Shed build #777

[750hp]

What's a new weekend without a new machine on the site! The 4WD scissor lift made it very easy to move around the pad, even where it was slightly damp.


Every minute of daylight on the weekend was spent measuring lengths, levels and angles. Another lesson I've learnt is that I should have been at home to supervise the holes being drilled, and I should have drilled 600mm holes. The 450mm holes proved to be too tight for the 310mm columns when factoring in a bit of misalignment in the holes. Nothing that a bit of work with a crowbar couldn't resolve, but for the sake of a bit of extra money for additional concrete in the hole it would have saved some time and physical effort.

It was really satisfying to loosely bolt the frames and top hats together, and to see the way everything pulled into alignment as we tweaked and tapped things around. By "tweak", sometimes that meant to push a top hat a millimetre to the side and sometimes it meant swinging a sledgehammer to move a seemingly immovable object.

Coming up the hill, the shed is taking shape nicely with the frame squared up and all top hats in place, and it looks pretty imposing against the leafy backdrop:



...but if you continue along up the driveway and look back down to the shed, it doesn't stand out like dogs balls.

[Jaydee]

When I built my shed I made it perfectly level. Then after it rained, the water wouldn't run down the gutters. It was to level.
JD

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

When I built my shed I made it perfectly level. Then after it rained, the water wouldn't run down the gutters. It was to level.
JD

Interesting point JD.

[750hp]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

When I built my shed I made it perfectly level. Then after it rained, the water wouldn't run down the gutters. It was to level.
JD

If it's up to me to get things square and level, there's every chance that there will be a little bit of "character" built into it. Perfection is over-rated

I asked my mate about building a bit of fall into the slab so I could hose it out and not have to sweep it. He didn't want to play that game.

Actually, related to that... what sort of gap have you guys built in between the slab and the wall sheeting? I want enough gap to be able to hose/sweep stuff to hit the wall and drop down beside the slab, but I don't want such a gap that it will blow the wind up and into the shed from there.

Spook - the owner of the steel processing business who is helping to build the shed never does things by halves. He's the guy who bought the 800 cubic inch motor for his street car. He's now building a 1500hp tubbed Chevy Nova for the street. He processes steel that's infinitely larger than what I'm playing with, so it must feeling like assembling a match stick house for him. I've let him run with it and I know that where I'm paying extra for the over-engineering, I'm not paying too much because he's a really good mate.

We were about 7m in the air on the scissor lift on the weekend, looking out to Mt Tamborine and we started talking about building a cantilevered balcony off the mezzanine floor. Seems like a nice spot to wind down on a Sunday arvo.

For now the, the focus is on prepping the pad for the slab. Hopefully all boxed up this weekend and it's a concrete party the following weekend.

[muzzza]

Craig, Leaving a gap will invite snakes, mice, geckos etc. I would not be leaving a gap at all. Best practice is to lap the cladding down the side of the slab min 50mm. Between slab edge and the cladding, I normally specify a "Z" type flashing that runs the perimeter of the slab. This flashing closes off the corrugated ribs in the wall cladding to make it pretty much vermin proof.
Sloping slab will be a pain the arse in every way, other than when you are hosing ! ( hosing is for cowsheds !! IMHO ) Can't imagine you will get that much crap on the floor !?. Wash down bay with catch drains outside entry doors would be my idea. Interesting that you have embedded steel portal frames directly into bored concrete piers. Normally we would set bolts into reinforced pier to enable adjustments / levelling.
Trust that a good bitumen based paint was used on steelwork in contact with concrete. Muz

[Jaydee]

There are 2 thought about pouring the slab after the walls are fitted or before.
As I have moved house I need to build a new shed as well. My old shed had the concrete poured after which filled all the corrugation and keeps out all the bugs and spiders etc. The concrete was screened to a waterproof smooth finish and sprinkled with black oxide and neat concrete. It won't soak in water or oil etc. It's easier to sweep and hose out. Even though it's level, with a high pressure cleaner, you can just keep spraying towards the door and it won't leave much water on the floor. Any small puddles can be swept away, and it will dry overnight.
The disadvantages they tell me is that the sheets will rust. My old shed was 30 years old and didn't rust. Maybe the steel these days isn't as good as they won't guarantee against rust if you pour the slab after the sides are put up. So they suggest the lip that muzza was talking about. The z flashing sounds interesting, I haven't been told about that, as they told me to rest the sheets onto the concrete. But as the concrete won't be perfect, you'll still get gaps. So I might consider the z flashing. Also interesting about bolting the frame after. Great thread. I wish I could get a shed that big. I need 4 meters high for my hoist. How tall is yours?
JD