In need of a man cave to read, reflect and, on occasion, sleep... Has anyone had any experience with companies or could recommend anything? Current requirements would include minimal access, preferably double glazed, sound proofing to keep the noise out rather than in and the ability to use throughout the year. Size wise approx 2m x 4m. I've been Pinteresting for a while and will probably end up designing something myself but it's always nice to see where others can point! Thanks in advance, Ian
I spent ages looking through various websites and got a few quotes which were crazy expensive for what I wanted! I've ended up designing my own office/mancave with every modders favourite sketchup, It's pretty much complete and now (except for the door). A local company are supplying the SIPS panels for a complete cost of £1250 which I don't think is too bad as it includes the floor and roof. Double glazed glass panels are again from another local company. I've budgeted for everything except the electrics because I haven't decided exactly what I'm having but the build comes in at around £2k with £500 for the electrics/ bits and bobs I've probably missed. Considering the best quote I got was £10k from a local firm it's a massive saving! Have you seen any of the George Clark: Amazing Spaces series? Whilst I hate the guy some of the projects in the shows are worth watching for ideas for your own. Tiny/Micro house websites also have some good ideas for use of space.
I costed it up and as I wasn't building it myself brick (well block) built was cheaper more easy to insulate and hopefully longer lasting with much less maintenace... http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=277531 Need to up date the thread but so far apart from the underfloor heating being a waste of money I'm really happy with my office/ shed / man cave...
Isn't there a nursey near you, in near Earls Colne? They have a whole variety there. If I get time I'll have a mooch for the name and let you know. Head on the route to Colchester, and there are two along there. Can't remember which one it is.
Marks Tey on the a120... Went in there a few days ago and had a gander... Not sure on the earls Colne one though... Ian
STRAW BALE MAN CAVE!!! *ahem* Now that we've got that out of the way, on to some serious comments. In the UK an outbuilding can be erected (I said serious! -ed) without planning permission if it meets a few guide lines, this is called permitted development. To summarise, it must be/have: Not take up more than 50% of available free ground Not be built forward of the building line (generally no closer to your gate than your front door -ed) Eaves 2.5m or lower A maximum roof height of 4m - dual pitch or hipped A maximum roof height of 3m - any other pitch A maximum roof height of 2.5m - if within 2m of a boundary Not within the curtliage of a listed building Not have a veranda or balcony of more than 300mm above ground level For once we've actually got a more lax code in Scotland than you sasanachs! We're not allowed to go above 2.5m within 1m of a boundary, but the rest of the roof can go up to 4m with 3m eves, and we get to build upto 4m2 within the curtliage of listed buildings. Whereas the 2m/2.5m limit above is for the whole roof. Straw is honestly an option and, if you're interested in such things, would easily allow you to produce a carbon negative man cave... I'm going to continue by saying that I don't like log cabins, they're wasteful using about 10 times more timber structurally in a wall compared to timber frame. It's true that an if you're insulating then you only have to clad/line one side leaving the logs exposed either internally or externally, whereas a timber frame will always require cladding and will also need lining if insulated. However, timber frame is generally considered to be the (vastly) superior construction method. ...it can be load bearing, built into a frame, or between a post and beam structure... There are so many different options on design, and these will limit, allow, or require certain construction methods, for example do you want your shed to sit: Above the ground, this'll either give you low ceiling height at the eves (or throughout if flat roofed) or require planning permission. All sounds bad? If you use a post and beam structure and you're going for a footprint of 2x4m then your elevated cave can rest on four pad foundations, minimising the amount of ground works and concrete necessary... about a third to a half as much as for a 150mm float floor. On the level-ish I'd recommend one step or very good perimeter drainage, this'll give you a ceiling height at the eves (or throughout if flat roofed) lower than inside a house but not too bad. Where the post and beam above would give you a floor to ceiling of about 1.9m (without planning to go higher) which is a bit oppressive, this would give you a maximum of about 2.3m which is only slightly lower than the average new-build home. Below the ground wholly or partly, you'll need retaining walls and tanking but you'll get superior ceiling heights. The biggest problem with this if you're doing it yourself is disposing of the spoil. However, just a couple of steps down could give you a luxurious 2.6m ceiling height, heigh enough to stick a mezzanine bunk at one end. ...as well as the obvious benefits of carbon capture, cost/m2, and thermal performance, a bale wall which is rendered on both sides exceeds 120 minutes fire resistance... Some local authorities (hell even sometimes individual planning officers -ed) count your 50% as the footprint, others as the covered area. If you're tight on space, then an overhanging roof will cost you mean usable space, a 150mm overhang around your 2x4m cave adds 2.7m2 to your "covered area", or 33% of your footprint! It's best to check before rather than have a neighbour complain about your unsightly monstrosity, and the inspecting officer condemning your cave on account of an overhanging roof... Make a list of questions to ask them, spend about a week researching, adding and taking away from the list, before you call your local planning officer - you'll generally find they're helpful, but if you pester them every time a thought pops up they'll quickly loose patience. ...with a properly designed build-up it can be used as a roof insulate, or even as a self supporting dome... If you're planning on building it yourself, forget B&Q (also known as Bugger-it-up & Quit -ed) and the rest, get yourself a Jewsons membership, you can't order from their website needs to be either by phone or better yet go to a warehouse, but it is great for making a list of what you need. If your area is anything like up here, there'll be a few locally, but they'll have different mixes of stuff at each, not ideal but not the end of the world. They also hire tools and light plant. ...bale walls are fantastic at cutting out high frequency sound, and for such a light weight material are also surprisingly good at blocking low frequency too... For windows and doors I recommend Nordan, for roof-lights Fakro. ...rodent infestation is no more of a problem than with other forms of construction, straw has about the same nutritional value as paper, if there's no food there's no problem - how rodent free is your kitchen??? If you're insulating you basically have four choices: Ecological - wool, paper, etcetera. Oldschool - RockWool, mineral fibre, etcetera. Newschool - expanded polystyrene, Kingspan, etcetera. Hi-tech - ACTIS, multi-foil, etcetera. Each has it's benefits and draw backs, it doesn't take much looking, it's all easily accessible but in brief, as you move down the list the thickness required to achieve the same U-value decreases, but the cost increases. ...Straw, what's not to love? This wall of text infomercial has been brought to you by asura industries - shooting espresso 1995 Copywrong All rights reversed
class I'm pretty impressed at what he achieved and the effort he put in to get it built (head lamps in the middle of winter!) I wonder if the polystyrene really did anything for the damp other than mask it.
Even with permitted development depending on the size and usage you may need building regs. In my local area you can't build anything used as habitable space (i.e a bedroom) and anything over 15m sqare foot print needs building regs (regardless of usage). When you've got a vague plan together I suggest you book an appointment at your local planning office just to run thru it with someone there and ensure you meet all there guidelines. it's free (at least it is in my area) and if your doing something you think that the neighbors might possibley object to for about £60 you can get your plans (just hand drawn scale plans) approved by the council before you build.
Cheers for the advice, all... Would sleeping in it on the odd occasion class it as accommodation? I mean, I could sleep in the shed but that has scary spiders and mud everywhere... Ian
I think if mention that you intend to sleep in it to the council you may have issues, if you don't tell them then there unlikely to ever know just make sure there's no bed in your plans....
If you're sleeping in it then it's considered an apartment and as such needs full planning permission and warrant - see your approved documents for details - so shhhhh!
How well do you get on with your neighbours? A friend of mine had a 'man cave' in the garden that he would often use in the evening and his neighbours reported him to the council saying he was sleeping in it (even though he wasn't). He wasn't impressed when a guy from the council knocked on the door and asked to have a look at his shed to see if it really was being used as accomodation.
it really depends on your local council. one of my neighbors has two (one very large) log cabins that the kids live in. Someone (not me cos I really couldn't care less) reported them to the council and the council just said that they were fine because the were under 2.5m and didn't seem to care about the actual use but that is just what I here on the local rumour mill /facebook. I would say that if you intend to actually live in there you should do things by the book The rules are there to ensure the building is safe and suitable for purpose. If you are going to put a sofa bed in and maybe occasionally stay in there all night then just don't mention it to the council and if anyone turns up to check (I'm pretty sure you could tell them to piss off ) but you can show them the sofa and your sound. if they ask why a sofa bed, then its just what you had / got given / picked up on the cheap as long as its not made up who's going to know you sleep in it?
That looks excellent, and very close to something I had in mind - would you be prepared to share your sketchup file? Looking at the various SIPS suppliers though, those boards don't look exactly featherweight, how are you planning on approaching installing the roof panels?
Mancave The roof isn't actually that much of a problem, the SIPS panels are 97mm thick in total, made using 2 11mm OSB boards and 75mm of hard foam, Each board has a 50mm rebate of the foam all round. Basically the roof will have a frame made from 6 homemade Glulam beams which will fit in the rebate 75x100 running from front to back. I've made beams like that before and the weight they can take is astonishing, although I wouldn't use them for major structural building, but for a mancave roof they'll be fine
Thanks for sharing! Perhaps my question was badly worded - how are you getting those boards up off the ground? what do the boards themselves actually weigh? most of the providers I've looked at are showing roof panels being installed by a crane, I'm kind of anticipating having to do this on my own and crane is not really an option (40 odd metres from the main road past the house, just getting them down to the end of the garden is enough of a challenge)
