Yet another shedshop Mike's way. Ish

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I laid out the bricks last night, just to check quantity and layout. Looks ok so far…
D2077B61-087D-4FD4-B006-BA8D8867D0F0.jpeg
 
This concrete guy, was he the lorry driver or a Structural Engineer?
The owner of the concrete firm. Not a lorry driver, not a structural engineer (as far as I know) but a guy who has poured probably hundreds of slabs. Certainly many more than I have. In hindsight I probably should have put some steel in but it's a bit late now
 
Ground erosion effects foundations, as does thermal stress, it's not just about the weight.

I note from your sketch above you have stepped the stud work back from the brickwork, it should be flush or even overhangs so the outer skin laps down onto/past the bricks and forms a drip to allow rain to run off, otherwise you will form a trap for water on the edge of the outer skin between it and the brickwork, if you can form an angle on the bottom edge of the skin material to help prevent holding the water.
 
Last edited:
Ground erosion effects foundations, as does thermal stress, it's not just about the weight.

I note from your sketch above you have stepped the stud work back from the brickwork, it should be flush or even overhangs so the outer skin laps down onto/past the bricks and forms a drip to allow rain to run off, otherwise you will form a trap for water on the edge of the outer skin between it and the brickwork, if you can form an angle on the bottom edge of the skin material to help prevent holding the water.
Yes. It’s not just about the weight of the shed. If there’s ground movement the tension forces from the weight of the concrete might be enough to crack it.

re the step back, this is (one of) the problem(s) with cheaping out on thinner timber. I’m using 3x2, nominal 63mm, leaving me 37mm gap compared to the width of the brick. Either I have the water problem you mentioned or I push the studwork out but then have to batten out the interior face of the studs to line with OSB. Or have a weird kick out at brick level. I was planning on having an arris as per Mike and BDT’s builds that would push the dpc out to the brick line and then back and under the wrap.
 
Can I ask why the diagonal bracing between the studs? The OSB is more than strong enough to brace the structure, you won't be complicating the insulation or wiring installation and save a little on wood not needed.

Pete
I don’t want OSB sitting out in the open for the (potentially long) period until the building is watertight. Seemed easier to just stick a cross brace in there and not have any OSB on site until it’s all up and watertight. I’m not entirely married to that idea though
 
Presumably you compacted the ground properly first. If you did, then it's the same as a driveway but without the car.

If it was a brick house, you might have a problem, but not with a studwork shed and it's highly unlikely that you will get much frost heave in Guernsey before the next ice age.
 
re the step back, this is (one of) the problem(s) with cheaping out on thinner timber. I’m using 3x2, nominal 63mm, leaving me 37mm gap compared to the width of the brick. Either I have the water problem you mentioned or I push the studwork out but then have to batten out the interior face of the studs to line with OSB. Or have a weird kick out at brick level. I was planning on having an arris as per Mike and BDT’s builds that would push the dpc out to the brick line and then back and under the wrap.
You could always batten out the studwork, roofing battens are cheap enough, line the studwork with a breathable membrane batten over and external clad, using ring shank SS nails.

What are you externally cladding with?
 
Next question. String from corner to corner along the long edge at the front is about 2cm out from the edge of the concrete slab. So, would you go up to the edge and have a wonky wall, go out to the string line and have an overhang (which I suppose could be packed out underneath with some additional concrete later) or go somewhere in the middle?

06A63851-6BB0-453E-8F62-D74249585484.jpeg
 
Or I guess in hindsight, lay it all out properly before you start and set your corners in by 2cm so a straight line clips the front edge of the concrete. But that ship has sailed somewhat now
 
You could always batten out the studwork, roofing battens are cheap enough, line the studwork with a breathable membrane batten over and external clad, using ring shank SS nails.

What are you externally cladding with?
Not decided yet. Either feather edge or 30cm upvc panels. The panels are about half the cost of any timber cladding I can get here. But they look butt ugly.
 
Do not even think about a wonky wall, it will cause all sorts of problems along the way with lining up the timber studwork, wall panels and even the roof, I would either hack back the concrete slab or oversail the brickwork.

I would also bring the DPC up underneath the brickwork and roof tile or some such the exposed DPC on the outside of the concrete face, I assume the DPC is not UV stable as most aren't.
 
Do not even think about a wonky wall, it will cause all sorts of problems along the way with lining up the timber studwork, wall panels and even the roof, I would either hack back the concrete slab or oversail the brickwork.

I would also bring the DPC up underneath the brickwork and roof tile or some such the exposed DPC on the outside of the concrete face, I assume the DPC is not UV stable as most aren't.

Straight brickwork would overhang the concrete by 2cm. I assume that’s the preferred option.

re the membrane, I was planning on cutting it off at ground level later
 
todays’s progress…
9A02BCCB-7DD0-41E2-B63D-B5B67AA968B4.jpeg

Lessons learnt:
  • I do not like bricklaying
  • I am not very good at bricklaying
  • When the wife tells you to get the ‘nice, rustic looking’ flaky, inconsistent, wonky, handmade bricks, just say no
  • 3D printed line holders work quite nicely
  • I do not like bricklaying
I’m actually a little surprised that my first attempt at laying bricks kinda looks straight and reasonably solid. A couple more hours tomorrow finishing off the second course and I’m on to the sole plate and DPC.
 
A little trick I found with laying bricks is to put a row of say 4ft down put a 4x2 on top and knock down gets them nice and uniform..

I put the framework to the outer edge of the bricks to keep the rain off the bricks and to give you more space inside.
 
As far as wiring goes, I used 100mm plastic trunking right around the inside of the shed at working height. I'm pleased I did, since I've added. and moved, sockets over time and it was so easy to do. I ran a 25mm trunking along the top of the house-side wall for ethernet and extra-low voltage stuff. If you use foil insulation then it might an idea to run an ethernet cable from your hub to the shed. Wifi won't be any good inside the shed, otherwise. I find Alexa useful for music and confirming the odd measurement. (Alexa, what's a third of 672?).

You should have enough CBs in the consumer unit with the RCD to supply the ring, the lights and as many 16A supplies as necessary plus one extra for the future. I found a 40A supply cable to be enough for my needs.
 
Straight brickwork would overhang the concrete by 2cm. I assume that’s the preferred option.

re the membrane, I was planning on cutting it off at ground level later
Straight brickwork overhanging the concrete would be best.

Trouble with cutting the membrane off at ground level if not finished properly it would provide a path for water to penetrate under the concrete, surprising how much water/rain runs down the outside face of a building, its not called a raft foundation for nothing. 🤔
 
Straight brickwork overhanging the concrete would be best.

Trouble with cutting the membrane off at ground level if not finished properly it would provide a path for water to penetrate under the concrete, surprising how much water/rain runs down the outside face of a building, its not called a raft foundation for nothing. 🤔
Makes sense. So this might be a stupid question but what does ‘finished properly’ look like?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top