A savvy couple have revealed how they created a posh shed office by using items from a skip in a move that saved them a whopping £23,000.
Graham Anderson, 35, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, and his wife, Rachel, 34, both work as architects and decided to put their industry expertise to good use when they needed extra space in their home.
The couple quickly got to work by turning an unused patch of land at the bottom of their garden into a workspace.
They even used some items that had been thrown in a skip – which is where they found the insulation used for the building’s roof after looking on Gumtree.
It took Mr Anderson over a year to build the space, which he did with the help of his father-in-law, also called Graham.
This shows the dramatic transformation Graham managed to achieve after the spot was built
A savvy couple have revealed how they created a posh shed office by using items from a skip in a move that saved them a whopping £23,000
Graham Anderson, 35, (pictured) from Eastleigh, Hampshire, built the space with the help of his father-in-law, also called Graham
Pictured: The outdoor space in Graham’s garden before he began working on the project
The couple quickly got to work by turning an unused patch of land at the bottom of their garden into a workspace
Graham and his wife, Rachel, 34, both work as architects and decided to put their industry expertise to good use when they needed extra space in their home
Mr Anderson said: ‘We realised we had a growing family of two infant boys – a one-year-old and a four-year-old – and we were working from home in one bedroom. So wanted to free up at that bedroom and have other space.’
‘It’s a completely new build from scratch’. We just worked with the amount of garden we wanted to use and we wanted it to also be a sunroom as well.’
The two Grahams managed to save an enormous amount of money on the project thanks to their plan when it came to sourcing materials – as they focused primarily on looking for free items via online adverts.
Having found the roof insulation on Gumtree, they secured the building’s front window from got an unwanted window re-seller, as well as timber from the Southampton Wood Recycling Project.
Their shrewd approach to budgeting for the space allowed them to build the space for just £12,000 – in comparison to the £35,000 Graham estimates it would have taken to outsource the project – saving them a staggering £23,000
In addition to using the area as an office, the couple have built a shaded patio area with a bench to use as a social hub.
Graham added: ‘It’s a low energy building as there are lots of layers of membranes which are all taped up and super well-insulated so it’s relatively warm in the winter’.
To build the shed, Mr Anderson even used some items that had been thrown in a skip – which is where they found the insulation used for the building’s roof after looking on Gumtree
In addition to using the area as an office, the couple have built a shaded patio area with a bench to use as a social hub
Their shrewd approach to budgeting for the space allowed them to build the space for just £12,000 – in comparison to the £35,000 Graham estimates it would have taken to outsource the project
‘Because we’re both architects we didn’t want to just buy an old shed so we were always going to design it ourselves and save as much money as possible.’
The architect is so pleased with his project that he has entered it into a competition to win the shed of the year in the UK.
Graham entered his shed into the Cuprinol Shed of the Year 2024 competition, adding that it was a ‘nice feeling’ to be shortlisted in the ‘Cabin/Summerhouse’ category.
However, he said is ‘not thinking too far ahead about winning the whole thing’, as he said he did so for a ‘bit of fun’.
