erecting a secondhand shed

[Becca]

Hello,

I have been given an old and slightly decrepit shed for my plot.. being about 4th hand it obviously has no instructions and no bolts or similar to fix it together.. what size/ type of bolts would be best to hold it together? what kind of base is best..? and any other hints or tips from veteran shed erectors very gratefully recieved.. Very much looking forwards to having my own little hidey-hole I think it's a fairly standard 6 by 8 shed which a big flat (or hopefully slightly sloping) roof and a couple of empty window frames which i assume would be best with a bit of perspex in?

Many thanks in advance,

Becca

[Paul Wagland]

If it's a timber shed I would use screws, not bolts. Any screw long enough to go through one frame element and about halfway into the adjoining element will be fine.

You need a good stable base. The work involved depends very much on your ground. Is it wet or dry? Solid or unstable? Does it slope?

The roof must slope by at least 20 degrees or it won't throw off rain very well. Twin-walled polycarbonate sheeting would be my choice for windows - better for insulation and difficult to see through, so theft will be less likely.

That's a start anyway!

[Becca]

Thank you, that's lots of help The plot is at the top of the hill with a nice loamy soil with a chalky clay subsoil if that's means anything to anyone on the stability front? the plot is pretty level as it runs along the top of the hill and is terraced so it's pretty flat despite it's location.. Screws sound like a good plan if i can get my battery powered drill to work.. the lack of electricity is a bit of a bummer :P The roof is a bit of a mystery at the moment, we're hoping it will make sense when we put it up and that there isn't anything missing as it doesn't look like it slopes but it must do.. the felt is definatly shot so I was thinking of taking the opportunity to put on a green roof tho that would mean i wouldn't be able to collect much rain water I assume?

[Paul Wagland]

Ok - flatten the site as best you can with a spade and then a rake. Compact the soil by stamping up and down or, better still, 'tamping' it with an up-ended sledgehammer. Lay paving slabs on the soil (or on a bed of sand if you have trouble getting them flat) and check them with a spirit level. The floor of the shed can go directly onto the slabs.

A cordless drill is absolutely invaluable on an allotment. I use mine at least weekly.

A green roof is a lovely idea but would be very heavy especially when wet. I wouldn't use one unless I had built the shed frame specifically to hold the weight. Best to re-felt and add some guttering to collect rainwater.

[Becca]

thank you, that's great good to have another use for the sledge hammer i bought for concrete smashing last year.. my cordless drill works fine apart from the keyless chuck undoes itself so you can only drill into relatively soft things as it tends to either leave the drill bit in the hole of screw it in so tight (if you reverse the spin obviously) that you can't change the bit if you try to drill into anything harder :-S I'm hoping it might be able to cope with the shed wood or this is going to get tricky..

good point about the roof, this shed is already a bit tatty (but free which is a big bonus) so it probably wouldn;t take the weight..

[jeannine]

best of luck with it Becca!

Having a shed really makes the lottie feel like home and means you can make a day of being there no matter what the weather!

My best tip is to keep a comfy chair and a tin of chocolate biscuits in it...

[Becca]

I'm definatly looking forward to it tho I'm adding a small camping stove + kettle to the list so i can pop in unprepared and still be able to make a cuppa

[Eternal Sunshine]

How did you go with putting the shed up Becca? Any photos?

We've just got a 2nd hand shed, OH is finishing repairing some bits today then we're putting it up. There's a glass window which we were going to board up but would that make it too dark inside?

Can't wait. We've had the allotment for almost a year & it'll be great to have a shed on there to keep the tools & wellies in (and brew up of course!)

[Paul Wagland]

Sunshine - I would either fix the window with clear polycarbonate, or board it up and buy a couple of solar lights. You'll need some light source though.

[Eternal Sunshine]

Think we'll go for the clear polycarbonate then, thanks.

[Becca]

Got as far as paving and leveling up the base the weekend before last, but with gales being predicted for the next day the rest of the shed erection has been postponed till this weekend (had a mud free weekend last weekend as my best mate got married so was celebrating that and recovering from the aftermarth all weekend ) will try and remember to take pics as we go, will probably be something of a ramshackle affair, think I need to do a bit of reinforcement before I try and make it stand up on it's own..

[Eternal Sunshine]

Well our shed is up! My talented OH repaired the few bits that were rotten, then I held the sides in place while he nailed it together. Just needs the polycarbonate stuff for the window now.

And when we were there digging this Friday we sheltered in our new shed drinking coffee from the flask during the hail/snow showers.

How's your shed Becca?

[Becca]

still in bits.. decided not to try last weekend as hail and snow and strong winds were being predicted.. annoyingly i think satruday afternoon would have been fine but was too late to rally the troops as my parents are going to help but live an hour away.. ho hum.. this weekend is looking much better weatherwise so hopefully I'll have some goood news on monday :O)

[allotmentlady]

Sunshine...........polycarbonate is quite cheap, think there is a company on the red scar estate that sell it, otherwise try putting in a request on Preston Freecycle!

[Eternal Sunshine]

Good luck for this w/e Becca. I've been overuled & the shed has been stained brown instead of painted bright blue / lilac as I wanted. Probably for the best...

Allotmentlady - I'll try Freecycle thanks. I'm sure someone must have some lying around somewhere.