My man cave build - UK edition
 

Inspired by rfuerst911sc's thread and reading about other Pelican building projects I thought I'd start my own UK edition

To set the scene my house is in a small rural village at the cheap end of the Cotswolds which is a designated Area of Outstanding Beauty in the middle of central England

My house is in a 'Conservation Area', Local authorities can designate an area of special architectural or historic interest whose character or appearance is worth protecting or enhancing which means approval for building developments is harder to get.

First step is to submit plans to my local planning authority. Drawings consist of all elevations and floor plans as the house is and then same again but showing the proposed changes. These have to be approved first by the village council and then by the local authority.

First attempt was rejected :( a porch entrance to an office above the garage was visible form one elevation and they didn't like how it looked. The planning officer was very helpful and suggested a few alterations to make it acceptable for approval.

2nd attempt they were approved, always one to make an opportunity from a set back I made a few changes to my man cave part of the layout that will make it far better than I had ever envisaged :) Thank you Mr Planner, much appreciated.

This is my house before work started,
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530483872.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530483982.jpg

Late 18th C, constructed from local Hornton stone (much darker than the light Cotswold stone), 2ft thick walls, roof was originally thatched but now has moss covered concrete tiles from the 70's. Bought in 1996 in a very poor condition and lovingly restored over many years.

I am glad I could inspire you with your plan for your UK man cave :D Subscribed and interested in how you do it on your side of the pond . SmileWavy

Moi aussi.

What is that white pipe running on the outside to above the top window? At first I thought wastewater but it can't be because it's coming from above the floor level on the top storey...

Is it electrical?

Probably retrofit outdoor plumbing.

Some type of gutter? Conduit for A/C copper?

Beeeeaaaautiful home sir!

Neat old house Capt!
Is that a flood line a couple of feet up from the ground?
Places that old have seen a lot.
Is your shop going in the structure behind the house?

Your turn around from the initial rejection is an inspiration.
I'm working on a zoning change process myself.

You sure do have a neat auto / toy museum there in Cotswold, very folksy and down home. Nice contrast to the modern mega museums.

Will be following you progress with interest.

Cheers Richard

Atmospheric vent.
Should be a good thread!

daepp, thanks

The lovely white pipe period feature from the 70's is for the bathroom/toilet waste water, it's that tall to let it vent above the top window

tevake, thanks, no flood line but a splash line from the road, the stone is quite soft so over time the splashing erodes the stone.

Thanks for asking, my shop has two parts to it, first part is located in Mrs Ahab's gardening shed but I'm hoping she will sub-let me some work space :D

My man shed, I mean Mrs Ahab's gardening shed - UK edition was started end of last year so I'll quickly give you a guided tour of its construction

First job was to level the driveway, this also served to keep the shed roof height down to a height the planners were happy with.

3 guys and a 3 ton dumper, 9 ton dumper and 3 ton digger turned up and within 5 hours had finished and removed 92 tons of earth :eek:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530653562.jpg

No foundations but a concrete slab, I shuttered it up, fitted a damp proof membrane, then 200mm centre steel mesh and between my wife, the builder and I we moved 200 wheel barrow loads of concrete.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530654465.jpg

Gratuitous pick of the lovely cement mixer truck driving delivery lady, me not feeling too sporty afterwards
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530654103.jpg

I've worked hard over the years so feel I've earned myself a lovely warm shed to hide away from the cold, damp British winters so we didn't scrimp on the wall construction.

Inner coarse is 4" concrete block, outer coarse is combination of another 4" concrete block covered in oak weather boarding or 4" Hornton stone to match my house with 4" air gap partially filled with 2" polyurethane foil backed insulation sheet
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530655108.jpg

Great thread!!!

It looks like a great tool shed/man cave. Well done. It is also great to see the old UK houses. Love that part of the country.:)

Awesome house and project! Just a few KM from my where my family has ancient history and a namesake chapel and manor house still stand.

I should have given you a call when I was in Oxford back in April. Cotswold isnt too far away. I will be back around this time next year.

Great project !!

Excellent! Love the English country side, not least the old villages and gardens. Always reminds me of Midsomer Murders.
In the first pic to the left - would that be an Araucaria/Monkey Puzzle tree? Yes, I am a tree-nut. :)

Nice!
Why blocks instead of just wood stud walls?
That's my 93 4Runner! How did it get to England?

Beautiful home!

One of the many things I love about the English countryside is that they apparently have a rule that a pub must be within walking distance of every home in the village. I have frequented many! Hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps the rule is they must be within staggering distance to home!

Please keep sharing pictures.

Seahawk, recycled sixtie, thanks

Ayles, thanks, where did your family have history?

Skytrooper, I'll still be here, hopefully near the end of 2nd phase of fitting out the interior

livi, yes it is a monkey puzzle tree but I've never seen any Costwold Gibbon's swinging from the branches

911 rod, thanks, wood stud walls aren't used much, I've gone block work as the far end will be finished in a natural render ie sand/cement skimmed over the blockwork and end you can see in the photo will be stone faced

mreid, thanks, we actually bought the house at an auction in our local pub, it was just habitable, most expensive night out of my life but worth every penny.

My old family home was diagonally opposite a pub :D

As the shed is just the encore I'll blast through a few more pics,

Blockwork all finished, ridge beam is a steel I-section and softwood roof joists fitted
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530732116.jpg

Roof done, tiles are reclaimed Welsh slate tiles, ridge tiles are reclaimed handmade Victorian blue clay, the roof it quite a shallow pitch so needed a long overlapping tile and also chosen to compliment the style of neighboring properties keeping the planners happy
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530732433.jpg

I get a lot of enjoyment from hunting and finding those special bits to try and give the 'been built for ever' look to match the rest of my house. Oak beam is one of those, it was a little too thick so I had it band sawn and then I notched the back out as it sits on and hides an off the shelf pressed steel lintel ;)

The stone is quarried in a neighbouring village and chopped to size 1/4 mile from my house. The type of stone is called Hornton or Iron Stone, only available across a narrow band of the UK

This style of stone is called 'randoms', slightly courser and less finished than cut to thickness stone and is a perfect match to the rest of my house. We used a mix of 3", 4", 5" and 6" wide courses, again to match the house. One of the restrictions I have to adhere to while building in a conservation area is a 1m2 stone sample panel needs to be approved by the planners before I could start building. The colour/style of stone, mortar colour/joint thickness all have to be in keeping with the area, I'm using a builder from my village so there were no problems gaining approval.

Window cills are cut Hornton stone, windows will be recessed 6" from the external wall, again to keep the planner happy but I also like the depth it adds to the look

The large stones on the corners are called quoins, these are decorative and add some reinforcing to the corners. These stones are from the back wall of an old farm cow shed on a local estate called Great Tew. Don't think there are many cow sheds left as they are being converted into multi-million homes for folk like the Beckham's and Harry and Meg :)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530733436.jpg

Thanks for the details. Its very interesting to see how things work elsewhere, not to mention the tools/equipment/methods. I really enjoy building and design, thanks for sharing.

Shot you a pm captain!

To my eye you have done very well with the details to match your house and the surrounding buildings. That curved beam looks of a bygone era. And the mixed stones and those large corner stones look like a genuine stacked stone structure, great looking roof too, nicely done

I'm wondering what that short lower floor is intended for? I'd imagine that the powers that be imposed height limits that dictates those dimensions. You could probably park some of the cars you work on in there 😃

It's only the fresher color of the stone that's a clue to the newness of the building, that won't take long to mature.
You are going to indeed end up with a nice snug place to hang in. Wood heat?

Cheers Richard