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Makes sense re: the window then.
I guess the main issue with the MDF walls will be expansion? I assume you'll need to build in a decent tolerance. If it's anything like the office we had in our garden, it'll get fucking hot in the summer.
Are you thinking about ventilation / heating / cooling? If you're planning on doing office work etc in there during the day, i'd definitely consider an AC unit that heats as well as cools. Something wall / ceiling mounted at the back would work a treat. It would also keep the humidity down and reduce some of the issues with the wood shifting.
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Yeah I was thinking I would like 2-3mm between panels for expansion reasons and caulking that. How much insulation did your one have? Also was it a concrete base? I'm going to play it by ear regarding a combined AC unit. Part of me thinks that all the insulation will keep the heat out. The other day it was really nice and cool inside it compared with the shaded areas in the garden, I think the roof insulation is not allowing the sun to directly heat it up. I also am thinking the concrete slab has a lot of thermal mass and is constantly in contact with the ground so has a cooling effect too, although that will be offset by the 50mm of insulation I'm going to put on it.
I dunno. Lots of theories, I have no idea. In practice it might be the total opposite so will go a year with an AC or heater or anything and observe and then put something in if I need it.
Not sure. Baby is due in 4 weeks and my goal is getting the exterior completely finished before I start doing the inside (winter is coming). I may not do the inside for a long time, all depends on how good a father I am really. I'll line the walls with 18mm MDF actually, will be a lot more useful for workshop purposes than plasterboard. Will paint them so shouldn't be all that different than if it was plastered visually. I don't know how to make the joints smooth though. Current thought is flexible caulk down the gaps and filler over the screw heads. I am undecided about the ceiling, could plaster that, or use a thinner MDF, but I worry it might sag?
Reasons for the skylight where it is that my main workbench and table saw will be directly in front of the bifold door for dust reasons. I wanted the skylight above the workbench. The other side of the building, the window side will have a desk under the window with a PC and monitor etc for my work from home days, and then behind that will be wood storage most likely so no real need for skylight. Having said all that, I wish I had put in a second (or even third), they aren't that expensive.
Next step is soffits, cladding, guttering then bifold doors and windows. Probably oak sleeper planter boxes somewhere in the middle of that as the piles of soil sitting around the garden is ridiculous and neither I nor my wife are particularly pleased about the state of it all.