We built our posh office in a shed using stuff from a skip – it saved us £23,000

A COUPLE “saved £23,000” by building a garden shed using recycled materials, including insulation they salvaged from a skip.

Graham Anderson, 35, and his wife Rachel, 34, had been working from their spare room but decided they needed more space with their four children running around.

7

7

7

The couple, who are both architects, set out to design and transform an unused piece of land at the back of their garden into a vibrant garden room that they could use as a workspace.

Graham and his father-in-law, also named Graham, spent a year building their new hub.

To be as economical as possible, they tried to obtain their materials through free online advertisements.

They found the insulation for the roof in a skip with the help of Gumtree, they got the front window from an unwanted window seller and the wood was recycled with the help of Southampton Wood To recycle To project.

Next one Unpleasant the officethey designed and built a shaded terrace with a bench for social occasions.

Their frugal decision making meant that they summer hut for just £12,000 in total – £23,000 less than the £35,000 Graham estimates it would have cost them to build if they had had someone to do it for them.

Graham said he entered the Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2024 competition for “a bit of fun” but says it is a “Nice feeling” nominated for the category ‘Cabin/Garden House’.

Graham, an architectural technologist from Eastleigh, Hampshire, said: “It’s a completely new building, built from scratch.

“We just looked at the amount of garden we wanted to use and wanted it to be a conservatory as well.

“It was quite tough: we spent a lot of time gathering supplies, looking for the right types of insulation material and working with unknown quantities. But we managed to get it done, without too much waste.

“It’s a low energy building, because there are many layers of membranes that are all taped off and super well insulated, so it is relatively warm in the winter.

“Building the garden office ourselves was a very satisfying, but also financially necessary project. Otherwise we would not have been able to afford it.

“It’s fortunate that we had the knowledge and skills to put it into practice and make it happen

“The match was actually just fun.

“The timing was so good that I was able to submit it and I had known about it for a few years.

“It is a Nice recognition to get there.

“A small panel had decided that we were among the top three entries in the garden shed category, so that was a great feeling.

“I’m not thinking too much about winning the whole tournament yet.”

7

7

7

7

Graham and Rachel now use the space at least three times a week to work from home.

Their children also like to play with their Lego.

He said: “We started construction in 2022.

“Towards the end of the pandemicwe realized we had a growing family with two baby boys, one age one and one age four, and we were working from home in a one bedroom.

“So I wanted to free up space in that bedroom and have other space.

“Because we are both architects, we didn’t want to just buy an old barn. We wanted to design it ourselves and save as much money as possible.”

Graham and his father-in-law spent their weekends for over a year putting the shed together.

He said: “The main interesting part is that we have used a lot of recycled materials to be as economical as possible.

Ideally I would like to make it even bigger so it has more social functions

Graham Anderson

“One of the windows was a piece of VELFAC and that window was the first one we bought from a window supplier. We then designed the piece around it.

“Every day we were sanding Facebook marketplace and Gumtree for insulation and pieces of wood.

“We used reclaimed timber from builders who didn’t need it. Much of the timber for the structure came from Southampton. To recycle To project.

“And we got some free parts from a landscaper who wanted to save some of the insulation that was going to go in the container.

“My father-in-law drilled holes in the plywood around the kitchenette to create a decorative ceiling. It looks nice in the photos and is good for the acoustics.

“I would love to make it even bigger, so that it has a greater social function.”

Also in Graham and Rachel’s office is a kitchenette with a small sink and a built-in fridge under the worktop. They say this means that “the garden room can no longer be used just for the office, but is available to the family 24/7.”

They also added LED lighting, which can be adjusted to suit the mood and ambiance.

You can vote on Graham’s build here.