Joiner's man shed gets lockdown vinyl makeover
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It is a quirky lockdown project that also has sound eco credentials.
Self-employed Brora joiner Alan Hastings, who is currently on furlough, came up with a novel makeover scheme to pass the time.
He has used old vinyl records sourced from Blythswood Trust to clad the man shed in his garden at Victoria Road, giving it a unique new look. And in so doing he has saved 400 records from going to landfill.
The distinctive shed revamp was nominated in an Absolute Radio contest to find the top three Best Use of Garden Hometime
Mr Hastings (44) took around 18 hours to clad the shed with help from his wife Wendy Sutherland and young daughter Fara.
They gave the colourful record labels three coats of yacht varnish to withstand the weather and are delighted with the finished look.
“It looks really good”, said Ms Sutherland who added that they hit on the idea after learning from Blythswood Trust recycling manager Willie Mackintosh that he had hundreds of vinyl records he was unable to shift and which were destined for landfill.
While working on the shed, Mr Hastings was listening to radio show Hometime with Andy Bush and Richie Firth who invited listeners to send in images of their garden lockdown projects.
His project was nominated as among the top three submitted.
And a friend of Mr Hastings was so impressed at the shed that he is now set to follow suit.
Ms Sutherland, an avid recycler, who has turned vhs boxes into pencil cases for a charity working in Kenya, said: “Alan put a picture on an upcycling Facebook page and it went viral. He has now been contacted by someone in Denmark who is keen to undertake something similar. We have a wee wood shed and Alan said he might cover that with records next!”
Have you a lockdown project to tell us about? Email: editor@northern-times.co.uk
