Lay The Foundation For More Storage

We all know what it's like to have more stuff than can fit in our house

. One of the best options for acquiring more storage space is to build a garden shed. By moving shovels, rakes, power tools, lawnmowers, and other items to the shed, you can free up space in your garage for greater storage capacity. To build a shed, you can either buy a kit or design your own. A kit may be easier and in some cases cheaper, but designing your own shed allows you to get exactly what you want. Here's how to lay the foundation and build the floor of a basic 9 x 13 foot shed.

Most sheds only need to be set on treated lumber skids or concrete blocks, since the soil on the ground moves uniformly as it freezes and thaws. If you're building on a slope, you might want to use solid concrete blocks on crushed, compacted limestone. Begin by measuring the ground to meet the dimensions of your plan. Mark the four corners with stakes, and dig six-inch deep holes at each corner and the center of the long walls. Make sure the bottoms of the holes are level by measuring with a torpedo level

Place four inches of crushed limestone into each hole. Level it off, and compact it with a hand tamper. If you're on a slope, level the blocks on the uphill side first. Leave four to six inches above grade. Use a two-foot level attached to a 2 x 4 to figure out the height of the block on the downhill side. Glue downhill blocks together with construction adhesive. Cover the blocks with landscape fabric, and cover that with two inches of crushed rock.

For the floor, cut the treated 2 x 6 lumber so that the boards lie flush with the blocks' outer edges. Next, cut the band joints on the top of the sill. The sill and band joist lumber should be staggered at the corners. Nail each sill piece to the band joist's bottom. Fit the offset corners and nail them in place with 16d galvanized nails. Lay out the framing by marking the first joist location, which should be fifteen and a quarter inches from the outside edge of the joist. Mark the remaining joists at sixteen-inch intervals. Fit 2 x 6 joists between the band joists. Sight down the pieces to find the crown, and then set them in place, crown up. Secure with 16d nails through the band joists. Install a three-quarter-inch tongue-and-groove plywood floor. Check that the band joists are straight; secure with 8d galvanized nails.

by: Art Gib

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