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Shed To Ultimate Football Hideaway
Published: 10/08/2014
The football season is upon us again and we are all expecting to see one of most competitive seasons to-date. As fans of the sport we wanted to ensure that men and women up and down this great country have the space and facilities to enjoy some of the “epic battles” in the days, weeks and months to come. So we thought that developing a simple guide to turning your garden shed into a football hideaway for these big games would be of great value to those who haven’t got the space in their home to entertain friends or sit back and relax.
So if you haven’t got the space to unwind or entertain in your own home and you fancy turning your unused shed into a “lad pad” for the afternoon or the foreseeable future then please do follow these four simple steps to create a safe Football Hideaway.
Step 1: Clear the Shed
If you want to do things right then you need to invest time into clearing away the heap of clutter and crap you have a collected over the years. If you have goods of value you can sell them on eBay or your local 'Items for Sale' Facebook page. Use FreeCycle for items you want to give away for free or try the 'Free to a Good Home' Facebook Group. If you want to get rid of rubbish you can find your local waste centre here. The rule is if you haven't used it for two years then it's time to get rid of it! As many of you would have never cleaned out a garden shed before, I would advise that you follow these simple steps: · Remove all valuables and waste. · Clean: Vacuum clean/sweep the floor – relocate all bugs and creepy crawlies to the garden and use a soap and detergent mixture in warm water to wash the walls and floors · Tidy: You want to make sure you have all your sharp and heavy items stored appropriately – you don’t want things to go flying around the shed when you are jumping and down like a lonely when your team score a winning goal! · Create Space: You will hopefully be introducing seats or a sofa, a TV and stand, a table and - if you have - a one a mini fridge into the shed so it would be wise to neatly pile all your everyday items into one or two corners of your shed. Leave a clearing for your kit, this way you will avoid having to jump over the rake when you and your mate are carrying that 60inch flat screen TV!
Step 2: Source Free Goods
The internet is awash with ads for free items so you have potential to pick up some interesting and exotic items for your hide-away and all you have to do is go and pick them up. There are some fantastic website and groups out there that help people get rid of unwanted items so if you want to pick up a free armchair, old-school TV for the wooden family garden shed or a sheep skin carpet or even a old shed take a look at one or a few of the following sites/groups:
- https://uk.freecycle.org/
- https://www.gumtree.com/
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-to-a-good-home/242966229068151
- https://www.freeads.co.uk/uk/freestuff/
- https://www.preloved.co.uk/
Please be wise when sourcing these free items for your shed, you will need to take into consideration the length and width of the goods you bring home. Don’t go picking up a sofa that is half the length of the shed as it is impractical and will only become a nuisance
. 
Step Three: Installation
Now that you have hopefully sourced a comfy seat, a TV and stand you can now get everything installed all ready for the power to be set-up. I hope you would already know how to set up a sofa and TV stand so it is really just the Television you need to make sure is secure on the stand and is in no way placed in a position that encourages overheating. You need to avoid having the television placed flat against your panels– you should be leaving a gap for the cables anyway so think ahead! Place the TV and stand in the most accessible place, you need to be making it as easy as possible for you and your friends to access the building and effortless to connect the power source and Arial to the system later on. 
Source Power
This is the most important step, not only because you will be moving or installation a TV but you will be sourcing electricity from your home. If you plan on watching your TV in your shed as a one-off or every now and then you will only need to think about investing in a waterproof extension-cable. You will need to invest in a durable and lengthy cable that can start from the closest plug-socket your home has to offer, to then sit comfortably in your shed - You do not want you sockets exposed to the elements! Again, you need smart, do not have the cable hanging from a windows; it is best placed on the ground and tucked into the edges and corners of your garden and shed so it is not a trip hazard. If you plan on adding something a bit more permanent it is worth doing your research and getting a professional in!
Sourcing the Signal
If you have a Smart TV then you should be able to pick up the matches through the various applications on your TV through your homes Wi-Fi signal. You can also access the games using Chrome-Cast or a similar Dongle, Sky Go or various other third party applications. For those without Wi-Fi and or a Smart TV then you will have to extend your coax cable to reach your shed. This is a is relatively easy and cheap to do and you will find a wealth of guides on YouTube helping you do this, try https://youtu.be/IHftRSaZTCc or https://youtu.be/IQvdNwmLBzs Please make sure that you disconnect the cables before lengthen and make sure you invest in the right cable and connections! To air-on the side of caution we would recommend running your Arial Cable through a Cable protection conduit - you can pick one up for around £10. Even though the cable its self would probably be safe to use outside it would be wise to protect the fragile cable as it can get nicked or worn easily.
Step Four: Relaxation
Hopefully you have either put in the hard work and was able to get everything set-up yourself or you found someone to do the hard work for you. Either way well done, you can now sit back and relax and watch the game! If you do decide to make your hideaway more permeant or would even like to take it to the next level you might want to consider some of the following:
