Restoring an old shed

cazsophieq2019

Hi all

Just wondering if any of you have attempted to restore an old shed.

The photos show the inside of the shed, not originally mine, but the previous occupier of my house.

As you can see there's ivy growing on the inside and I'm wondering, (apart from killing it) which, as much as doing so would resolve part of the problem, I am hesitant to do as I know it's great for wildlife etc.  how to go about preventing it from growing through the structure, or perhaps I could make a feature of it and keep cutting it back?

Also, in my enthusiasm to attempt to restore the shed some years back I bought sheets of polystyrene however due to family circumstances didn't get round to doing it, wondering if it's the right way to go ..... firstly insulating the walls with the polystyrene then cladding it with reclaimed timber cladding?  Any thoughts?

Interested to know if anyone else has restored an old shed and if so, how they went about it.

Sorry one of thing to ponder ....... the shed was previously used for tinkering with motorbikes (previous owner)  it also had woodworm and was treated for that also.  Not a big fan of such harsh chemicals but this was an exception.  Now I see a lot of dead insects lying on the floor of the shed, questioning how safe an environment it actually it is ...... could I be overthinking this thing?

All thoughts, suggestions and advice welcome.

Carol

PS Merry Christmas to you all :-)

JoeX

“Could I be overthinking this thing?”

Imo yes - what, precisely, needs to be restored?

It looks fine to me.  You should see the state of mine - one corner of the floor has rotten through, and I painted over all the mold on the walls. 🙂

The ivy you can snip outside, then pull it off the walls.  Maybe seal the gaps it got through with an exterior sealant (squeezable) from your local hardware shop.

thrxvs

Depends what you mean by "restore"

If the structure is generally sound, no significant rot, water ingress through walls, roof or base, I would say it is cosmetic and just needs a tidy up. Also consider the quality of the shed, most modern sheds are such poor quality it is cheaper to just tear down and rebuild.

PS I have restored a 3 x 3 m very solid shed in one of our allotments from a rotten wreck to a cosy cabin together with multifuel stove, it was a lot of fun

Uff

A tidy up, a coat of woodstain and job done. It's only a shed after all. 

Obelixx

Empty it, cut down the ivy at its base, sweep and scrub away all muck and dust, check for holes in roof and walls and fix them, clean the windows, insulate the walls on the most exposed sides then clad, if desired, paint if desired, add shelves and hooks and racks then return useful items and bingo, a clean and tidy useful shed.

cazsophieq2019

Only getting round to responding now, has been a busy last few weeks lol.

@JoeX  
@thrxvs
@Uff
@Obelixx

Hi everyone, thanks for all your feedback.  Yes I know it's only a shed lol but it's my first shed and I have aspirations of greatness for it lol.  Seriously though I'm considering turning it into a shed / workshop as it's a good size.  Would like to bring some electrics into it also.  Needs new windows as they're both broken.

@thrxvs
the structure is pretty sound so I don't think it needs taken down and rebuilt.  You mentioned that you have restored a 3x3m, that's similar to the size of my shed.   Would love to hear how you went about your shed restoration, even see a few photos.  I wouldn't be putting a burner in mine but definitely would like to be able to sit down with a cuppa during my workshopping lol.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks again, oh and a Happy New Year :-)