• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

River Run - A Shed Build Blog

Wow ...What a fantastic project. Can't wait for the next update :) xx

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 2
 
A bit more progress. The flooring is now down and the framework for the walls is being built (you can see some of it in the picture). Hopefully the framework and roof will go up this weekend. :D

We've also decided to put double glazed windows in. The buns will have mesh over theirs so they can be opened in summer.

MIA6Mps.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow, fantastic! We are about to start on a shed where there was a pond built into decking. I love projects like yours. Cannot wait to see the progress! :-D x
 
Busy weekend! All the wall frames are now up and the roof is on! :D


The walls going up, you can also see what will be the dividing wall between the end workshop and man cave/home bar.
f09JJbC.jpg



Walls all up! In this pic you can see the dividing wall between the bunny room and the man cave (bunny room will be 2m x 2m). The man cave also has a door already as it's having a glass & pvc door. The workshop and bunny room are getting wooden doors.
q5TPUHQ.jpg



And roof is on!
TvZq1Sg.jpg



We're trying to get as much done this week as we can because we're going away on holiday for two weeks on Friday. We won't be finished of course but the further we can get before we leave the better. :)
 
Last edited:
Wow absolutely amazing! It's going to be so awesome! I like the idea of having the man shed and workshop near the bunnies so can all hang out together :-D
 
Oh, where do I start with this.

We've been away on holiday for two weeks so progress on the shed was obviously on hold for a while. That's not the problem though. I probably need to give some background for it all to make sense I think. Our house is on a private housing estate. We own our house outright but it's a leasehold property so the owners of the estate "own" the land. Now for some reason, the estate owner has decided she "doesn't like" our new shed and is insisting we pull it down. We are well within all council legal requirements so that's not the issue. She doesn't like it because it "looks liveable" ???? This is based on nothing more than the framework you can see in the last pic . . . she won't accept that it's a shed because it's "too well built". Basically, we take down 3 very shabby, rotten sheds and try to replace it with something that is well built, looks good and doesn't bring down the value of the estate and she doesn't like it because it's TOO nice . . . !!!

I don't even have words to express the rage we are currently feeling.

And on top of that, the way she's gone about it it is unbelievable. With any issues relating to residents she is supposed to send a letter explaining the issue and giving the person a chance to discuss it or time to sort it out. Not so here. She arrived unannounced on my doorstep in the middle of the day (when she knew my partner wouldn't be home) for a surprise visit, with her aggressive PA and thug of a son with her to apply a little intimidation. Only several days later did she send a letter telling us to remove the shed. On top of that she is flat out refusing to meet with my partner to discuss the situation as "there is no point" since she's made up her mind.

All that said, we are going to try to fight back for our right to keep (and finish) the shed since there are other properties on the estate with sheds of the same or similar size, some even with more than one, so she can't legally (we hope) demand that we remove ours and let the others keep theirs. That means the fact that she can only give the reasons "it's too big", "it looks liveable" and "I don't like it" might not hold up in court (and yes, we are prepared to go that far).

Our one other chance is to try and buy out the freehold on our property so we do actually own the land (quite a few other residents have done this in the past) to give us more rights. That, however, is time-consuming and expensive (although my solicitor is on stand-by for it lol).

Why is nothing ever bloody simple?? :(
 
OMG! She sounds so 'nice'

I've not got advice etc but hope you can get best outcome with the least fuss/money needed!
 
I don't know if this is correct but when I was watching homes under the hammer this morning (Yes I am odd) they said that if you wished to purchase the leasehold for the property you owned the leaseholder was obligated to sell it.
 
Yup Amy, you're right. She's stated that she doesn't want to sell any more leaseholds but according to my solicitor, she has to agree to it as, since some have already been sold, she can't suddenly change her mind, the law doesn't allow that.
 
I saw that too. they were referring to part-leaseholds, in shared properties. I'm not sure if it holds for other properties. And of course, the freeholder sets the price. You can go to a tribunal but they aren't likely to object to !% of the current market value of the property, and that can be quite a lot.

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=16 suggests you don't have to sell the freehold on demand for single dwellings.

Did you get the landlord's permission before you built it LisaF? You have to do that, and the landlord charges for it. You can apply for retrospective permission. Your house can't be sold unless you've had the right permission and at that point the fees could be very high. an apology and offering to pay the fee might solve the problem.

My dad was a builder. He holds a lot of freeholds.

and having said that, its a wooden construction on hard-standing, so you don't need permission... unless your lease stipulates no outbuildings [sighs]. its a heck of a big thing though. how does it look to the neighbours?
 
Last edited:
Did you get the landlord's permission before you built it LisaF? You have to do that, and the landlord charges for it. You can apply for retrospective permission. Your house can't be sold unless you've had the right permission and at that point the fees could be very high. an apology and offering to pay the fee might solve the problem.

No, we only found out that we needed to do that when she told us. :( The thing is, no one does get her permission for sheds and it's never been an issue before. When she was here she saw our neighbours large shed and got annoyed about that too as she had no idea he was putting one up either (but he's safe as he's on the Owners Association so she won't cause trouble with him). We are going to try to reason with her, get retrospective permission etc.
 
its a heck of a big thing though. how does it look to the neighbours?
It looks a lot bigger than it is I think. My OH is 6ft and when he's inside his head brushes the roof. The neighbour on the adjoining side is actually my mum and she's fine with it. We also spoken to other neighbours and all that we've spoken too have said that they have no problems with it and that we should stand our ground. My OH is going to do a letter and get all our close neighbours to sign it, saying they are happy for it to stay. In addition, we will be putting up a 6ft trellis on my mum's gate and a 6ft gate on our side (between shed and house) so you won't even be able to see the shed from the road.
 
on reflection, I don't think she can do anything about a shed, unless there's a specific clause in the lease. my dad has a customer who has put up a two storey extension on the house. we are sooooo looking forward to when she tries to sell it. :D

I'm uncharacteristically interested in the legal ins and outs of this at the moment. my mum died in March and in her latter years she was a bit wayward with ground rents - made a few sneaky sales with no documentation, that kind of thing :shock::roll: - and now I'm trying to sort it out for my dad. We're going to go round and look at every house he built. :)
 
Last edited:
I'm uncharacteristically interested in the legal ins and outs of this at the moment.
I'm quite interested too: I trained as a quantity surveyor and land law was one of the big modules so I'd like to see how this goes! I think you've a good case to keep the shed, although I've not much experience of leasehold (when I bought my house it was one of the things I avoided even considering, thanks to my course!), but very best of luck!
 
Back
Top