Shepherd Hut Build

[beeboybee]

Rainy Day - Some drawing time.

Has anyone on here built a Shepherd Hut-type cabin?

started designing my build but have a few questions about the Vapor barrier.

 

[Malcolm B.]

A Shepherd's hut for the missus to relax and read in is on my 'To Do' list too. The list is never ending!!!!

I used to build and repair smaller truck/large van bodies a great many years ago.

The standard construction was started on the truck/van ladder chassis with full width 4 x 2's laid at 2 ft intervals and secured by 1" vertical angle iron drilled and bolted to the metal chassis and to wood - two holes to chassis and two holes to wood.

On top of that, but after the walls were constructed, we laid 3/4" marine ply which was screwed (not nailed) to the cross pieces.

The wall uprights were bolted to the horizontal cross pieces and additionally secured below floor level to form a triangle.

The side panels were made from either aluminium or more usually 26 gauge galvanised sheet, nailed to the wood.

Once the floor and the lower walls had been fitted we sprayed a good amount of underseal all over the underneath.

We had to modify that method later when 'Plating' came in for trucks and the chassis frame etc had to be perfectly clean for the testers, so only a very thin coat of underseal was applied to the wood

I can see a problem with your centre drawing. It's not good to have wood totally enclosing an open space or spaces with no possibility of breathing. - That promotes rot - even if the wood is treated, the treatment only penetrates a short distance. If the wood is sawn, untreated wood will be exposed.

Epoxy is often used to seal wood in boat building but planks should never be completely encapsulated with epoxy. They will start to rot in the centres. The wood in draughty old house roofs last dozens of years because of ventilation,

The above description is probably a little different to a Shepherd's hut construction. For instance the walls and roof may be T&G which would look much, much better than tin sheet!

What CAD program are you using? You done a good job of designing there.

I took some photo's of a Hut that was on sale in a garden centre somewhere - for my own information and education. If you are interested, I can have a look for them.

Kind regards,

Malcolm B.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I took some photo's of a Hut that was on sale in a garden centre somewhere

like this one?

 

[beeboybee]

Hi Malcolm, yes I will be using a mixture of corrugated And timber for the exterior, thanks for your note on the Walls built before the floor sheet is installed, something I will bare in mind as the finished will be oak planks,
I Use Sketchup for work purposes so using it for these plans - also helps me estimate costs for materials.

 

[Malcolm B.]

like this one?

That's a very nice example, and far more 'traditional' - apart from the double door.

The one I studied at the garden centre was a little smaller and had the door to one side.

The roof appeared to be felt over T&G (I could see the T&G on the inside - on top of the curved roof beams} and the sides were T&G too.

I'm not too sure how the felt over T&G roof would last. I tend to 'over engineer' everything so I might not settle for something which may need replacing in five or so years.

The other thing against it was fixed axles - no steering! How anybody was expected to site it I have no idea.

Malcolm B.

 

[Malcolm B.]

Hi Malcolm, yes I will be using a mixture of corrugated And timber for the exterior, thanks for your note on the Walls built before the floor sheet is installed, something I will bare in mind as the finished will be oak planks,
I Use Sketchup for work purposes so using it for these plans - also helps me estimate costs for materials.

An oak plank finish sounds very nice. It will last a very long time, too

As I mentioned above, I tend to over engineer . . . but your floor is way beyond that. It will be extremely stiff. solid, heavy . . . and expensive and time consuming to build. One thing to remember with this type of construction on a vehicle - the more joints your create, the more joints there are to fail or cause problems.

Your steel ladder chassis should be the main strength of the vehicle. It should resist torsional twisting which will wreck any wooden framed body sitting on it, however strong. The wood is mostly cosmetic and 'shape holding';

The wall supports are fine

You don't need the 9mm ply for below the base,. Simply coat underneath with a good sealer (I use BlackJack diluted with heating oil) You could also staple strong garden fabric instead where you have indicated ply on the middle picture, to keep large insects and inquisitive birds away.

Even if you are planning to tow your hut behind a Traction Engine, you really don't need much of what you have in the floor there.

Why not go and have a look under some caravans to give you an idea. They now tend to use just ply or chip board with only the very minimum metal framing underneath - and they can withstand being poled along at 70mph on bumpy and rough roads. The strength is in the metal chassis

I'll try and find for you the photos I took - I believe some showed the underneath sections. I took them because I want to build a hut - from scratch! - Chassis, wheels, steering, etc. The lady of the house would like one with the door at the front - a la Gypsy style, a more pronounced curved roof and with steps where the horse shafts would reside. It will probably be some sort of hybrid hut!!!

Construction is a long way down the 'To Do' list! I'm betting that you will complete yours long before I even start mine!!!

I've never really made friends with SKetchup although I know a lot of people use it exclusively - probably because of the 'costing' ability.

I use FreeCad for my engineering designs. It has a bewildering number of options, functions and abilities. I probably use less than 10% of them more than 90% of the time.

Kind regards,

Malcolm B.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

That's a very nice example, and far more 'traditional' - apart from the double door.

Black Mountain Shepherd huts from Welshpool (not the proper Black Mountain where I live) they've been raking it in from the dilettante for years. They also make more 'traditional' types, their 'standard' 12'x7' starts off at an eye watering £18K without any 'extras'

 

[enrico]

I built this one. Made to look like one but wouldn,t move off the hill obviously!!
I built the frame like your pictures and ordered the curved corrugated ready painted roof to lay on the top. It came with edges to block the corrugation effect. Lined the inside with fleece and then used tounge and groove board which you can bend to do the inside of the roof. Lined the walls with kingspan and tounge and groove on the walls. Made a verandah overlooking the valley and an old kitchen door on the back!!!

 

[enrico]

A couple more photosView attachment DSC_0035.JPGView attachment DSC_0149.JPG

 

[beeboybee]

Enrico - seriously nice spot you have for it….
been looking at roof profiles so getting that drawn up one evening this week,

 

[The Poot]

A couple more photosView attachment 37151View attachment 37152

That looks like a lovely spot to chill out and you are obviously a man of many talents.
The levels don’t look very level to me though, or was this in Shropshire?

 

[Amari]

The wood in draughty old house roofs last dozens of years because of ventilation,

 

[Amari]

Dozens? Centuries in our cottage built 1420-50 (according to a survey by an architectural historian). The elm beams in the loft, beneath the thatch, are covered in soot, not because of damage by fire but because 'long houses' in those days were open to the roof with no intermediate floor and no chimneys. The hearth for the fire was in the centre of the floor. Ceilings and chimneys were added c.1600, so we are told.

 

[enrico]

That looks like a lovely spot to chill out and you are obviously a man of many talents.
The levels don’t look very level to me though, or was this in Shropshire?

You are right. That was our Shropshire home before we fell down the hill once too often. Someone else now owns the shepherd hut but it was a cool place to sit in the evening with a glass of wine

 

[enrico]

Enrico - seriously nice spot you have for it….
been looking at roof profiles so getting that drawn up one evening this week,

I can't remember who we used for the roof but they were brilliant. All the fixings etc. The difficult bit was lifting it in my own to get it on the frame, even in two parts it was heavy. I was so lucky with the interior ceiling though. By pure chance when I was going to fix them lengthways I wondered if they would bend width ways, as I pushed it up it clicked into place above the wall frames without any cutting. I could have cried, it made it look so great!

 

[JamezF]

Black Mountain Shepherd huts from Welshpool (not the proper Black Mountain where I live) they've been raking it in from the dilettante for years. They also make more 'traditional' types, their 'standard' 12'x7' starts off at an eye watering £18K without any 'extras'

There was a place in our nearest town that made bespoke huts until it shut down earlier this year. They did look lovely, but I was told the cheapest ones went for £50k!

James

 

[beeboybee]

yep - for me building it myself is only financial option - and thanks to the Strikes in USA I do have a lot of free time at moment...