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I'm looking to get a shed in the garden to store (amongst other junk) our old ride on lawn mower and an outdoor table tennis table. Thinking size will be ~18x10 ish though i need to sit down and work out exact dimensions. I'll be putting down a concrete base given the size.
Most of the sheds i'm looking at (Tiger etc) come with a wooden floor which i'm guessing adds to the structural strength.
If i'm going to be driving a ride on mower in/out then instinct tells me i will want to not have a wooden base/floor and instead leave the concrete base as the finished floor. Will this affect the strength? Do i need to look at some different type of structures (wooden garages)?
Any advice welcome!
You'd need to tie the walls into the floor, so either place wooden batons around the edge of the floor screwed into the concrete floor with the shed being assembled on top of the wooden batons, or just place the shed walls directly on the floor and screw then directly into the concrete floor. Probably want to put a damp proof membrane between any wood and concrete to prevent the wood from rotting out.
I'd tie in the wall structure to the floor using concrete fence post supports e.g.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/sabrefix-bolt-down-post-supports-75-x-75mm-2-pack/99237
in fact I'd diy the whole structure using those supports (100mm), 100mm fence posts, basic joists, clad with ply then epdm for the whole roof, insulate it if you want, save a fortune
If you put a concrete base in then do it exactly the same size as the shed, so that the walls will shed water off the edges of the slab. will keep the base nice and dry then.
Keep the timber off the concrete floor, anywhere water can pool will end up rotting it away. Concrete slab, do a course or two of bricks then timber walls on top of that.
Colin Furze's shed is to that style:
UKworkshop has a similar design with good detail drawings, it might be overkill for insulation etc but can leave some of that out. https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/build-a-shed-mikes-way.39389/
The concrete slab should be 40mm less than the shed size so the wood overhangs over the concrete and drips off.
ie 20 mm less 4 sides with the cladding 20mm below the concrete and the level bang on to save shimmin
Just finishing up a 16x10 shed. We had a wonky slab of concrete - could have either levelled it (needed a lot of levelling) or built up. We chose to build up an ever-so-slightly elevated timber base (2x4 beams every 12 inches, feet on a 24 inch grid) to get a decent flat level them 25mm softwood ply. Plenty strong enough to drive a mower on. All straightforward work, although slightly awkward handling the timbers at that size.
Slab it. Course of block on the perimeter and then build from.timber of choice.
Wouldn't recommend 100mm fence posts that will be an expensive shed.
2*4 kit wit relevent sized timbers for the roof based on span and roof design.
Clad in treated timber of choice.
Box profile tin roof with over hang and gutters.
Look after the wood and it'll probably outlast you.
My 14x10ft shed was built on top of a poured concrete base with DPC underneath. While concrete was wet laid 4x2s flat along the edges with a few carriage bolts protruding from bottom of 4x2s. The 4x2s were laid an inch overhanging the base.
Base was a few inches above ground level. Walls were 4x2 framework with tongue and groove timber. Lowest board hung just below top of base so rain drips clear of it.
16 years later no rot anywhere. Just replaced tongue and groove this year. Original was not great quality, fairly thin, and a few gaps developed as planks shrank slightly over the years. Probably my fault as it was the first time I had done it and didn't take enough care getting them snug together over full length.
Interior walls 8x4 sheets screwed to walls. So pretty secure. Windows were fairly small, well off ground, and frosted glass for security.
Still on original coated steel sheet roof. There is a join halfway down slope which has need a bit of sealing over the years as water seeped into the joint. Using it again I would make sure I sealed the overlap better at the build stage. Gutter drains into gravel soakway.
Wouldn’t recommend 100mm fence posts that will be an expensive shed.
2*4 kit wit relevent sized timbers for the roof based on span and roof design
I've gone with stud timbers on 16" spacing for walls. Plenty strong. Especially when boarded inside and clad outside. Space between filled with insulation boards, too. Posh option would be boarded inside AND out, then use battens to keep the cladding off the boards.
I did a basic roof truss, from 2X3. Used 2' spacing between trusses. Long stud timber on each truss to tie the wall plates. 18mm OSB sheets, no problem walking around on it. Going again I might have done a flat roof with thicker joists, maybe 2x6? - would have been easier. Truss looks nicer though.
If ours holds up as well as IRCs I'll be happy.