Timber framed steel shed

peasant

Finally took delivery of mine today

I think they are the ideal compromise between not having a wooden shed that rots and needs maintenance and not having a steel shed that drips and needs a concrete base.

Hopefully I'll still be as convinced that I made the right decision in 20 years as I am today.

Here's mine:

Calahonda52

Supply and fit or just supply?

What was the base/foundation requirements?

peasant

In this case supply & fit

My shed is on leveled blocks as it sits on an uneven slope...concrete or gravel base not practical / too expensive.

The fact that it has a wooden base and floor was one of the main reasons why I bought it.

There are other companies as well that sell/make steel clad timber frame sheds and they come in different designs/colours /profiles.

I picked this one because there was a sample shed to actually look at and inspect nearby

peasant

this is my base



three 4 x 3 beams on leveled blocks and some offcuts thrown in for good measure

Lumen

Interesting.

This bit though, there doesn't seem to be much material transferring the roof load to the wall....?

my3cents

Did you bed the bottom blocks on concrete?

my3cents

Lumen wrote: »

Interesting.

This bit though, there doesn't seem to be much material transferring the roof load to the wall....?

...

I think the corrugations in the metal cladding provide most if not all the strength and rigidity so the load is transferred directly to the top of the wall.

peasant

Lumen wrote: »

Interesting.
This bit though, there doesn't seem to be much material transferring the roof load to the wall....?

Yeah...not 100% convinced about that bit either...but on the other hand, yer man sat on the roof while fixing the cap and nothing gave:D

my3cents wrote: »

Did you bed the bottom blocks on concrete?

no, just compacted earth (lump hammer) and a few handfuls of small stone/gravel

my3cents

peasant wrote: »

...
no, just compacted earth (lump hammer) and a few handfuls of small stone/gravel

I did both our wooden sheds with a dry mix of sand and cement as it made it a lot easier to get them all level. iirc 21 pads under the largest shed 24 x 10.

peasant

my3cents wrote: »

iirc 21 pads under the largest shed 24 x 10.

Here it's 15 pads for a 10 x 10 (and some of them are 4 blocks high)

I probably went a bit ott for this one, but that was based on bad experience with the previous shed.

When I got that many years ago I had never put up a shed/base before and so I asked the supplier what to do. They just said...put down some blocks...here are the outside dimensions.
So i put down level blocks where I thought it best and when the shed came, they of course where nowhere near where the floor beams were. The suppliers just quickly moved the blocks around and "made everything level" with wedges...which of course rotted quickly and led to premature warping and eventually failure of my shed floor

This time round I got the floor delivered first, made sure to treat it with creozote and placed the supports exactly where they should be

my3cents

Our oldest timber shed has been up 15 years now. I did replace one side this year and put in some nice hardwood windows that came out of a house that was demolished locally, I could have selectively replaced bad planks but with doing the windows it was easier just to remove and replace the lot. The effort of digging out and leveling up the foundations were will worth the effort as they shed hasn't moved at all. We flood here sometimes so I went 3 blocks (on edge) above ground for the base to rest on.

Edit> One thing I'd do in future is put a strip of DPC on top of the blocks to try and keep a bit of the damp from the blocks out of the timber.

Trasna1

Interesting.
Hard to see in the pictures, but is there any bracing in the vertical panels at all or does it rely on sheeting for rigidity?

For the sake of protecting the membrane (not sure what that is for really), sheeting the interior out with light ply would be a good idea. Especially the lower 1m, and especially so again the doors.

my3cents

Trasna1 wrote: »

Interesting.
Hard to see in the pictures, but is there any bracing in the vertical panels at all or does it rely on sheeting for rigidity?

For the sake of protecting the membrane (not sure what that is for really), sheeting the interior out with light ply would be a good idea. Especially the lower 1m, and especially so again the doors.

Condensation, all the colder surfaces are on the outside of the membrane. Then any drips from condensation on the steel stay out of the shed.

peasant

Trasna1 wrote: »

Interesting.
Hard to see in the pictures, but is there any bracing in the vertical panels at all or does it rely on sheeting for rigidity?

What you see is pretty much what you get, no additional bracing

Abbeylawn do similar sheds with a differently shaped steel, i.e not corrugated, they have the same kind of framing



and on a "proper" steel shed you get even less support

peasant

The corrugated steel is very rigid, I can lean my full weight against large unsupported panels ( the door for example) and there is no give or flex.

however...the corrugated design all round is not good for perfectionists as with the ondulating shapes you get a lot of gaps and "holes" especially in the roof line and roof corners.

Not pretty, but I look at them as natural ventilation

Trasna1

peasant wrote: »

What you see is pretty much what you get, no additional bracing

Abbeylawn do similar sheds with a differently shaped steel, i.e not corrugated, they have the same kind of framing



and on a "proper" steel shed you get even less support

The problem is that over time the sheets start to work loose, separate, and then let moisture in, which can then cause rot. It's not a big deal, just might mean you'll have to ensure the side sheets are well fixed down once a year.

The first place you'll start to notice that kind of movement would be in the door which has no diagonals. That will sag without bracing over the years.

As I said, light ply around the lower 1m will address that issue as it will give additional diaphragm action. The membrane on the door is especially vulnerable to tearing so I would definitely ply that out, as well as any areas where you intend to leave long tools like strimmers or ladders up against.

Roen

Well wear on the shed!
One quick question. I'm assuming that you can't shelve out the walls much if at all, even with additional bracing. That correct?

Have been looking at a similar sized shed for a long time myself.

peasant

On their facebook page they show sheds with shelves, I think you could even order it with shelves straight from factory

https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/30708186_10209426164130351_8401666014839832576_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=bebd90a1e15b86e406b13614de0d9ebe&oe=5BC141F4