Show me your shed

Is the roof terrace, steps etc a fire escape? If it is you can’t use combustible materials. You should really use it within X meters of another building. I’m sure you’re all over this bit.

@hazzelfrazzel that's a big shed!

My concern is the time it would take me to do a good job, and then where does all the stuff in the shed go while I do it? I'd feel that as a huge pressure.

The steps are access into the back of the garden, for our upstairs neighbour. It's currently a triangle made out of wood - one side against our back wall, one side along the floor and the hypotenuse under the steps at the same angle.

I'd want to replace like-for-like in terms of shape, and bring it out a bit further as it's currently narrower than the steps, which seems an odd choice.

You may well have guessed I'm not in London. Being in rural Derbyshire helps with having some spare space in the garden.

Back to answering your original question, though, I'm afraid I don't know of any good shed builders in London, but if I were you I'd actually look for a good joiner who comes recommended, or at second preference a decent general builder. Others may disagree, but if you're set on getting a pro in to do it, and it sounds like you care a lot about quality of the end product, I think those are the 2 trades most likely to leave you with a great result.

I don’t think I used much more than YouTube . a little ryobi circular saw , a speed square, drill, pencil, tape and a hammer. Oh and …. time.

Thanks for all the guidance, @hazzelfrazzel / @Sheppz / @Chaley

Right on cue:
https://youtu.be/pInUpn146_o?si=cplctdK4Z-B5Ta2k

I’ve not watched the above yet, but will ta.
My only advice ref shed building is;
Use framing nails to build, not screws. If there’s any chance of movement nails bend and stay in place (grip even harder) screws snap. That’s my biggest takeaway from putting up, building numerous sheds.

My experience has been that whenever I use the provided nails with shed kits, the wood is so warped that the nails inevitably pull out after the first few weather cycles.
My preferred method is screws for all the framing, nails for cladding and then screws again for finishing panels.

I tend to use ring shanked framing nails with glued tips. They never pull out, which is sometimes a pain. The shitty nails that come with kits are just that, shitty. Your mileage may vary.

This is a top tip - thank you!

Looks great, are they held down by gravity/fit alone or do you glue them?

Best way of sealing small holes like this before boarding / insulating?

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No adhesive needed, they interlock so well that they should be in the ocd thread.

Nice, thanks

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Show off

Interesting tool chat here, thanks for sharing.

Most of my tools are not powered, I start base build next weekend weather permitting standard 3.6 wide x 2.4 deep man cave for future screening room for films, football, cycling grand tours, garden parties with projector / audio hook up. Basically small power, comms, Wi-Fi, speaker cabling, brackets built in.

My tool list
Builders folding square
Roofing square
6” bar clamps
4lb club hammer
Chalk line
Spirit level
Rip claw hammer
Sealant gun and cartridge
Tape measure
Handsaw
Pair of trestles
Work bench
Ladder

I’m figuring two cordless drills and mitre circular saw, purchase or hire nail gun

Swap a cordless drill out for an impact driver for those biiiiig screws.

Yep, impact driver or even an impact wrench, rather than a second cordless drill.
Brand names often have cordless twinpacks of (hammer) drill and an impact tool.

A lightweight cordless handheld circular saw was invaluable for framing work and ripping sheets of osb/ply on my build.

@mespilus @se1derful good call
My cordless drill should be fine for pilot holes, I’ve treated myself to an impact driver/wrench..

@Sheppz good call
I have a mini circular saw, when I did the parquet flooring, I’ll use it for ripping the plywood sheeting when I line the walls internally.

I figured 75x47mm studs with 50mm insulation, 6mm ply, 9.5mm plasterboard, skim

Outer layer vapour barrier, 15mm vertical siberian larch boarding

Yup I love my Makita impact driver which I got as part of a combo set a few years ago. You can clearly see that the impact driver gets far more use than the drill.

Which reminds me, why does the bit keep rounding off. Poor technique or cheap bits or summat else?

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Cheap bits for sure, most of them are total garbage and barely last a few weeks in professional settings. I'd invest in a very nice set, they're not cheap though.

Thanks for the swift response. I thought that was probably the case but wanted confirmation.