Rabbit Shed Renovation

[Sean Regan]

This is the Rabit Shed.

I built it out of reclaimed "3X 2", roofing ply and three wooden framed windows, for our eight year old daughter's increasing collection of rabbits and guinea pigs.
These have long gone and our daughter now fifty-one years-old, moved out decades ago and has her own home, partner and four kids.

But we still call it the Rabbit Shed, but it houses my garden tools and two freezers. I also have a Nodar dartboard and cabinet that I can hang on the hooks on the door.
There's two vents I had to put in when we put the freezers in there, to stop them getting too warm. I've got insulating material I can put up gainst the windows to stop it getting too warm.

I was up on the roof today pruning off bits of next door's trees. The roofing felt is looking a bit sorry, I patched it with some left-over felt, several years ago. So I've decided to change it before it starts to leak and whilst I still have the physical ability to do it. Fortunately it only requires one roll. I've ordered a non-tear variety, similar to that which I used to re-felt the tea-house nearly ten years ago.

 

[Sean Regan]

I got this far yesterday.

Started with this.

and ended with this.

After stripping off the old felt, I had to go over every inch to check there were no bits of of adhesive left or nails, to avoid the "budgie under the carpet effect" after I put on the new felt.

Took about four hours today.

It was a bit tricky as I had to turn the felt over the raised centre spine.

The flashing isn't smooth as neither are the walls of the garage, they are "featured." That stuff is self-adhesive and once it's stuck, it's stuck!

The hard bit was securing the left-hand side. It turns under the edge of the roof and I had to lie full length, lean over and secure it with a hand tacking gun.
The advantage of this shed I built forty-three years ago, is that the roof quite easily supports my 12st, anywhere on it. Not bad now it's forty-three years old.
Try that with a store bought shed!

Anyway, job done and as my old dad used to say, "It'll see me out!"

 

[dandy-lou]

It looks absolutely lovely, you did a fantastic job! ...but are you really going to tease us with a title like that and NOT post any pictures of the inhabitants?

 

[Sean Regan]

It looks absolutely lovely, you did a fantastic job! ...but are you really going to tease us with a title like that and NOT post any pictures of the inhabitants?

We still call it "the rabbit shed" as that was the purpose for which I built it. It housed our eight year-old daughter's expanding collection of rabbits and guinea pigs. She'll be 51 this year, long left home with a family of her own.

She bought her last rabbit when she was fourteen. Then at eighteen, she left home to train as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. By then her other animals had died of old age. She never returned to live at home as she met her other half after a few years and they bought their first house together. But we were lumbered with this last rabbit for another six years!