Martin's Small Work Shed

[martin.a.ball]

After another winter tinkering away in a damp single skin garage trying to keep rust off my hand tools, I've decided it is time to build a proper shed to work in. There is a very small area behind the garage, the plan is nothing new compare with other threads but in summary is:-

• 3.6m x 2.4m (12'x8' in old money)

• 100mm x 50mm framing

• insulated floor and walls

• cladding to be decided

• flat or pent style roof

• recycled upvc door and windows

I've never taken on a project with this much construction so I thought a thread would be a good idea. Whilst I was thinking about the foundations and starting to worry about the work involved in a concrete slab, Mike published a post on Build A Shed Mike's Way, Without Using Concrete, so that is where I'll be starting.

 

[martin.a.ball]

This is the site for the new shed. Everything is going to be tight but there is space for 3.6m x 2.4m and enough room to maneuver between the garage and fence.

Ground level slopes from right to left but the main challenge is figuring out the floor height. Ideally I'd like it to be close to the decking height so there isn't a step up or down when entering.

 

[MikeG.]

Good luck with this! We all like a workshop build.......

Make sure that if there is a step that it's a step up, not down, otherwise water will find its way in.

 

[Bm101]

Good luck with this! We all like a workshop build.......

Make sure that if there is a step that it's a step up, not down, otherwise water will find its way in.

Different situation but ... memories...
Reminds me of my hard landscaping days. Many years ago a company I was working for did a nice redesign and install on two level patio, pond etc. Good firm and good work. Client wanted two sets of steps which made sense with the design. Nice place down in Kent. Oast house conversion. Clients were an older professional couple. Very classy in the old fashioned way that they were educated (law or professors etc memory fails me) rich, polite, and very very nice with it. Just nice genuine people.
The client's come home one day and wants to come onto the new patio.
'Can you wait till tomorrow? it's all a bit green, we're climbing up the rockery to get out'
No problems he calls out.
Next day he gets back from work or bowls or golf.
'Alright to pop down chaps?'
'Of course! come down and take a look! Oh you'll need to use the other steps though. These are the up ones' says our ancient bricklayer.
'Ahhhh. Of course. Absolutely.'
He walks 20 metres and comes down the other set of steps. On his own, brand new patio.
:shock:
For the rest of the two weeks odd we were there he made certain to only come down the longer circuitous path to the down steps after work everyday and up the others.
I wonder if there was a point he stopped mid stride at one point and muttered 'Ohhhhh you B*ggers!' under his breath then never ever mentioned it to anyone or if to this day he is still using the two way steps.

I like to think so.

Good luck with the build! (hammer)

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Good luck with this - have you managed to clear the area for the build yet?

Martin

 

[martin.a.ball]

Good luck with this! We all like a workshop build.......

Make sure that if there is a step that it's a step up, not down, otherwise water will find its way in.

Hi Mike.

Delighted you are the first person to comment on the thread, especially as I'm going to follow your designs as much as possible. Thanks for all the effort you have put into the build threads in the past.

I'm aiming to have the decking level with the top of the sole plate so that the floor is close to but slightly above, so a small step up. A quick hack to your diagram might be easier to see what I mean:-

I appreciate one of the reasons for the dwarf wall is to prevent splash back from the ground level, however, the decking is already there and I need to work with it. I might have to accept the bottom couple of rows of cladding are sacrificial and fixed in a way that they can be replaced if needed.

 

[martin.a.ball]

For the rest of the two weeks odd we were there he made certain to only come down the longer circuitous path to the down steps after work everyday and up the others.
I wonder if there was a point he stopped mid stride at one point and muttered 'Ohhhhh you B*ggers!' under his breath then never ever mentioned it to anyone or if to this day he is still using the two way steps.

An online forum I use for a different hobby has a funny button, its a shame we don't here as like doesn't quite cut it.

 

[martin.a.ball]

Good luck with this - have you managed to clear the area for the build yet?

Martin

yes, the photo above was from a few weeks ago.

Some of the paving slabs and bricks were crushed as best I could with a sledgehammer and reused as material for the foundation. In the first deviation from Mike's design I also managed to pick up 30 free dense blocks off Gumtree. These all needed mortar cleaning off them with a bolster and lump hammer.

First observation. Free is good, but free adds time.

 

[MikeG.]

It's essential to raise the lowest piece of the timber structure substantially off the ground.....a min of 150mm is usually OK.......and it's not just because of splashing. The ground is damp, and timber in contact with the ground will rot. Find a way of incorporating the plinth, or your work will soon be wasted.

 

[martin.a.ball]

It's essential to raise the lowest piece of the timber structure substantially off the ground.....a min of 150mm is usually OK.......and it's not just because of splashing. The ground is damp, and timber in contact with the ground will rot. Find a way of incorporating the plinth, or your work will soon be wasted.

I think if I keep a gap between the decking and the shed it will work. The next few photos should make sense of this.

 

[martin.a.ball]

First part of the foundation followed BUILD A SHED MIKE'S WAY, WITHOUT CONCRETE. I dug a 300mm wide trench and filled with suitable ballast material. some was crushed from old pavers and bricks with the rest bought from the local Wickes. I raked in a bag of cement to the mix which is a trick I've seen used on patios and then compacted using a sledgehammer dropped repeatedly until flat and level (no whacker plate).

In place of the concrete lintels, I had some free dense blocks off gumtree which are 220mm high. This isn't quite concrete free as I had to mix some mortar by hand but it shows you can do this without hiring a cement mixer if you do a bit at a time.

 

[Starjump]

I hope it all goes well and good luck.
My workshop is a similar size, self-built a few years back and without much experience of building. I put a concrete slab down and a dwarf wall, about 4 bricks high around 3 and a bit sides of the shed leaving space for the door. I put a single row of bricks under the doorway threshold. Anyway I would like to echo the sentiment that a keeping the lowest timbers off the floor pays dividends. That and a well constructed roof should keep your tools dry!
All the best.

 

[martin.a.ball]

Test fit of the sole plate and floor joist to see how much more soil I need to remove. I'll leave the final measurement until after I've laid the damp proof course and sole plate as the mortar will make a difference.

 

[martin.a.ball]

As I had a spare bit of time I thought I would get the damp proof course down, so followed the technique in this 2 minute youtube video, How to lay a DPC. Felt good to cross one more task off.

Then it rained, hard, the water got under the DPC and it all came unstuck.

So I'll have to redo the DPC but next time I'll make sure I have time to lay the sole plate at the same time and weigh the whole thing down.

 

[martin.a.ball]

Part of Mike's design in BUILD A SHED MIKE'S WAY, WITHOUT CONCRETE are periscope under floor vents. Screwfix have them here, each vents covers 6 square meters so I went for two.

The vent is intended to sit behind an air brick, so when offered up to the sole plate is was too high.

Fortunately if you turn it upside down it becomes a perfect fit.

You can just see the start of the sole plate being laid on a bed of mortar.

 

[martin.a.ball]

odd, couldn't add two photos to the previous post.

 

[martin.a.ball]

Nice dry day so the DPC was relaid, then sole plate laid all round. This approach makes leveling relatively easy and a good solid base to work up from.

Air Vents have been added, one at each end. Here is a close up showing a snug fit once there we turned upside down.

 

[martin.a.ball]

Galvanized steel strap was used to secure the sole plate to the block wall. I also decided to strap the sole plate together.

And use the same method across the air vents

 

[martin.a.ball]

I've include this photo as a reminder of the amount of soil that I've shifted. Whilst I've found the build easier and cheaper that a concrete slab there has been a lot of digging and creative disposal of barrow loads of soil around our garden, it was borderline get a skip at some points.

Anyhow the base is complete. This feels like a mini milestone as the digging gear can finally go back in the shed.

Total spend at end of May was £75, but this will increase quickly as I start to buy the timber for floor, walls and roof .

 

[martin.a.ball]

On to the floor. Following Mike's design I used jiffy style joist hangers, this 4 min video has a neat tip to only nail up one side of the hanger before offering up the floor joist. There is a knack to getting the top of the joist level but gets easier the more you do, joists are 47mm x 150mm (2"x6").

And the completed floor.

Daft question. There is nothing to fix the weed membrane to so I weighed it down with a few stones. What do folks normally use, some sort of stake?