beer GARDEN
PUB SHED AND GARDEN MAKEOVER on a budget and all under £6k…
Over the course of the last 15 months or so, the restrictions on movement and travel have had a positive impact on the home and garden improvement market. With so much time spent at home, some of which on furlough, combined with the restrictions on hospitality and holidays, homeowners have utilised the time and disposable income to improve and renovate their living space and accommodate their new-found lifestyle.
It appears that gardens have now become more of an extension to the home, an entertainment or place of respite and relaxation or for those working from home, a working space or office away from the distractions, which they may encounter in their house. Mark Walker of Coseley, West Midlands, is one of the many who got the home and garden improvement bug!
When Mark’s company temporarily shut down, owing to the pandemic, on 26th March 2020, he started to take advantage of his new-found free time to catch up on some internal home decorating. Initially Mark started to tackle the larger internal decorating and DIY jobs, that the wife had very kindly reminded him that he had put off owing to previous work and social commitments.
It wasn’t long before Mark found out that DIY jobs weren’t as demanding and arduous as he first thought, and it became apparent that a greater challenge was required! Eventually Mark decided to start the garden renovation at the end of April 2020, something he had had on his wish list and planned to fit in around work and other commitments.
Mark explains, “I had already drawn up plans and designed my new external recreation area and relaxation retreat. A new decking area, artificial grass, BBQ shack and the coveted ‘man cave’ / pub shed were all part of the plan. Having begun my research online, watched many videos and tutorials, joined social media groups and pages for gardens, man caves and pub sheds, I was amazed at seeing the volume of projects on the go and the timescales for delivery of materials and of course the desired ‘man cave’ / pub shed. I was working to a relatively tight budget, considering the work I had in mind and so I planned to carry out all the work myself, although my experience of carrying out works like this was very limited! YouTube and Google became my trusted working companion over the months and I learnt so much about myself and what can be achieved just from watching videos and my on-line research.”
“After engaging in conversations with many suppliers of garden rooms and summer houses, it became apparent that there was indeed a big surge in demand and I finally settled on a design and supplier, but inevitably I would have to wait until the end of July 2020 for delivery and installation.
I was prepared to wait for something that I wanted, rather than compromise. I had contemplated completing the build myself, but after prepping and stripping the garden and building the base, I decided on purchasing one so that I could carry on with the rest of the garden makeover. The 4.8m x 3m (16×10) pent roofed summer house
was purchased from a garden room manufacturer in Telford for £1775, which at the time was very reasonable and not much more than buying the materials and carrying out a self-build. The cost was for the ‘shell’, delivery and installation as I planned to insulate, board and build the interior myself.”
“Whilst waiting for the ‘man-cave’ to arrive, I continued with the garden renovation, with a 2.4m x 2.4m wooden decking area attached to the already prepared man-cave base with materials coming in at just over £200. Next, I built a 2.4m x 1.8m timber BBQ shack with a pitched felt roof at a cost of approximately £300, which was to serve as a mini outside bar too.”
“I spent time shopping around for artificial grass and settled on a 42mm pile, which had good reviews from a local supplier and was to cover an area measuring just over 7m x 4m. The area was prepped, with approximately 75-90mm of hardcore laid and with the use of a compactor hired for just £30 for the weekend. A weed barrier was put on top of the hardcore followed by 75mm of sharp sand, with the compactor used to provide a nice flat
finish. The artificial grass was pinned down and secured with a timber frame surround, with a slate path and sleepers separating the two areas and the perimeter of the grassed area. All- in-all, with the slate, sleepers, timber, hardcore, sand and artificial grass, it came in at a very reasonable £750!”
“I remember my excitement on the day of the summer house arriving and watched as the structure was installed on my ready-made base and couldn’t wait to start to turn it in to a pub shed. I’d arranged for a commercial double sliding door beer fridge, my most expensive buy for the inside at £450, to arrive the same day as I set out my plans for the internal build. I’d already found some bargains on Facebook marketplace, with two pub tables for just £12 and following a pub closure 11 chairs, 6 stools and 2 bar stools for a bargain £80!”
“I started the internal renovation of turning it in to a pub by insulating the walls and ceilings with a lightweight thermawrap, a bubblewrap type of insulation which was the equivalent to 65mm polystyrene insulation. Electrical cables were run around the internal walls for four ceiling lights, one bar light, two external light fittings and eleven double plug sockets – you can never have too many plug sockets, trust me! A mini consumer unit was fitted with armoured cable to the house unit, which was carried out by a qualified electrician – luckily we have a member of the family who did this for me.”
“The walls and ceiling were boarded using 9mm plywood, with the total cost of insulating and boarding coming in at around £700. The floor was insulated, and I laid laminate flooring at a total cost of £200. It meant I could start to build the bar, although I had already started to build the frame so that I could position and plan around the main feature of the build.”
“I used 47x47mm timber for the framework and boarded the exterior with 9mm plywood. 75x25mm timber was used to make a wooden panelling effect, which I carried on around the bottom part of the build and painted it a shade of grey. The bar top was made from scaffold boards! At just £13 each, they were a bargain and once sanded, a wood dye used and three coats of yacht varnish they provided a lovely looking and simple bar top.”
“Decoration consisted of using a brick effect wallpaper on the top, with the grey wooden panelling effect on the bottom as the project started to take shape and look like my planned pub.
I added a traditional hand pull beer pump, which is great for beer in a box ales and ciders, with the pipework going through the side of a small beer fridge I purchased off marketplace to keep the ale chilled at the right temperature. Heating comes from a 2kw electric fire, which has been enough to keep it toasty during the winter months.”
“It was now all about adding those extra’s to the project with a surround sound system added, 32” tv, projector and screen and of course the obligatory dartboard! Luckily, I used a surround system and tv that I already had whilst I purchased a projector from Amazon, which was a bargain and does a good job for the money. I’m quite into my music and a former DJ so adding disco lighting was a must! The addition of seven lights and lasers with a smoke machine enabled to create great lighting effects for when the party starts. You can get some great lights from the likes of Ebay and Amazon for anything between £25 and £50 each which create great lighting effects.
I’ve also added a retro arcade games system to relive my youth with the likes of Pacman and Space Invaders, whilst also moving the Playstation in to create a father and son entertainment area.”
“I work for Selecta Systems, who are a PVCu window and door systems supplier and so being in the business, I’ve recently replaced the existing wooden French doors with new Advance 70 PVC French doors, for better security, thermal performance and noise reduction. The windows are next to be replaced with double glazed Anthracite Grey ones to match the doors.”
“With a lot of blood, sweat and beers the whole project was completed at a steady pace over six to seven months, but I must admit I’m still adding and buying Nik Naks to put on the walls or features within the pub shed and the garden. Many others have also proclaimed that you never really finish your pub shed and you just add, change and develop what you’ve got. I must agree, it’s definitely the case as it becomes a hobby and passion!”
“This project has been so enjoyable and I’ve learnt so much about myself and what you can achieve with perseverance and the right mind set. I’ve done things I never thought I could do, but have a new found confidence to tackle DIY jobs and projects that I would never have considered doing previously. The garden and pub shed build has so far cost approximately
£6000 and is in my opinion the best thing I’ve ever done and money well spent! In fact, plans are already afoot to extend on to the side with an under cover outdoor seating area, for those summer evenings. For those of your thinking about tackling a project like this, give it a go, you’ll be surprised what you can do and achieve, much like I was…”