Shed of the year 2024, Sponsored by 
Oak framed All recycled timber
After having been on the waiting list for over 5 years by chance our allotment came up just at the right time. I was at the time, and still am, recovering from an extreme stress reaction (burn out) which occurred in the middle of June 2011 with symptoms akin to a stroke where I lost the ability to read, write and do figure work coherently and also developed a stutter. I historically enjoyed working with wood and the opportunity arose to construct a shed on the allotment. We wanted to do this using recycled materials and having been given old decking and joists by our niece this determined the floor area 2.1m x 1.65m. The oak uprights we had bought many years ago in a local auction and they were the ideal frame for this construction. The walls and doors are constructed from recycled pallets from various sources and we were very lucky to utilise pallets from a new build in our village and they became the mainstay of the project especially the 2.4 m lengths which we used for the back of the shed and the doors. The roof is a combination of elm planks which had been the back of an old cupboard again purchased years ago in a local auction, recycled pallet wood and also from one of our allotment neighbours timber from a chicken coup. The roofing felt was wombled from a friend of ours so our costs have been on nails, screws and hinges. The project started in January and has been completed over the last week and just requires it final coat of preservative, the addition of guttering again provided by one of our allotment neighbours and a water butt from our niece. There was a debate about one of the final pieces of timber required to finish of the roofing at the front of the shed and overhearing our debate one of our allotment neighbours offered us a piece of timber from his own timber stock which fitted perfectly to the mm. This is more than just a shed. Although this has been a time consuming process I have gained immense benefits from the project in cognitive therapy especially in figure work. The physical exercise in dismantling pallets and with the build itself has all been part of the healing process. The shed is unique in every way
