Allotments 4 All

I have done a search on site but can't seem to find what I'm after for advice so needed to start a new thread.

At the moment on the plot we are getting there is a rickety old thing like a shanty house and we would like to have something a bit better than whats there. I have seen on this site that some buy new sheds and even cook in them . This is the kind of use we would like in the end from whatever we put on there.

I do think that we will enjoy the allotment more if we have on site somewhere nice at least to rest the back for 5 minutes but also something that has occured to me is needing the toilet  :-[ where do you go? especially as we will be taking the kids down there and my daughter does need a loo every hour or so. My thoughts are a decent shed and take down the old camping loo bucket and put that in a corner each day just in case and take home each evening.

The problem being I am begrudging maybe having to spend a couple of hundred out on a brand new shed. Is there any other cheap ways to make a decent shed without having to be new.

How about looking locally Robanally.  I got mine for a fraction of the price, but did have to move it myself (previous owners had dismantled it though).  Once we had it up , just gave it a fresh coat of wood stain and bobs yer uncle. ;)

My "new" shed has no roof and no floor!  it does have a cat flap though ;D  We shall scrounge some timber hopefully to repair it.

Some of the sheds on our allotments look right ramshackle affairs where they've built them just using scrap bits of timber

Try and buy one second hand.  Ask at the allotment shed to see if anyone has one they don;t want.  Folks will often post a notice in their if they've got one to sell or give away.  At the mo our assoc is getting a new shed to replace two old ones and they will be given to plotholders

Look in your local advertiser  :)

You could consider making a compost toilet. Less hassle ( in a way ) than a camping loo and can benefit your plot too.

Depends what you mean by "needing the loo" - you (and your family) can just wee in a bucket (in the shed if there's anyone about!) and sling it on the compost heap. Great accelerator. Otherwise a compost toilet or a porta-potti you can take home and empty may be the answer.

I've got a tiny shed and a garden bench at one end of my lottie. Even though we live a couple of minutes walk away, it definitely allows us to spend longer on the plot as we can make tea, have a sit in the sunshine (or squeeze into the shed if it tips it down) etc. The addition of a BBQ means we've stayed down there all day when we've had the weather.

Good luck with the new plot!

Loos on the allotment have been discussed by my gang and there are various options, some cheaper than others.  Our council has put a toilet block on one set of local allotments (not ours unfortunately, I don't know though) and it's got a solar panel to heat the hot water for hand washing.  Another option was a flushing loo with a great big septic tank (needs a very big hole digging), or an earth toilet with a willow planted by the privvy to draw up the nutrients from the waste. Then there was the big chemical loo which arrives and is taken away by a contractor (dangerous chemical pollution if it gets vandalised)., chemical loo but someone has to empty and clean it.  The one we liked the sound of is a composting toilet which costs about £800.00 which works off a car battery to power a small turbine which operates a fan which helps aerate things. It's completely self contained and needs no plumbing.  The resulting compost can be used on the plot.  According to the sales blurb it needs very little attention.  Couldn't vouch for that but it would be good to hear if anyone has any experience of it

Try n' scrounge some wooden pallets & use them to knock up a shed.   It's a great way to recycle & people tend to give them away rather than pay to have them disposed off.

It's how I plan on making my lottie shed 'cos I've noticed that the posh, brand-new sheds get vandalised & the tatty-looking sheds tend to get ignored.

Regarding the loo question - I'm female but fortunately there's a very understanding petrol station 200 yards from my lottie, in return for using their facilities I tend to give the owners some of my produce.   However, when my shed is complete I plan on having a bucket in one corner of my shed specifically for one purpose & then lobbing the contents onto the compost heap.

CC

Our shed was, I think free, from an ad in the local 'rag' and it is excellent.  Darling Ava had to dismantle and rebuild, but he did without complaint, and it is a big size and perfect for me needs.

Loo, I pee in a bucket, contents of which are then chucked on the compost heap.  More info than you all probably wanted by hey, tis a natural thing!  Kids pee in a bucket also and think it is quite an adventure....little things please little minds..... ;D  I know the fella across the way pees behind his shed and I think old Jack does the same....when they vanish, and you can hear whistling, well...................

Quote from: EJ - Emma Jane on March 16, 2005, 14:13:25

Loo, I pee in a bucket, contents of which are then chucked on the compost heap.  More info than you all probably wanted by hey, tis a natural thing!  Kids pee in a bucket also and think it is quite an adventure....little things please little minds..... ;D  I know the fella across the way pees behind his shed and I think old Jack does the same....when they vanish, and you can hear whistling, well...................

Me and my son are quite brazen about it - no popping behind the shed for us!  Mrs Wivvles and daughter don't do it though - it's definitely beneath them....

:-)

I'm another one who has a bucket lurking in the shed to save me having to dash home...  those 99p supermarket/DIY store ones are brilliant to leave up at the lotties, as you can use them for comfort breaks, putting weeds in, carting manure about, and if someone walks off with it, it's not going to break the bank.

moonbells

If you can get hold of a little touring caravan they make great sheds to keep tools in and for making tea , also  with it having a table it can keep kids quiet with some a4 paper and pencils etc .They are pretty maintainance free too .You can pick them up real cheap. I paid £50 pound for mine..Think it is 13ft long..cheers ..Jim

we have got some sort of box that has been left on site we are attempting to mend it at the moment but when its done it will be great for storing stuff - but would love somewhere to sit etc

Ooh Growmore I like the sound of a caravan  ;D   Folk would think it was a scran van if you started getting a fry up going

I'm going to start scouring the 'for sale' columns  ;D

A Caravan on site.... :o

The local population would go bananas, we seem to have a scare almost every week that 'Travellers' are in the area and we must make sure the gate is locked

Like the idea though

Derek

We've got one person who has a caravan on site and we have certain reservations. One of the biggest problems for the committee is clearing rubbish from plots when they are vacated. We have visions of a derelict caravan in some years time which won't be as easy to dispose of as a shed. It's only slightly different to storing a car on your plot for shelter.

Just noticed that Focus Do it All have 6 x 4 shds for £71.25 now.

I wont have a shed on my pot because of the vandals, they burnt down 2 last year! >:(  >:(  >:( So my car is my shed, not very easy to make a cup of tea in or go to the loo! :o So sadly I have to take a flask  and if I get short, my kind neighbour has a large shed with no lock so I take my bucket in there, and contenets go on the compost heap.! (I just know he will turn up whilst I am in there one day! ;D  ;D  ;D)
I do have an old bench for sitting though, kindly donated by my sister, good to have somewhere to sit and plan and eat your sarnies! ;D

Well if tey dont allow caravans take wheels off paint it municipal green and call it a shed  :D..they look a lot tidier thn sheds built from multic coloured doors..cheers Jim

hhhmmmm. We've got to get rid of a caravan on our site - it was an immediate target for vandals (and I mean, that very evening) and then the people left it when they left the plot. Not an easy thing to get rid of - you can't just set it alight after all.

We are actively trying to make our site look nicer, but I take the point about tatty sheds being less of a target than fancy, new, bought ones... My own is a rather drunken looking structure, having been blown down a few times, made of tins. Yuck, but (touch wood, and keeping everything crossed) it doesn't get broken into. I put this down, not to how it looks, but to the sort of lock I have. The padlock and hasp jobs are very easy to break off. There are the remains of two hasps still on, and a big bolt, and a chain that hooks onto a nail. But the actual lock is a proper lock that fits on the back of the door. There is a long key that goes through the door, into the lock. To those not in the know, it doesn't look like a lock!! Very effective. The little so and sos pull back all the hasps and chains, but still can't get in. heh heh heh

Love and compost
Linda

No-one on our plots lock their sheds and just leave things lying about on the allotments which they don't mind getting nicked.  Sheds with locks on get broken into so our plotters have stopped bothering.  People just secrete their fave tools in amongst their plants or take stuff home.  Sad innit  :(

Fab shed Growmore!  I think it looks a darn sight more attractive than most of the ramshackle affairs folk laughingly call sheds.  I would have thought a caravan on wheels would be easier to dispose of.  It would look very nice with a clematis up it or some roses.  Maybe a runner bean might be more in keeping  ;D