Converting a large stone shed to workshop/office

[Esther.R]

We have an old byre (in the loosest possible sense, it is only about 8m by 3.5m and low as it was originally built to house the Shetland house cow and the odd Shetland pony or two) which is just outside the house and would make a great workshop/office. It has a new box-profile steel roof and sound walls but everything else is a little dubious...Our plans are

- concrete floor (currently has rotten wood one)
- new window (currently has a glass door on its side acting as a window!)
- new doors (currently has a pair of stable type doors that are totally rotten, would be replacing with similar)

- find the leak in the new roof
- solar powered dehumidifier
- small multifuel stove.

Three sides of the byre are original rubble wall construction about 3/4 way up and then breeze block (all rendered to match house on outside so you cant tell), the side with the window is all breezeblock.

Anyone got any advice doing this on a budget (doesn't have to look fantastic, just be practical) or ideas?

[Smooth Hound]

could you render or harl it?

[Martin]

the only thing that worries me a bit is the "solar powered dehumidifier........."
-"solar powered" and "budget " normally just don't go together in the same sentence........
To explain - dehumidifiers are an admission of defeat - they are used to remove damp that shouldn't be there in the first place! If it's damp, make it waterproof, insulate it well, and give it a jolly good airing in the summer months, and you shouldn't need the dehumidifier! The time of year they are most used is during winter, when warm, damp air causes condensation on cold surfaces, and that's the time that solar panels are producing least power............
Most small domestic dehumidifiers are around 500 watts, if you want to run one of those 24/7 in winter you'd need at a conservative estimate around £25,000 of pv panels, and batteries, or grid-tie equipment.........500 watts 24/7 consumes MORE than the average daily home's total consumption!
For that much boodle you can buy a shedload of insulation and ventilation........

[Stonehead]

The multi-fuel stove will help dry it out, too.

I've been looking at making my workshop more useable in winter. It, too, is of stone with a metal roof and in winter it can go down to -8C inside, so I have to work wearing multiple layers and heavy gloves. Doing fine work is not easy.

I plan to dry-line and insulate, with a breather membrane between the stone and the insulation. I'll also put in a ceiling with insulation on top.

The workshop already has a concrete floor, complete with a bath sunk in the middle of it! The bath is currently covered with planks, so I'm going to have to remove it and fill the hole. Either that, or turn it into a feature.

And no, I don't know why there's a bath in the floor. It can't have been used as a pit for working on a tractor or car, as there's only a standard door opening into the workshop.

[Martin]

apparently the Kingspan company has a good advisory service re usage of their products, particularly regarding minimising condensation/damp problems when used inside existing buildings!
I agree with Stoney - the stove will help a lot, as will proper ventilation!

[contadina]

A good tip for getting rid of damp without the need to go down a dehumidifier route is to tie up bundles of chalk sticks as the damp gets soaked up by these rather than areas where you wouldn't want mould. Also make sure that doors and windows are open for a couple of hours each day.

[Esther.R]

Thanks! Its just my parents have a solar dehumidifier in their workshop that has worked really well and cost them about £300, however they have no regular heating in there - if we can do without it then all the better as the budget gets bigger for the other work!

It is already rendered on the outside but bare stone and breezeblock on the inside.

Thanks!

[ina]

If it's damp, make it waterproof, insulate it well, and give it a jolly good airing in the summer months, and you shouldn't need the dehumidifier! The time of year they are most used is during winter, when warm, damp air causes condensation on cold surfaces, and that's the time that solar panels are producing least power.

And make sure there's no drainage problem around the building. My damp problem in the house STARTED in summer - last summer, when it rained all the time, and there was a constant flooding problem outside the house. Somehow or other the dampness crept into the walls...