Jim Katen Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Place 4x8 girders on 4' centers. Support them with 4x4 pt posts set on 18" diameter concrete pads set below the frost line. Atop the girders, construct a subfloor of 2x6 t&g car decking. Then build your stud walls & roof on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Place 4x8 girders on 4' centers. Support them with 4x4 pt posts set on 18" diameter concrete pads set below the frost line. Atop the girders, construct a subfloor of 2x6 t&g car decking. Then build your stud walls & roof on top. In order to calculate the number of posts required, what's the max span on the (2)2x8 girder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 10 posts, like this? Download Attachment: P1280145.JPG 1293.59 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrmnk Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 On my 12'X16' I did 2X8 16" OC, with 9 4X4 posts if memory serves me correct, set in concrete 3' deep (below our frost line). Laid decking, built walls and roof and sided and roofed it. Several years and no movement or any problems. I store a four wheeler, couple motorcycles, mowers, and a bunch of other junk and never any problems or movement at all. Just did it like a standard elevated deck, only not as extreme. Didn't double any perimeter framing or anything and just fasted posts on inside corners of the deck with the center posts having a joist on either side of them, used as ledgers for joist attachment on both sides of the center posts. Did full length rim joists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Looks like I need to check on permit requirements too. In my area, sheds larger than 64 sq ft require a permit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrmnk Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Wow, mine is anything over 200 sq. ft. Hence the 192 sq. ft. version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Place 4x8 girders on 4' centers. Support them with 4x4 pt posts set on 18" diameter concrete pads set below the frost line. Atop the girders, construct a subfloor of 2x6 t&g car decking. Then build your stud walls & roof on top. In order to calculate the number of posts required, what's the max span on the (2)2x8 girder? For 20 psf dead load and 40 psf live load (for living areas), #2 lumber...most species listed are good for about a 9' 5" span. Southern pine a little higher at 10'. This is from Table R502.3.1(2), 2006 IRC. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Here we go. [] Page two of how to over engineer and build a shed for your rake and shovel. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Here we go. [] Page two of how to over engineer and build a shed for your rake and shovel. [] Gary, in your opinion, what would be a sufficient free standing floor structure to support the building? And you're right, it's a shed to store yard maintenance equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Place 4x8 girders on 4' centers. Support them with 4x4 pt posts set on 18" diameter concrete pads set below the frost line. Atop the girders, construct a subfloor of 2x6 t&g car decking. Then build your stud walls & roof on top. In order to calculate the number of posts required, what's the max span on the (2)2x8 girder? For 20 psf dead load and 40 psf live load (for living areas), #2 lumber...most species listed are good for about a 9' 5" span. Southern pine a little higher at 10'. This is from Table R502.3.1(2), 2006 IRC. Marc Ok then, to adopt the (2)2x8 girder idea, if each girder is 16' long I'll need 3 posts per girder for a total of 15 posts. Seems like overkill but what do I know? I like discussing these ideas, not because I don't think I could manage to build something string enough, but because all the experience of the members here might provide a more simple yet sufficient method that I was not aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 JD, However you end up building this structure don't do it near growing trees. This "shed" was lifted about 1-2 feet off the cinder blocks at one end as the trees/shrubs grew over time. I did this HI this past week and discovered a well (not in seller's disclosure) in one of three sheds on the 1-1/2 acre site in the middle of a very pricey part of town. Odds are the property will be leveled and a new 'mansion' built at some point and time. Seems like it has started at the East end of this particular street and is slowly moving West. Big lots and high prices as well as taxes. Click to Enlarge 70.65?KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrmnk Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 EDIT: I actually did 2X6's for my floor framing, not 2X8's. Mine's about 4" off the ground. I also did 8' walls with a 6'X6' door opening. Also put a work bench in the back of mine, and built an elevated 2' shelf inside on the sides and back wall, about 6' up. Here's a pic of mine. That's a 6' privacy fence I built behind it, you can see for perspective. Got a ton of stuff out of my garage. Click to Enlarge 79.9?KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Here we go. [] Page two of how to over engineer and build a shed for your rake and shovel. [] Gary, in your opinion, what would be a sufficient free standing floor structure to support the building? And you're right, it's a shed to store yard maintenance equipment. I'm pretty sure mine is on bricks and some treated 4x4 blocks laid on their side under the treated deck frame. It's been there for at least five years. It's strong enough. I park my lawn tractor inside during the winter. If the blocks rot away in a few more years, I'll just put new ones in or stack some stone under it. Please do understand, when it comes to my house, or any other I work on, I'm just as careful as anyone else here. I once ripped out and re-worked a raised panel oak wall I did for someone, because it wasn't perfect. On my dime. When it comes to something like this, I'd rather spend my time smoking a pork butt, fly fishing, counting my toes, or playing eighteen holes of golf. It ain't a swiss watch or a Steinway piano. If you're going to build your own, do it for the fun and the experience. Don't waste time over thinking it. Pouring footers for a little garden shed? C'mon. Listen to Nolan. When the giant rotted oak branch finally falls on mine, I'll be rebuilding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 When I built my shop floor, I used 2x6 joists with 3/4 ply subflooring on top. Footings consisted of placing a single brick on a spot of ground that I scuffed level with my foot. I was in a hurry and the 24 x36 floor was done in a day. That was 22 years ago. It's been fine since; it does what I need it to do. But I curse the thing every time I walk on it. In the last 22 years, I've come to appreciate solid decking underfoot. It doesn't matter if its your living room or a garden shed. A solid deck feels good and instead of cursing it, you feel a tiny bit of satisfaction each time you step on it. Those tiny bits add up. And we all know that smoking a pork butt consists of mostly sitting on your ass for 13 hours. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 And we all know that smoking a pork butt consists of mostly sitting on your ass for 13 hours. . . Ha! Exactly! Click to Enlarge 72.99 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Here is a plan that you are more than welcome to use. I was planning on building this in my backyard but I simply don't have the money at this point in time. It has a garage/workshop at one end and an open summer kitchen on the other. Plan was to use cypress timbers and tongue and groove for that rustic look at the summer kitchen end. Did not take the plans to an engineer yet. Maybe one of these days. Charles Download Attachment: GarageSummerKitchen.pdf 466.12 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Here is a plan that is probably in the middle of the pack regarding the suggestions. Condemn it if you think it should be. Otherwise, this will be the floor structure. Any suggestions in line with this idea? Download Attachment: P1280271.JPG 1596.99 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 The cheapest deck beams are logs you skid out of the bush yourself. I built a deck for my oyster shack from two 30' hemlock logs I dragged up off the beach with a chain comealong. If you get a log balanced on a pivot, you can move it around pretty good by hand. I carved a flat edge on the top of each log with a chainsaw, set them up on posts and nailed down 12' 2 X 6's for the deck. Salvaged walls from a shed somebody needed gone. 2X4 rafters, 5 sheets of plywood, 2 rolls of roofing and some salvaged windows. I think it was less than $300 for a deck with a cabin. You can haul the logs with your Cherokee. [] Click to Enlarge 47.98?KB That concrete dynamite shed was at a house I inspected. I didn't stick around for the witching hour. [] This place I have now had rodents living in the shed, coons having babies under the shed and even an otter came popping out of there one day. I trapped 6 or 7 rats, closed off all the entrys and nailed metal soffit covers buried in the ground all around the perimeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 The Family Handyman routinely publishes articles with shed plans. I've probably got half a dozen shed articles from FH alone and I've got a bunch of others from other pubs. I'd fax you copies but I've got a VOIP phone that doesn't allow me to fax so my fax machine is useless and my scanner refuses to talk to my new computer. Search Popular Mechanics online and Family Handyman online for old articles for sheds and you'll end up with a pretty good selection. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrmnk Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Here is a plan that is probably in the middle of the pack regarding the suggestions. Condemn it if you think it should be. Otherwise, this will be the floor structure. Any suggestions in line with this idea? Download Attachment: P1280271.JPG 1596.99?KB That's very close to what I did, had same amount of posts but again mine was only 12'X16', and I put a ledger on either side of the center posts, that way one was handling half the floor, the other ledger handling the other half. Several thousand pounds stored in mine and no problems in the years it's been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I think if someone wanted me to dig that many holes for a shed I'd build a pole barn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I think if someone wanted me to dig that many holes for a shed I'd build a pole barn. Ideas are morphing. Vinyl shed tossed into the mix. Now looking to use the extra time and money to reclaim a screened in porch that served my hoarding habits. Gonna take it back and make it into a nice patio enclosure. 10x12 Vinyl shed kit on the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I'm disappointed. The vinyl shed will cost you money again when you haul it to the dump 10 years from now. Build a temporary shelter from 6 or 7 sheets of plywood and some 2X4's using deck screws or even drywall screws for fasteners. Cover the box with some kind of tarp, a nice green one maybe. When you're ready to build, build a good shed, a permanent asset to your property. Or check out the salvaged metal storage containers. At least they have some resale value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I'm not forever ditching the idea of outbuildings. In the essence of time, the quick install of the vinyl kit has value for now. With a full time job in addition to HI business, a weekend off to build something costs me $1000 in forfeited income alone. If I have to scrap it in 10 years that's fine, it will have served its purpose. I will upgrade flooring to PT so I may get more then 10 years out of it. I'm not going with the cheapest out there either. 8x10 Click to Enlarge 23.61?KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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