Purchased Workshop

[OLD]

I am a little confused why are you putting a heavy timber floor over a concrete base would it not be better to use the base which is plenty strong if it was a garage you could have a finished floor of glued up chipboard layed on poly. to make it smooth. If the building sits on the edge of the base just bolt it down (dpc and treated for wall plate ) and the cladding overlaps the base there are no problems with water getting to the structure. click my www button and look through the construction pics for extra info/ideas.

 

[ByronBlack]

Good, I'm glad I found a chap who looks like you. That'll help. How's the roof look to you? I drew it with a 30° angle. That's what I used on my shed and I'm sure I get a bigger snow load than you do where you are.

By the way, where is Thurrock? I found West Thurrock and Little Thurrock. And what is that down near the river next to St. Andrews Road?

I was hoping to have a high res Google Earth image so I could see placement for a better idea of what I'm up to. Unfortunately it looks like they got close but not close enough with the newer images.

HI Dave, The roof looks fine to me, but i'm no expert ,30 degree seems fine - I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't, so i'm sure it will be fine.

I'm actually a little further sout-east than Thurrock in a small village called Chadwell St Mary, I just used Thurrock because no one has ever heard of Chadwell If things help, my postcode is in the RM16 Area.

I am a little confused why are you putting a heavy timber floor over a concrete base would it not be better to use the base which is plenty strong if it was a garage you could have a finished floor of glued up chipboard layed on poly. to make it smooth. If the building sits on the edge of the base just bolt it down (dpc and treated for wall plate ) and the cladding overlaps the base there are no problems with water getting to the structure. click my www button and look through the construction pics for extra info/ideas.

OLD - you have got me thinking now, the main reason why I was thinking of using timbers for the floor joists, is because the concrete base is the entire width of the garden, and the turf layer before the base is a couple of feet higher, but you have got me thinking, it would certainly save me upwards of £200 on timber, but I don't think the base itself is flat enough, and there is a weird pit/square hole that's been filled in the middle, not sure if that would impact on things.

Here's a daft question - what exactly is 'poly'? and what do you mean by 'treadted for wall plate'? I'm new to this building malarky so please excuse my ignorance..

Here are some pictures of the area where the shed is going to go:

 

[OLD]

Treated timber when forming a interface between concrete/brick and timber best with felt dpc also.Poly. plastic sheet to stop any damp.
My solution after viewing the photos fill hole in base with concrete build wall engineering brick 2-3 courses or cast a concrete wall incorporate threaded rods to fix wall plate to wall then as previous post and designs with modification at door way.
You will now the drainage situation best and you could improve it by removing some of the soil adjacent to the base then digging a shallow trench filled with gravel to provide a path for water (a good idea what ever construction method you decide on).

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Byron, I think that considering the ground around the concrete and the hole in the middle of it, you're thinking is correct. Lift the shed a few inches and let the water run under the shed if it will. No point in fighting it.

I'll get back at the drawing soon but it might not be until Monday. I hope that's alright. Since you have SketchUp I'll be able to send you the SKP file and you can work with that.


Thanks for the pictures. They help me out.

Dave

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I've got another couple of questions. First, how close to the gate will your shed end up being? Do you want to put doors on that end to make loading in wood easier and to make it easier to get projects out? I'm thinking for security reasons no wondows in those doors. I'd cover them in the same siding as the rest of the building.

Also, since the shed will be built above the slab, do you want to consider extending the little porch over the ground a bit? You could keep the porch I drew and increase the length of the shed without too much trouble.

And how high is the ground above the slab on the house side of it?

I expect that hole in the slab was originally a pit for servicing a car. I'd guess it got filled in when the garage was removed or maybe before to satisfy a building code change.

 

[ByronBlack]

Old, Dave

I think your both correct, i'll need to some preperation first, i'm thinking OLD's idea of either a brick or concrete wall with threaded rods is probably the best route.

Whats cheapest, bricks or concrete?

've got another couple of questions. First, how close to the gate will your shed end up being? Do you want to put doors on that end to make loading in wood easier and to make it easier to get projects out? I'm thinking for security reasons no wondows in those doors. I'd cover them in the same siding as the rest of the building.

My first thought was not to have any doors on the back due to the security issue, the double doors at the front should be fine for moving equipment/wood and projects in and out, the shed will be approximately 6foot away from the rear gates, and a small 6x6 greenhouse will be located directly behind this shed.

Also, since the shed will be built above the slab, do you want to consider extending the little porch over the ground a bit? You could keep the porch I drew and increase the length of the shed without too much trouble.

And how high is the ground above the slab on the house side of it?

This is something i've been thinking about, and after talking to SWMBO I think it could be extended a small bit, but only about perhaps another foor, otherwise i'm encroaching on her planting designs.

The ground is approximatly 12" above the slab.

I think your right about the pit, after some of the garbage and car parts that we found after clearing the garden around the area, I think it's pretty much a certainty.


P.S The arial photo you sent is almost exactly spot on - not sure how you got it that accurate but you have !!

 

[Inspector]

Byron
If I may I would like to offer a suggestion or two.

Because no matter how large a shop you make it will soon become apparent that it should have been bigger. So I think you should do away with the porch and cantilever over the garden a little. Instead of the porch put flagstones down to make an area to work on if you like (you can still have the roof over it supported by corner posts). When you aren't working out there it can serve as a nice place to put lawn furniture.

The other end could have the same roof extension with the corner posts to create the green house if that end faces south. It will be high enough that it won't shade the plants. Then someday it could be converted into more shop / storage space. :twisted:

See how easy it is for us to spend your money and manipulate your life. :lol:

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Byron, I just got back from a cold day of sailing. Kind of shot (knackered?) now-- Home from work at 2:00am this morning, up at 6:00. Ready the boat for sailing, drove almost two hours each way and sailed for about 4 hours. I think I won't work on your shed this evening (Saturday).

I'll see if I can get you a real good start on a SketchUp model and then I'll send it to you. We can go back and forth as needed. Do you have any objections to me sticking with a single unit of measure? I don't go back and forth so easily.

As to that aerial image, which came from local.live.com, you gave me some pretty good clues in the shot of the back gate. It was a simple matter of working out sight lines once I found the objects in the background. I showed it to my wife and she said she thinks it is kind of "creepy" to look into someone's back garden like that. Hope you didn't mind.

 

[filsgreen]

Looking at the pictures of your garden BB, maybe you should get Argee to replace your fence? :lol:

Phil

 

[ByronBlack]

Inspector - You make some good points, but at the other end of the garden I have another area of about 10ft x 20ft (Decking) which I could use on sunny days, the rear of the shed is reserved for SWMBO's greenhouse and potting area, so i'm pretty much tied to the existing sizes, which for me will be fine as I will not be filling it with much machinery, a Bandsaw and maybe drill press will be the only floor standing machinery.

Dave - no rush on the sketchup mate, i'm really grateful for the time your spending as it is, and I wouldnt want it to become a burden on you - espeically when you have sailing to enjoy!!

Filsgreen - totally agree, thats another job on my very long and ever growing list of things to do at my new place, the fence has definitly seen better days and unfortunatly it is ours and not the neighbours, so i'll have to get round to fixing at some stage.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Here's a start. I added a couple of doors in the front gable end to give you access to a little attic space. I think this could be a good place to store some longer lumber.

By the way, the walls including headers over doors and windows, the doors and the floor framing were drawn with an interesting ruby script called housebuilder.rb. I drew the trusses by hand but I only drew one and made it a component to copy.

 

[wizer]

looks good! You're lucky Byron, has taken me months to design mine!

 

[ByronBlack]

Dave, I'm gobsmacked (doesn't happen very often) you work incredibly quickly, i'm really super grateful for the efforts you have made.

I love the door ideas at the front of the attic - would be perfect for timber storage as you suggest, it looks fab!

A bottle of wine or two will definitly be winging it's way to you!

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Wow, Byron. I'm glad you like it. I have a few more details to deal with including the windows on the south end. What do you have in mind of those? Then I'll forward this one to you as a SketchUp file.

 

[twobarrows]

Aye Barry - thats the crux of my problem, so much to do and so little time to do it!!

To speed things up, does anyone know where I can find a good book or explanation on building sheds/workshops.

One small tip, when I built mine (about 24'x12'), after I had boarded the floor, but before I put up the wall studding, I screwed some scrap bits on the floor to make a 'jig' for the roof trusses (13 off), it made it a real brainless task putting those together.
Good luck.
p.s. don't forget to vent the floor void

 

[ByronBlack]

Dave - For the windows at the back, I think maybe just two 2x1 (ft) windows would do about 1ft down from the top of the wall, spaced 1ft out from the centre - if that makes sense?

A quick question Dave - what is the height of the ridge point from the floor?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I think that is good for the windows. 2' wide?

SU says it is about 11' 2 11/16" from the top of the flooring to the peak of the truss. It would be another inch or so with the sheathing and roofing on.

 

[ByronBlack]

Thats great Dave, cheers, just wanted to check to make sure it come within the planning regs

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Byron, if you send me your e-mail address via a PM, I'll send you the SKP file and you can either work on it or at least look around it and tell me what I need to change.

 

[wizer]

what size timbers are you using there Dave?