Completing the Shed Project

Completing the Shed Project

Jul 20, 2021

As a part of my attempt to advocate a simpler lifestyle, after two weeks and two days of intensive building work, the shed project is complete.

With some help from friends along the way and a lot of wood (which is remarkable itself during a worldwide timber shortage), we've managed to create a shelter to work from whenever we're at the allotment. We can now begin the arduous task of growing things there in earnest.

We initially created the shed for a number of reasons:

  1. To test ourselves and prove we could build a shelter.

  2. Creating a place to escape the rain.

  3. A quiet place to eat lunch when working on the allotment.

  4. Somewhere to go when my autism becomes difficult to manage (from the noise outside our home)

  5. As a proof of concept to demonstrate that a 'house' needn't be constrained to traditional thinking.

We aren't going to be using this shelter as a house since it is on an allotment; however, it is insulated and generates a small amount of electricity for lighting via a 6-watt solar panel kit from BioLite. These panel kits are in use in many homes in Kenya, providing lighting to people living in energy poverty. I believe shelters such as this one could be used to provide an eco-friendly small place to stay during a shortage of housing in the UK.

All the materials used in the build, except for the insulation, can be infinitely recycled. The 'house' will biodegrade over time but has been built using screws rather than nails for overall longevity. It's warm, dry, and draught-free.

It remains to be seen how the structure fares over the winter and how livable it will become without heating. I hope to test out passive measures of remaining warm inside the structure when used and perhaps find an alternative active heating method if the temperature levels fall too low.

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