We ordered a metal shed kit with anchor kit for use on a cement slab. Along with the anchor kit came a flooring kit, beams over which the consumer lays plywood or decking, or fills with sand.
I am unsure if it is wise to use the flooring system. This new shed replaces a similar shed that had chronic problems with water running in under the frame, especially in windy wet weather. Stuff to be kept dry had to be kept up off the slab. Will using this flooring kit create a mold problem in the shed? Or habitat for insects and rodents?
Hi, I set up two sheds one at my back yard and one out at my cabin. I used the kit and used 5/8" plywood after reinforcing(bracing) the kit (too wimpy) Been OK for ~10 years. Sounds like you are in wet climate. I am far up North of 49th.
Return the anchor kit and floor. Pour a concrete floor 2 inches thick on top of your existing slab for your new shed. That will keep your shed floor dry. Just bolt the shed to the concrete slab using concrete anchors.
Pat's suggestion is really the way to go. Messing around with the floor kit, gravel fill and plywood is an easier & cheaper way to go but Pat's "topping slab" will give much better results.
Pat's suggestion is really the way to go. Messing around with the floor kit, gravel fill and plywood is an easier & cheaper way to go but Pat's "topping slab" will give much better results.
cheers Bob
Free advice on Usenet is worth ten times what one pays for it.
Check your local zoning laws. A shed is a shed is a shed. "Outbuildings" are something that zoning and code enforcement usually ignore, as they are mostly lean-to's or their equivalent, used to shelter equipment or animals, and can be torn down with one good pull from a four wheel drive pickup with a steel cable..
BUT
Once they are put on a slab, they are considered a permanent structure, and are then subject to all manner of regulation, INCLUDING raised taxes. In many places, a wood floor is not considered permanent, as it could be moved easily. So, people use wood floors and the kits that come with the buildings.
Structures you erect require engineering approval. If you buy a metal building kit, this approval comes with the kit. If you build, you will need a licensed engineer to sign off on draftsman quality plans for such things as bearing walls, truss loads, etc, and that alone can be hundreds of dollars.
Definitely, a slab is the way to go. I have done a couple where I poured a slab with a pony wall (a short wall to mount the plate on), and that gave more height to the building, as most are made for people with a maximum height of 5'1". The pony wall also keeps water out during rain, and if placed on a slight rise, water infiltration is negligible. It will require modification of the door(s), though.
You may also be required to comply with setbacks from property lines, from other buildings, and if you want electricity, may have to install a to code feed and sub panel with breakers and GFCI circuits. Then there's the CALL BEFORE YOU DIG people, who are free, but who you need to call so you don't dig into some buried hazard. Translation $$$. You may have to go before a zoning board so your neighbors have a chance to comment on this new thing that they will have to look at when they snoop over your fence. It may require a variance .......... more $$$. It may require a permit ..............$$$.
Don't just build something and spend the time and money without investigating. And don't go down there and say, "This is what I am going to do", but rather, "I'm thinking about .............".
Always tapdance within the lines. It's cheaper and easier. And in the end, a few more bucks, but you will have it right, and no one can come along and make you tear it down or move it.
Whether or not you have a poured foundation is the key. And since these things are made of tin a little thicker than tin cans, it's good to have them up a little so they don't just rot off at the floor line.
This shed is within all zoning requirements. It replaces an old shed with the same footprint, that was not anchored (prior owner put it up) and blew off in a 60 mph wind after the door was left open. Anchoring is okay, even recommended.
It is in high desert, where rainfall is limited but arrives in bursts.
The rainwater intrusion is largely because the slab is 5 feet longer than the shed, forming a porch that is level, not sloped for drainage away from the shed. The other problem is that turf has grown up and forming a low dam around the slab. I will lower the turf or replace it with a gravel drain.
It is a very good slab, and we have plans for it in future, so don't want to mess it up by pouring another slab on top of it. Also, it is in a location that is no longer accessible by a cement truck.
This thread has helped us to decide to use the anchor system but omit the floor system.
I hear ya on the irrationality of the permits for utility buildings. Such permits are primarily a revenue generator, with 'the public good' being secondary. My now-squashed shed is on a fenced-in slab larger than the shed, which was actually an abandoned dog pen. (what kind of cruel SOB pens dogs on concrete?). Permits and inspections aren't much of a worry out here, but the replacement I have on order is close to an exact duplicate of what got squished by the tree, and on the slight chance anyone does bitch, I'll mention that the slab and fence around it were already there, so blame previous owner who installed the shed ten years ago and nobody bitched, and besides, I'm only repairing an existing structure. I'm pretty sure new shed will drop into the existing anchor rails lagged off to the slab, so it isn't really 'new' work. It was just cheaper to buy an entire kit, than order the replacement parts of 70% of the the old shed. Shed has no power to it, and is 75 feet from the house, so they can't use that as an excuse.
Bu yes, even if a permit were required here (and I'm not gonna ask a question I may not like the answer to), you definitely want a concrete floor in a shed. And I agree- anything made of wood should be on a stem wall or quasi-foundation, to keep the sills dry. If I thought it would pay for itself at resale, I'd have a concrete guy do a proper foundation with footings, like for a small garage, and drop a canned-design wood shed onto that.
Now as to water heater requiring a permit, that almost makes sense. A badly installed heater can burn down house, and maybe the neighbor's place as well.
Maybe your attitude & temperament are congenital defects along with the heart thing? As may be your inconsistent logic. TFBFY
reply:
You're guessing again. Stop it, as you suck at it.
What's your problem?
And where is it written that everyone here has to be all warm and fuzzy and Pollyannish?
And what makes you think that you're the perfect one to pass judgement on anyone?
Here's something that may help:
Dear Whatever:
I notice you have taken to task a writer about whether or not a post is on topic, is spelled correctly, or is correct in some other minute detail.
I would like to inform you that the post of Netnanny is already filled. It is held by Newton Fillmore, of Pacoima, California, although Mr. Fillmore is currently in a coma in a facility in Riverside, and has been for three years, eight months now. We just could not bring ourselves to demote him without a proper hearing and him being present.
Please be advised that there are currently over 500 applicants and wannabes for the position. That does not include people like yourself who have broken with protocol and currently act like they are in the cherished position.
If and when and if ever the post becomes available, you will be required to write an essay of no longer than 1500 words, single spaced, using the words there, they're, their, your, you're, and any others you can come up with in as many incorrect grammatical situations as possible.
You must also describe the difference between "lose" and "loose" in 25 words or less.
You must also include the reason that you think entitles you the lifelong right to hold this post, and review the rest of humanity on its daily heretofore unobserved unsupervised act of Usenet Posting.
Steve
3rd Poohbah and Grand Mucky Muck of the Society of Netnannies.
Addended by hr(bob) snipped-for-privacy@att.net 4/19/2011
You forgot three of my favorites, its and it's, lightning and lightening, and to, too and two.
Steve, who is certainly not perfect, and never wants to be that sick to even think so.
You may go now. You are boring me, and your home repair knowledge is about as good as your extrasensory perception.
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