roombacurious
Established Member
When about 3-4 years ago I started getting interested in woodworking one of my first projects was to build a garden shed. Our garden is rather small and in two levels with an almost 45 degree slope between the two flat(ter) parts. This arrangement renders the upper part useless for anything else so I decided to build the shed there. I came up with a design that was simple to make and has the door on the side.
Now my construction methods at the time left much to be desired and the shed was built using butt joints held together with screws and nails. Nothing fancy or particularly sturdy but anyway. Underneath I used fence post type timber to form a base sitting on the ground covered with some type of damp-proof membrane. The end result fit the bill at the time as storage for tools and the lawnmower.
But as it happens... the garden tools started to gradually get ousted and woodworking tools crept in in ever increasing numbers until the shed became a "workshop" - and saw much more use than originally designed for. Although I'm pleased to say that it's still standing and the roof is not leaking it has however developed a different unexpected problem: it started tilting! (the pics are from my camcorder and unfortunately not very clear)
Pretty obvious! It seems that my base was not as flat as I thought or the ground under the front of the shed has subsided. End result was a 10-15 degree forward tilt and some bowing of the floor supporting timbers.
Although I doubted that the shed would come tumbling down the slope or would fall apart I had to do something about it. So after hours of moving all my stuff (opportunity for a clear-out as well) into the house (thankfully SWMBO and kids are on holiday!) operation "straight shed" started.
First I fixed a chain plate onto the adjacent wall.
Then I tied steel wire rope round the front wall. It passed through a 7mm hole drilled into the sidewall.
A bigger hole was made into the back wall to let the hand puller attach to the wall plate.
Just before starting to pull.
The hand puller is surprising powerful and I was amazed with how easily it did the job. Over corrected initially,
then settled in a more vertical position.
I used some leftover slabs to support the front part of the shed.
Then I used wire rope again to attach the roof supporting timbers permanently to the wall plate.
All that was left was the hole in the wall but it was temporarily patched up. I'll probably fit a louvre vent or something similar.
The hand puller. Very impressed with it especially for the price.
Now the next challenge is to bring all the stuff back in!
Thanks for looking!
George
Now my construction methods at the time left much to be desired and the shed was built using butt joints held together with screws and nails. Nothing fancy or particularly sturdy but anyway. Underneath I used fence post type timber to form a base sitting on the ground covered with some type of damp-proof membrane. The end result fit the bill at the time as storage for tools and the lawnmower.
But as it happens... the garden tools started to gradually get ousted and woodworking tools crept in in ever increasing numbers until the shed became a "workshop" - and saw much more use than originally designed for. Although I'm pleased to say that it's still standing and the roof is not leaking it has however developed a different unexpected problem: it started tilting! (the pics are from my camcorder and unfortunately not very clear)
Pretty obvious! It seems that my base was not as flat as I thought or the ground under the front of the shed has subsided. End result was a 10-15 degree forward tilt and some bowing of the floor supporting timbers.
Although I doubted that the shed would come tumbling down the slope or would fall apart I had to do something about it. So after hours of moving all my stuff (opportunity for a clear-out as well) into the house (thankfully SWMBO and kids are on holiday!) operation "straight shed" started.
First I fixed a chain plate onto the adjacent wall.
Then I tied steel wire rope round the front wall. It passed through a 7mm hole drilled into the sidewall.
A bigger hole was made into the back wall to let the hand puller attach to the wall plate.
Just before starting to pull.
The hand puller is surprising powerful and I was amazed with how easily it did the job. Over corrected initially,
then settled in a more vertical position.
I used some leftover slabs to support the front part of the shed.
Then I used wire rope again to attach the roof supporting timbers permanently to the wall plate.
All that was left was the hole in the wall but it was temporarily patched up. I'll probably fit a louvre vent or something similar.
The hand puller. Very impressed with it especially for the price.
Now the next challenge is to bring all the stuff back in!
Thanks for looking!
George
