Couple convert shipping container into their very own summerhouse

After being quoted £25,000 for a summerhouse, the Groom family took things into their own hands for a huge DIY-project over lockdown.

Dawn Groom and her husband Darren worked super hard during lockdown to create a stunning outdoor cabin for just £5,700, a fraction of the price they would’ve paid for a brand new one.

The family completely transformed a former site portable cabin into a large playhouse for the summer, which is ready to be transformed into a cosy winter cabin coming as we come into the colder months.

Dawn, who is a carer for their daughter, told LatestDeals.co.uk “About two years ago my husband wanted to create a bigger summerhouse for our daughter Lois, 13.”

While looking, he came across container conversions which are getting quite common in other countries as lower-priced living accommodation.

“Once he was hooked on the idea, he spent months talking me round because frankly they are ugly! I couldn’t imagine that a big metal thing could look nice in our garden.

“After lots of research, we decided that instead of using a shipping container, it might be cheaper to use an ex-site cabin.

“They come with insulation, ceiling, lighting and electrics already installed. This would be costly and time-consuming to install so would save us a lot of labour.”

Dawn added that their pair had been searching for the ideal site cabin for a while, in the end they purchased the perfect cabin from a company that trades in used building site machinery.

As soon as it arrived, the guys got to work with cleaning and preparing it for a stylish renovation.

We filled and tidied all the wall panels ready to be painted. The floor needed a lot of work as it was quite uneven from water leaks.

“Once levelled, we used vinyl plank flooring. The outside was sandblasted by someone we found on Facebook Marketplace.

“We couldn’t afford the roof to be done with our budget so my husband used a hand grinder to do the roof himself, then together we painted the whole of the outside.

“We wanted to swap the windows but we realised this would be an absolute job to do so I bought some cheap window film and painted over all the brown plastic frames.”

The family gave a breakdown of the overall costs, the cabin cost £3,000, the doors were £1,200, the sandblasting was £450, the paint was £260, the furniture and accessories were £550, and the flooring was £260.

Which is a significant amount less than their original quote of £25K!

Have you taken on any big DIY projects over lockdown? Let us know!