Find a Carpenter you can trust in Thatcham.

• The shed doesn’t cover more than 50% of the garden
• It’s not in front of your house
• The shed is single-storey with eaves no higher than 2.5m and the overall height is no taller than 4m for a dual-pitched roof, or 3m for any other type. If it’s located within 2 metres of your property’s boundary, it mustn't be more than 2.5m high
• There’s no veranda or balcony
• The floor area is no bigger than 15m² - up to 30m² may be covered under Permitted Development if other conditions are met
• The shed is for domestic use only by those who live in the property and there’s no sleeping accommodation – that means you can’t run a business from the shed unless you apply for planning permission

• If you live in a listed building, you’ll need Listed Building Consent before you can build a shed in your garden
• If you live in a conservation area or similar, the maximum area of ground covered by outbuildings, pools and enclosures situated more than 20m from any wall of the house mustn’t exceed 10m² if they’re to be considered as a permitted development
• If you own a piece of woodland, you must seek planning permission for any permanent structure
• In Scotland, you’ll need planning permission if any part of the shed comes within 1m of a neighbouring property or is more than 2.5m high
• In Northern Ireland, there are rules about how close your shed can be from a road that passes by the back of your house. It’s best to check for clarification

The cost of just the engineered wood flooringis from £18 to £73 per m2.

• Tongue and groove timber boards
• Boards for the ledges and braces, at least 20mm thick
• Nails
• Hammer
• Saws, including a circular saw
• Chisel
• Mallet

1. Cut your boards to size If you can’t buy boards at the right height and width for your door, cut the boards to length using a circular saw. Don’t forget to sand and treat any cut ends with timber preservative. Lay out the boards in the best arrangement for your shed door, with the inside of the door facing up.
2. Arrange the ledges and braces On most shed doors, you’ll probably need 3 boards across the back of the door to form the ledges. The ledges keep the door straight and keep the boards of the door together. The braces are the parts of the door that slope down to form a ‘Z’ shape between the ledges. Ensure that the braces are sloped up from the bottom and middle hinge to stop the door from sagging as the timber expands and contracts in the weather. Once you’re happy with the arrangement, mark the spots on the boards where they will meet and cut out of the housings using a chisel and mallet.
3. Put the door together Use clamps to pull the boards together and hold the ledges and braces in place. Nail from the front of the door through the boards and ledges to fix them. Secure the ledges and braces with screws; you may want to pre-drill and countersink holes to prevent the wood from splitting. Remember to treat them with preservative if you do.
4. Fix the shed door hinges Make sure you measure carefully before attaching the hinges, ensuring you know where the pin sits in relation to where the door opens.
5. Treat the door and add locks and handles Apply some wood oil, like linseed or teak oil, to help prevent water damage. Then add locks or handles to your shed to help keep it secure.
If you’d rather leave it to the professionals, there are plenty of specialists that will be able to make a shed door for you, or even put up an entire shed.

Yes, it is possible to insulate a shed. You might want to do this if you’re planning on working in it during the winter. A professional will be able to help you find an insulated shed or advise you on how to insulate a shed that you already have. Always seek professional advise first before attempting to do this yourself!

When you’re building or redesigning your kitchen, one of the most important decisions you’d have to make is your kitchen cabinets. They are basically where you’ll keep everything you use to cook and as such, take up a lot of space in the kitchen. Therefore, if the aesthetic of your kitchen is a priority, then you’d probably want to get the best quality and good looking cabinet you possibly can. If you’re in the market for new kitchen cabinets, you can put these sources of cabinets into consideration. Let’s take a look!

• IKEA. One of the best place to buy affordable home goods is also a great place to check if you want to buy your kitchen cabinets. According to a research carried out by J.D Power which surveyed over 1500 customers within the past one year, IKEA’s cabinet system ( Sektion) ranked the highest in terms of the overall satisfaction.
• KraftMaid. Another winner of the survey conducted by J.D Power as it took the second position when it comes to the overall satisfaction. Therefore, this store happens to be a good option based on the reviews. This store provides you with a wide variety of colour options to select from, so regardless of what your personal preference is, you’re guaranteed to find something worthwhile to install in your kitchen.
• Stoffer Home. When you buy your kitchen cabinet from an interior designer, there’s a better chance for suitability. Stoffer home offers top quality cabinets which can be manufactured in four various wood finishes and twelve varying paint colours which are all carefully curated.

• What you need the shed for
• How much space you have
• How big you need the shed to be
• Which style of roof you want
• What material you would like
• How big your budget is

• Hand-crafted from Nordic White Spruce
• Felt roof reinforced with high-grade polyester
• Tongue and groove cladding makes it more weatherproof so ideal for items that must be kept dry

• High eaves for more head height and to store taller items
• Pent roof and fixed windows allow lots of light
• Ideal for putting up against a wall or fence
• Door can be hinged either side

• Ideal for small gardens or those with fewer tools to store
• Apex roof for water runoff
• Tongue and groove walls
• Tall floor-to-gable door

Do you have existing floorboards and wish to fit new solid wood floor over it? If you’re planning to go for a DIY effort, there are a number of things you should put into consideration before you even get started. Firstly, you should have it in mind that existing softwood floorboards are usually not flat, implying that the surface of the existing might not be ideal to serve as the foundation on which to put your new solid wood flooring. Secondly, if you’re going to lay the new solid floor on the existing floorboards, it would be wise to select wood that is a minimum of 18mm thick to make your new solid wood flooring a lot more stable.

If you discover that your old floor is not too even, there are two option you can consider to protect your investment. You can lay the new floor at a 90 degree angle over the existing one. In other words, you should lay the new floor lengthways if the old one is laid widthways. Using this technique alongside a method of fitting referred to as secret nailing will go a long way to make sure your installation efforts is a successful one.

The second option you can put into consideration when laying solid wood flooring over old ones is to lay chipboard or plywood over the existing floor prior to the installation of the new floor. Here, there will be an increase in the cost of your installation, however it will be more reliable and durable as it assists in ensuring the stability of your new flooring. Some benefits that comes with this option includes the freedom to lay the new solid wood flooring in any direction you want as well as the freedom to use any fitting method you deem fit. Click here to learn more about wood flooring.

• Decking joists
• Coach screws
• Coach bolts
• Combi drill
• Socket set
• A saw suitable for your project and the thickness of the timber
• Pencil
• Decking preservative
• Sandpaper or sander

1. Measure your deck frame and cut to size if necessary.
2. Make 2 pencil marks on each end of the frame’s 2 outer joists to mark where the coach screws will go. They need to align with the centre of the adjoining outer joist. Then, use a flat wood drill bit to drill recesses into each mark. Make them the same depth of the screws that your using’s head and wide enough for a ratchet or socket to tighten them.
3. Using a thinner drill bit, line up the outer joists and drill a pilot hole through the middle of the recess. These pilot holes act as a guide for the screws and stops them from splitting the wood.
4. Fit the coach screws with either a drill driver or socket and ratchet.
5. Repeat the process for the inner joists once you’ve assembled the outer frame.