How to convert a shed?

I am just about to start the conversion of a shed which, shock horror, has been used to keep stuff other than rabbits!

Anyway having found somewhere to put all the stuff that's in it I am hoping to make it habitable for two of my buns to live together

It would be really useful if anyone could let me know anything I need to do or from your experience is a good idea to do

Also how do people stop buns eating their sheds (it will need to be converted back to a shed when we eventually move)!

Thanks

In my bunny shed i have lino tiles on the floor which are easy to clean.
I also have a hutch in there which they love to sleep in.
OH fixed a a box/tunnel on the side which they love.
All of these things would be easy to remove when you move

Thanks, I'll def do lino-did the floor of the hutches and changed my life-well saved about an hour in cleaning out!

You could attach some boards around the inside walls to stop them chewing through the shed.

I'm just about to bunny proof a playhouse,

Nicola

TBH my buns have never chewed their sheds, only the little openings where they come and go.
As it's coming into winter I'd line the floor of the shed with carpet under the lino for extra warmth. I put sheets of polystyrene down first, covered with carpet (upside down), then covered with lino
If you're planning on keeping the main door shut then I'd take out the glass/styrene and make an opener for ventilation.

I'm off to buy my B&Q shed tomorrow! (eek should be in bed now for the early start :shock

Assuming I have no materials already what else should I pick up?

I'm thinking of putting some shelves in - MDF with softwood supports like the dog crate design in FAQ?

so my shopping list looks like this:

Nails
Screws
MDF (sheets of)
Soft wood 1"x2"
hardwood beading (for ramps)
Wood Stain (animal friendly)

Lino Tiles?? do I need some kind of adhesive - is this animal friendly? :?

Anything else???

Thanks

(p.s good luck with your shed conversion Sophy - sorry for hijacking your thread!)

~Splottifer~ said:

I'm off to buy my B&Q shed tomorrow! (eek should be in bed now for the early start :shock

Assuming I have no materials already what else should I pick up?

I'm thinking of putting some shelves in - MDF with softwood supports like the dog crate design in FAQ?

so my shopping list looks like this:

Nails
Screws
MDF (sheets of)
Soft wood 1"x2"
hardwood beading (for ramps)
Wood Stain (animal friendly)

Lino Tiles?? do I need some kind of adhesive - is this animal friendly? :?

Anything else???

Thanks

(p.s good luck with your shed conversion Sophy - sorry for hijacking your thread!)

Click to expand...

Just wanted to say: Lino tiles are already adhesive on the back. I dont know about if its animal friendly or not. I personally used lino and nailed it down.
If you ever wanted to use an adhesive that is animal friendly, you can buy aquarium sealant, makes a fantastic adhesive

Have a look at the playhouses as well - they tend to:

- have more windows
- the windows are lower down - I've been able to make steps out of
shelves up to the windows so they can look out

thanks everyone for all the comments so far-I hadn't thought of putting anything under the lino-I think I'm more worried about them overheating than getting cold, Does everyone think it's necessary to do this? I'm thinking of getting some vetbed to go in a plastic dog basket for the winter

I know for certain that my buns WILL eat the shed as they have knibbled loads of cupboard doors in my living room! (hence many hours spent with the polyfiller ans sand paper!) I'm sure I saw a shed on here with some sort of metal bits protecting the wood-sorry its a bit vague-does anyone know what I mean?

Oh last question-I was def going to put 1cm square chicken wire in the window with a flyscreen but is one window enough? have other people put extra windows in and do the buns need to be able to see out? Maybe a floor level window?

Sorry lots of questions

I saw on some thread somewhere that some smart bunny owner had tacked wire mesh fencing all around the inside of the bunny shed so that it would not be chewed. Sorry I can't remember what thread, but it had great pictures of it, too.

Wait! Here it is!
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=99887&highlight=chewing+shed+mesh

Thanks, Stanley's Mom! Great idea, I think. Just showed my husband and he's all for it, as we concider adding a rabbit and moving it to a converted shed,

Regards to the floor, sheds can get hot in the summer, but they get very cold in the winter which is why i put extra insulation on mine.
I have one window in my playhouse that opens, the other one is fixed and they have a shelf alongside it so they can sit up there and see out.

this is mine:
(although the rabbit isn't - that is Mandy's Audrey... Trixie and Skittle (in sig) live there now)

Lino self adhesive tiles, shelves with carpet tiles, I now have 2 dog beds for litter trays. The love the high shelf, which allows them to look out of the window

Wow I love your shed CottonMather! I am def going to build a shelf up by the window so they can look out!

I can't risk anything non-washable though as the little un (well she's nearly three kg already and only three months) is not completely litter trained yet!

Thanks Rachel, suzy and Cookie for the link-that is the answer!

I'm really excited now-I'll post pics when its all done! Thanks everyone X