How to move a heavy shed?

[chris jung]

Hi, We are getting a nice older shed (a solidly built homemade one, not a commercial one) and have a spot picked out for it in our back yard. I've visited our town's Building/Zoning office with photos, sketches & our lot layout to fly this project pass the code enforcement officer (he said it looked fine) and got advice on foundation requirements (4" bed of gravel under the shed, 6" deep around the perimeter. After shed is in place, we will attach it to the ground with 4 anchor ties).

One problem we will have is that we will need to move the shed onto our property before we will have the foundation ready. It will be transported by a tilting flatbed truck and placed on cinder blocks about 5 feet to the side of the final spot.

Even though the sq footage of this shed isn't huge (8'x12'), it's solidly built, is already insulated and drywalled and I betting weighs a lot - especially a lot more than we could muscle around. We have no idea how to move a solid beast like this five feet to the gravel foundation without tearing up the lawn or messing up the foundation. Is there something that we could rent that would help in this? Or does it make sense to scout around for round poles (old telephone poles?) to roll it into place? Any sage advice on this?

Thanks, Chris

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

That's too bad-- I'd be trying to figure out how to get it so the truck can drop it right in place-- delay the truck or hire the prep work out.

I wouldn't worry about the lawn- that heals in a few weeks. I move a 10' square shed around [no sheetrock- but I've quit emptying it for the last two moves] on a track of greased landscape timbers. I work alone and use a 6' pry bar to scoot it along the timbers. I put a 2x4 'skirt' around the bottom so the prybar doesn't mar the siding.

I've moved it 20 feet south, then 10 feet west, and then 10 feet northeast over the years. It's none the worse for wear.

I tried rollers & found that it always wanted to roll in the wrong direction, the rollers would turn, etc. If I was working with a crew of 4-5 people I might try several 24" long pieces of 2" iron pipe. That *might* work without the mess of grease---- but for 5 feet I'd probably still go with 2 landscape timbers [those 3x5 cheapies are fine- just pick out a couple smooth ones] and a couple pounds of axle grease. [crisco would probably work if you want to stay 'green']

Jim

[Pete C.]

I'd guesstimate it weighs 4,000#-5,000#. I wouldn't put it on cinderblocks since that will just make it difficult to get it down off the blocks to move it. Put it down on a few PT 4x4s, just enough so you can get a jack under it. Get a couple of the mechanical "Hi Lift" jacks so you can lift it again. A half dozen 2" sch 40 PVC pipes will be sufficient for rollers. The jacks will also be useful for the eventually move to push / pull the shed into place.

I've done essentially the same thing with a 40' cargo container (~10,000#), using one Hi Lift jack and some smaller logs for rollers (what I had on hand), moving the container about 80' over pretty rough terrain. I suggest two jacks for your shed, since I don't think a conventionally framed wood structure will handle single point jacking as well as a steel container.

It's not that difficult really, just plan each move carefully first, and as with most all rigging, don't lift anything any higher than necessary.

[Ralph Mowery]

In this area, the building movers have several pieces of PVC pipe and put it under the building and roll it in place if they can not get the truck in the exect place.

[hallerb]

so your getting a nice insulated and drywalled shed:)

DONT PUT IT ON GRAVEL! When it rains moisture will get underneath, trapped in the gravel, and ruin the drywall and insulation.

pour a proper concrete floor. a nice slab...........

install foundation and move it just once onto the slab........

[DerbyDad03]

re: I've moved it 20 feet south, then 10 feet west, and then 10 feet northeast over the years.

Why? (just curious)

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

I knew I should have 'splained that..

I'm slowly- as in one wheelbarrow load at a time, and no more than 5-6 loads in a day- re-grading the back of my property to eliminate the 'river' that runs through my garage each spring.

First move was to get it out of the way. . . second move was after a change of plans put it in the way again. . . and the third one has it about where I want it. [this year, anyway]

Before I'm done I might just tear it down anyway, but moving it is really not much of a project. One of the advantages/disadvantages of working slow and alone is that plans change as the landscape changes, so to speak.

Jim

[Una]

I have helped to move heavier objects (massive stones). I would use rollers. Fence posts or PVC pipes, not telephone poles; telephone polls are too heavy. To control movement, you will need strong rope or chain ties; hand winches are very helpful too. With the proper equipment and time, one person can do the job without breaking a sweat. You might find someone to do the job for you.

Una

[mm]

Likely reasons:

1) The shed is hiding from the police.

2) The shed is hiding from la migra.

3) Jim's also just curious

4) The shed is part of a set of 16 sheds, and Jim is playing chess.

[HeyBub]

He has a wife.

[hallerb]

so so true:(

[jim]

ABS pipe worked well for me to move mine

[Mike Paulsen]

Jim Elbrecht wrote: (snip)

Spoiler space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

White. It's a polar bear.

[HeyBub]

Hmm. Use pipe to move a wife... Hmm.

I don't think that would be as much fun as a paddle, but I'll give it a try.

[salty]

First lets see if you can get it on and off the truck without destroying it. It probably wasn't designed and built to withstand what you plan to do to it.

[SteveC]

Yeah, I'd say reinforce it with braces inside for sure to keep it square and intact.

[Chris Lewis]

According to chris jung :

Sliding it on greased rails or on skids is much safer than rollers.

Try your darndest to get them to drop it in the right place to begin with.

Ask the people who built it for suggestions. My SIL had a similar sized shed (no drywall, but it weighed a lot more than a simple shed of the same size would have weighed), and I had all sorts of nightmare pictures in my head of how to move the durn thing - I get roped into doing that sort of stuff there.

Turns out that the builder had built it on sleepers (PT 6x6), and would have been relatively easy to drag - at least in that direction with a 4x4 in 4-low and/or a comealong or two. Especially on gravel.

Fortunately, they dropped it in the right place, and nothing needed to be done.

[<josh]

Neither are most houses, but they get moved all the time.

When we had to move our shed (because we were raising our house and installing a new foundation), we jacked the shed up, slid in some 4x4 runners, and slid it along with a backhoe. No damage other than screw holes in the siding from jacking it up. (Didn&#39;t have clearance for the jacks underneath at first, so we jacked against cleats screwed to the outside of the shed.)

[salty]

Read again about what HE plans to do.

Sheds, especially homemade ones, are usually not built quite the way you would build a house. The additional weight of all that sheetrock further complicates things He didn&#39;t mention hiring professional housemovers with all the proper equipment and experience, either.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

I&#39;m in no rush. My dirt moving is part &#39;construction&#39;, part hobby & part &#39;fitness program&#39;. In the summer I work outside. In the winter I continue on with the basement I started 20 years ago.

I rented a machine a couple years ago for a job that needed to get done. In my part of the world I called around for 2 days and ended up with a small backhoe/loader for closer to $400 a day. [and for the job I&#39;m doing by the wheelbarrowload I&#39;d spend more time filling ruts than moving dirt]

-snip-

We both did- OP- "this shed isn&#39;t huge (8&#39;x12&#39;)" Me- "I move a 10&#39; square shed around "

Jim