- Plan your shed base
You must have a sturdy base for your shed, otherwise the frame won’t stand properly and could stop the door from opening. Decide whether you’re going to have:
- A concrete base laid on hardcore
- Concrete slabs on sharp sand
- Treated wood beams on hardcore or shingle
- An interlocking plastic system
- Treat wood with preservative To help your shed last as long as possible, you should coat all the wooden parts with timber preservative before you put it together.
- Put the shed floor together Some will need more assembly than others, but you need to make sure that the floor panel is attached to the joists; follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the correct spacing.
- Put up the shed walls
- Mark the centre point of each wall on its bottom edge, then do the same for the shed floor so you can line them up together.
- Stand the gable end on the base and line it up. Check that it’s vertical with a spirit level – you might need someone to support the panel while you do this. Use a temporary holding batten to keep it in place.
- Fix a side panel to the gable end panel with countersunk screws, then add the second side panel in the same way.
- Fit the roof
- If the shed comes with a support bar, put this in position before you put the roof panels in.
- Nail the roof panels in place, ensuring there’s a parallel and equal overlap at each end.
- Roll out some roofing felt from front to back, leaving a 50mm overlap at each side. Secure it with clout-headed felt tacks at 100mm intervals.
- Apply mastic sealant to the outside corners, then fix each corner trim with 30mm nails.
- Add the fascias and finials, predrilling 2mm holes to avoid splitting the wood. Nail them through the felt into the shed using 40mm nails.
- Add the shed windows
- Slide each windowsill into the tongue and groove cut out, then put the window cover strip in position, fixing it to the vertical framing.
- From inside the shed, put the glazing sheets into the window rebates, making sure the bottom edge of the glazing sheets sit on the outside of the sill.
- Fix the window beading on the top and sides with 25mm nails.
- Fix the walls to the floor Before you do anything, make sure you check that the centre marks on the walls line up with the marks on the shed floor. Then fix the wall panels to the floor with 50mm screws, aligning them with the joists. And that’s it! But if you’re not confident in building a shed yourself, there are plenty of professionals available who will be happy to help.
Bellingham
Bellingham is an area in south east London, in the London Borough of Lewisham. Its neighbouring districts are Catford, Sydenham and Downham. The Ravensbourne River runs through the middle of Bellingham, and to the west and east it is bordered by railway lines working south from Catford.
The true name Bellingham means ‘the water-meadow owned by Beora’s people’, and was the name of the medieval manor in the region. The true name was preserved by the farm in the area, Bellingham Railway Station and the Bellingham Estate. Various other historical names have been preserved by the street brands of the estate, which are connected with King Alfred, who was simply thought to have been the lord of the manor of Lewisham, and were extracted from the true names of mills, houses and areas in the area.
Bellingham was mainly farmland until the Bellingham Estate was built, mostly between 1920 and 1923. London City Council built about 2600 houses and flats during this time. Bellingham Estate was one of many large estates built by London City Council following the First World War to assist with slum clearance and relieve overcrowding. As there is plenty of land available most of the dwellings built were two-story homes, and there was plenty of green, open space.
Today, Bellingham is a localised city centre. Its traditional is Randlesdown Road, which has a supermarket, a gym, hairdressers and multiple restaurants and food outlets. It has a sixth form college also, and a church and a library. Bellingham boasts many well-known recent and present residents, like the singer/song-writer Kate Bush, the previous Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, and the footballer Ian Wright.
