Shed half done - your thoughts?

jopop

jopop

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So I am about halfway there... Please let me know what you think so far.
This is my 6ft x 6ft shed space which I currently have just two girls in (I am planning to add more hopefully)
They have the 6ft Clover hutch from Pets at Home which I got second hand.
It's so much warmer in there than outside already, which is brilliant. The floor actually feels warm on bare feet.

Done:
  • The window has been replaced.
  • The hutch is in - Insulation is under the floor.
  • The main floor is raised up on pallets and insulated with a waterproof backed foam. This is cut exactly to size and fits very tight to the walls so there are no bits to get teeth into. The surface is waterproof and hard enough to walk on.
  • There is a kick board at the front to keep hay etc in.
  • The hay bales are being moved into the garage this weekend so that will give more floor space although I have raised them up on bricks to allow them to go underneath anyway.

To do:
  • I need to get a new main door put on. I will have to lift this floor up for this (and move piggies out while the work is done) but once it is done I plan to pack the pallets under the floor with straw then lay the flooring back down. This should give extra insulation rather than a cold void between the concrete floor and the main floor.
  • I am picking up some Aubiose today to put down to absorb wee's.
  • I have some insulation on order for the ceiling.
  • Wall insulation to consider.
  • Move the bales
  • Put strip light up
  • I also feel it NEEDS bunting! :love:

I am thinking a loft over the top of the hutch would be nice, a good use of space (if they use it).

Any other things I have missed which I should be doing? This is a first for me so please feel free to send your suggestions or criticisms :)

IMG_20191007_103325097.webpIMG_20191007_103222399.webp
 
Looks great!
I can’t think of anything else.
I personally wouldn’t bother with the loft area. I had tried adding a loft area for my boys (8ft x 6ft shed) and they just didn’t use it - they have so much space on the floor that they had no interest in going up there.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Looks great!
I can’t think of anything else.
I personally wouldn’t bother with the loft area. I had tried adding a loft area for my boys (8ft x 6ft shed) and they just didn’t use it - they have so much space on the floor that they had no interest in going up there.
Click to expand...

Ah ok, I did think it might be possible waste of time. They have 36 sq ft in there already to be fair. I think they need more tunnels etc too.
 
jopop said:
Ah ok, I did think it might be possible waste of time. They have 36 sq ft in there already to be fair. I think they need more tunnels etc too.
Click to expand...

I have tunnels, hideys and carrot cottages around the edge of my shed, a big pale of hay on one side and I tend the leave the middle mostly empty as their preferred popcorning space (it’s also the space where they stand and yell at me from!)
 
Piggies&buns said:
I have tunnels, hideys and carrot cottages around the edge of my shed, a big pale of hay on one side and I tend the leave the middle mostly empty as their preferred popcorning space (it’s also the space where they stand and yell at me from!)
Click to expand...

yup, don't ever take away that all important yelling space haha!
 
You have to be a bit careful using fleece items outside in autumn/winter - it absorbs moisture from the air so piggies end up with wet beds. I use fleece on the floor but only in the summer months.
 
Piggies&buns said:
You have to be a bit careful using fleece items outside in autumn/winter - it absorbs moisture from the air so piggies end up with wet beds. I use fleece on the floor but only in the summer months.
Click to expand...
Hasn’t thought about that, I have no experience with outside piggies
You could exchange them for other hides in the winter months, I suppose
 
jopop said:
I agree they need more hides etc.... some nice wooden ones perhaps
Click to expand...
I use the fiddlesticks log huts. They are great because you can easily fit snugglesafes underneath them. Some of the other wooden huts I’ve had are too narrow for a snugglesafe
 

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I had this one that they loved for the longest time, but I had to throw it out as it got damp with pee...50625AD3-D849-4AA2-86DC-BAAA26ED90FF.jpeg
 
It looks great so far!
I'm interested to see you say that it feels warmer inside already. When we move, our piggies will probably eventually have to go in a brick outbuilding similar to yours, and I've been concerned about whether it will be warm enough inside for them, and retain heat ok when the door is opened. What sort of wall/ceiling insulation were you considering? I've been wondering if the bubble wrap sort is suitable.
I'm also planning on getting a second sensor for my weather station, so I can see what the temperature is in the piggy room without having to go there and open the door. Maybe you would find something like that useful too?
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
It looks great so far!
I'm interested to see you say that it feels warmer inside already. When we move, our piggies will probably eventually have to go in a brick outbuilding similar to yours, and I've been concerned about whether it will be warm enough inside for them, and retain heat ok when the door is opened. What sort of wall/ceiling insulation were you considering? I've been wondering if the bubble wrap sort is suitable.
I'm also planning on getting a second sensor for my weather station, so I can see what the temperature is in the piggy room without having to go there and open the door. Maybe you would find something like that useful too?
Click to expand...

My current shed is not all that well insulated but stays about 5 degrees warmer than outside. I can feel that it is noticeably warmer - being out of the wind is a big part of that. During winter they only come out to play in the shed in the warmest part of the day and even then it is temperature dependent. But I do find that even on a winters day if the sun comes out, my shed can get to around 20 degrees (which causes problems in summer as I then need to get them out of there by around 8am to stop them from being exposed to the heat). However, their hutch is always even warmer. I use blankets and hutch covers and with the covers and snugglesafes I can keep general temperature inside their hutch warm enough 12-15 degrees when it’s around 3-5 degrees outside. If it has been a sunny winters day, then I pull the hutch covers down early to retain the heat inside the hutch for overnight.

My new shed (coming in spring) is possibly going to have celotex type insulation as it seems to be better than the silver bubble wrap type but I haven’t looked too far into that yet. Plenty of people use the silver bubble wrap type with no problems though.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
It looks great so far!
I'm interested to see you say that it feels warmer inside already. When we move, our piggies will probably eventually have to go in a brick outbuilding similar to yours, and I've been concerned about whether it will be warm enough inside for them, and retain heat ok when the door is opened. What sort of wall/ceiling insulation were you considering? I've been wondering if the bubble wrap sort is suitable.
I'm also planning on getting a second sensor for my weather station, so I can see what the temperature is in the piggy room without having to go there and open the door. Maybe you would find something like that useful too?
Click to expand...

A sensor would be good.
For the ceiling we have a roll of fabric which is actual for use in patient warming - like those tin foil blankets but it has a fabric inner to retain the heat. (I have a friend who works for the manufacturer who is getting me some). I am unsure for the walls yet.
 
Here is a picture of the girls enjoying their new space this morning. I'll do a seperate thread in the inro section with a bit more info on them. They seem to be growing in confidence in there already and enjoying the warm floor on their feet :)8.10.webp
 
Piggies&buns said:
You have to be a bit careful using fleece items outside in autumn/winter - it absorbs moisture from the air so piggies end up with wet beds. I use fleece on the floor but only in the summer months.
Click to expand...
I don't use fleece on the floor of my hutch (I have outside piggies) but do use fleece lined snugglesacks and tunnels in the winter and I have never found that they get damp (other than with piggy wee, obviously) and this is their 4th winter. I change them every couple of days. I put down the fronts of the covers and also put a blanket on the top and down over the front of the hutch to keep out the frost on really cold nights.
 
So a couple of weeks in now and the insulation is complete, the light WAS installed but now now working so that still to do. Roof insulation done and the lower half of the walls. Bales shifted.
We are ready to welcome some new girls on Wednesday hopefully. The full floor space is 33 sq ft so I'm hoping all will go well as they will have plenty of space. Exciting. Photos of complete set up to follow once the new girls arrive.
Thank you to all of you for the help and advice.
 
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