Hanson Steel Buildings

House move coming up soon, and may well require a workshop building.

Anyone got any experience of/comments on the above company and its products?

And, any idea as to pricing as their website isn't giving anything away.

This ‘competitor’ gives some prices, Rob :

https://www.steelbuildings.co.uk/products/home-workshop/

No idea how they compare on price or quality.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 25/08/2021 17:22:02

I've no experience of Hanson, but I'm also thinking of getting a steel shed and I've been looking at Steeltech Sheds in Northern Ireland. Their product range looks similar to Hanson's and they have prices on their website, so that might give you an idea of what to expect.

I've no connection with Steeltech, other than that I might become a customer.

I wasn't sure if posting website addresses was frowned on, but I see Michael has posted one, so here's one for Steeltech

https://www.steeltechshedsni.com/products/steel-sheds/

Steel Buildings can be murder for condensation unless lined and insulated

.

The ’Code of Conduct’ linked immediately above the (Add Posting) button at the bottom of this page should explain, Noel

MichaelG.

The one I'm looking at has "non-drip sheeting on roof and 4 walls". Has anyone any experience of how well that type of lining works?

I'll be getting it insulated as well.  Any suggestions on what thickness of Kingspan insulation to get?  I know more is better, but what's reasonable for a typical UK winter?  It'll be 2m x 4m and heating will probably be from an electric convector heater.

The reason I'm looking at steel is because it'll be more durable than wood and I don't want to have to repaint it every couple of years.

Edited By Noel Murphy on 26/08/2021 18:25:03

Thank you Michael , Noel, Duncan.

I was looking to see how the price of a steel building compared with buying a heavyweight tanalised timber one and lining with 2" Celotex and 1/2 or 3/4 ply. (note to Duncan , Hanson's buildings come ready lined)

Hanson have now given me a quote and they are about 50% dearer, so timber it will be

Given that it is so narrow any corrugated iron sheet would span it without framework. I would suggest instead of buying a shed just get 4 in thick insulated roof sheets to use both as walls and ceiling. Make sure the base is also insulated.
If you can search for an early post by Steviegr a couple of years ago he shows his shed using this method.

In our workshops sizes steel is generally more expensive. Looked into steel for doing my 16 x 30 ft (ish) one and the extra fitting out costs killed it. Basic building to just cover the space was marginally cheaper tho'. Steel becomes more worthwhile as you go bigger. I guess you need to spend about £10,000 for steel to pull ahead.

Rob

OSB rather than plywood lining. Inexpensive ply tends to have splinter and bowing issues. Three coats of white emulsion on OSB makes a very pleasant wall finish.

When you do the electrics fit more sockets than you think you will need! I used good quality metal clad dis boards instead of the usual metal twins. Put a proper consumer unit in and segregate machine supplies from the ordinary one. Machines usually need higher rated RCD / MCB units than I'm happy with behind a hand held device. Weatherproof external socket is ver useful for garden things. I have a twin on each corner. Own master switch and RCD of course.

I got overmakes and second hand domestic double glazed doors and windows for mine. Far, far better than the usual shed stuff. Not silly expensive either. B&Q timber framed shed windows came out about the same for somewhat smaller.

Noel

+1 on what Bazyle says about the insulated roof sheets on a very basic frame.

Clive

Just checked re my last post. I meant SteviegTr but I can't see the photos I was thinking of so not him. Drat. Who am I thinking of?

Thanks for your comments on OSB vs ply, Clive. Surprises me, as I would have thought that ply would be less likely to move. Is OSB as good for holding screws under load though? Many shelves to go up!

I don't think Bayzle's suggestion of roofing sheets would go down very well, as proposed workshop location is close to the back door and in full view of the kitchen window and the neighbours on either side - it will have to looks "nice". One advantage of timber , I suppose, I can let my wife choose the paint colour

Rob

No quibbles with good ply but that costs ££. The inexpensive stuff is pretty rough these days. Last affordable lot I had was a pain to get half decent edges after cutting, splintered out round screw holes et al and supped up paint like nobodys' business. What was that bit about penny-wise, pound foolish.

I managed to align all my shelf brackets with the 2 x 4 framing so no movement issues for me! Belt'n braced with some all thread rods running up through the ceiling at each end with an extra in the middle for the 10 ft long ones.

Proper, sharp, chipboard screws into OSB seem pretty good when I've hung smaller stuff up in random places. Pilot hole first so the screw cuts in to properly form a thread. Always feel that going directly in risks the point forces introducing de-lamination. I'd guess the "collapse behind the hole" plasterboard fixings are the gold standard for that sort of thing.

I used the green waterproof (ish) tongue and groove chipboard underfloor sheets for my floor. Its held up very well, 16 years and counting, I'd expected to need to paint it after a decade or so. Far nicer than naked concrete for sure.

The offcuts made wonderful shelving. So glad I mis-mathed and ordered a couple of extra sheets! The slightly rough surface gives just enough non-slip effect to stop stuff sliding off but not so much that you can't move heavier items. Splashed out on some alloy angle for the edges after deciding plain cut chipboard looked unacceptably low rent. Apart from looking nice it added a 1/16" - 1 mm (ish) rim to further inhibit things from going exploring.

Clive

When the garage roof where I used to live became impossible to seal due to a very shallow pitch and two joints in the corrigated asbestos, I looked into various ways of replacing it. It was about 18 x 25 feet. The cheapest was the industrial sheeting which buildings are commonly made of today. I had condensation problems and lined the sections with sheets of expanded polystyrene, but had to leave the two strips of fibreglass single thickness to let the light through. The modern take on this building sheeting has solved the condensation problem and thermal insulation by using two sheets of the steel with a thick layer of polyurethane foam between them. The stuff is so common nowdays that getting some should be easy wherever you live.

Definitely insulate! Minimises risk of condensation and the rust fairy taking up residence.

Keeps it much more snug in the winter, and cooler in summer heat..

But do build in some ventilation, with a small inlet high up and an equally small outlet, at floor level, preferably diagonally opposite, to allow the slight air flow to ventilate as great an area as possible. The vents need some form of mesh across them to prevent spiders and other insect life coming in.

Unless the exhaust is ducted to the outside, don'tb use combustion heaters of any sort, only electrical heat. With good insulation in roof and walls, and floor if possible, the heater will soon warm the place up and only cut in for short periods.

HTH

Howard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzxSJ_KewxQ

Believe this the video from a thread of steviegtr's

DaveD

I would agree with Duncan Webster about the condensation issues that I imagine would be quite serious in a steel building, although I have no experience of a steel-built workshop myself. I have had a pre-cast concrete workshop for more than twenty years and it has performed very well in my opinion. There is no real issue with condensation or corrosion on its contents although I do keep an old convector heater switched to its very lowest setting on 24/7/365. This kicks in at about 55 deg's so the workshop is always of an acceptable temperature.

The only problem I did have, and it was entirely my own fault, was that the corrugated 'asbestos' roof began to get hair-line cracks in it which were not immediately obvious because I had lined the underside with insulating material. This had been caused by me hanging various shelves etc. from the steel A-frame trusses and over-loading them. As soon as I discovered this I removed the internal insulation material and laid 2" x 2" purlins along the outside of the roof and attached a coated-steel roof to them with insulation between the now sub-roof and the new steel one. Since then I have had no problems whatsoever.

Perhaps you might consider pre-cast concrete as another option. Mine is a 21' x 13' garage but minus the up-and-over door. The door aperture is filled by a wooden 'site office' type front with 3' wide French double doors and a window. The floor is just the concrete raft which was laid to carry the building and is covered by a polythene membrane, treated 13mm ply sheets, another polythene sheet then cheap 6mm laminate flooring. As I said, everything has proven to be more than satisfactory and the building has performed very well for me.

Whatever type of construction is chosen, if the building is visible to neighbours, would it be worth gathering their opinions?

I recall seeing a survey suggesting that prefabricated steel and concrete buildings were the most "hated" addition to a garden!

Many years ago I helped out a local guy who drew out plans for house extensions, garages and the like. He always made a point of getting the neighbours "on-side" before committing too much time to the actual drawing.

Just recently there have been ructions between nearby neighbours over a prefab concrete building going up. An ugly building that appeared without warning. The problems stem from the planting that has been done by nearby neighbours to hide the building.

John

John MC raises a fair point about trying to keep the neighbours on side but you have to bear in mind that some people will object to anything just because they can and no amount of diplomacy in trying to meet their objections will suffice. I had just such an experience myself but over the construction of a conservatory. I had lived in harmony with one neighbour for fourteen years, we often chatted over the garden fence and co-operated quite amicably. When the Maitresse de Maison wanted a conservatory I informed the neighbour and explained that, although we didn't need planning permission, if he had any reasonable suggestions to make I would take them on board and try to accommodate them if possible. He response was, verbatim, "it's your property, Chris, you can do what you like on it." That was until construction actually began and then you would have thought that the Third World War had broken out. Every possible insult and accusation was slung at me which resulted in m'learned friends being consulted, at great expense, who advised me what I already knew and that I was perfectly within my rights and the neighbour was spouting claptrap. So you just never know. There's now't so queer as folk, as they say. Fortunately, after the neighbour had so obviously made a damned fool of himself in the eyes of the village he sold his property and moved on. To conclude, might I say that, in my opinion, a pebble-dash pre-cast concrete structure is more likely to befit a domestic milieu than maybe an industrial looking sheet steel type of construction.