Shed of the year 2024, Sponsored by 
Designed and built by owner,with eight roof lights in octagonal roof, pair of double doors opening as one entrance in fine weather, 15' fully fitted bar with additional door behind and storage under including 3 fridges, blinds to windows and roof lights, ceiling fan, sink with cold running water, comfortably furnished with sea grass matting floor, Hammock. No phone, no TV ,no interruptions ,no shortage of liquid refreshment, no inclination to go any where else and no need to.
This was a first effort at creating any thing significant. 5' concrete slab on top of hardcore. Dug out octagonal area with help of son who then left for usa, and shuttered lower slope. used damp proof membrane sadly punctured many times trying to bolt floor to base in way suggested by builders merchant. Eventually used simpler method after completely relaying tongue and groove floor on 2' batons. all 8 sides were 6' wide and 7' high. Panels were made with one side of frame being triangular to give 45o angle for next panel. rest of frame 4' x 2' with centre upright and cross member . ship lap outer and 1/2' ply inside added after panels erected and bolted together. one side was all doorway and had thicker lintel. 4' x 2', the panels either side also had same extra thick top of frame and extra cross members and uprights to give support to the single doorway each had of 3' each and the 6' unsupported area of the double doors in the middle. On sides close to boundary the 2 panels were solid , the middle panel behind the bar had 2'3' door disguised with shelving and ply lining same as walls,next panel had window 1/2 half width, the next had 2 x 3' windows and the ext a half size window only because of extra timber strengthening for doorway. Roof had fairly low pitch 17o from memory and was ply supported on 4' x 1' timbers from the corners of each panel to centre timber at apex. The ply was covered in roofing felt and then shiplap supported on batons . the main roof timbers were joined by cross members at 1/3 and at 2/3rds so as to leave a gap in the middle of each roof section for glazing with laminated glass. I wished I had paid more attention to accuracy of measurements early on because by the time I reached the roof every mistake was magnified and each pane of glass was a different size. I had them cut as rectangles initially and then showed the rectangles up to the roof and marked them with the place for the angled cuts. It was still very difficult to get a perfect fit balancing on a sloping roof holding a large pane of laminated glass but it has not been to difficult to keep on top of the occasional and inevitable leeks. if I ever tried to do it again I would make sure that the numbers to show which pane went where and which way up were not capable of being removed by the man who cuts the glass. The roof timbers were not as difficult as I expected. I attached three main timbers to the central hub to form a Y shape and then placed them on the side panels one by one and then added the rest. One essential addition although I didn't realise it at the time was the 4 timbers which ran from the mid point of alternate panels (the top of course) making a square. the timber which ran from the one half door panel to the other was in order to support the area of otherwise unsupported roof. I added the other 3 for purely cosmetic reasons but on reflection it is probably these 4 timbers which hold the thing together. Amazingly I had enough timber to erect the bar and shelving exactly as I had planned it although I have added a bit more shelving since. The sink with running water from tap for the moment attached to garden hose, fitted perfectly and drains through a pipe set in the concrete base for the purpose Doors are all ledge and brace with the tongue and groove cut out for windows used to make folding shutters since unsurprisingly they were just the right size The cupboards under the bar surprisingly house 3 fridges 4 deck chairs awnings umbrellas pint glasses,my hoover and much more. The floor is covered with seagrass matting, all the windows have blinds including the roof lights,there is a hammock ,a dartboard and most important no phone. In my affection I think it comes a close second after my new granddaughter, even the cat likes it! Although I claim to have built it all myself I owe a great debt of thanks to among others: My wife who knows where to find me but doesn't see much of me but still hammered in endless nails and painted it from head to foot My neighbour Ken without whose tools I could not have started let alone finished it My great friend Bill without whose encouragement the task would have been not nearly so much fun And to the builders merchant and many others whose generally conflicting advice I ignored or followed in about equal measure To the many friends whose company I have enjoyed in it And of course to good Uncle Wilco for giving me the chance to shout about it
