Dawn Groom, 45, from Hertfordshire, and her husband Darren, 46, were keen to create an amazing summerhouse for their daughter Lois, 13.
But when they looked into getting a wooden cabin in their back garden, they were told this would cost anything between £16,000 and £25,000.
The parents decided to take on the project themselves instead – and save a load of money in the process.
After working hard on the DIY task in lockdown, the couple managed to create a gorgeous space for just £5,700.
Dawn and Darren kept costs down by using an old shipping container cabin from a building site and doing most of the work themselves, with some help from friends.
Dawn, who is a carer for her daughter, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘About two years ago my husband wanted to create a bigger summerhouse for our daughter Lois, 13.
‘She has a rare chromosome syndrome and was regularly sitting outside in her little playhouse.
‘He looked at the options of a wooden cabin and a full metal frame build but prices were in excess of £16,000 to £25,000, not including delivery, and most of them are miles away.’
It was Darren who came up with the idea of using an old site cabin, having spotted shipping container conversions online.
‘While looking, he came across container conversions, which are getting quite common in other countries as lower-priced living accommodation,’ Dawn explained.
‘Once he was hooked on the idea, he spent months talking me around because frankly, they are ugly! I couldn’t imagine that a big metal thing could look nice in our garden.
‘After lots of research, we decided that instead of using a shipping container, it might be cheaper to use an ex-site cabin.
‘They come with insulation, ceiling, lighting and electrics already installed.
‘This would be costly and time-consuming to install so would save us a lot of labour.
‘We then hunted for a used site cabin hoping for one with as little already inside as many come with sinks and partitions.
‘It was purchased from a company that trades in used building site machinery found on ebay and Facebook Marketplace. We have rear road access so it was delivered with a crane over the back.’
Once the cabin had been dropped off, it was time to get to work.
First the couple asked a friend to cut a hole in the front of the cabin and add in a steel frame for doors, which were fitted by a window cabin.
They stripped out all the unwanted trims and had the electrics rewired, then filled and tidied all the wall panels so they could be painted.
The floor was levelled and given a vinyl plank upgrade, then the exterior was sandblasted by someone the parents hired through Facebook Marketplace.
Darren used a hand grinder to sort out the roof himself, then together they painted the outside.
‘We wanted to swap the windows but we realised this would be an absolute job to do so I bought some cheap window film and painted over all the brown plastic frames,’ Dawn said.
‘The outcome looked so nice and modern that I was happy to settle with them being left!
‘Our friends cut the hole and made the frame as a donation to our daughter.
‘The doors were also drastically cheaper due to a fortunate situation where the window fitter had surplus. We didn’t have a hole cut so we could have any size doors.
‘The total cost of it was around £5,700. The cabin cost £3,000, the doors were £1,200, the sandblasting was £450, the paint was £260, the furniture and accessories were £550, and the flooring was £260.
‘If we had bought a summerhouse new, it would have cost at least £16,000 to £25,000!’
Once the exterior and electricals were all done, it was time to work on the interior decoration, which Dawn gave a Scandinavian theme.
She said: ‘I ordered wall art from Etsy, the rug and armchairs from Wayfair, the sofa from Made.com, the egg chair from B&M, the storage from IKEA, the flooring from ebay, the cushions from Etsy, IKEA and Home Bargains, the throw, ivy and indoor lights from Amazon, the outdoor lights from Festive Lights, the round rug from Benuta and the curtains from La Redoute.
‘I ordered chairs and sofas so that it would be a lovely place for Lois to hang out with her friends – she has named it The Zen Den!’
Dawn, Darren, and Lois are all so happy with the end result.
Dawn said: ‘It will be used all year – our daughter has disabilities and it gives her another quiet space to take time out as her bedroom is tiny.
‘There’s a TV and games in there – it’s an extra room really. It’s great as we made use of a sloped part of the garden which was wasted space.
‘Although we removed the old large heaters we have a small one so it’s cosy. It’s also perfect for family get-togethers and summer BBQs when the evenings turn cold.
‘Because it’s insulated properly it’s not too hot in the summer, and with the doors open it’s a nice shaded area.
‘This project kept us busy over lockdown. We had a lot of work but equally a lot more time to pull together to create a space our daughter loves.
‘We are really proud of ourselves. At first, I was totally against such an ugly thing being delivered, and I couldn’t see how it would ever look like those we found online!
‘I agreed because paying for a new one was never an option, only a dream, as it was outside of our financial reach.
‘The great thing is if we ever get bored or want to move it the whole thing picks up on a crane!’
Have you completed an amazing DIY project you fancy showing off?
Get in touch to tell us all about it by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/21/family-quoted-25000-for-garden-cabin-create-their-own-for-just-5700-13454919/
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