even a lightbulb under the lathe might do the trick.
Can't help you with the alarm, mine's on the house system.
Ron

[John Lee]

roconnor said:

Hi All,
As mentioned in earlier postings,I'm new to M.E. and would appreciate the advice of 'seasoned vets' on this message board.
I've just acquired a 9ft x 7ft shed which is to be my workshop.It is my intention to construct 2.5" gauge steam locomotives.
In the shed,I will have my mini lathe and mini mill/drilling machine.
My question is how best to keep the dreaded damp of a British climate from doing it's worst to my machinery.
How have you all insulated your workshops?
I've trawled the web and there seems to be many opposing views on the best materials to use.
Many seem to be against plasterboard with insulating wool behind it, as it is thought that the board will eventually crumble in the varying temperatures likely to be encountered throughout the year.
Others have suggested using plywood with insulation behind it,only to have this questioned due to the fact that the plywood might warp for the same reason??
Also,can anyone suggest the name/make of a good shed alarm.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many Thanks,
roconnor

Ahh a shed worker...banned to the deepest recesses of the garden to play with "boys toys"..welcome..

Apart from insulation, I have some low wattage i.e. cheap to run tubular heaters that are always on. They are meant for greenhouses and are 30 watt..so do not use much electricity combined with a thermostat.

I insulated with foam tiles under hardboard.. but..and its a big but.. its an ideal mouse home.. soon you may hear the scuttering of little feet.

If I did it again it would be fibreglass insulation, which irritates my hands so must do the same to the eyes of the little beggars.

I hope its a Pent roof shed rather than a flat one like mine.. or problem 2 occurs..

John

[John Lee]

Good topic heading btb... ;D

[paul]

Wish I could use my shed but it's full of weird things like lawn mowers and garden tools! It never seems to get too cold or damp but it was inhabited by a little fella until I took the spade to him.

I'm confined the the garage and, like ron, the floor is the biggest bug-bear; last year one of my toes went completely white/numb and took ages to get back to normal - I now have a fan heater and several rubber car mats! The one plus about the concrete floor is you can use it to play a blow lamp over something without too much worry!

I'd imagine exterior grade ply would be fine but I wouldn't think plasterboard would last long especially if your shed is in the shade/near trees/in a frost pocket.

Let's face it, you'll probably end up spending so much time in there that it'll never go cold anyway

[chris vine]

Hi Roconnor,

I can tell you what I did with a wooden shed:

I lined it completely with a form of chipboard called stirling board. This is a coarse chipboard which is an exterior grade. It is much stronger than hardboard or plaster board which makes putting up shelves much easier.

Behind the stirling board I used rolls of loft insulation. The whole job of cutting the board to size and fitting it up only took one day with a mate.

Damp. This can be a real pain and my solution is a little dehimidifier. You want the type with a dial, humidistat so it doesn't run all the time. The other thing to look out for with these is that most of them sold at b and q etc. only work down to a temp of 5 or 8 degrees C. This is not much use in a shed in the winter (especially in Scotland where I live)!! There are some which work down to around 1 or 2 degrees C and this is the type you want. Usually if you turn the around in the shop you can find a data plate which tells you all this.

Finally, I discovered that damp in a workshop descends. Sounds stupid but once when the dehumidifier was left off for a few damp days, I found everything which was not oiled had gone rusty on the top surfaces only. Even axles on the chassis were half rusted. So what I do now is to cover machines and anything else with a polythene sheet. It does not need to be a close fit, just prevent the damp (or dew as it really is) descending and doing its damage.

The stirling board is a bit more expensive than hardboard but my previous workshop was lined with hardboard and over the years it sagged and eventually failed.

Dehumidifiers used to be expensive items but now are made in the far east so are quite reasonable. There is a modern type with a silica gel disk, which I think may be more efficient.

Another thought is for worksurfaces. I fitted up a bench right across one end of the shed, made from a kitchen worktop. Bolted and screwed to the structure, the whole thing braced up very strongly so that filing and sawing in a vice is very rigid. You can get work tops from a local kitchen maker. The local one here usually has ones which have been damaged or are out of fashion with footballers wives etc...

Hope that rant helps!!
Chris.

[SteveW]

Roconnor,

It occurs to add a thought about moisture. Heating the space is fine but expensive and keeping damp out is difficult. A hot sweaty modeler will fill the place to moisture very quickly as will a porous floor.

Consider controlled ventilation, maybe a small 12v computer fan to outside. Also, if you have a concrete floor consider spilling any spare oil based paint on it. It helps keep dust down and helps towards sealing it. I also used up the odd bits of light coloured house emulsion on the walls ( I use a brick built garage) as it helps with reflected light and in my case sealing the brick dust.

Also consider making sure you have very good lighting, essential as one gets older.

[mrblobby]

What ever you do dude, don't use a portable gas heater to heat your workshop - or you'll find all your shiny tools will go rusty after a few days (the gas gives out a hell of a lot of moisture once burned), I found this out to my displeasure!!!!!