Plastic Shed

piggl

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Hi,

I have decided I want to move my pigs into a shed as I am tired of having them in the freezing garage in the winter/all year round. Our garage is a cold concrete box, and makes it hard for me to find the "want" to go and spend hours with them, because of how uninviting the space is.
I still live with my parents so there is always a battle around November-ish, on when I can take them into my bedroom for the winter. Now, when they are in my bedroom, they always complain about the smell and everything. Basically, living in the garage in the summer and then my bedroom in the winter just isnt working out anymore, and now that I have a job, I can afford to build them their very own shed.

We have an existing shed, its plastic and 10ftx6ft. Now, I know plastic is not the best option but I am trying to figure out if there is a way I can make it suitable. Not only is it much easier as it is already set up, meaning I would not have to take down the existing shed and put up a new one. It also means I can spend all my money making it the perfect home for them.

Obviously it is full with stuff now, but I was wondering if with the correct insulation all around the sides, would it be suitable to become my new pig shed.
It does not have a window, but does have two built in ventilation holes at the front and back of the shed, as pictured. It also has an opaque roof, which lets in a very good amount of natural lighting. The shed has double doors at the front, and what I thought I could do was swap them out for two stable doors (with mesh), which could be left open all day to help keep the temperature down. (On that note, does anyone know if I would be able to add a wooden door to a plastic shed?)
The shed is quite shaded, but does get the sun in the afternoon sometimes, but with it being Scotland there is always a nice breeze going about.

As for the pigs, I did recently buy new hutches for them but because of space issues in the garage, the truth is that they are just the bare minimum and my babies deserve better than that, so I would be hoping to use a C&C sort of set up so both sets of pigs would have enough room. I have 1 boar pair and 1 single boar for reference.
I was thinking for the flooring, under where the pigs live I would add a lino or something of some sort, just to give them that extra layer of protection. The shed is lifted off the ground but the floor does get cold in the winter months.

Now in the winter, would insulation around all the walls be enough? I could find a way to get electricity in there, which would help with lighting and everything else. I also have all the average winter gadgets, plenty of hides/blankets/snugglesafes/mountains of hay.

I apologise for the amount of rambling but I am just trying to think things through. Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated :)
 

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Spoke to my dad (who bought the shed), there is no way for the doors to be changed... Which leaves me with two doors that open all the way with no mesh. Although, with the garage back door, I used to leave it open and made my very own screen with garden fence stuff and never had any issues as we just have no predators around us. And then in the winter if I needed that "half door", I could just open one of the doors and sanction my own draft stopper on the bottom half with blankets etc.

On one hand I really feel I could make this shed work but the thought of buying a whole new one which I know will work for my needs keeps calling to me.
 
Hello my only experience with a plastic shed is they do get hot inside even with breeze outside and the one I had did give off a ‘plastic ‘ smell ( I only used it for gardening stuff) - I don’t have experience of piggies living outside
Could you adapt your bedroom for them ? I have two boars inside, living in my dining room and I change the pee pads daily etc and they never smell…..I like the regular interaction with them indoors
I’m sure someone will be along to give you their advice and experience - good luck !
 
I personally would not have them in a plastic shed at all - the risk of that is huge

I have an insulated wooden shed and even that gets hot with even a small amount of sun, a plastic one would be worse. It’s 15 degrees here today but inside the pig shed is already reading 25 (they’re on the lawn playing).
Its why we (and reputable rescues) do not recommend the use of the plastic eglu houses
 
I personally would not have them in a plastic shed at all - the risk of that is huge

I have an insulated wooden shed and even that gets hot with even a small amount of sun, a plastic one would be worse. It’s 15 degrees here today but inside the pig shed is already reading 25 (they’re on the lawn playing).
Its why we (and reputable rescues) do not recommend the use of the plastic eglu house
Do you think I should get a wooden shed?

I watched the temperature all day and it was lovely and cool as the Sun doesn’t really hit it at all, but I spoke to my mum and she said that all of the stuff stored in the shed has mildew, and obviously I don’t want my pigs in that environment.

My issue with the shed ventilation. Doesn’t need to have constant ventilation? I would get one that has a stable door and at least one or two windows that open, but overnight where does the ventilation come from?
 
Sheds aren’t air tight.
I have a stable door on mine with an internal mesh door. The windows dont open. There are no specific vents. I obviously don’t leave the door open at all in winter or overnight. There are absolutely no issues related to ventilation in there (no mildew, mould, condensation etc).
The issue comes from heat being trapped inside it due to their nature - I have the door open all day and it still gets too hot. Opening windows wouldn’t stop that as hot air would still blow in anyway
 
Sheds aren’t air tight.
I have a stable door on mine with an internal mesh door. The windows dont open. There are no specific vents. I obviously don’t leave the door open at all in winter or overnight. There are absolutely no issues related to ventilation in there (no mildew, mould, condensation etc).
The issue comes from heat being trapped inside it due to their nature - I have the door open all day and it still gets too hot. Opening windows wouldn’t stop that as hot air would still blow in anyway
Ah of course, I dont know where my heads at!

How would I combat the heat? Is your shed in the sun most of the time? Because it is really quite shaded where my shed will be going, it’s down the side of my house.

Is 10ftx6ft big enough? I love the look of these sheds.
Tiger Shiplap Apex Shed | Wooden Shiplap Sheds | Tiger Sheds
 
Mine is an 8x6ft and that is plenty big enough for me. I had four piggies, hutches hay bales, bedding bales etc in there!

When it comes to dealing with the heat, it is really going to come down to how the shed fares….not something you’ll really know until you have it and are using it.
Mine does get some sun but it’s also hot air blowing in - nothing you can do about that.
I have another shed in my garden used for storage which is shaded and still gets hot inside (albeit the door isn’t left open like the pig shed is given it is a storage shed!).
I am also in a warmer area of the country. If the shed gets hot they go on the lawn, when the lawn gets too hot they go in the house. I have had times when they couldn’t even go back to the shed at night because the air was still too hot outside to allow the shed to cool
 
Mine is an 8x6ft and that is plenty big enough for me. I had four piggies, hutches hay bales, bedding bales etc in there!

When it comes to dealing with the heat, it is really going to come down to how the shed fares….not something you’ll really know until you have it and are using it.
Mine does get some sun but it’s also hot air blowing in - nothing you can do about that.
I have another shed in my garden used for storage which is shaded and still gets hot inside (albeit the door isn’t left open like the pig shed is given it is a storage shed!).
I am also in a warmer area of the country. If the shed gets hot they go on the lawn, when the lawn gets too hot they go in the house. I have had times when they couldn’t even go back to the shed at night because the air was still too hot outside to allow the shed to coolI
It is a 10x6 we have right now and while it is massive, I am just thinking about the amount of space I can give my piggies to thrive, and also all the storage. I am not very good at conversions, so if I split the shed in half to make two pens for my boys, what does 3ft look like in C&C 'sizes' (I am also not great at visualising :doh:)

The thing is they have basically always lived in the bare minimum due to area restrictions etc. Like their hutches were always 5ft and right now my two boys are in a 2x4C&C (as it is only temporary indoor living, although they have been in here since November, oops!)
I can finally give them the space they deserve 24/7, as they did previously have massive runs etc. but I could never safely give them access to it full time, even in summer.

I was going to put one hutch, split in two, inbetween the two cages so both pigs had a place to sleep and also go if it got cold. My thought then was, I would keep the extra hutch I have so when it comes to winter and sometimes they will probably have to stay inside their hutches, I could move the extra hutch into their pens so they had a hutch each to be locked away in.

I was also wondering the safety of a heater. Like my father could easily run a power cord into the shed, but I am so worried if I put in a heater or something that it would catch fire etc.
Which is why on one hand I am thinking just leave it non-heated, but in the winter months, will the pigs struggle?
 
3 c&c grids is roughly 105cm which is just over 3 foot wide.
So to make c&c grids come to 3 foot, you would have 2 full grids and then a third grid overlapping the second one.

Do also remember that the 10x6 is external measurements of the shed - it isn’t 10 feet by 6 feet on the inside.
It’ll be 9 foot something by 5 foot something internally, which is important to consider when thinking of putting a hutch inside. Like my shed is 8x6 but a 6ft hutch does not fit along the 6ft wall of the shed (a 5ft hutch does with a couple of inches gap down the side).
 
Ooo! I love how this is tailored to fit exactly what you guys needed at the time. How did you find the heat/keeping the shed cool?
I ran an electricity supply to the shed so I had lighting and an oil filled radiator mounted on the wall. So it was nice and warm during the winter and I put a fan in on the really hot days and left the door open.
 
It looks a good shed
You’d need to make sure it’s on a concrete base ( no rats etc to tunnel underneath )
You would need to preserve it as altho it may have been steam pressured, due to our weather a preservation coating of some sort will be needed .
It would need to be insulated inside which would fit in between the struts
Sorry I can’t offer more help as I’ve got indoor piggies
Many members on here have sheds and will be along to advise you !
Good luck
 
It looks good to me too.
I agree - it needs to be on a solid base, insulated, painted and internal mesh doors added
 
We have a shed there already and it is on concrete, although the underneath is used as a home for. multiple frogs. Will this cause an issue?

Insulation is sorted going to get foil and put it up the walls. The doors aren’t stable obviously but my grandad is basically a joiner/welder/everything and because the doors have two hinges, he can easily make stable doors. he will also make basically a second door made of mesh for both doors.

What sort of coating would it need? And does anything need to be done with the roof, I’m really scared of it leaking or anything.

Thanks :)
 
You need a wood paint to protect it.

It depends on the quality of the roof and the felt used. Cheaper thin felt won’t last so it could need a re-roof in time
 
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