How to turn shed into a gym?

[Sugar]

Hi folks,

After long surgery break, planning to get into project slowly. This project has been one of my dream projects, and now since I need to take care of my health, I am planning to turn my shed's area to gym area. 

Pictures attached.

I have divided this project in few parts:

1.) Retaining the wall (around the Shed's) / or retaining all the way from front.

Following are the pictures. 

      Whether to use Concrete Sleeper/ or something else?

      How hard will it be (considering I will do it slowly). Mainly looking for functionality than aesthetic part.

      How to dig holes/spaces for sleepers?

      This project will open door for my another project (flattening the backyard)

2.) Door fixing

     It has been one DESIRE since long time ago to have a proper door. Like this. Our Bunning Workshop member has done it. 

Current post on the wall: 

3.) Flooring 

     The ground with pebbles is inclined towards the edges (fences) This might be blocked using retaining the wall (mentioned in point 1.) How to work on floor after that? The floor is going to have gym equipment. i would prefer strong concrete flooring. But open for suggestions. 

4.) Existing Shed

    What do you recommend to do with the existing shed ? This shed has covered at least 40% of the area, as can be seen on the pictures. This has got no any valuable items and we can survive without it and it's okay if it is still there. But I see sometimes the value of open space I will get once I remove this or even replace with smaller one. Currently, the shed sits on concrete slab. 

5.) Making the area enjoyable (environmentally safe)

    We have trees at the back of this area. I have cut the grown branches. And If I am going to do the retaining wall, then it might take away some plants. I am concerned about the insect and mosquitoes especially after evening, plus spider of course. If I take the Shed away, I will not only have Gym area, but small area for BBQ too, which will be awesome, and it has already a covered area. Enjoyable, as my 4+ son will like this area too. I am thinking of installing some nets  to mosquitoes on the top section (between roof and top of the side gate door).

6.) Or, Shall I start the Retaining from front part too.

I do not want to sound over ambitious but a project is a project. It's a 617sq. meter land and a corner house. The corner/front side of the house is inclined land with some trees as you can see. I would be so good to have this area retained and concret flooring the surface in the front. Hence, while my Shed to Gym area is one of the dream project, wouldn't it be one achievable project at the same time ? 

Green and Red are the areas where I wan to retain.

I may sound over estimating things but if this is something doable ( I am going to take it slowly), do you think this is something I can possible achieve ? If so, I would like the experienced guidance on this, tools, methodology and constant communication.

God bless you all. 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Sugar,

There's certainly a lot to unpack here, so I'm glad to hear that you are dividing it into smaller individual projects. It is certainly much more achievable if you do this, and in the future, when you start to get things moving, it is probably best to break things into individual project posts so the community and Workshop team can better help. Lots of information is good, but when you're looking for specific advice, it can get really difficult to work through everything if it's all packed in together.

The retaining wall will be the first step, as securing the ground is super important. Concrete sleepers are a good option, and putting them in with retaining posts is a simple way to do it. They are not the hardest thing in the world to build, but it is heavy work that requires lots of digging and shifting heavy materials. If you take your time, it is certainly achievable, but it will be a lot of work. If there was one part of the project I'd suggest you look into having a contractor do, it would be the retaining wall, especially if you want to extend it all the way to the front of the property.

The gate shouldn't be too difficult; you'd just need to put in some posts to attach it to. We can easily help you with this when it comes time to do it.

I'd be looking at putting in a reinforced concrete slab for your gym equipment to sit on. You could then put rubber gym tiles over the top. Again, concreting is heavy and laborious work. Large slabs are not the place to learn concreting, so maybe consider having a concreter do this for you.

What you do with the shed depends on how much space you need for your gym equipment. You can keep it, get rid of it, or replace it. Whatever suits you best.

Right now, you're in that wonderful first stage of a plan where anything is possible; you just have to imagine it. Once you put it on paper and start working out the logistics of things, things you hadn't thought of will become apparent, and the reality of how to make it happen will become clearer.

At this stage, I'd encourage you to start drawing up some plans with measurements and the location of things so you and our community can get a better idea of what you are aiming to achieve.

I'm excited to help you out on your dream project journey.

Jacob