I train at 5am in an unheated garage, usually only 15mins after getting out of bed. An extra 5mins warm up isn’t essentual but it certainly makes openers and 1st interval easier.
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*turns over and pulls the duvet up a bit…
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I have a single skin breeze block shed. I decided to insulate it because everything was getting covered in black mould. For a small space, it seemed quite expensive for materials. It cost about 500 quid. I built stud work, stapled on a breathable membrane to the outside, put in 50mm rigid insulation between the studs, then a vapour barrier and then 18 osb boards on the walls, 9mm on the ceiling and some super bright led strip lights. It’s solved the damp/mould problem. I like DIY but didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I put lots of double plugs and a bench for my laptop. I’m really happy I did it.
I didn’t have much luck with a WiFi extender after all the foil insulation went in, but I ran a 20m ethernet cable from the modem and bought a cheap extender that doubles as an access point, so I get super fast WiFi.
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@downhiller where abouts in wales are you?
Echo what others have said, good socks and some gloves. You’ll get hot and sweaty, despite it being cold, so a decent fan too.
Great job for saying you didn’t know what you were doing!
£500? Ooft. Mainly for the solid insulation I guess?
Yes. The insulation was over 2/3 of the overall cost. It was £6 for a small 450mm wide sheet for kingspan. It really added up. I put a big 25mm sheet over the roof joists so the ceiling was 75mm thick. I don’t know if it was worth it, because I haven’t even heated it yet. I only go in there to train and want it to be cold, or I’m just popping in to quickly collect tools etc. I have an easel set up for painting but I don’t have the time. One day, I might spend a day in there with the heater on and a good book to read.
Google and YouTube know everything. But I always overdo the research and started panicking about thermal bridging and interstitial condensation. There was lots of contradictory information. Anyway, so far there’s no mould or damp or condensation.
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Did a cracking job, I’d not do any better and that’s my trade haha
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I found the same conflicting information when insulating and lining my van a decade ago, very annoying!
Ah, thanks Jack. Just don’t hold a spirit level to any of the walls. They’re all wonky. Ha.
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Doing up a campervan is the dream! Waiting for the kids to get out of nursery, so we can start saving again. The shed was practice. Hope you got your van toasty warm.
It’s very “basic”… But has done the job for a long time now!
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I train in the uninsulated loft but conditions are similar to yours.
The trainer warranty can be void if you leave it in humid condition. I cover mine with a plastic bag it came in. Wrap it up around the edges and protect from moisture as well as I can.
I don’t leave my shoes in the loft. They have a better chance to dry and are nice and warm when I start training (you could even put them on a radiator for 20 minutes before you go).
Sometimes winter gloves or long finger gloves are required for me (depending how cold it is). It’s the fan cooling effect and hands are always first thing the cold air hits
A fan with remote control can be useful if you don’t want to stop once you’re warmed up.
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This is a great thread. We are going to get one of these this summer. Summerhouse
I think it will be hot in the summer. New fan required. Once winter comes I will be the same boat. I live in the south east of England, so not overly cold.
My question is around TVs in the cold. Anyone had any issues with TVs in the temperatures mentioned above?
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That looks great - a friend of mine put in something similar as an office and it was absolutely cooking in summer.
I have a TV (cheap) and Apple TV in my uninsulated garage, it been sub zero in there.
Did it hold any heat in the winter? An AppleTV and TV was going to be my setup. Out of interest which tv did you get?
I’m afraid I couldnt say, or speak to the specs. It was fully powered and proper foundations put in, so I’m sure it was fine in winter.
My tv was just whatever was cheap, I think it cost £100. I actually bought it to use in the garden occasionally, so nothing I’d suffer losing.
I had something very similar. We did fit insulation in the floor and ceiling, and it had 44 mm thick walls, but often went weeks without any heating so definitely would have hovered around zero at times. Had a TV and monitor in there the whole time and had no problems. I think damp would be a bigger problem than dry cold.
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I’m in a fairly similar situation. I built a large shed at the end of our garden a few years back which doubles up as our garden storage space and pain cave. The damp/cold winter weather we get here in NI is pretty similar to what you will get on the other side of the Irish sea. Over time I have kitted the shed out in a few ways to make it more appealing on those cold winter mornings:
I added plywood sheeting to the internal walls with a layer of the bubble foil insulation which was pretty easy as the walls were studded. This wasn’t intended to fully insulate but to take the edge off the extreme fluctations of both cold and heat throughout the year. The roof already has wood/felt/aluminium. The gable ends and door are not insulated and I added a vent to one gable end to allow some airflow. I also run a desktop dehumidifier more or less all the time- it soaks up about 500ml water every few days. This is more to try and minimise the condensation from my workouts on bikes/garden tools etc.
I also floored the shed with foam interlocking mats - this was to add some insulation but mainly for comfort and noise reduction (the shed is raised off the ground with a plywood floor internally).
Security wise, the shed is alarmed with one of those caravan alarms and I have a wall mounted ‘shed shackle’ which I chain the more expensive equipment to. I have also fortified the shed door with stable bolts and a heavy duty clasp lock and padlock. There is a security movement sensor light on the corner of the shed above the door. And the windows all have blinds. Not all theft proof, but every deterrent helps.
I have a permanent turbo trainer set-up. This is beside one of the windows so I can see out. I have a desktop fan pointed at my head and one of the cleva floor fans pointed up at my body from in front of the front wheel. I have shelving in front of the bike with a space for my laptop (which I bring out every time). I tend to watch tv/cycling/sport on the laptop and use the iphone trainerroad app for workouts which I have mounted on my bike. I use noise cancelling headphones for workouts. There is electricity and wifi in the shed.
During the winter it can be <5 degrees C in the shed on a cold day so I always start with layers on and peel these off during the warm up. I usually only start the floor fan (by remote) when the intervals ramp up and I get a sweat on. In my experience a heater would not be required, even on the coldest mornings it does not take long to warm oneself up. I have never been too cold for longer than 5 minutes but i have certainly been too warm plenty of times!
I have a windowsill shelf right beside me where I keep bottles/nutrition (and sometimes a video baby monitor if I’m meant to be in charge of sleeping kids 
)
All of this means I just have to get myself out to the shed, turn off alarm, plug in laptop, open trainerroad app, change shoes and get pedalling. If I need anything done before the next workout (eg change towel, lube chain, adjust set-up or fan etc), I will do this at the end of a workout , thus minimising any potential for faffing about at the start of a workout.
Hope that helps and happy moving. Ultimately I think a shed/garage training area is much more preferable to the heat of the indoors and if you make it a bit more comfortable and appealing then the excuses to wimp out definitely get less and less.
Cheers
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