Snooker room - Things to consider

[DandyA]

I don't know what to say....that is incredible. I think I am building homes in the wrong country...

Les, I'm sure most of us here in Blightey would be happy to swap the "garage" we live in for your mansion in Canada if you do decide to move over to this side of the pond

[philip in china]

That Guardian item won't run here. It is probably blocked. I get the general idea, though.

Property prices in UK are so crazy that is why I bought the place in Bulgaria. Where in the UK could an ordinary chap have a house with a 60 square metre snooker room?

[jrc750]

That Guardian item won't run here. It is probably blocked. I get the general idea, though.

Property prices in UK are so crazy that is why I bought the place in Bulgaria. Where in the UK could an ordinary chap have a house with a 60 square metre snooker room?

Here you go Philip
Most expensive garage in Britain sold for £550,000
Former coach house in south London auctioned off for almost triple its guide price

A garage in south London has become the most expensive ever sold in Britain, going for £550,000 at auction.

The 568 sq ft former coach house, which was used as a garage by the mayor of Southwark, went for almost triple its guide price, despite not having planning permission to turn it into a home.

The price paid for the "empty shell" by an anonymous buyer beat the previous record, held by a garage under the shadow of Harrods in Knightsbridge, west London, by £25,000.

Homes in terraced streets nearby in the "up and coming" Camberwell area of the capital usually sell for between £500,000 and £600,000. The double height brick building, which has vaulted ceilings, roller steel door and cobbled drive, was given an estimate of £200,000 by auctioneers Andrew Scott Robertson.
Its sale at a much higher price surprised auctioneer Jeremy Lamb, who said: "It's in a reasonable state, but there are quite a few cracks in the walls.

"We had about six or seven bidders at the auction – a mixture of residential developers, investors, potential occupiers and artists. However, the number of bidders quickly dropped as the price went up."

Lamb put down the high price to London's housing crisis - with demand for properties far outstripping supply
pic here

[philip in china]

Thank you for that. Of course as long as everything in UK has to be crammed within the M25 prices are going to be crazy. I know some Londoners feel sorry for anybody who lives elsewhere in the country but I have never subscribed to that doctrine.

[Geoff Large]

It's big enough , a full size table a bed and a toilet and it's habitable

[shafter]

hi chaps, tried to upload a couple of pics but keep saying fault!! any ideas??

[147_shark]

Snooker Room Update :-)

Hello people,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all. Finally after weeks of waiting and exchanging emails with the inspector. I am now able to progress! As Geoff previously mentioned, I was considering the option of a log cabin, this was because even with a solid 9 inch brick wall, I found the internal WIDTH was still falling short of the recommended 16 FEET.

I got in touch with bespokelogcabins who offered a tailored service to satisfy my room requirements. Over the weeks, we exchanged emails, which included all the drawings, plans, specification and price. Once this was all agreed, I then had to run it past building control. Guess what happened then?

I spent the next two weeks or so forwarding emails from the inspector to bespokelogcabins and vice versa. The main issue I faced here was to do with the fire rating of the log cabin. Due to its proximity to the boundary, the inspector was concerned about the risk of fire spread. Now I don't want to bore you guys so to cut a long story short, 2 weeks later, the inspector was finally convinced and was happy for me to make the purchase. Now, while this was all going on, I had the workers completing the ground work as in preparing the concrete base (see pictures attached)

Log Cabin Spec
Width Internal 4.94 m
External 5.1 m to outside of walls/5.3 to log ends
Roof overhang 60cm front, 30 cm at sides
Depth: Internal 7.84m

External 8 m
Roof overhang 60cm front, 30 cm rear
Wall log: 80mm laminated spruce log

Doors 1 x 3/4 double glazed French doors with safety glass and multi-point espag locking
1 x single solid external doors with multi-point espag locking
Windows 2 x 80/120 double glazed tilt & turn window
1 x 50/130 double glazed tilt window

Floor 50x 50 mm treated floor bearers, 29mm pine tongue and groove floor,
Ceiling Tongue and groove ceiling, purlins 120/250 , sarkin board ready to received EDPM
single ply membrane (not included)

Roof insulation Not included: recommended to insulate between the purlins
Floor insulation Not included: 50mm of Kingspan or equivalent insulation between floor bearers

Rainwater Not included
Miscellaneous Skirting boards, fascias and soffit boards as required, bolts and fixings to clamp
structure (top to bottom), draught excluder and expanding foam tape

Delivery 8 weeks from approved drawings

Notes:
Offer subject to contract
80 mm laminated wall logs chosen to ensure to support heavy large roof
House quality laminated timber frame windows, with 24mm double glazed units with ECO glass.
Safety glass in French doors.
Windows and doors can be factory painted in choice of RAL colours
Wall logs, fascias, soffit boards etc. will require treating with timber preservative/intumescent
treatmant as required

Not included:
Foundations
Service connections to cabin
Engineers structural calculations
Interior decoration
Offload and lifting of large beams if required
Assembly

The above spec was quality but all came at a very heavy price tag!
I need to get some rest now and will continue tomorrow with more pictures to share!

[DeanH]

thanks for the update great read, sounding like all is there now
Question, was there any issue with the internal "step in" that some log cabins have for the extra length?
not sure of the term but down the long side inside you sometimes see on the pictures a step-in buttress, obviously this would impair the snooker play.

[lesedwards]

Looking Good, the worst is over now comes the fun stuff. I always say when I start a house once the foundation is in and back filled I am winning. Now everything you do you can see the progress. Keep the photos coming.

[Geoff Large]

So I guess you selling your lawn mower now ?

Looking good , I am sure the wood building will be better at keeping the damp away , the wood cabins always seem warmer to me when I am working in them .

Geoff

[lesedwards]

So I guess you selling your lawn mower now ?

Looking good , I am sure the wood building will be better at keeping the damp away , the wood cabins always seem warmer to me when I am working in them .

Geoff

Good one Geoff, I was thinking the same thing, less grass means more Snooker Time.....

[throtts]

If I was to do it again I would go for a high quality log cabin, not one of those cheap big sheds.

Also, remember to fill the interior walls with girlie pics, good for concentration.

[j6uk]

a punchbag

[throtts]

Cross trainer, stick it in the corner. Good for fitness / stamina and will help you fight trouser disease (belly over the top trouser button)..

[147_shark]

Hang on Hang on Hang onnnnnnn! I had'nt finished, and since when did I mention that I chose to go with the Log cabin? The log cabin itself was over £15K just supplied. Considering it excluded the following:

Insulation to the roof and the floor
Electric feed
Interior decoration
Offload and lifting of the large beams
drainage
Assembly

I had to go back to my original plan (brick/block work) as it would have cost me an extra 15 to 20K to get all above added not forgetting that I haven't even yet paid for a full size snooker table.
So back I went firing emails to the inspector trying to see what my options are to get that flippin 16 FEET of width!
What I found with the inspectors is that unless you don't ask they wont give you the answer your looking for. And because I was building without any plans or drawings, I had to rely on the inspector for the correct way forward.

100mm block gives you 100mm thickness. Either solid double block wall or single block with piers.
Single block or brick with piers would be OK. We would ask for a pier every 2.5m and fully tied in.
For an unheated space, is there a particular thermal u value I need to achieve on the single skin block \ bricks with piers?
No not in an unheated space. Its essentially a garage type structure.

So there you have it. Single blocks with the piers is the way to go if space is an issue. I am now just within the 16 feet (pier to pier) which also takes the length to 26 feet. The walls will be rendered on the outside, battened, insulated, boarded and skimmed on the inside. I will be doubling up the insulation to the roof and floor to compensate for non cavity walls. I hope this post serves a great tip and a helping hand to all those who are still thinking of making their dream come true. Will keep you all posted with the progress.