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I am about to build a new shed, step by step piccies included

Electrics. Suffice to say if you need electrics, find a person that knows what they are doing. Saves killing yourself or burning down your new shed.
If you are putting live, fluffy, velvet eared friends into the shed, make sure the little monsters can't reach the wires!!!

Lots of sockets and a twin tube light
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Waterproof outside socket.
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There you go, a shed. Big, heavy, very well built and held together with screws, about 250 of them plus nails for the weatherboard and coach-bolts. It took roughly a day per side, so 6 days....base, 4 sides, roof.
Just needs weatherproof woodstain to complete the job.

Woodstain, ah what an innocently complex beast. As this is a rabbit forum, there will be lots of readers that throw up the arms and shriek in angst at what follows.
What is rabbit safe? I would argue that what doesn't kill them is at worst tolerated by our bunnies, I am not advocating it as part of their main diet.

Water based woodstain, plonk it on and watch it fade to grey and get green with algae, all in a matter of months.
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Oil based, plonk it on and watch it get covered in cobwebs if you're not house proud, but colour doesn't fade. Bit of green in one very damp, windless corner.
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Oil based as chewed by bunnies. Please note, live bunny.
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My only warning, it needs a few hours to dry and a fair number of days to gas off any nasty vapours. I wouldn't paint a hutch and throw rabbits in for a week, more if wind hasnt been allowed to blow through.
Oh yes nother warning, it doesnt wash off. Get it on your clothes and a year down the line it looks as fresh as when new. Hands also are a beggar to clean, cellulose thinners will do it but it's rank nasty stuff.
 
I've also used oil-based protector, even on the inside. It's stopped the plywood going mouldy becausse left outside in the damp warm winter it does go mouldy. The one bit of plywood I haven't sealed was the bit I knocked up quick to go on the front of the hutch (anti-cat device), and it's mouldy both sides after just 2mths. I also had to resin the holes in the playhouse (it was VERY secondhand) and that stinks too, and is very difficult to get off hands. I can vouch for the shed paint though: we painted a shed in 2006 and it's still in the same place in our clothes!

I am ASTOUNDED but the waterproof screws. I'm easily pleased! :lol:

I have also hand-laid concrete: helped my mate's dad lay his chicken-coop base. We used a bit of wood to float it, and I am MUCH better at the theory than the practice! :lol:
 
Crikey CC, that's looking fab......I didn't understand a word of it, so good job there were pictures!!!! It's big enough to rent out for a family to live in!! Love it.
 
We used the corrugated plastic on our pergola, wish I had seen this before, ours has been up a year and the end piece was ripped off by a strong wind. I'm sure yours won't, you've done an amazing job of this, thank you for sharing
 
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