Man transforms old shed into an impressive ski chalet in the garden: 'It's a proper man cave'
A creative man has transformed his old garden shed into an incredible Alps-style ski chalet in his own back garden.
Alex Dodman, 37, from Saffron Walden, Essex, knew he wanted to make use of his old shed, which was an unused home gym and had an idea about how he could overhaul it.
The NHS Ambulance service worker spent four months crafting his masterpiece and is now proud his impressive chalet sets his own space apart from other suburban gardens.
"It's definitely not your typical summer house that's for sure," Dodman says of the finished project.
Having recently joined a local gym, Dodman says his shed which housed gym equipment became more of a dumping ground.
Not one to shy away from extreme projects, last summer Dodman also built his own swimming pool in his garden, but the unsightly shed was taking away from the pool's outlook.
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"As the pool is there, I wanted the garden to look nice, there are big fir trees around, and having a big ugly shed down there looked horrible," he explains.
"The ski chalet idea came from Scandinavian country influences with A-frame buildings and with the trees all around I thought it would look so nice.
"There is quite a lot of space up there with the decking so we thought we could sit out by the pool."
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Dodman says the chalet took four months in total, but explained a lot of the time was spent taking down the old shed and doing the fencing.
"The frames are all made from wood and the roof is made from galvanised metal sheets," he continues.
"They were four-and-a-half meters long and I didn't get any help, so it was all very manual."
Despite some difficulties in figuring out how to cut the right angles, Dodman says he utilised his own DIY skills while also turning to the Internet for guidance.
"I leaned on the DIY experiences I've gained over the years, but because I knew I wanted a specific A-frame shape, there aren't that many videos showing how to do it so I learned most of it from looking at photos on Instagram and went with it," he explains.
The project cost Dodman £2,500 in total as he tried to keep costs down, buying materials from B&Q and builders merchants, as well as sourcing freebies from Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
He adds: "I got the front door from Gumtree for free and then the windows came from Facebook marketplace.
"I got three for £10 which was a bargain."
Inside, the retreat has been fully kitted out with a television, chiminea and sofas so the family can enjoy warm summers and cosy winters in the chalet.
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"Inside it's five metres wide by four metres deep and has got rattan chairs, a sofa and it's all insulated, with a TV hooked up too.
"It's like a proper man cave.
"I'm so happy with how it's turned out," he says of the finished project. "It looks so good and makes the garden look so much better.
"Before, it was an overgrown mess but I've managed to transform it."
Additional reporting Caters.
