Having trouble building a shed base.

Cardboard tubes stop at around 6-7" for some reason, I have one but I think I'll use it as a cat scratching post rather than waste it.

Fuzz said:
cut bottom out of a bucket.
Dig holes for you piers
Fill hole with concrete mix
When filled to ground level place bucket upside down over hole and continue to fill.
Level off at required datum height.
Repeat for other piers until complete
Click to expand...

That's a pretty good solution, thanks :)
 
Ok, this is my idea instead of using the concrete blocks to sit the frame on.

IMG_4703.jpg


I have made some timber shutters out of the crate that my blocks etc were delivered on. I will make 4 of them and then lay them out on the grass where I want my corners to be and level them. Dig the hole about the same size as the frames, then fill the holes with concrete. Lay the frames over the top and then fill to the top with concrete and scrape it off so its level with the shuttering.

I'll use 6 of them, 3 each side. Does this sound ok? Its all I can think of without having to go out and buy more materials.

Also does anyone know if I could smash the concrete blocks up to use at the bottom of the holes as hardcore? or I could use some of the ballast as I got loads of it. I have a few red bricks and some stone I could mix in.
 
The other thing you could do is get some posts that are treated for below grade, and dig holes, then stick the post in, get it plumb, then pour concrete around it.

Then you can mark them level at the height you want and cut the tops off. Then use a post cap connector to attach the beams to the top of them.

http://www.shedking.net/shed-foundation.html
 
Your idea would work fine too though. I'd probably secure the wood to the concrete with a hammer drill and some wedge anchors in that case.
 
Great! Glad I don't need to buy any more materials as I have spent a fortune so far.

As for securing the timber frame to the pads, I was thinking of making some L brackets out of some aluminium chequer plate I have lying around. Then screwing it to the concrete pads using concrete screws. But wedge anchors would probably be better. I'll pick some up soon.

Now I just need to find something to do with these 16 medium density concrete blocks I bought :o.
 
You'll need a lot of concrete to fill that shuttering :confused:

What happened to attaching a timber frame to foot square piers?
That would be a lot easier to get level before you built a shed on top.

You can get cheap U shaped brackets that cement in, they use them for fencing but supporting a timber frame is much the same idea.


Edit
http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/AB-ABA-ABE-ABU.asp

Not quite what I was thinking of, but same idea.
 
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bitslice said:
You'll need a lot of concrete to fill that shuttering :confused:

What happened to attaching a timber frame to foot square piers?
That would be a lot easier to get level before you built a shed on top.

You can get cheap U shaped brackets that cement in, they use them for fencing but supporting a timber frame is much the same idea.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm doing. That frame is 360mm x 360mm x 70mm, which is a little more than a foot, but I just used the length of the concrete blocks as a guide.

I will make them a foot sq actually. I have 18 bags of ballast and 3 bags of cement which should be enough but i'd rather not have to go buy more.
 
IMG_4705.jpg


Got the frame slapped together today. I used 2 together for the middle as there will be a concrete pad in the middle at each side so that should add some strength.

I'll probably put some of the blocks i got under the beams in the middle to take any bounce out of them. They should be ok under the shed protected from the weather.

IMG_4706.jpg


Used these to fix it together. So much better than using screws.

I didnt quite realise how big the shed was until the base went together. Hope 6 concrete pads will be enough..
 
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Its 10' by 8'. Hope I can get away with 6 though as i have put them 2 joists in the centre of the frame. I'll see what its like after pouring the concrete for the corners.

The floor of the shed has what looks to be 2" by 2" runners, running the length of the shed and then there is 16mm T&G floor boards on top of them. So I'd imagine that the floor runners would help spread the load a bit.

I'm wondering whether to dig a couple more holes in the centre to take any bounce out of the frame. Or maybe just jam some concrete blocks under.
 
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well the base looks solid, and being as the runners are going to go the length of the shed i reckon that should be pretty stable.

the priority is obviously to make sure the 6 pads you have planned are a decent enough size to support it properly.

but if its possible, i'd be tempted to put the pads 3x3, down the left/right hand sides and through the centre line of the shed, just for support more than anything else.

thats more down to me wanting a belt and braces approach, as the size wood you've used for the base is solid enough.
 
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touch said:
Is there a reason for having it off the ground?

When we put up our shed, we had it sitting straight on a base of paving slabs.
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it stops rot. the higher up off the ground the better the airflow. if its too low snow etc can rot the base.

we just had some gravel from the previous owner (for their hot tub) so we just flattened it and put along some treated bearers, got that flat and then erected shed on it. it was a bit fiddly though. much easier to just lay slabs as they are much easier to get flat.
 
IMG_4711.jpg


I have dug out and poured the concrete for the 4 corners and I'm also going to put some concrete pads down the centre to make 9 total, on the advice of mp260767. If I have to buy some more stuff I will as id rather it was right.

Would it be a good idea to bed the frame onto the concrete pads with some sand and cement? Or just pack it where necessary and then screw it down with L brackets and concrete screws?
 
is there a reason you think your need to do anything to the frame, looking at it, it seems to be a fairly weighty thing, so unless your locating it somewhere in an open area that gets really windy i can't see it moving.
 
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