A crafty man spent months transforming his old garden shed into an impressive Alpine-style ski chalet in his own backyard.
Alex Dodman, 37, from Saffron Walden, Essex, wanted to make use of his old garden shed and decided to create a Scandinavian masterpiece on a budget.
A ski chalet brings a taste of the Alps to its neighborhood not normally seen in a garden in a suburb of Essex, but NHS Ambulance worker Alex knew exactly what to do with his old garden shed, which was once an unused gym.
Not one to shy away from extreme projects, the father of two built his own swimming pool in his garden last summer, which his ski chalet now overlooks. He also previously built a home cinema and a gym.
He explained, “It’s definitely not your typical summer home, that’s for sure.
Alex Dodman, 37, from Saffron Walden, Essex, spent four months and just £2,500 turning his old garden shed into a ski-style chalet
The father of two was inspired to build the chalet in part because of the large pine trees that surround his yard
The NHS Ambulance Service employee ‘went in blindly’ as he had never done before
He said the A-frame was the “hardest part” and that he spent “a lot of time working out the Pythagorean theorem”
‘We had a big shed in the garden and it was a gymnasium, but it was never actually used. I joined a local gym and the shed just became a dumping ground.
‘Because the pool is there, I wanted the garden to look nice. There are big pine trees nearby and a big ugly shed down there looked hideous.
‘The idea for a ski chalet came from Scandinavian countries with A-frame buildings and trees all around. I thought it would look so nice, and I had quite a lot of space up there with the porch, so we could have a lot of room and sit outside by the pool.
‘It’s a much better use of space than a big, ugly shed.
‘In total, the construction of the chalet took four months, but a lot of time went into demolishing the old barn and installing the fencing, so the construction of the actual chalet took three months.
“Building the A-frame was the hardest part of the process because of its shape. I had to spend a lot of time working out the Pythagorean theorem, and I had to ask my father to help me, because it was quite difficult to figure it out. I can’t believe I ended up having to use Pythagoras.
‘The trusses are all made of wood and the roof of galvanized metal sheets four and a half meters long. I did it all myself. I got no help so it was all very manual.
“I went into it blindly because I’ve never done roofing before. It took me a long time to figure out how to cut the corners.
Mr Dodman previously built a heated swimming pool in his garden, which the chalet overlooks
Mr Dodman has over 125,000 followers online who follow his progress through his projects
Inside, the chalet is five meters wide by four meters deep and there is room for furniture
Mr Dodman said the chalet is well insulated and a TV is connected inside
The frames are all made of wood and the roof is made of galvanized metal sheets four and a half meters long
“I leaned on the DIY experiences I’ve had over the years, but knowing I wanted a specific A-frame shape, there aren’t that many videos showing how to do it, so I I learned the most by looking at pictures on Instagram and went with it.
It took Alex four months to build it alone, costing Alex a total of £2,500, and he sourced his materials from B&Q and builders merchants and also bought materials and freebies from Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
He has also furnished it inside to make it the ultimate summer home with a television, chiminea and sofas for the family to enjoy summer and winter in the chalet.
He adds, “I got the front door for free from Gumtree and then the windows came from Facebook Marketplace. I got three for £10 which was a bargain and made the frames myself.
‘It looks really good. I’m so happy with how it turned out, and I think the garden looks so much better now.
‘Inside it is five meters wide and four meters deep. It has rattan chairs and a sofa and it is all insulated and also has a TV connected. It’s like a real man cave.
‘The garden has changed so much, it’s completely different now. It used to be an overgrown mess and I managed to transform it.’