Large storage shed - advice needed

[LeeElms]

I need a large (about 3mx5.5m) storage shed.

There is no problem in respect of planning permission / building regulations / covenants.

While building it myself would be a nice idea, timescales and other priorities mean this is not an option.

The main challenge is probably that is needs to be positioned with 2 sides against a 7ft high brick wall -- so the first question is whether this is a problem for wooden shed / what can be done to cope with this?

The area where the shed will go currently has a mixture of paving and raised beds (which are being removed). Bearing in mind that the shed is only to be used for storage and not working in (no heavy equipment), what is the easiest approach in respect of the base for the shed ?

Any recommendations for suppliers of wooden sheds in custom sizes would also be appreciated.

Thanks ...

 

[AJB Temple]

We have recently erected a couple of large sheds that we bought in and had professionally erected. I can email you the details of the firm we used if you PM me your email address, but lead times are around 12 weeks. Both were heavy duty (ish) timber sheds sold as workshops (though we are not using them for that). I put in a concrete base with a fall and the sheds were erected on tantalised timber slats which I have sealed off all around with gravel board (to deter rodents). If I were you I would try to keep it enough distance from the wall for you to be able to squeeze through for maintenance. Putting the building directly against the wall tends to create a wet trap.

I would try to use standard sizes if I were you. It will tend to be cheaper. Some of the metal double garage type sheds are fast to erect and roughly the size you want, and this may be a better bet for you.

Do you plan to insulate? If so, a custom build on site may well be best.

 

[finneyb]

I used chicken wire stuffed in end of and between the floor slats to deter rodents - seemed to have worked to date

Brian

 

[LeeElms]

Thanks for the input.

In particular,
- I am hoping someone has practical experience with a wooden 'shed' right up against a brick wall -- there really isn't room to allow enough access
- For advice as to the simplest way to provide a sufficient base for a 'shed' that's just used for storage.

 

[NazNomad]

Is the brick wall yours?

If so, incorporate that as two sides of your shed.

 

[LeeElms]

Yes, the wall is ours. Not sure how viable it is to 'incorporate' it into a shed that isn't built from scratch.

 

[blackrodd]

Some Good advice from A J Temple there.
You don't say how high the roof needs to be or the roof shape, truss or monopitch, makes a difference.
The base will depend on the type of building you decide on and to what purpose the building is used for.
You should be able to find all this on Jeeves or google etc.
If you are needing a concrete base for storage, and vehicular access for loading/unloading, the floor needs to be at least 6" for domestic garage type use with very light maintainance, 9" for some heavier work, or 4" for general workshop light duty domestic use, all these need various depths of compacted hardcore, sand, and a DPC.
Don't allow the rainwater to just fall and keep the area soaking wet, allow a soakaway pit and rainwater goods'
You could utilise a rain barrel and harvest the water for hand washing etc.
HTH Regards Rodders

 

[AJB Temple]

To add to above and my email that I sent to you - I did once build a workshop between the back of an oak framed garage block (that I built) and a thick 7ft tall brick wall that bordered a kitchen garden. I regretted this. It just became a wetness trap and I would not do it again unless I could arrange it so that the rainwater was thrown off top the other side of the wall or to a very good guttering system. My experience is that you need ventilation between wall and shed. You may only need a foot of space - but right against the wall would not be my first choice.

 

[treeturner123]

Hi
I've just had a new, smaller shed supplied and installed by a firm called Malvern Timber Sheds, based in Kidderminster (just to confuse). Their 'Beefed up' unit is excellent. Have a look at their web site, they certainly go to the Isle of Wight!
Phil

 

[RobinBHM]

Given that you only need 2 sides, could you email a shed manufacturer and ask them to design a 2 sided construction.

I would imagine you would need a box gutter and an apex shed roof, detailed correctly a box gutter can be made leak free
Its possible the extra over cost for a bespoke option would be offset by not needing 2 of the sides.

If it is too far removed from a standard design, then get a chippie in to build it for you. A decent first fix chippie would be able to make 2 stud walls and a roof pretty quickly.

Maybe try Tates fencing?

 

[LeeElms]

Thanks again for the advice. I'll try and follow up the leads tomorrow.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

with respect to the foundation, if it wont have any appreciable weight on it then a tamped down and carefully laid concrete slab base is perfectly OK upon which pressure treated joists are lined for the shed to sit on. I've installed 3 sheds in my time. Two were substantial and had 6" concrete slabs laid. The more recent one which is 12' x 16' was laid on concrete slabs which were in turn laid on the ground which had been tamped with a wacker plate, blinded with sharp sand but no mortar and no pointing ie the slabs are simply laid on the prepared ground. That was 8 years ago and it's as right as ninepence.

I have to say, we, as Brit's do have a tendency to over engineer our sheds with foundations you could build a skyscraper on. It's horses for courses of course and if you were going to drive on it then different matter. But a garden/storage outbuilding, wooden floor on joists on slabs is a perfectly reasonable solution for about a 20 year timeframe depending on your choice of spec for the joists which are clearly the weakest link as they're in contact with the ground and standing water. In my case I sealed the end grain and and painted the already tanalised wood with Cuprinol anti-rot stuff and as I say (they were 4x2's by the way) its showing no ill effects yet whatsoever. I've not bothered to anti-rodent it either and again, no signs and we don't have a cat and I'm yet to see a rat. Mice however...in the garage...now that's a different story!!!

Edit: when I say concrete slab I'm meaning paving slabs pre-cast as opposed to pouring a wet mix to form a "slab". Point being its substantially faster and less expensive than pouring a wet slab.

 

[AJB Temple]

Over engineered....Guilty!! When we put a potting shed in (12' by 8'), the site was miles off level. Se we dug out (by hand) graded it, put in hardcore, made timber formwork and then mixed and laid concrete ourselves, most of which my wife barrowed to the site 200 m away from where we had all the materials for mixing. In places the slab is 9" thick and steel reinforced. We made a lot of concrete.

Bear in mind that the heaviest thing likely to go in the potting shed is my wife, and she is about 60Kg wringing wet.

So yes....possibly a tad over engineered ;-)

 

[blackrodd]

with respect to the foundation, if it wont have any appreciable weight on it then a tamped down and carefully laid concrete slab base is perfectly OK upon which pressure treated joists are lined for the shed to sit on. I've installed 3 sheds in my time. Two were substantial and had 6" concrete slabs laid. The more recent one which is 12' x 16' was laid on concrete slabs which were in turn laid on the ground which had been tamped with a wacker plate, blinded with sharp sand but no mortar and no pointing ie the slabs are simply laid on the prepared ground. That was 8 years ago and it's as right as ninepence.

I have to say, we, as Brit's do have a tendency to over engineer our sheds with foundations you could build a skyscraper on. It's horses for courses of course and if you were going to drive on it then different matter. But a garden/storage outbuilding, wooden floor on joists on slabs is a perfectly reasonable solution for about a 20 year timeframe depending on your choice of spec for the joists which are clearly the weakest link as they're in contact with the ground and standing water. In my case I sealed the end grain and and painted the already tanalised wood with Cuprinol anti-rot stuff and as I say (they were 4x2's by the way) its showing no ill effects yet whatsoever. I've not bothered to anti-rodent it either and again, no signs and we don't have a cat and I'm yet to see a rat. Mice however...in the garage...now that's a different story!!!

Edit: when I say concrete slab I'm meaning paving slabs pre-cast as opposed to pouring a wet mix to form a "slab". Point being its substantially faster and less expensive than pouring a wet slab.

As R O Bob says above we can all go "overboard" on Manshed design and construction, You, the user have to decide
what you will use it for, how big and how much to spend.
Personally, I would rather "overbuild" than skimp on anything.
If you really want a cheap and fast base, As bob says whack down some hardcore and lay out and adjust concrete lintols or slabs with a bit of leveling Mortar to lay you're floor joisting on, don't forget the DPC!
Regards Rodders

 

[Billy Flitch]

[quote sheds were erected on tantalised timber slats .[/quote]

Ehm I wonder How they did that.

Sorry I couldn't resist that

 

[Billy Flitch]

Going back about 35 years ago I was fitting a kitchen out with T&G on the walls and I was using roof baton as grounds. The guy whose house it was walked into the kitchen and started to watch me I said I was using the batons for grounds and they had been treated so he would not have any trouble with them later in the day.
He just looked at me and said your telling lies, What I'm not telling lies and if your have no trust in me I may as well rap my tools up and go home now. he started laughing and said no I never said telling lies I said Tanalized . Opps I had to stand there like a big Dope and apologize.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Over engineered....Guilty!! When we put a potting shed in (12' by 8'), the site was miles off level. Se we dug out (by hand) graded it, put in hardcore, made timber formwork and then mixed and laid concrete ourselves, most of which my wife barrowed to the site 200 m away from where we had all the materials for mixing. In places the slab is 9" thick and steel reinforced. We made a lot of concrete.

Bear in mind that the heaviest thing likely to go in the potting shed is my wife, and she is about 60Kg wringing wet.

So yes....possibly a tad over engineered ;-)

Ironically it was just such an experience with my first ever shed which led me to the lighter touch version I just documented. My first effort was a belt n braces 12x14 potting shed on which, like you we hand dug the veritable "gorge" in which we poured a near endless amount of hardcore and concrete. The land was also severely sloping so it was well over a foot deep at the back end....and I'm not sure my back has ever recovered That's what drove me to want to avoid doing superfluous ground works given the use of the building was just as you say, a bit of bio rooting compound and some pricking out

And good point Rodders....don't forget the DPC even in my light touch version

Having said all that, I found myself really struggling to resist over engineering again when I built the last one...it's part of our heritage for goodness sake

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My father was a builder and he always said you spend your money below the floor and above the upstairs ceiling - i.e. the parts you can't easily alter afterwards. Even with sheds etc. there's an element of sense in that.

 

[Lons]

As a retired builder who has the luxury of having kept a couple of mixers and a wacker plate etc it's easy for me to over engineer as well but really not necessary for a storage shed however large. Some of the shed bases I've seen have had more concrete than you need to build a house.

I have a 5m x 3m home built (solid and heavy) wood shed and a h/d plastic 4m x 4.5m both on a decent wacked base with 900 x 600 paving slabs laid on mortar dabs over a DPm. The wood one has been up 15 years and plastic jobbie for 5 and neither moved whatsoever. Both are storage and stuffed full and one of them also houses my little tractor.
A wood shed would likely fall down before the flags gave way - providing the sub base is properly prepared!

Many thousands of driveways were constructed of those 3x2 or 2x2 flags laid on sand sprinkled with mortar and though they cracked and moved over time were strong enough to withstand the daily movement of vehicles driving over and parked on them so certainly capable of foot traffic.
If you consider a typical patio is 35 to 40mm paving flags on mortar dabs are perfectly suitable of heavy foot traffic it kinds of puts things into perspective.

 

[No skills]

Now if we can just get building control to see sense.