I'm amazed how many companies are out there now selling tiny tin sheds for £15k or more and I'm even more amazed by how many idiots are actually paying for them
I'm amazed that you are amazed. As long as there are idiots, there will be con-men.
I think it would be far easier and cheaper just to reclaim your land and erect your shed. If your neighbour ever comes back and then complains, then have the shed dismantled and re-assembled your garden. Simples!
Looks like a sensible advice. If the OP could post a (rough) plan of his property (and neighbouring properties) with proper indications it would greatly help us understand the actual problem.
Astronomers have been building structures like this for decades, so worth a google for 'roll off shed'. My observatory (ie a techy shed) has a roll-off roof and I used the castors from an old supermarket trolley someone one kindly threw over my hedge many years before. One problem was that I had to lock the rotating wheel mount plates as the wheels can move in any direction (usually the wrong one, as anyone who has come across a 'dodgy' supermarket trolley will know!)
You could get some rotatable wheels/castors like these (many other types and suppliers available):
and fit them to the bottom, one in each corner, making sure to fit them to the structural timbers and not the weaker floor planks. The shed could then be moved in any direction. The shed needs to have a good strong floor and the area must be hard standing of some type so that the wheels don't sink in. Also check that the maximum load of the castors isn't exceeded so that's another area you would want to over-engineer by obtaining strong ones.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Astronomers have been building structures like this for decades, so worth a google for 'roll off shed'. My observatory (ie a techy shed) has a roll-off roof and I used the castors from an old supermarket trolley someone one kindly threw over my hedge many years before. One problem was that I had to lock the rotating wheel mount plates as the wheels can move in any direction (usually the wrong one, as anyone who has come across a 'dodgy' supermarket trolley will know!)
You could get some rotatable wheels/castors like these (many other types and suppliers available):
and fit them to the bottom, one in each corner, making sure to fit them to the structural timbers and not the weaker floor planks. The shed could then be moved in any direction. The shed needs to have a good strong floor and the area must be hard standing of some type so that the wheels don't sink in. Also check that the maximum load of the castors isn't exceeded so that's another area you would want to over-engineer by obtaining strong ones.
This is a really great supplier, thanks! Good points about the casters, though I feel to make the shed weather tight it will have to be on a strong-base.
I think work the track out first (if you want to go for a track) and then work up from there. If your neighbours have to have uneffected access over the tracks then you might have to fit them so they're flush with the ground level, but you risk them getting full of dirt and jambing the wheels up. Any C channel mild steel would do the job as a track for shepherd hut style wheels to fit into and you could cut oak timbers or recyled plastic sleepers to fit into the channel until you need to move the building to stop things falling in, including people (and chock the wheels of the hut).
Great suggestions here, as someone who works in the film industry we often make moving platforms out of skate wheels and scaff-tube... I'll just have to upscale and make it so it lasts works for at least a few years.
Roughly what is your budget going to be? A real home DIY project or a bit of a budget to fix a long term problem?
You need to find a local Blacksmith, also speak to metal fabrication companies locally they may give you a solution or person who can help or may know of a smith, if you can't find one.
What do you envision in front of the shed? Using a trailer base sounds good but with a caravan or trailer base you then have an ugly hitch/tow bar of metal to get in the way. Though you may be able to have that altered.
Tyres deteriorate over time, an expense and faff to replace.
You can change the orientation of wheels like the shepherd huts. It does not have to be that shape and does not sound like it will be anyway.
Also look up tiny houses, diy. A brief look showed some links to folks with step by step pictures of home made projects which give you an idea of the works involved even if not exactly what you are looking for. Good luck hope you do it and show us the project.
Thanks great suggestions, I'll start contacting blacksmiths and see what their suggestions are - I think I may have to scale the size back a little, considering the bigget it is the more potential weight a track system would have to take.
From what you say the land belongs to the homes it backs onto, nobody uses it, and the alley serves no purpose other than to grant access to one resident who is never there. Bonkers.
Are all the other neighbours to the right aware of the extra 3/4ft they own? I'd be egging them on to reclaim their bit. Just make sure you get your shed kit delivered into your back garden first... before the fences go up 😉.
Yes its crazy, I also have just found out that my neibour who is causing this issue has made a contract with their other neibour (who has reclaimed their alley) not to reclaim the alley, because they want to retain access (despite reclaiming it themselves!) I don't know what legal standing of that is!
This is all such BS. While I sympathise, these access alleyways are really really useful. Like for when you want to put your bins out. Or carry something into the garden. We have a terrace with a communal way down the back, the deeds specify that it should remain unblocked. And you get the odd selfish dog owner, blocking the path, saying it's needed for their pooch. Of course it's then a case of they are doing it, so I'll do it. And so on. Garden access then becomes a complete pain. Like whenever I want to take my bike out. What about a moped or motorbike storage? Yes I'm bitter about this! I'd be well p'd off if I returned to my property to find access blocked, and it looked semi-permanent. Sorry, but I'll need to slide your shed back today, to carry in some aggregate. What a drag.
We had an alleyway behind our previous house which was rarely used, except for me doing guerrilla gardening, drug dealers, taxi drivers wanting a quick pee and a burglar I disturbed trying to break into the back of next door. I got all 13 neighbours to agree (eventually) and to help fund a set of made to measure iron gates (with thirteen sets of keys!) The Council chipped in with funding because of the drugs problem and hey presto, problem solved.
This is all such BS. While I sympathise, these access alleyways are really really useful. Like for when you want to put your bins out. Or carry something into the garden. We have a terrace with a communal way down the back, the deeds specify that it should remain unblocked. And you get the odd selfish dog owner, blocking the path, saying it's needed for their pooch. Of course it's then a case of they are doing it, so I'll do it. And so on. Garden access then becomes a complete pain. Like whenever I want to take my bike out. What about a moped or motorbike storage? Yes I'm bitter about this! I'd be well p'd off if I returned to my property to find access blocked, and it looked semi-permanent. Sorry, but I'll need to slide your shed back today, to carry in some aggregate. What a drag.
That aside, sounds fun!
I assumed it would be more a case of slide the shed into the alley when the garden is in use and the space was needed then slide it back when no one is out there. I agree it would be a pain if it was the other way around and the alley was in use a lot but it was suggested that it didn't get used at all except in exceptional circumstances.
I had a further idea though. What about a double rail system? One rail holds the side and back walls and a green roof, the other rail holds the inside of the shed. You could then slide back the roof on sunny days and be effectively working outside. It might even work on the single rail if you could detach the middle and just leave it on legs.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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That aside, sounds fun!