Shed base questions

[mleggatt]

After a recent break in attempt on one of my old insecure wooden sheds need to replace them. I was intending on replacing the existing plastic and wooden sheds with one with a considerably more secure door on it, much smaller windows and boarding it out inside (thieves down road broke in by levering off boarding on walls). I want to use the shed for storage and a somewhere to use my indoor rower.

The new wooden shed will be approximately 15ft x 10ft (22mm T&G cladding) and and the site is currently bare earth. I have quite a few questions but the main question is relating to the base for this shed. After Googling this subject it seems the easiest way of building this is to put the shed on concrete piers with wooden joists and bearers placed over a layer of weedstop and gravel. The most useful site I found for this was:

Sonotube/Concrete Footings for sheds

I have a few questions about the constructions of this:

Piers
I was intending on having 12 piers in total (3 rows of 4, giving approx 5' Spans on beams) using one of the following:
100mm cardboard (Sonotube???) filled with concrete
100mm plastic tubing filled with concrete.
Eazi-forma building forms

The first two I would use these to fit timbers the timbers into:
Metpost concrete ins

1. I am not sure which of these is the best method to use?
2. Will I need to put reinforcing rods in these?
3. Do I need this many piers?
4. Should 50cm in the ground be enough?

Beams and Runners
I was intending on using pressure treated timber, with 6x2 timbers for the beams and 4x2 timbers for the runners and matching them up so that they tie in with the sheds bearers.

1. Would I need to board over these timbers
2. Is 5' spacing for 6x2" size timber o.k? (bearing in mind shed size)

Boarding inside of shed
As I mentioned earlier one of my neighbours sheds was broken into by removing the T&G boarding. I was intending on boarding the shed out inside to provide a second layer (possibly adding insulation in between). Can anyone suggest a cost effective boarding to do this? plywood????[/url

If anyone has details of a similar project they have completed or anwsers to the above I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance
Martin

 

[libby lou lou]

Sit it on railway sleepers, and put a shed alarm in it, these sheds, T&G are very vulnerable (crap)

 

[MasterAbacus]

If it was me, as im planning on starting next month, id put in a contrete footing then a brick base approx 2 brick high. and build off that.

as for the insides go for plasterboard, its cheap, and does the job just fine.

 

[masona]

If you live in a high crime area then I would think of something more robust. The way I did my summerhouse was to use slight second hand (half price) pre-cast concrete slabs bolted together and T&G log timber on the outside of the slabs then use a decent door with good quality lock. A bigger job but you get what you pay for.

 

[Thermo]

we always put the sheds we erect on a solid concrete base. You can bolt it to the base to improve security, and ply will be the best option for strengthening it, as plasterboard can just be punched through. Limit what you put in it though as it will always be vulnerable.

 

[mleggatt]

Thermo,

Thanks for the advice, I didn't mention it in the original posting but I wanted to avoid using a solid concrete base for a few reasons:

1. The garden has no rear access, everything will have to come through the house. Pumping cement over this distance could also be problematic.

2. It seems less work and less permanent to put in concrete piers as in the link below:
http://www.countryplans.com/foundation/index.html

3. Putting the shed on piers means that there is more of gap between the shed base and the ground, reducing the chance for damp on the shed base.

4. I have read that cement is environmentally unsound, apparently it's production produces the same weight again in CO2.

I am just in the process of working out the pier spacing and timber sizes for the joists e.t.c

Thanks again
Martin

 

[Thermo]

whatever floats your boat!

 

[ModernMaterials]

The garden has no rear access, everything will have to come through the house. Pumping cement over this distance could also be problematic.

Take your time.

Mix the concrete in a barrow.

In this order:



Ten shovels of ballast,

Two shovels of cement,

Half a builders bucket of water,

no need to rush