Shopsmith Forums

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A lot depends on your needs and plans.

I've got/had/made/installed sheds that just sat on the ground. That was all I needed. No floor, just left it riding the dirt. Frequently used as an equipment shed where all I'm doing is driving a tractor into it to keep it out of the rain.

I've gone one step further, and put down a layer of plastic sheeting. Works fine, unless you drag things over it. This is frequently the greenhouse, or the lawnmower shed and such.

I've done wooden floors, floated on the ground. Either directly or on concrete blocks. Makes for interesting winter rides if your ground freezes. Sometimes I can't open or close the door for a few months. But, it works. It's pretty easy to spend some serious money on a wooden floor, especially if you want it strong.

Wooden floor with deep sunk posts. Same costs as floating, but it stays level. Well, it costs a few dollars more for the posts, but really, it's just a few dollars more.

Cement. A good cement floor is a good thing, but a bad one is a bad thing. They crack, they are cold, if they are rough they become filthy. But, they can be strong. Many times, if you do the frame work so the cement truck just has to pour, the cost can be on par with a wood floor.

I built mine on a frame with post buried 3' then lag screwed the frame to the post. After 5 years the wood floor rotted out, I had to remove the floor and had concrete poured inside the frame. The reason I put a frame up is here if it is on a frame it is considered temporary and you do not need a permit for temporary.

Today we, my son my retired fireman friend and myself, built an in the box shed at my son's house. The directions said two people 2 to 4 hours. We started at 10am and finished at 6pm. Sure it was fun, and bonding time and all that sh***t. Can they make the instructions any more confusing? How about how they change the frame of reference in the pictures!
Anyway, it's done, I'm done, we're done!
The day was accomplished with lots of bonding, no fights, and mission accomplished.!
My son has a shed, and I'm going to have a drink.

kalynzoo wrote:Today we, my son my retired fireman friend and myself, built an in the box shed at my son's house. The directions said two people 2 to 4 hours. We started at 10am and finished at 6pm. Sure it was fun, and bonding time and all that sh***t. Can they make the instructions any more confusing? How about how they change the frame of reference in the pictures!
Anyway, it's done, I'm done, we're done!
The day was accomplished with lots of bonding, no fights, and mission accomplished.!
My son has a shed, and I'm going to have a drink.

Whatsa matter? Ya can't read right to left?:D

Any special brand of 'drink';)?

Thanks for all the advice everyone as usual very good solid advice. I am pretty set on doing the post and frame thing as pouring a cement pad is cost prohibitive for me. I am not really worried about the permits stuff as it is a small shed and will be somewhat hidden behind the garage. Prepping the area where i want to put the shed is going to be the biggest PIA. Then I think I will rent one of those gas augers for the holes and then sink some timber for the frame posts. To level it all off I would assume you just leave everything long and then level it when you build the base frame around the corner timbers correct? Then just trim off the excess corner timbers?

They make concrete pillars for doing what you want.
The top is formed to hold 2 by stock. They have a cross pattern so you can use them in corners or lenght runs. Basically all you need to do is decide how many about 1 every 3-4 linear foot in the parameter starting in corrner and ending with one in other corner.
Just level them so the tops are exactly level. Frame in floor support by laying 2 by in formed area and you have your foundation.

They are not that expensive.

Second idea get so earth contact rated 6x8 and level them build you floor support on top of them.

Ed in Tampa wrote:They make concrete pillars for doing what you want.
The top is formed to hold 2 by stock. They have a cross pattern so you can use them in corners or lenght runs. Basically all you need to do is decide how many about 1 every 3-4 linear foot in the parameter starting in corrner and ending with one in other corner.
Just level them so the tops are exactly level. Frame in floor support by laying 2 by in formed area and you have your foundation.

They are not that expensive.

Second idea get so earth contact rated 6x8 and level them build you floor support on top of them.

Thanks Ed I will look into those.

So I am proceeding with the shed install. Working on clearing the area where it will be built. I have a Yew Tree stump that needs to be removed. I tried yesterday to get it out myself but it was a futile effort as the stump is quite large and I would be there for weeks trying to whittle away at it with varioous tools. So I am considering renting a Vermeer stump grinder at a local rental place. It is $175 for 24 hours and if i rent it on a Saturday you get to keep it for the weekend for that price. I have never used a stump grinder before and i know some of you guy's being from the farm belt probably have used them. Is there anything I should know about using one of these beasts before I forge ahead?

Also I was going through the plan instructions and there will be a lot of nails to bang. So i was thinking about getting an air nail gun. Looking at what is available there is quite a wide variety of guns to choose from. I don't think I need a big dollar unit as i will use it on a limited basis so I was thinking about getting a Campbell Hausfeld 5 gun kit. It comes with a framing gun, finishing gun, a couple of brad/staple guns, and a palm nailer for $220. The reviews on it were very good on the Lowes website. Looking for advice on this as well?

Michael
A lot times you can find someone that does stump removal a lot cheaper than what you can rent the machine for. I paid $60.00 to have one remove. $175 is about what one rents for here.