Shed/Garage build

cooper_man

Hey lads, Im currently building a concrete shed and just looking for some advice on the materials.

It is 12ftX10ft and i just need to work out how many blocks i need. It will need to be about 7ft tall with 4inch blocks in the foundation and 9inch hollow cavity blocks for walls. Any ideas on how many i need?

Also, i am looking for advice on:

The door, what should i go for and where? Ideally a garage door or a double door.

Where should I buy hardcore stone from for the floor and foundation?

JohnButler

HI mate,

im taking into account here that there will be no peaks and its just gonna be a flat roof.

If thats the case you will need 270 cavitys.

You are aswell to get a full bail of 4" solid blocks. There is 88 in a bale. I calculated you need 60 solids for a double course on top of your found which would be ample provided you have a good concrete base. You will also need a double row of solids over any window or door lintol for strenght. Then you need to close off the cavity with a single row of solids all round. So you may need a few more but you could play it by ear, as you can by them in singles in a lot of places.

You will also need 9" DPC, 9" lintols for any windows or door opes, sills if needed.

Im not sure what kind of door your using but if its pretty wide you may have to use a steel RSJ. Concrete lintols are only made to a certain length and any wider they would be to weak. Are you goin for a roller garage door or just a double door? Will you be keeping a car in it?

Hardcore can be bought from any quarry and if your not stuck for space your aswell to get delivered.

Hope this helps anyway and any further questions fire away!

JB

cooper_man

John thanks a million for your reply! Finally great to get some good information!

Where do you recommend buying the blocks and lintols?

I am going for a double door, i just dont know where to get it, the garage will never store a car because there is no car access but it will have a motorcycle stored in it regularly.

There will be no windows, just a door so a length of lintol for the supporting door would be ideal. The roof I am planning is a leanto roof with timber and felt or possibly tiled depending on budget.

The main concern now is where to buy the hardcore and extras.

I have a voucher for outhaus in swords, i know they are expensive but i need to use the vouchers! ha ha

JohnButler

Im not sure where your based but its best to ring around different quarries and get prices for what you need. Roadstone, Keegan, Goode all do blocks, hardcore etc. Generally its cheaper dealing directly with these guys as opposed to going through a hardware or somewhere like that. But if you have a voucher for outhaus then see how much you can get there with your voucher.

I deal with a crowd outside Clane in Co.Kildare called Painstown Precast for any precast stuff i need, like lintols and sills. But this may not be convinient for you. Saying that there are loads of places you can get these things, just have to whip out the old golden pages!

The only things i could recommend watching out for are firstly, when your setting out your building make sure everything is square. Measure from corner to corner diagonally to make sure its square.
Secondly when measuring length of lintol you need be sure to come onto the wall no less than 6". Ive seen people measure up for lintols and measuring between door opes and then wondering why they wont sit on the wall!
And thirdly, it might sound stupid, but dont forget your DPC between your block on flat on the foundation and the start of your cavity block wall. You wouldnt believe the amount of people ive seen forget their DPC and have to then take down the work they have done to put it in!Heartbreaking!

Anything else i can help you with the feel free!

JB

dubtom

If I may throw a suggestion in,when digging the founds throw the muck into the room as opposed to chucking it away, like I did,only to have to buy twice the amount of hardcore to bring it up to level,christ I kicked myself after that one.:D

cooper_man

Thanks for all the tips guys! Really appreciate your help.

I think I have everything prepped well, i need to order hardcore and sand possibly and other than that things are 100%. Finding a good value door is proving to be an issue but ill continue to shop around for that.

Everything seems to be going fine and your tips will definitely be taken on board. If i run into any roadworks on the way i will give you guys a shout again! Thanks for your help.

RKQ

dubtom wrote: »

If I may throw a suggestion in,when digging the founds throw the muck into the room as opposed to chucking it away, like I did,only to have to buy twice the amount of hardcore to bring it up to level,christ I kicked myself after that one.:D

The Gods were watching you - clay in the base of a floor is bad!:eek:
You might "think" you made a mistake but you actually did the right thing.

Stone Hardcore is cheap, nits together and once whacked, it won't sink! Clay will sink.

Do not put soil in your floor - it will sink and crack your slab!

evolving_doors

Hi cooperman

Dunno if this is worthy advice but it sounded logical at the time,,

friend of mine currently planning shed like yourself,, what he's doing is looking for a cheap door from a salvage yard first and then taking his measurements for shed from there...:pac:

cooper_man

JB, you interested in doing the work for me?

flynnboy

JohnButler wrote: »

You will also need a double row of solids over any window or door lintol for strenght. Then you need to close off the cavity with a single row of solids all round. So you may need a few more but you could play it by ear, as you can by them in singles in a lot of places.
JB

Hi I am soon going to be building up a gable end wall to enclose my open fronted stone outbuilding. JB are you saying that really the whole wall needs to be two rows of block thick as I am putting both a window and a door in it? Also, should I use the blocks laid with the wider dimension down or the narrow side down, I would have thought it easier to set them level laying them wide side down ???

Should I use solid block or cavity block ? The gable is 4.5 mtrs high and the width at ground is 4 mtrs.

Thanks for any help

JohnButler

cooper_man wrote: »

JB, you interested in doing the work for me?

Cooper Man where are you based? What stage are you at with the build?

JB

JohnButler

flynnboy wrote: »

Hi I am soon going to be building up a gable end wall to enclose my open fronted stone outbuilding. JB are you saying that really the whole wall needs to be two rows of block thick as I am putting both a window and a door in it? Also, should I use the blocks laid with the wider dimension down or the narrow side down, I would have thought it easier to set them level laying them wide side down ???

Should I use solid block or cavity block ? The gable is 4.5 mtrs high and the width at ground is 4 mtrs.

Thanks for any help

Flynnboy are you covering stonework with blockwork? Or is the gable on your stone outbuilding open? Like is there anything there or is it just a big opening?


JB

flynnboy

Thanks for coming back to me JB

It is just a complete open front i.e. two parallel stone sides topped with an open ^

The roof has to be renewed also so I'll be replacing all of the roof timbers and putting a new panelled roof on, in other words really it will be just two stone wall profiles left & right by the time I have stripped the roof off. I need to close the front off and put a window and door in it.

I thought of another question in addition to the ones I have already posted, how do I tie the new blocks to the existing stone side walls ?

flynnboy

JohnButler

flynnboy wrote: »

Thanks for coming back to me JB

It is just a complete open front i.e. two parallel stone sides topped with an open ^

The roof has to be renewed also so I'll be replacing all of the roof timbers and putting a new panelled roof on, in other words really it will be just two stone wall profiles left & right by the time I have stripped the roof off. I need to close the front off and put a window and door in it.

I thought of another question in addition to the ones I have already posted, how do I tie the new blocks to the existing stone side walls ?

flynnboy

Ah cool thats grand, just wasnt sure what way it was and wasnt able to picture it. Have it perfect now!

Ok so your better off doing it with cavity blocks. The two courses of block on flat i mentioned before have to run over the length of the lintol you use for door and window. It just strengthens up the lintol considering the weight that is pushed down on it.

You will need to dig your found and pour a nice pad of concrete prior to building. You may need a double row of solids on top of your found to start depending on your ground. If its soft or not.

Will it be a single door or double door? Size window? Always best to have sizes ready so you know what ope sizes to leave.

As for joining the stone to blockwork...ive done it before but only using corner stones or brickwork so it ties in nice and neatly. Is the stonework nice and firm? Or is it loose and crumbly? If nice and tight you could drive right angled brackets with rawplugs and long screws into the stonework. Be sure to do it into a stone and not a joint because joint will be too soft.
If thats no good you could knock out a stone and every other course and tie in your blockwork that way. Would need to be plastered up the side after in my opinion if you wanted it too look nice. Could be an option.

Hope this helps.

JB

flynnboy

Hi again JB

So, if the lintels have a double row of blocks over them you can buy the lintels something like 9" wide ? Sorry if that's a numbskull question but I've done lots of diy projects before but never the cavity/lintel thing.

As for window/door sizes I was kind of hoping these would come in 'standards' of certain sizes? The window about 3' - 4 ' wide x about 3' high. Door; 'standard' for single person entry (?)

As for the condition of the side stone walls, I'll have to do a little more close investigation (haven't been here long) but they seem to be 'okay'. It's difficult to tell inside especially as they have been mostly cement rendered.

I had thought about right angle brackets to tie in the blocks but prefer to tie them in to the stone, I'll decide once I've investigated the stone a little more.

When I get to the top of the gable end wall I will want to cut the last blocks on the top of the gable to meet the angle of the gable end rafters. (otherwise the profile of the gable wall left & right will be like the side section of doorsteps) How do I get this angle correct for the blocks to meet the wood nicely and how do I cut blocks ?

Thanks for your help JB you're a star:D

cooper_man

Hey Jb,

I have began excavating the soil, i have ordered the blocks and i just need to get started now to be honest

cooper_man

Oh and im in Clonee

P Davis

i supply and fit pvc coated rollor doors from 600 euro down here in wexford it shoun"t cost that much more in dublin area shop around and haggle is my advice

JohnButler

Hey cooper man sorry its taken so long to get back to you!

Unfortunately i dont really have the time to help you out. There a load of lads out there looking for work though at the moment so you wont be stuck for options.

Anything i can help you out with in the mean time fire away!

JB

tippgaafan

Just wondering what the correct method for putting DPM at window lintels when using 9i cavity blocks (single skin). Is it put over the window and brought inside and doubled back under the 1st block over the lintel ?