When my father died, we dismantled an octagonal wooden ‘summer house’ that he had made, and re-sited it at the top of the steep back garden of the cottage, which we were then renting in Devon, UK. The cottage, on the historical Fursdon Estate has since been renovated and turned into prestigious holiday accommodation.
The view, out over the lush green Devon countryside was enjoyed, along with a glass of wine, on many a warm summer’s evening, but working full time to pay rent didn’t have long-term appeal.
When we moved to Ireland, we brought the ten panels with us. They have been taking up space in our storage shed for many years, so finally the time came to make use of them. We needed a garden shed more than we needed a summer house, but why not both?
We created a concrete base big enough to accommodate three panels at each side, and four at the front, including the two doors, and built a block wall for the back. We decide to make a roof that overhangs the front, for storage, but also so that we can use the ‘veranda’ as a summer house. We bought new timber for the roof beams.
A local farmer donated a pile of redundant pallets, which were dismantled and stripped of nails, and these were used to create the roof.
It all looks a bit ‘Heath Robinson-ish’ at this stage, but with two layers of rough timber at 90 degrees from each other, we have a massively sound roof structure – which is not waterproof!
Finally, the timber roof is finished, and it remains to seal it with felt.
There is still a bit of work to repair panels damaged during two dismantlings. The blockwork needs to be rendered, weather permitting. Timber cross pieces are required to tie in the front supporting ‘pillars’, and serve as trellises on which to grow flowering climbing plants.
Voila! One garden shed from (mostly) re-used materials. I forgot to mention that the ‘veranda’ is south-facing, to make the most of the summer sunshine. It’s winter, now, but the little tree in the foreground is a slow-growing ‘Liquid Amber’, which becomes a riot of colour in the autumn.
