Well, from now until Sunday 2 August Screwfix Direct will be making one draw each day from all their online customers. The lucky winner will get their order completely free of charge!

How do I enter?

Just click on the banner below and go and place an order on Screwfix’s site – it’s that easy! Remember, the more you buy, the more you’ll save if you’re the lucky winner!

Terms and Conditions of Screwfix’s Lucky Draw

• A daily draw will take place at an agreed time (different each day). Times have already been selected by the Company Secretary of Screwfix. The customer order that is placed closest to this time will win, and their order will be processed without any charge for product or delivery (up to a maximum value of £10,000). There will be seven winning orders in total (one per day).
• This draw is open to all Screwfix customers who are GB resident and aged 18 years and over, who place an order at www.screwfix.com between 00:01 on Monday 27 July 2009 and 23:59 on Sunday 2 August 2009.
• The winner will be notified the following working day.
• Screwfix reserve the right to publicise the winner´s name, together with their location (eg county or city) and value of their order.
• There is no cash alternative. For details of winners please send a stamped addressed envelope to Your Order for Free Draw, c/o Correspondence Team, Screwfix, Trade House, Mead Avenue, YEOVIL BA22 8RT.
• Placing an order is deemed as acceptance of the rules.
• No correspondence will be entered into. The Company Secretary´s decision is final. The promoter is Screwfix Direct Ltd.
• Goods received may not be refunded, or resold.
• Employees of Screwfix Direct, their agents and families are excluded from the draw, together with any person connected to the draw.

Cladding

You can now cover the frame, roof and door with your preferred cladding. Something like Sovereign Board, which is a waterproof chipboard, will do – it doesn’t need to be very thick. You could then cover it with whatever you wish. You could use shingles for the sides and door as well as the roof.

Roof lights

Instead of making these from scratch I would suggest find a building reclamation yard/scrap yard and buying a couple of old double-glazing units, preferably non-opening. Once you have them, add some framing to the roof so that they are a snug fit. Use sanitary silicone to make the joins waterproof. It comes in cartridges and you will need the gun that goes with the cartridges.

Door lock

Buy the best lock you can afford, with a minimum of five levers, and incorporating a deadlock. Yale-type cylinder locks are too easy to open…

Electricity

If you have electricity adjacent to the building, get a qualified electrician to install some lights and sockets. A PIR (passive infra-red) operated light over the door would be useful.

And, when you have done all that, get some carpet laid, install a very comfy armchair, then sit back and admire your mode of transport.

Use metal T-pieces and right-angled pieces for joining the timbers if you are not very handy making joints. If you are comfortable with making joints, just use half-lap joints.

Side and back panels

You’ll need two panels to each, one 4½ feet (1350mm) long, one 5 feet (1500mm) long. Height as required, not forgetting to make them high enough so that you don’t bang your head, especially if wearing your crash helmet! Joining a short and a long one gives you 9½ feet (2850mm), allowing 3″ (75mm) extra on each side for the base. (Use bolts to join the panels. You don’t need the extra nuts for security here, but the bolts should not be accessible from the outside.) Do this three times, giving you both sides and the back.

Front

Again, you’ll need two panels. To calculate the width you need, take the width of the shed, subtract the width of the doorway and divide by two. The height should also be shorter than the sides and the back by twice the thickness of the timber you are using for the frame.

When installing these panels, lay a length of timber on the ground between the side panels, place the short panels on the timber and screw them to the single piece of timber. After bolting the corners together, place another single piece of timber on the top of the panels and screw to the panels for rigidity. You should now have an opening for the door which has SQUARE corners. Around the inside of this hole fix thinner timber to the frame which protrudes a little, so that the door closes against them and thus will not strain the hinges.

Door

Using the same timber as for other panels, make a panel which will become the door to fit the opening in the front panel. It should be about one eighth of an inch (3mm) narrower all round. Make it any bigger, and you will always have problems opening or closing the door. This door will be heavy, so you will need three good-sized hinges. The hinges should have security lugs on them, like these:

This makes it very difficult to remove the hinge pins and drop the door out.

Gable ends

(To be honest, a sloping roof is much easier to construct! Just make one side panel about 18 inches (450mm) higher than the other and bolt rafters across at approximately 2-foot (600mm) intervals. Fill in the triangular gap over the back and front with remnants from the construction of the side panels.)

To make the gable ends, first construct and bolt together all the sides (do not tighten the bolts too much yet; it will be easier to get everything squared up later). It is then easier to take measurements to make the gables. You will need four pieces: one each for the front and back, and two as supports for the roof.

For the base of the gable take four pieces of timber the same length as the width of the shed, and four pieces equal to the height of the gable. Fix one short piece to the centre of each long piece. (If you’re not good at making joints you should be able to buy metal T-plates from any good hardware store and screw them to the timber.) Make sure you have a perfect right angle here.

Measure from the top of the short piece to the end of the long piece; you will need eight pieces of this length. When you buy the T-plates you should find that the ironmongers have angled plates too, so it may be better to buy these first then make the angles of the gable to fit these plates. At the apex of the roof lay a strip of the same material you used between the frames and the concrete; this will keep out any water.

When everything is bolted together and square tighten up all the bolts to give a solid, unmoveable frame.

I wouldn’t make the roof overhang the walls if you are in a very windy locality. However, a small overhang would allow you to install guttering to collect rainwater for the garden (which saves paying the water company for water to keep the garden going!).

(Thanks again, Trev! Nearly done now – just the finishing touches left.)

Here are some of our pal Trev’s basic principles for constructing a motorbike storage shed:

1. Try to buy pre-treated timber if you can. Timber that has been pressure treated would be best. Rough cut timber should be good enough; planed timber is unnecessarily expensive.

2. When you cut the timber you will reveal untreated timber (even if it is pressure treated). So get a good preservative and brush it onto the untreated areas. Dab the cut ends with the end of the brush to make sure you have well and truly covered all the bare areas.

3. Use nails sparingly. Screws and bolts are better, as they will enable you to easily dismantle the shed and take it with you should you move.

4. Assuming you’re building on a concrete raft (a sensible way to build – remember, motorbikes can be heavy beasts!), allow 8cm (3 inches) of the concrete raft to protrude all round the shed. So for a 10-foot square concrete raft you should plan to make the building 9½ feet square.

5. Where the side walls touch the concrete, lay thin strips of some form of waterproof membrane between the wood and the concrete. The strips should be a few inches wider than the timber inside, but wide enough on the outside so that it can be pulled up and over the timber. Tack it in place with a staple gun.

6. Usually the weight of the building will hold it in place. However, it wouldn’t hurt to drill two holes on each side in the concrete and use blind bolts to fix the shed to the concrete, especially if you are in a fairly windy place.

7. Plan to make the doorway at least 30cm (12 inches) wider than the widest part of the bike. Trying to drive/push something through the doorway that only just fits could be a real nuisance, especially when it is raining/snowing/very windy.

8. Use bolts to join the side panels and the roof together. Always put an extra nut on the bolts (on the inside); this makes it very difficult to undo the bolts from the outside. Don’t forget to use wide washers to stop the bolt from pulling into the timber.

9. Measure many times, but only cut once. Keep checking your angles; apart from the roof, everything should be at right angles.

10. A word of warning; I always over engineer my constructions! In the long term it pays to build something fairly solid – it lasts longer and makes for better security.
(Thanks, Trev! You can read more about how to build the shed here:
Building a motorbike shed – construction
Building a motorbike shed – finishing off)

I’m about to build a shed/storage building in my driveway. It looks pretty simple, but I have a question about the gable roof.

I see that one is supposed to cut a “bird’s mouth” into the rafters where they sit on the top beam of the side walls. Is there an easy way to cut this so that it sits correctly on the top beam at the right place without complicated geometry to determine the angle etc…?

Good news, Alan – our pal Trev advises that with a lightweight structure such as the one you’re planning, it shouldn’t be necessary to cut “bird’s mouths” into the rafters at all.

(Some of you may not know what on earth a “bird’s mouth” is! Fortunately, Alan’s very kindly come up with a picture for us, just to clarify. Here it is:)

The idea is that the “bird’s mouth” – the rebate cut into the rafter at the lower end – sits squarely on the top beam of the wall to transfer the load of the roof more evenly from the rafter onto the top beam, thus reducing stress on both. However, as Trev tells us, the main idea is to stop the roof spreading under the weight of heavy-duty roofing such as tiles or slates. So they’re probably unnecessary for the more lightweight shingle roof you’re planning.

Easy. Drill a small hole into your wall, insert a Rawlplug or other type of wall plug. Put in a correctly sized screw. Hang your picture!

Hint: the larger and heavier the picture, the bigger the plug and screw should be. If it’s particularly heavy, and you’re fixing it to a stud partition wall, you may need to use a more substantial cavity fixing like a spring toggle (Screwfix Direct do a wide range of fixings).

DO NOT simply bang a nail into the wall. If the wall’s too solid (say, brick or breeze-block) you’re likely to waste a lot of nails that way. You’re also liable to worsen any weaknesses in the plaster (or, worse, the fabric of the wall). And it’s quite likely that at some stage the nail will slip out, very likely damaging the frame (and any glass pane) of your picture and possibly the picture itself.

Concrete Floor

If you need to install a new floor throughout, consider using concrete. The old floor will have to be removed totally, then use compacted hardcore to create a level surface – and sand rolled flat on top.

A damp-proof membrane is laid across the sand with the sides turned up at the walls – to prevent moisture seeping up from the ground.

Concrete is then poured (it can be delivered ready-mixed) onto the membrane to make a slab and is then finished off with a thin layer (aka screed) of sand and cement.

This is a very dirty and dusty job, so shield the rest of the house as thoroughly as you can!

Reinforced Concrete

Depending on the thickness of the concrete, reinforcing rods may need to be laid.

Insulation

Insulation board can be laid below or above the concrete. If you are laying it above, the screed is laid over the board.

Hiding the membrane

The edges of the membrane can be trimmed and hidden behind the skirting board.

Floor finish

Tiles or timber can be laid directly on the concrete (or screed). Instead of laying a concrete floor, you can fit a semi-suspended floor over the concrete slab, although you’ll need to take into account the fact that the height of the ceiling will probably be reduced.

Old windows and doors are often draughty, difficult to open and close, and need constant attention.

Many consider that there are real benefits to be enjoyed from replacement doors and windows which will not only save money on heating bills, but will not be stiff to use or swell up in the winter. Modern replacement windows can include enhanced security features and can therefore give you added peace of mind.

Double glazed or treble glazed units are well worthwhile in terms of energy saving and being friendlier to the environment. Modern replacement windows not only cut down heat loss, but also are draught proof and reduce noise.

Garage doors are often neglected, and it is surprising how replacing these doors can benefit the appearance of the whole house. Garage doors are available in a wide variety of designs to suit the style of your property and they can considerably ease the performance of opening and closing.

Modern garage doors also can incorporate additional security features that protect your home and property. You may well look at replacing the doors with motor driven doors that will enable you to drive into the garage and exit your car in the dry and in a secure environment.

Estate agents tell us that two areas inside the home clinch most sales; the kitchen and the bathroom.

Planning a kitchen can be fun as it not only involves the choice of kitchen units but it also means looking at kitchen appliances, cookers, extract fans, lighting, floor tiles etc.

To get the most out of the design you would be advised to use the services of a kitchen specialist, in planning and fitting out your kitchen.

The kitchen has generally been the focus of most homes and could significantly enhance the value and saleability of your home.

We would advise that appropriate specialists are employed to perform the necessary alterations to the plumbing, electrical wiring and heating systems to ensure that the alterations are safe and comply with the appropriate regulations.

Hard paving and a patio are a benefit if we are to walk out of the home onto a dry and mud free area. This area can also be used for outdoor meals and entertaining guests.

At the front of the house, a new drive and hard landscaping can transform the initial welcome offered by your home. Block paved driveways are designed to help make your driveway stand out from the rest and offer an easily maintained, attractive and durable surface.

For old style properties or where a traditional feel is required, aged and weathered finishes can be used to create the old and established look.

Pattern imprinted concrete could be used to copy the appearance of cobbles and give an older appearance suitable for town houses or for a design feature to a more modern home.