Last month I finally got round to converting the overgrown mouldy shed in our back garden into a luxury apartment for our 2 rabbits. Originally when we bought the house earlier this year we had intended on just removing the whole shed however then decided it might make a nice enlarged hutch with a bit of work and some cheap DIY.

First stage was to cut back all the overgrown thorns and vines that had creeped over from our neighbour’s side and begun working their way onto of the shed and garage. I made sure to get right back to the roots to stop them growing back each spring.

Old felt removed and cutting out the new pieces

Next was to remove the old roof. The felt on this had peeled away in places and left the chipboard exposed to the elements resulting in damp throughout. Removing the old roof and staples was relatively easy and the shed was left for a few days in good weather to dry out. A friend had some felt sheets left over from redoing their large shed so I only had to buy the tar and nails required to stick it down.

 

The inside shelves were removed and all surfaces cleaned with a mild bleach to remove and kill any mould. It was then painted with a mould resistant outdoors paint

 

A few extra coats before leaving it to dry. I recycled an old wooden door left behind by the previous owners and cut it down to size to serve as a wall low enough to step over but high enough to stop any would-be escaping rabbits!

 

I used a spare piece of lino flooring from a friend who had recently redone their kitchen and several thin wooden boards which had come as furniture packaging to line the outside walls so the pets couldn’t chew into the shed walls. I then made a wire mesh door on some hinges which would open inwards to allow us to follow close the external shed door in really bad weather.

 

We cut off the legs from their old hutch and placed in inside so they could easily hop in and out.

 

And their luxury rabbit apartment is complete! Total costs for the project:

Shed tar – £9.74

Nails – £1.59

Wire mesh sheet – £6.48

Hinges – £1.88

Lock – £3.57

Anti-mould paint – £10

 

Total: £33.26  Alot cheaper than a new hutch price and looks nicer than the original shed. The rabbits approved.