The Boy Has A New Shed

A few months ago, on one of those rainy days when one could not do any garden work...it was cold and moist in the flower garden but regardless of the prevailing climatological conditions, the birds had to be fed. Well the feeders had to be topped-up and of course it wasn't totally all "good will"--I wanted to watch the birds.
Through the years the weather did not prevent us from going to the lotties to check on the beds and watch the birds. I can remember sitting out in such bad weather oblivious to the elements, armed with a hot thermos of tea and a bag full of bikkies.
Well, at some point, one can sit still in the cold only so long; in the end you get through and through cold and toes, fingers and nose are the first to suffer. When you get to this stage, you just have to hop on the bike and head back home.
This is a scenario that has played many times; and while uncomfortable, was never a reason NOT to spend time in the lotties during the winter. Now however; all of a sudden, a wild idea somehow formed and became visible on the distant "horizon of possibility". At first it was difficult to distinguish it from the ever-changing cloud formations, but as time went by and as it approached the outlines of this apparition began to take a recognizable form--the form of a new shed/garden house. henceforth I shall drop the co-term, "shed" and only refer to this exotic cloud dream as "garden house".
Naturally like all projects that emerge from here the very first step is the investigation. Fortunately this is the 21st century and there are computers. Otherwise this stage would have taken longer than it already does. This is the stage that takes the longest, but is the most fun--)I love to search).
The Investigation
Countless websites were visited as well as garden centres and other companies which could be physically visited with an auto, to look at what they had on offer.
During the course of gathering info an idea began to develop of what was wanted in terms of shape, size, materials and attributes. Obviously cost was also a consideration.
Some of the important things were:
--wood which was impregnated in a "autoclave-like apparatus" under high pressure.
--wood type and thickness
--roof coverings
--door type
--window type
--type of floor
--fundament
The end result of the investigation phase resulted in a firm idea of what we wanted and so the search for someone to do the job was the next step.

The Selection of a Company
Who sold the type of house that we wanted, how much would it cost and when could it be placed? Burning and important questions, as they would determine with whom we would go into the sea with, so to speak.
The prospective vendors were quickly narrowed down by the use of a little checklist:
--Where was the company located? (the neared to home, the better)
--Did they sell or could they build the house that we had in mind?
--Would the same persons that built the house ALSO install it (rather than sub-contracting the placement job)?
--The cost (obviously the less expensive, the better).
Since no company had exactly the house kit that was wished for and many folks sold "kits" and did not build the garden houses themselves, a large number fell off.
Another group fell off the short list because they were far away--however at this stage we kept the door cracked open, because if they could supply what was wanted and no one else could...then it might be that we would HAVE to go further a-field than we wished.
In the end we found that no one had the house exactly as we wanted to buy it. It would have to be made-to-order. This is where the use of subcontractors and the limitations of "kit-products" helped remove more companies.
It finally came down to two companies. One was further away (by many km's) and this company also could not supply the type of door that we wanted (sturdiness). They also wanted to put the house on a cement fundament and I would then be responsible for digging and levelling a rectangle of ground a bit larger than the floor space, then fill this pit up and level sand (too much cost and hard work, as the lottie is about 200+ yards from the parking lot an a zig-zag traject of paths.
The rub was the price--they could do the job for less. Well for less, BUT their product would not be exactly what was wanted and the cost of the sand and the physical aspect were too great in the end, so we went with the competitor, talked about the price and arrived at a mutual agreement in principal.
An offer came in the post a couple of days later with a sketch and the mentioning of the aspects and the price. After closely checking the document for discrepancies, it was a go. Discrepancies--may not sound like much, but when laying down good money, then everything has to be "just so", all correct and in black and white (or in this case, black on yellow).

It was noticed while dealing with the various companies that there was a wide margin of honesty and preciseness between bidders. With this in mind, then it was time to put on the "stickler for detail" coat.

The Timing

The company gave the date of 15 december 2011 for setting the little house up. That was important because I wanted very much to be able to enjoy it THIS year already. You know, during the summer I doubt that I will spend one hour in that house-- it is for reading and bird-watching during the late fall through late spring months.

Now I shall end this "more info that you wanted" thread and in the second one I will include pics.

Preparation
Removal of the existing shed was the first step in the preparation, but before that paving tiles had be removed and plants moved as well as the ground being cleared and levelled where the new house would come to stand.
It was a thickly misty day and these words came to mind:
"A thick mist covers the garden still,
Conceals the dreams and hearts that will
Of tender ones who deeply lie
Awaiting the cold to pass them by."


The ground was cleared and the contents of the shed were removed and placed in the greenhouse.


A man was hired to come and assist in the breaking-down and removal of the old shed. Once the company gave us the confirmed date of setting up the new house, he could be brought in a week before to do his work. Logistics were a big part in this project.
The first evidence of deconstruction:


It went fast...first this wall, then that one:


And then...it was just ....GONE! The little shed and the memories. Gone.

It was surprising how much good wood was left but also how much rot had set in. Ach, the house was more than twenty years old--its no wonder, I suppose. The roof covering was finished as well and had to be thrown away.

All the debris was removed and placed over beside the green house burgeoned with contents of the little shed. Even more went in -- more than what is visible here. It was placed on a bed that had the purple-sprouting broccoli--it had to go.


Then it was a question of waiting. The days fairly drug by. I began marking the days off like a criminal in the cell. Watching with exaggerated interest, the weather reports and projections. Keeping tabs on my little weather station and the one used on the computer. It was almost a sort of obsessive type of behaviour. haha.

Setting it up
Finally the day arrived. The morning was dry, there were a few clouds high in the sky through which the sun peeked through now and then. The mood was upbeat.
The water, the coffee and bekers were packed and it was time to be off. The construction man called to say that he was on the way.
Let the show begin!
They were waiting at the front gate--two autos with aanhangers. All manner of tools, the house and speciality equipment to push in the piles etc.


It all had to be ferried to the lottie via the zig-zagging paths. It was a bit of a strain and a section of fence had to be taken out to accommodate the pre-constructed panels.


The building commissioner was present to be sure that the rules were not violated in terms of size and location. Once he was satisfied, the fundament was laid out.


The piles (3 meters long!) were sunk.


The floor was laid a plank at the time.


Then the walls could be fitter. The back wall was the first to go in.


Then the sides and the front.


Walls up--time for a lunch break. Still no rain, but as they ate it began to rain and they were discussing whether or not to put the roof on or come back later. I am glad that they decided to put it on.

The inside was a mess of tracked-in mud and rain that fell in before the roof was in place.


The corner where I will sit and observe the birds, read the e-reader or fool around on the laptop.


The finished house. Well, "finished"? Not quite. The construction had been completed, but now it has to be dried out and swept clean. Then the "stuff" has to be returned to the inside and arranged. There are shelves that must be built and an elbow plank for in front of the observation window, and a half-loft has to be made...oh, there are still projects.
Oh yes, and an uilenbord must be places on the apex of the roof. A garden house, like the garden itself --a place where the work is never done.

....Addendum: New shelves and the re-filling begins.

 

awesome garden house there sjoerd! when i read the title, i thought it said 'sled', not shed! i was wondering where you were going with that?!!!

amazing what they can build in a day, huh?! can't wait to see the shelves going in.

oh, great place to sit and watch the birds!!!

 

I too thought your posting said "sled". So happy to hear you have a new little garden house. Are you going to leave it the natural color? How nice to have some "new digs" to relax and reflect when you are visiting the lotties. Enjoy.

 

i forgot, i loved the dutch doors too!

 

Great post Sjoerd, Enjoyed every word and picture. Thanks for the all the details. Sounds like a great place to pass the time.

 

Thanks BUNKIE--I am looking forward to watching the birdies. I just have to get all the stuff back into the shed before that can happen. I also plan another thing or two.

Hi TONI-- To add to your list of names: here we call that type of door, "boerendeur"(farmers' door). Hahaha the list grows. I like them as well and they are so useful.
I can sort of hang on it and chat to passers by...or a birdie may sit on it and perhaps inspect the inside of the shed. The tits used to go in the old shed regularly.

Hey there, GAIL-- I will eventually paint the shed, but I may leave it for a couple of years. It is impregnated and is supposed not to need painting for five years. The hardwood door is another story. That must be painted right away. I plan to do that on tuesday of next week (depending upon the weather). I expect that I will like the shed very much. It has much more room than the old shed that was there. Two peeps could sit in that one (and then all scrunched-up like sardines).

Hiyah CAROLYN--So glad that you liked the posting. I am proud of that little shed. I will be able to better organize my stuff now.

 

What a wonderful place to hang out!
Awesome and informative post, as usual, Sjoerd.

 

Wow Sjoerd, O.K. another WOW!! That is one fantastic new shed and I just love the post. You should have plenty of time to fix up the inside before spring planting. Congratulations on the new shed, we will be looking enviously at it in future posts.

Jerry

P.S. Three meters for the piles? A secure footing Is that far down? Just curious.

 

Thank you, CHERYL--I haven't really begun to enjoy the little shed yet.

Hey there, JERRY-- Thanks for your complimentary reaction. I am well pleased that you liked the posting.
Yes, 3m piles are ridiculously long; however, we have what we call, "drassig" ground here, being of a soil type that we call, "veen".
The soil is ~1 meter or less over the entire complex and below the veen-ground there is a soft, soupy clay lying in water. The water table is very close by.
They guys went down the full three meters, but still did not reach solid ground. They assured me that the shed would not blow over in hurricanes because the clay will work in a "sucking" sort of way.
You realize that great portions of present day Holland was once on the bottom of the sea, right? Some places near the edge of what was once the Zuiderzee are still "moist".
My little plot is interesting to till because I find bits of old things like those long-stemmed pipes 18&19 century) in the soil. The people in those years used to just through their rubbish into the marshy areas, as there was no garbage pick-up every other week. ;-)
Gardening on the plot is just full of unusual encounters.

 

Seasons Greetings I just loved the post, very interesting and description was excellent...the 'shed' even has a kitchen!
Have fun.

 

Wow!! I'm speechless! So much space ..it's lovely you, all the hard work paid off and I'm sure the boy is really satisfied!

 

Hiya CHOCOLATE--so glad that you enjoyed the posting this time. Well the kitched belongs in quotes...hahaha. Very basic, but I can boil water for tea. ;-)

Thanks EILEEN--Glad you liked it. Y'knowq,one of these days, you're gonna have to come and have a look-see.I was out there today painting the door and trim.

KK--Hahaha....you betcher boots, the boy is satisfied. Now to fill it back up with "stuff" and do a little painting of the door and window frames.

 

Great shed! This puts you one up on Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson.