Shed of the year 2024, Sponsored by 
It is very much loved Called The Hesperus after an old film called The Wreck of the Hesperus The before and during photos will explain why pIt is very special to me as my Dad rebuilt it for me during lockdown As a Painter Decorator I have dreamed of having my own workshop for years I needed somewhere to store my various paints and work on smaller furniture projectspIt has wifi and an oil filled heater so we can work in there It has a lovely sound system as musicians we sit in there on nights off from playing music ourselves and listen to various music with a drink from the beer fridge pThrough one of the refurbished sash windows I pulled from a skip I can sit with a coffee from the coffee machine and enjoy my favorite view of the garden As a keen gardener and artist in the summer I throw open the double doors and sit in there to take a break or do some sketching in the shadep It is fully insulated We even insulated the floor which means it gets used all year round It truly is an extension of the house totally versatile we absolutely love it
My mother used to live in what is now our property, we lived next door for 10 years. My mother had a log cabin built at the end of the garden and moved into it meaning myself and my husband were able to move into the house on New Years Day just before lockdown."The Hesperus" was bought by my Dad second hand 20+ years ago and over the last 10 years was kind of forgotten about. It just had various bicycles/ lawn mowers / stuff stacked up in there. It was actually starting to fall into the next-door garden as the ground falls away on a slope. Honestly.......It wasn't looking good!!When lockdown happened my husband and I decided to start landscaping the garden but our starting point was what to do with the old shed. Was it even salvageable? After asking very nicely my Dad stepped up to the (huge) challenge.To start work we had to use a trolley jack to level it up and we tied the frame up with ropes to allow my husband access to underpin it with concrete blocks and new sleapers of which it is now sat on. Using timber from a big pile that had been left over from the log cabin build, my Dad then set about rebuilding the shed. It was rotted out. The bottom half of the back had disintegrated, three of the four corners needed splicing and renewing, one of the front corners had disappeared completely after years of being sat next to a leaky water butt. My Dad then incorporated the two sash windows I had rescued a few years before. One of them replaced where a door used to be and the other was an added feature. He made the doors from scratch as the old ones were so bad and as the door frame wasn't square, he had to make the doors to fit!I then set about preserving and painting it on the outside......Once we had "a waterproof shed" we decided to go the extra step and fully insulate it. Knowing that sheds are great in the summer but cold and damp in the winter. Also..... I am terrified of spiders! By boarding it out, it was piece of mind for me knowing there was little chance of any unwanted guests!! My husband and neighbour then fitted a work bench for me and shelving for my paints. They fitted it with electric sockets and we were up and running! The best bit was when it was handed over to me. I was straight in there and I made a start on painting the inside!! I had some old road signs that have been in storage for years so I hung them in there as I love the look of them.All that needed doing now was the roof...... Now, up until this point we were all pretty confident we would be able to re-felt the roof. For a good few years all that had been keeping the rain out was a giant piece of plastic that had been stapled on. So much hard work had gone into it so far that in the end we bottled it!!! We asked a family friend if he could help, he had experience in the roofing trade and he made a lovely job of it for us. He even put a gutter on the back to fill up the now, not leaky water butt!!I think that was definately the right decision, it has withstood everything that mother nature has thrown at it so far and we all love "The Hesperus". It really has been on quite a journey, thats why I wanted to enter it into your competition...........
