Home gym - Block built or timber

Danye

A home gym - is a block built shed the only option?

I've no room in the house so I'm going to get something sorted for the back garden. The thoughts of having to dig out foundations etc are killing me not to mention the costs!

I was hoping somebody has used a timber shed and found them good, therefore encouraging me to get one.

All advice welcome.

Atlantic Dawn

Another option could be the precast metal sheds, you just need a basic concrete base for the floor of them.

Danye

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Another option could be the precast metal sheds, you just need a basic concrete base for the floor of them.

Yeah thanks for that.

So has anybody used a timber / metal shed for a home gym or is the best option still blocks?

Gumbo

Danye wrote: »

Yeah thanks for that.

So has anybody used a timber / metal shed for a home gym or is the best option still blocks?

It's not a timber V black question to be honest.
You are going to be working out in there, so the walls will have no bearing on what you are doing.

It's the foundations and floor slab that will take the brunt of weights falling, deadlights, digging in your heels etc

In my opinion, you are going to have to dig up, pour founds and create a good concrete base. Up to you then if you want to put in metal shed, timber shed or block shed.

ted1

Think of it as a work out

Casey78

Danye wrote: »

Yeah thanks for that.

So has anybody used a timber / metal shed for a home gym or is the best option still blocks?

I have a 12x10 timber shed and I have a treadmill, turbo trainer and weights set up in it.
I have a good solid Base underneath and I then floored it out with attic flooring.I didn't bother with a concrete Base, instead I leveled the ground and the shed is sitting on a mixture of railway sleepers and concrete blocks. I put styrofoam sheets on the walls and ceiling and then also put 9mm plywood on the walls and ceilings.
When they were manufacturing the shed I got them to make it 2foot higher than usual to give me space to run on treadmill. Think the shed cost €850 delivered and installed.
The styrofoam I got for about 50 quid off done deal and I also got carpet tiles off done deal forn €30.
I'm a electrician myself so I have it wired up with power and have a TV and mini fridge set up in it.
I love it and I use it a lot. A great place to go when the wife and kids are annoying me!
I have it nearly 18months now and it's as solid as a rock.

Danye

Casey78 wrote: »

I have a 12x10 timber shed and I have a treadmill, turbo trainer and weights set up in it.
I have a good solid Base underneath and I then floored it out with attic flooring.I didn't bother with a concrete Base, instead I leveled the ground and the shed is sitting on a mixture of railway sleepers and concrete blocks. I put styrofoam sheets on the walls and ceiling and then also put 9mm plywood on the walls and ceilings.
When they were manufacturing the shed I got them to make it 2foot higher than usual to give me space to run on treadmill. Think the shed cost €850 delivered and installed.
The styrofoam I got for about 50 quid off done deal and I also got carpet tiles off done deal forn €30.
I'm a electrician myself so I have it wired up with power and have a TV and mini fridge set up in it.
I love it and I use it a lot. A great place to go when the wife and kids are annoying me!
I have it nearly 18months now and it's as solid as a rock.

That's brilliant. Thanks for your help and info.

Mellor

kceire wrote: »

It's not a timber V black question to be honest.
You are going to be working out in there, so the walls will have no bearing on what you are doing.

That's really depends on what he is planning on putting into the shed.
Wall mounted pull up bar, barbell racks, etc could have a large impact on block v timber. There is also a big difference between timber frame construction, and a timber shed off the shelf in that regard.

@Danye, what are you planning on putting in here.
Also how big are you intending. As planning permission may or may not be necessary. Trivial to get, but often over looked.

Danye

Mellor wrote: »

That's really depends on what he is planning on putting into the shed.
Wall mounted pull up bar, barbell racks, etc could have a large impact on block v timber. There is also a big difference between timber frame construction, and a timber shed off the shelf in that regard.

@Danye, what are you planning on putting in here.
Also how big are you intending. As planning permission may or may not be necessary. Trivial to get, but often over looked.

I'm going to put a boxing bag, floor to ceiling ball, speed ball, dip station, a few KBs and a 7ft bar with plates. 12 X 12 would be the max I can get in, and it may be even smaller. Going to measure now and see what I can get. I'm trying to keep it minimalist. I'll be excempt from PP.

BrokenArrows

Danye wrote: »

I'm going to put a boxing bag, floor to ceiling ball, speed ball, dip station, a few KBs and a 7ft bar with plates. 12 X 12 would be the max I can get in, and it may be even smaller. Going to measure now and see what I can get. I'm trying to keep it minimalist. I'll be excempt from PP.

Consider your insulation too. It will get pretty cold in there in the winder if not insulated and heated which may prevent you using it.

Timber will be very easy to build. You could probably build it from scratch yourself. My dad built his own shed a few years back and its a fairly solid thing. The floor is just nailed down wooden planks with lose gravel underneath.
But as said, the main thought you will have is the floor. Repeatedly dropping weights on a soft earth or lose wood floor isnt going to end well.

Id suggest a concrete base with some sort of rubber surface. Or some padding base with cheap carpet on top.

Mellor

Danye wrote: »

I'm going to put a boxing bag, floor to ceiling ball, speed ball, dip station, a few KBs and a 7ft bar with plates. 12 X 12 would be the max I can get in, and it may be even smaller. Going to measure now and see what I can get. I'm trying to keep it minimalist. I'll be excempt from PP.

With the boxing bags, something solid to hang them from is needed. Speed bag might need a wall. Can just as easily be timber framed ans beefed up where needed.

Why only 12 x 12?
Are you sure it's exempt?

Danye

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Consider your insulation too. It will get pretty cold in there in the winder if not insulated and heated which may prevent you using it.

Timber will be very easy to build. You could probably build it from scratch yourself. My dad built his own shed a few years back and its a fairly solid thing. The floor is just nailed down wooden planks with lose gravel underneath.
But as said, the main thought you will have is the floor. Repeatedly dropping weights on a soft earth or lose wood floor isnt going to end well.

Id suggest a concrete base with some sort of rubber surface. Or some padding base with cheap carpet on top.

I'm not going to insulate it. I could build it myself but finding the time and the desire is the issue. I was looking online and they're fairly reasonable.

Yeah I'm going to put a concrete base in.

Thanks for the input.

BrokenArrows

Danye wrote: »

I'm not going to insulate it. I could build it myself but finding the time and the desire is the issue. I was looking online and they're fairly reasonable.

Yeah I'm going to put a concrete base in.

Thanks for the input.

Make sure you have plenty of height too. Enough room to lift weights above your head with full arm extension.

Danye

Mellor wrote: »

With the boxing bags, something solid to hang them from is needed. Speed bag might need a wall. Can just as easily be timber framed ans beefed up where needed.

Why only 12 x 12?
Are you sure it's exempt?

Yeah I'm going to specify that to the crowd that manufactures them. Speed bag will need a wall but that's straight forward, as you said I can stud it out thicker in parts where needed.

12 X 12 would be the most I could fit in. I've just measured it out there and even that might be pushing it. That plus the cost as well. If I had the the space and money (which I will have when I buy my own place next year) I'll be doing one properly with blocks and all the trimmings.

I think I'm excempt from PP because it's under 25 metres squared. Open to correction on that though.

BrokenArrows

Danye wrote: »

Yeah I'm going to specify that to the crowd that manufactures them. Speed bag will need a wall but that's straight forward, as you said I can stud it out thicker in parts where needed.

12 X 12 would be the most I could fit in. I've just measured it out there and even that might be pushing it. That plus the cost as well. If I had the the space and money (which I will have when I buy my own place next year) I'll be doing one properly with blocks and all the trimmings.

I think I'm excempt from PP because it's under 25 metres squared. Open to correction on that though.

Ya 25m sq is the max and 3 or 4 meters depending on the roof.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/planning_permission/planning_perm_altering_a_house.html

Building a garage at the back or side of a house so long as it does not extend out in front of the building line of the house and does not exceed 4 metres in height (if it has a tiled/slated pitched roof) or three metres (if it has any other roof type). This building will be exempt from planning permission once the floor area is limited to 25 square metres.

Mellor

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Ya 25m sq is the max and 3 or 4 meters depending on the roof.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/planning_permission/planning_perm_altering_a_house.html

That fails to mention the open space requirement.

Danye wrote: »

I think I'm excempt from PP because it's under 25 metres squared. Open to correction on that though.

25sq.m is the max you can build, but to also have to leave 25sq.m of open space in the garden. I brought it up as it sounded like you might be tight for space.
You'll need over20 x 20 or so now to avoid PP for a 12x12

Gumbo

Don't forget no windows facing any other boundaries. And technically speaking the finishes have to match the main dwelling but this not really enforced.

Mellor

kceire wrote: »

Don't forget no windows facing any other boundaries. And technically speaking the finishes have to match the main dwelling but this not really enforced.

The Windows restriction is only for extensions close to the boundary, not sheds.
And the finishes only need to match when to the side, not the rear.

I've had a home gym for a while now.

It was a 10.5 x 11.5 foot concrete/block shed initially (those sizes are the internal dimensions, the external footprint was approx 2foot larger in each direction due to the size of the blocks, foundation, etc).

I recently (in the last month) knocked it and went with a 16x11 wooden shed, with an extra foot in height (for overhead stuff).


I, like you, was concerned with the use of a wooden shed. A boardsie sent me on pics of his own wooden shed being used as a gym and he reckoned it was good enough.


Like a previous poster here, I lined my walls with cheapo aeroboard that I got on adverts. Not sure how well it'll perform but anythings better than nothing, and I didn't want to spend an arm and a lef on insulation.


My 16x11 shed is tongue and groove and cost €2,300 with no windows/doors (the crowd making it said I could supply my own and they'll fit them, so i picked up a PVC window and set of french doors on donedeal). (price included delivery and installation, walls and ceiling lined and steel roof).

The floor of the shed lies on the floor of the previous concrete shed, but because of the way the previous shed was knocked, although there is a concrete base, it's also on blocks (this will always be the case, though, as I believe a wooden shed needs to be able to air out a bit underneath to prevent dampness).

After the shed was installed, I played a layer of 18mm 0SB on the floor of the shed, and then a layer of 18mm ply sheets on top of the OSB. Then I put 'jigsaw' foam mats over these, to finish it and help re-enforce it.

The ceiling and walls were plastered and the shed was wired up for electricity.

So far (only a week or two in, really) the plaster is drying out and showing no signs of cracking or breaking (this was my primary concern). The shed seems to be holding a little bit of heat (there's a wall-mounted convector heater in it but hasn't been on much at all).


Based on my limited usage of it so far, I'd be happy enough with a wooden shed as a home gym. The only issue I have is that I have a 15kg slam ball that I used in the concrete shed, and I won't use it in the wooden one. I don't really think it's doing much/any damage, but the noise alone is just a bit too much on the wooden floor/s. It's very loud.


Other than that I've been delighted with it so far.


Here are a handful of pics (some already posted). It's not painted yet and these pics are from before it was properly laid out etc. but they give an idea of it.


http://s15.postimg.org/qmvh7yr4r/20160908_085032_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/kbq9rjpwb/IMG_9836_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/5r96wpuxn/20160915_095708_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/kprlr59zv/IMG_9844_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/p069mqf2z/IMG_9850_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/w4o2vrmcb/IMG_9872_Copy.jpg



Here's a quick interior shot of the Concrete gym:

http://s12.postimg.org/zfyfw8yhp/concrete_home_gym.jpg



The concrete gym probably would have been better overall had it been intended as a gym from day one or finished properly by a professional, but it was never great for a home gym. Remedial works possibly would have outweighed the cost of the wooden shed (and i'd still have a small shed).


I'm hoping the wooden shed will be good to fend off condensation, dampness etc. but time will tell.

Hope this is useful.

Casey78

Looks fantastic.

Danye

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I've had a home gym for a while now.

It was a 10.5 x 11.5 foot concrete/block shed initially (those sizes are the internal dimensions, the external footprint was approx 2foot larger in each direction due to the size of the blocks, foundation, etc).

I recently (in the last month) knocked it and went with a 16x11 wooden shed, with an extra foot in height (for overhead stuff).


I, like you, was concerned with the use of a wooden shed. A boardsie sent me on pics of his own wooden shed being used as a gym and he reckoned it was good enough.


Like a previous poster here, I lined my walls with cheapo aeroboard that I got on adverts. Not sure how well it'll perform but anythings better than nothing, and I didn't want to spend an arm and a lef on insulation.


My 16x11 shed is tongue and groove and cost €2,300 with no windows/doors (the crowd making it said I could supply my own and they'll fit them, so i picked up a PVC window and set of french doors on donedeal). (price included delivery and installation, walls and ceiling lined and steel roof).

The floor of the shed lies on the floor of the previous concrete shed, but because of the way the previous shed was knocked, although there is a concrete base, it's also on blocks (this will always be the case, though, as I believe a wooden shed needs to be able to air out a bit underneath to prevent dampness).

After the shed was installed, I played a layer of 18mm 0SB on the floor of the shed, and then a layer of 18mm ply sheets on top of the OSB. Then I put 'jigsaw' foam mats over these, to finish it and help re-enforce it.

The ceiling and walls were plastered and the shed was wired up for electricity.

So far (only a week or two in, really) the plaster is drying out and showing no signs of cracking or breaking (this was my primary concern). The shed seems to be holding a little bit of heat (there's a wall-mounted convector heater in it but hasn't been on much at all).


Based on my limited usage of it so far, I'd be happy enough with a wooden shed as a home gym. The only issue I have is that I have a 15kg slam ball that I used in the concrete shed, and I won't use it in the wooden one. I don't really think it's doing much/any damage, but the noise alone is just a bit too much on the wooden floor/s. It's very loud.


Other than that I've been delighted with it so far.


Here are a handful of pics (some already posted). It's not painted yet and these pics are from before it was properly laid out etc. but they give an idea of it.


http://s15.postimg.org/qmvh7yr4r/20160908_085032_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/kbq9rjpwb/IMG_9836_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/5r96wpuxn/20160915_095708_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/kprlr59zv/IMG_9844_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/p069mqf2z/IMG_9850_Copy.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/w4o2vrmcb/IMG_9872_Copy.jpg



Here's a quick interior shot of the Concrete gym:

http://s12.postimg.org/zfyfw8yhp/concrete_home_gym.jpg



The concrete gym probably would have been better overall had it been intended as a gym from day one or finished properly by a professional, but it was never great for a home gym. Remedial works possibly would have outweighed the cost of the wooden shed (and i'd still have a small shed).


I'm hoping the wooden shed will be good to fend off condensation, dampness etc. but time will tell.

Hope this is useful.

Looks fantastic. Great job. Where did you get the shed?

I'm in Drogheda, Louth. Local company called Funshog Garden sheds whipped it up for me.

Took about a week. They said they'd do it for €2,300 with no windows and doors, or €2,600 with 2 fixed (not able to be opened) windows, 2 open-able windows and a wooden door.

But for the €2,300, i could supply as many of my own windows and doors as I wanted at no extra cost from them to fit them. So I got the window with the wooden blind for €50 and the doors on DoneDeal for €250. So, diesel costs aside (going to collect doors/windows), worked out the same to get PVC doors/windows on it.


I found them very good to deal with.

BrokenArrows

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm in Drogheda, Louth. Local company called Funshog Garden sheds whipped it up for me.

Took about a week. They said they'd do it for €2,300 with no windows and doors, or €2,600 with 2 fixed (not able to be opened) windows, 2 open-able windows and a wooden door.

But for the €2,300, i could supply as many of my own windows and doors as I wanted at no extra cost from them to fit them. So I got the window with the wooden blind for €50 and the doors on DoneDeal for €250. So, diesel costs aside (going to collect doors/windows), worked out the same to get PVC doors/windows on it.


I found them very good to deal with.

That looks great. Saw the pics in the other thread and hadnt realised it was a shed.

Yeah i think the fact that the inside is plastered can throw people off. One or two peole saw pictures and assumed it was a spare room in the house I was using.

I'd recommend getting a plasterer to price it if you can. Just to see. Makes a big difference. Almost house quality (might be pushing it a bit there).

Macy0161

Deleted User wrote: »

Hope this is useful.

Was planning on getting a steel shed, but seeing this has made me revisit the wooden shed idea. Can I just ask about flooring - firstly, where did you get the foam mats? And was the floor that lightweight that you needed the extra 36mm (between OSB and Ply), or was that just about spreading the weight?

Macy0161

Macy0161 wrote: »

Was planning on getting a steel shed, but seeing this has made me revisit the wooden shed idea. Can I just ask about flooring - firstly, where did you get the foam mats? And was the floor that lightweight that you needed the extra 36mm (between OSB and Ply), or was that just about spreading the weight?

Howdy.

I have a 15kg slam ball that I got off D8 fitness. I dropped (just dropped, didn't slam) the ball off the floor (the floor that came with the shed, without any of the extra stuff on it) and it vibrated a small bit, and made a loud bang.

Vibration wasn't too bad, but the noise was very loud.

I also enjoy deadlifting, and I reckon that, although I am generally very good at not droping weights, and instead, reducing them to the floor slowly, I know i'd be deadlifting relatively heavy-ish weights for a wooden floor.

There was also a bit of 'bounce' in the floor if you concentrated a lot of pressure on a particular area (ie jumping on it or such). So I decided to add the two 18mm sheets as a precaution, in that, firstly, I wanted them to reenforce the floor to solidify it so it couldnt 'bounce' or vibrate or anything if i was doing deadlifts or squats.

I had a builder/plasterer here when i was doing it, and he reckoned that an 18mm sheet of ply was a good idea, but also having the 18mm osb was probably a bit overkill.

So I'd advise putting down 18mm sheeting at the minimum. an extra layer if you have the cash and want to be over-cautious.
I just wanted to be able to dampen any shock or vibration before it got near the actual shed floor.

That said, I still don't slamball in it (even with the 36mm and mats), as the noise is very loud from the ball (the place can be a bit echo-ey as all that's really in it is a bunch of steel frames. There's nothing of any substance to dampen the echo at all).


The foam mats can be gotten anywhere but Halfords have them for about the best price you'll ever see them. They are a 6 pack of mats, and in Halfords are a tenner a pack. Other places can charge up to 30-40 euro per pack and it's the same exact product.

So if you do decide to copy my floor, make sure you do what I did, and buy an extra set of mats to put one side incase you ever need them again. Well worth having (I also put an extra mat down under anything that'll rarely be moved, like the weight trees, cos they'll indent into the mats. So I Can move them around at a later date but not have marks left on the floor).


Not sure if that answers your questions properly or not though.

Macy0161

Deleted User wrote:

Not sure if that answers your questions properly or not though.

It does, thanks a lot! Hoping to talk to a shed guy tomorrow or over the weekend to see what can be done.

Aaronh86

Just bought a wooden shed of funshog today great to deal with, they are building me a 12' X 18' garage with 7' wide double doors no floor (I'm putting concrete base down) €1850! I did consider a steel garage but don't think they look near as good as a wooden shed!

Macy0161

Aaronh86 wrote: »

Just bought a wooden shed of funshog today great to deal with, they are building me a 12' X 18' garage with 7' wide double doors no floor (I'm putting concrete base down) €1850! I did consider a steel garage but don't think they look near as good as a wooden shed!

Haven't quite pulled the trigger on the shed, but will be. Brought the mats from halfords on the way home - the black ones are down to €10 from €15, and they gave the axa discount on top.

Aaronh86

How many mats in a packet?

Macy0161

Aaronh86 wrote:

How many mats in a packet?

6. Coverage claimed is 1800mm x 1200mm (or 6 by 4 as sheds don't seem to have gone metric!)