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I am about to build a new shed, step by step piccies included

CrispyClaret

Warren Scout
I am testing the water.
Starting this week I am going to build a new shed, roughly 12ft by 8ft. Now, it is not for my bunnies but as a workshop plus storage, but the basic construction will be the same whatever the end use.
Sooooo, would you boys and girls or girls and boys, like me to do a photo record of how to build a basic shed?
I will be using nothing exciting tool wise, power saw, hammer, tape measure, spirit level, drill and string. Pretty much what most households have lying around these days.
Shed will have a basic frame, a door, tongue and groove for the walls and corrugated plastic roof.

Price wise all in all it will cost me around £600, compared to an online quote for a smaller sized shed also with concrete base like mine of £2415
 
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Between your first and second post most of us have been in bed [emoji6]
But I would be interested in a record of how you did it [emoji106]
 
Oooo that would be brilliant. It is a dream of mine to build a nice big area for my rabbits to live in.
 
Ok. First things first. The base.
Choices are a big slab of concrete with the concrete forming the actual floor of the shed or a shed base made of wooden framing with plywood as its floor. For the latter you generally use little areas of concrete with breeze blocks on top and the floor frame rests on the blocks.
I already have a rough concrete base already there, so my plan is to resurface it to give a nice smooth floor that is level using concrete to depth of 2". For my 12ft x 8ft base we worked out I need a bag od ballast (850kg) and 5 bags of cement. Total cost £67. If i was starting from scratch I would need about 4" of concrete, so double the price. An online quote from a shed supplier for that size of base....£900. Erm NO.
 
Step 1
Clear the decks and clean the existing concrete.

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Step 2
The area needs measuring off and shuttering to stop the concrete running everywhere and give a clean, straight edge. I am using 2x2 rough sawn pine
If you were starting from scratch then dig down about 2" over measured out area and put the shuttering at ground level.

Hammer a stake of wood into the ground until 2" is left showing and screw a long rail to it.
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At the opposite end of the rail hammer in another stake, using a spirit level on the rail raise or lower the free end and once level, screw it to the new stake.
I then repeated this going around to form the rectangle, using a large set square to ensure my first short rail was at 90 degrees to the long rails.
IMG_0102_zpsejj4a5rl.jpg


Now the fun bit, before fixing the final corner you need to measure diagonally from corner to corner. Move the free end of the short rail until both diagonals are the same and voila, one perfect rectangle, or square as needed.
IMG_0100_zpsfunchw6m.jpg


Tomorrow the concrete arrives and lucky me gets to mix and move a ton of the stuff, fill in the area up to the top of the rails, wait a few days and with luck it should be what we want.
Pics to follow
 
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Oh yes. The wood

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That dear readers is what £450 of do it yourself looks like.

The shed will be 11 feet by 8 feet, a pent roof ie sloping, from front to back in my case.
Frame is using 2x2 rough sawn pine, delivered in approximately the right lengths.
Cladding is 15x125mm tongue and grove matchboard...55 pieces at 4.8m long to be cut to size by some poor fool, me

Tongue
IMG_0097_zpsry4hu7w6.jpg


Groove
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The t&g will be wind and weatherproof, you could use shiplap for the same result but it looks harder to lay.
I do not recommend the featherboard, pop along to a popular diy chain and look at the cheap sheds with gaps you can climb through after one season.
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The roof if I get that far will be corrugated, clear plastic. I want light in my shed.
The alternative, which I will chat about later is obviously plywood or similar, with roofing felt to cover.
As a guide it should cost me about £70-£80 to roof in plastic, but well over £100 in wood and felt.
 
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Oh yes before I forget.
If you are building a wooden shed base as opposed to concrete. It is a basic frame, made square using the diagonal measuring method as described before, with floor battens placed across the narrowest gap and spaced every 16", end result looks like a big ladder. Thanks to my brother in law Paul for pointing out that floor battens are placed at a standard distance. Have a look at a tape measure and you will notice a mark every 16", this represents the centre of your battens. You would then screw a ply or similar floor to fit the frame you have just made.
The shed walls then screw down onto the floor, similarly for me the walls will be screwed onto the concrete.
 
Doesn't concrete soak up moisture?

It can yes, but for a shed it shouldn't be a major issue. However if you are worried there are a few choices.
1. Line the bottom of the hole with sand and cover with plastic sheeting, the sand stops stones punching through the plastic.
2. Add an agent to make the concrete waterproof, as used for garden ponds or streams etc
3. As I will be doing, putting a layer of plastic sheet under the bottom rails of the shed walls. It only needs to protect the bottom rail from rotting.
 
I built my newest shed onto the plastic grids which you fill with gravel - they're just great. My kennel is sited on concrete and it doesn't drain away very well (we made it level) and so the bottom timbers are going. Would always go for the grids in future, much easier to lay, cheaper and better in my opinion
 
Plenty of ways to skin a cat.
The premise of my thread is to show how easy it is to actually build a shed and how few tools are need, also that it is not some form of witchcraft.
The plastic grid system for my size of shed would cost about £170 before you even bought the gravel to fill it.
 
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