Gone are the days when a concrete garage was considered an ugly necessity. With modern advances concrete sheds can look good, as well as having several advantages over other types of material. The end result is a structurally sound building that has many different uses.
Prefabricated concrete is used on large building sites due to the difficulty of working with fresh concrete. It also saves costs to create panels in one site with skilled workers at hand. It is not a new concept; the world’s oldest roadway built in 3800BC was constructed with timber sections built elsewhere and brought to the site. The 20th century saw a large number of prefabricated houses being built to replace those bombed in the war. They were cheap to construct but lacked style and quality, resulting in a certain poor reputation. Today’s prefabricated buildings no longer share the poor quality of their distant relatives but are built to last, in styles that would please even the most hardened adversaries.
Concrete constructions start life as prefabricated slabs, which cut down on site construction. The time to build is shorter, therefore allowing you new concrete sheds, hobby buildings or home offices to be up and running much sooner than a brick built structure. When the slabs are being made, any specifications can be followed and individual design can be impressed. A concrete structure can be coloured at the manufacturing stage or patterns imprinted to look like brick or other designs. Concrete offers a strong, durable and totally weather proof option that will stand the test of time.
An obvious use for a concrete shed is as a garage, to keep your vehicles secure and dry. However as you realize the usefulness of your construction it is quite likely that your car will end up on the driveway as other items infiltrate and eventually take over the space. It begins on a rainy day when you need somewhere dry to build those shelves and you end up leaving the job half finished to complete something else. Before you know it tools have taken over and you now have one of the country’s many hobby buildings.
As more and more people choose to work from home concrete garages come into their own as home offices. Conveniently located next to the main house, they provide a quiet area ideal for working. With electricity built in, it is a simple process to set up a workstation complete with computer. There is adequate room for the storage of files and other important documents and shelving can easily be accommodated on the walls. Home offices situated in the concrete garage tend to be a better option than the spare bedroom as it is easier to shut out the day to day aspect of the household. If there is a connecting door this can be firmly shut during office hours or if the building is detached from the house the gap between house and office provides a visible and mental border. When you leave home offices built within concrete sheds you achieve a feeling of leaving work that is not necessarily present when the spare bedroom door is shut.
Another use for a concrete garage is as an occasional spare room. If the building is constructed with windows and a door, or a connecting door to the house, it can be made into an ideal space for visitors. With enough room to house some basic furniture it can be made very comfortable with carpet and curtains. Spare space can double as hobby buildings or home offices with very little effort.
Apart from storing your vehicles concrete sheds make ideal storage facilities. Not only are they completely weather proof but they can easily be made intruder proof. Concrete is not an easy material to destroy, particularly if the panels are enforced with steel rods. Wood can be broken and is not fire resistant like a big lump of concrete. Hobby sheds, home offices or storage spaces are safe from external fire.
A double bayed concrete garage makes an excellent meeting room or community space. A group of friends can comfortably start a yoga group in the available area, or an evening art group, for example. For a village that does not have access to its own community hall, it can fill the gap when necessary.
Perhaps your other half loves model trains but you are fed up of the tracks under your feet in the living room. Concrete sheds are the ideal place to make into hobby buildings to house these large models. Your partner can happily be ensconced within the concrete walls, pushing buttons and watching the trains charge around the track, without worrying about annoying the rest of the family.
They also make good play rooms for young children. Toys can happily be left lying around ready to be played with the following day, without the fear of being trodden on or generally getting in the way. For older children or young teenagers that need personal space, or an area to entertain their friends without embarrassing parents getting in the way, concrete sheds can be the perfect solution. The thick walls dilute the noise of gaming or music and the space is big enough to house a small pool table. As a parent, you fell happy knowing your children are safe and not roaming the streets and close enough for you to keep an eye on; unobtrusively of course!.
When you have made the investment in concrete sheds, you will always find a use for them, whatever your circumstances. As you go through the many stages of life, your needs change but your construction will stay strong and diversifies from its original garage state to home offices to hobby buildings. Whatever your need, you will wonder how you ever managed without this extra structure on your property. You may need a play room for a few years, or a temporary granny flat later on in life; a concrete garage is easy to maintain and quick to modify.
Michiel Van Kets writes articles about Garage Quotes, a premier supplier of co