Recommendations for turning shed into home office Re-generate an old or tired space and give it a fresh breath of life. Click here for answers, information and tips

[jeffsmith82]

I was looking at converting a shed at the end of my garden in to a small home office.

It's a concrete block structure with a flat roof and what seems to be a flat concrete floor.

There is already power to the shed which connects to a BS 5486 PT13 that connect to a fluorescent tube light and 2 power sockets.

I was hoping to put down some engineered wood flooring, would this be possible on concrete ? What would I need to buy for someone to install this ?

The walls are just concrete blocks with a bit of white pain on them is there anything you would recommend to make it a bit prettier or to avoid damp or anything else I should know about when sticking electrical equipment in a shed ?

Any recommended reading on what i should be planning for if doing this ?

[stoneyboy]

Hi Jeffsmith82
Unless you cover all surfaces with some sort of membrane and then form insulated walls ceiling and floor inside this you will probably get damp/condensation forming.
You could try building the floor on a DPM and run a heater and dehumidifier continuously to establish the degree of damp you will get in your particular case.
Regards S

[Davethebuilder]

The concrete blocks can create a certain amount of condensation. One way to combat this would be to plasterboard the walls and ceiling. If the blocks are high density concrete and not low density ( also reffered to as breeze blocks) and providing the joints have sound mortar, then water penetration should be eradicated. The first job is to be certain of this. A good overhang of the roof at the eves helps to keep rain off the walls, as does the right guttering.Then look for rising damp in the bottom courses. When the structure was built it should have had a damp proof course inserted (dpc). Sometimes in out buildings this is absent, but if good solid blocks are used rising damp will be minimal. Rendering the walls with sand and cement and waterproofer, at lower level, will help combat this. The amount of work or expense involved is down to how much you want to do. The options are to batten and insulate the walls then plasterboard over them. Or forget the insulation and just plasterboard. Plaster skim is an option or just tape and paint the boards. I would recommend insulating and plasterboarding the ceiling. I would either lay a damp proof membrane on the floor or paint with bitumen paint. Then batten and board the floor with flooring grade chipboard. This can then be laminated or carpeted or even left bare. Get some form of heating in to keep the place warm.