Home Dojo

[Gyakuto]

I had my dream dashed yesterday…

I moved to the coastal south of England and decided a wooden home dojo a little like a dance studio of 8mx4m would be perfect for my daily practise. My budget was £30,000. I called various contractors but nobody would touch the project siting the high roof (3m) as being beyond their skills! Until one contractor, a carpenter, said he could do it and did a rough sketch on the back of an envelop and he said he could do it for £30k but evaded my requests for a formal contract - my spider senses were tingling at all this. He put down the concrete foundations (£5,000) and bought £5,000 of timber which still sits on my driveway. Then he disappeared without explanation for 18 months, but was spotted working on a large building project in my town. Eventually, I told him I no longer required his services as he was ‘taking the urine’ with his behaviour and instead took on the firm who have done a brilliant job replacing my 80s bathrooms… real craftsmen! They came round yesterday to price up the job accurately with an architect’s drawing they had made in the summer. They made their list, phones several suppliers to get the best materials prices and then added it all up. £71,000!!! I can’t justify this expense so my dream has been permanently shelved.

 

[Gyakuto]

This does mean I have some money left to maybe visit Japan again of the beaten track…or Iceland, but a home dojo I could pop into each morning for a couple of hours practise, some yoga, meditation…gone!

 

[Steve]

I had my dream dashed yesterday…

I moved to the coastal south of England and decided a wooden home dojo a little like a dance studio of 8mx4m would be perfect for my daily practise. My budget was £30,000. I called various contractors but nobody would touch the project siting the high roof (3m) as being beyond their skills! Until one contractor, a carpenter, said he could do it and did a rough sketch on the back of an envelop and he said he could do it for £30k but evaded my requests for a formal contract - my spider senses were tingling at all this. He put down the concrete foundations (£5,000) and bought £5,000 of timber which still sits on my driveway. Then he disappeared without explanation for 18 months, but was spotted working on a large building project in my town. Eventually, I told him I no longer required his services as he was ‘taking the urine’ with his behaviour and instead took on the firm who have done a brilliant job replacing my 80s bathrooms… real craftsmen! They came round yesterday to price up the job accurately with an architect’s drawing they had made in the summer. They made their list, phones several suppliers to get the best materials prices and then added it all up. £71,000!!! I can’t justify this expense so my dream has been permanently shelved.

Not sure about over there, but over here, if the slab is already poured, you could looked into a prefabricated out-building of some kind that might be modified. You can get something built to your spec and then basically assemble it on site.

 

[Gyakuto]

Not sure about over there, but over here, if the slab is already poured, you could looked into a prefabricated out-building of some kind that might be modified. You can get something built to your spec and then basically assemble it on site.

The problem is the height of the ceiling and hence roof. Few seem to be capable of achieving the 3m height I require or at least that’s what they tell me over the phone. The A frame would need to be custom built which was expensive. If I went down the permanent construction route, I’d need local authority planning permission which probably wouldn’t be granted as my property backs onto a country park

 

[Xue Sheng]

The problem is the height of the ceiling and hence roof. Few seem to be capable of achieving the 3m height I require or at least that’s what they tell me over the phone. The A frame would need to be custom built which was expensive. If I went down the permanent construction route, I’d need local authority planning permission which probably wouldn’t be granted as my property backs onto a country park

Gambrel roof, better yet a Gambrel frame, would give you more room than an A-Frame. But likely be equally as expensive, if not more expensive.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I don't know how often @yak sao checks in here anymore, but you might want to shoot him a message. He has a very nice small custom training hall built in his side yard. I don't remember exactly how high the ceiling is, but it seemed reasonably spacious. (Being tall, I'm sensitive to low ceilings.) He might have some tips on how he built that.

 

[Steve]

The problem is the height of the ceiling and hence roof. Few seem to be capable of achieving the 3m height I require or at least that’s what they tell me over the phone. The A frame would need to be custom built which was expensive. If I went down the permanent construction route, I’d need local authority planning permission which probably wouldn’t be granted as my property backs onto a country park

Are you looking for something that has power, heat, and plumbing, or just a building? I don’t doubt you at all. I’m just trying to figure out why a 9’ or so ceiling is a big deal. I mean, I have 9’ ceilings throughout my house, and 12’ ceilings in my garage. Doesn’t seem like an architectural marvel.

 

[Gyakuto]

Are you looking for something that has power, heat, and plumbing, or just a building? I don’t doubt you at all. I’m just trying to figure out why a 9’ or so ceiling is a big deal. I mean, I have 9’ ceilings throughout my house, and 12’ ceilings in my garage. Doesn’t seem like an architectural marvel.

Just power for heating and lighting, Steve. There doesn’t seem to be much of a tradition of wooden-framed building here in the U.K. and I imagine the skills have been lost. I understand, from my Franco-American friend, that wooden-framed buildings are quite standard in the USA and said she ‘had a shed put up in her yard for 4,500$’. But this was going to be more than a drafty, damp, cold shed. Here is the drawing and costs breakdown-

 

[Alan0354]

I had my dream dashed yesterday…

I moved to the coastal south of England and decided a wooden home dojo a little like a dance studio of 8mx4m would be perfect for my daily practise. My budget was £30,000. I called various contractors but nobody would touch the project siting the high roof (3m) as being beyond their skills! Until one contractor, a carpenter, said he could do it and did a rough sketch on the back of an envelop and he said he could do it for £30k but evaded my requests for a formal contract - my spider senses were tingling at all this. He put down the concrete foundations (£5,000) and bought £5,000 of timber which still sits on my driveway. Then he disappeared without explanation for 18 months, but was spotted working on a large building project in my town. Eventually, I told him I no longer required his services as he was ‘taking the urine’ with his behaviour and instead took on the firm who have done a brilliant job replacing my 80s bathrooms… real craftsmen! They came round yesterday to price up the job accurately with an architect’s drawing they had made in the summer. They made their list, phones several suppliers to get the best materials prices and then added it all up. £71,000!!! I can’t justify this expense so my dream has been permanently shelved.

Can you get someone else to finish the job depends on how good is the foundation. You can't let the wood sit too long out in the rain. Don't give up.

Looks like you have the drawings, get someone to do it. there is a lot of advantage to have gym/dojo at home. I spent a lot of effort to hang two heavy bags in the garage, not just hang, I literally built the whole supporting poles for the bags and the bags is not hanging on the original structure per say.

Working out at home saver a lot of time. When I went to the gym before the pandemic, I talked too much, I work harder at home.