Garden practise shed

[winkybag99]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone in these forums has a purpose-built shed for practise? I'm currently looking to move to a new house but can't really afford anywhere semi-detached, so one option was to get a house with a decent garden and put a shed in. Don't know what the implications are for keeping the temperature/humidity well regulated and sound-proofing concerns too.

If anyone has any experience of these matters would be grateful for ANY advice!

Many thanks,

Ben

[mdw]

The massive ups and downs of temp and humidity will cause problems with the tuning and in the end may kill the piano. Sorry but theres no nice way of putting it.

[NewAge]

I agree with MDW, the variations in temp and humidity would play havoc with the stability of the tuning, not to mention deterioration of the piano in general. I suppose the installation of a Dampp-Chaser System could alleviate the problems to an extent, but in summary the idea of locating a piano in a shed is not a good one.
Which reminds me of this Monty Python sketch - concentrate on the music not the sheds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLjS3gzHetA

[Barrie Heaton]

I have a client who as the piano in a concrete garage the Garage is dry lined, the roof and floor has isolation, the piano has a 35 wat heater in it, the room as an industrial dehumidifier in there plus a heater to warm the room up in winter. The piano is fine stays on pitch quite well

If you use a wooden shed you will have to put plastic all round the inside then insulate well, you would need a big shed at least 10 x 10

Barrie,

[chrisvenables]

It probably wouldn't cost you any more to buy a 'Silent' piano than build and insulate a shed - a shed's not exactly the most pleasant and social environment in which to practise your Rach 3.

That way, you can play normal acoustic piano when the neighbours are out and go silent when they're in.

[Cascade]

Hi all

Depending on your budget you can a get very fancy shed which is more like a log cabin. I viewed a piano at a guys house once and it was in an outbuilding in his garden which was basically a giant shed. Inside it was well furnished with carpet, sofas, electrical supply for a TV etc. He told me he used the space to get away from his parents so obviously spent a fair amount of time in there so the conditions must have been fairly stable with the heaters etc. He even had a humidity dial which was showing 40% which is lower than in my house where i practice.

It looked like an expensive job but he told me it was just a wooden frame/ carcass that gets erected in day or so by a carpenter. Cost about a grand excluding the concrete foundation which you would need for a shed anyway. Of course you need a power supply running to it which isnt difficult (my shed has this as well as a concrete base beneath). I thought it was superb and gave me an idea to do the same so it can be done.

We have a shed which is quite big but it isnt well insulated. Wasnt sure whether to take it down and start again or make do with the shell and soundproof/ insulate it. Why would you need plastic on the inside walls for a wooden shed? Is this to keep moisture out? I thought of just shoving foam in the gaps and plasterboarding over. I think the main downpoint is the amount of light coming in (or lack of) and glass lets alot of sound out so bad for soundproofing so may have to use double glazing which is an expense. Be interested to know if you came up with a solution for this anyway as im sure its a pianists dream to be able to play day and night at their hearts content without bothering neighbours, family etc....Sorry for the long post!

[David B]

I think that the trouble here is the use of the word "shed". Yes, if you get a clap board thing from B&Q it will be a disaster, but there is no reason on earth why a small building in the garden can't be as dry and well insulated as the house. There are two ways to go; either use a specialist company that produces "garden rooms", or just get a builder to build you a room (double walled brick/block, isulated in between and properly lined and plastered, insulated floor, ceiling and some form of heating). Simples

[Tenor1]

I think a posh shed is called a 'Garden Room' - do a google search

[sussexpianos]

The climate system Dampp-chaser would be a must but you would need a good insulated shed(garden room) The better air tight it is, the better the system can coupe. I would also have a room de-humidifer as these will also gently heat the air during the process.

[mdw]

Despite my earlier post I may have been wrong!! Back last winter I built a poncy 3 by 4.5 meter "shed" for my wife to do her stained glass in. Since then its only moved between 37% and 72 % humidity on a digital gauge. Now thats not perfect but ive seen houses that move more. It was built to the same spec as a timber framed house. from the inside 12mm birch ply, 80mm insulation board , 11mm osb, building paper, 25mm air gap and 18mm treated cladding. Doors are 3 sliding 28mm dg in oak frames, roof is 80mm steel composite pannel and the floor has 80mm insulation and an airgap underneath. the doors were 2nd hand andI did all the labour. Materials came to just over £2k. I recon if you used a piano life saver system and put up a building like that a piano would cope. Wall specs are availble on the net.

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

I like how the google ads are showing an advert for log cabins!

[Colin Nicholson]

this is what can happen if you put a piano in or near a shed........

"Country Gardens" plays well!

[Gill the Piano]

Despite my earlier post I may have been wrong!! Back last winter I built a poncy 3 by 4.5 meter "shed" built to the same spec as a timber framed house. from the inside 12mm birch ply, 80mm insulation board , 11mm osb, building paper, 25mm air gap and 18mm treated cladding. Doors are 3 sliding 28mm dg in oak frames, roof is 80mm steel composite pannel and the floor has 80mm insulation and an airgap underneath.

Better than my house...