FAST EASY SHED & WOODWORKING PLANS

When building your shed be it a storage shed kit or from a blueprint or plan it must sit on a foundation just like your house. The two most common types of foundations are the easily built wooden skid and the somewhat more elaborate slab foundation for shed also called a slab-on- grade foundation. This article will discuss use of the slab foundation. In the case of a shed the floor slab will be 3 ½ to 4 ½ inches thick and have a perimeter or footing that is 8” to 12” thick to support the building walls. Using a wood form the entire foundation can be poured at one time.

Slab-on-grade foundations when used in cold weather climates are suitable only for detached buildings. The reason for this is because the foundation sits above ground and is subject to frost heave in cold weather. Depending on building codes in various localities the depth of the slab, the type of metal reinforcement, the type and amount of gravel required for the sub-base and finally the type of plastic or other type of moisture barriers used can vary

A fair amount of concrete is required for a shed slab; consequently you will probably want to have ready-mix delivered by truck to the site (bearing in mind most companies have a one yard limit). If you tell the mixing company that you are using it for an exterior slab you can order air-entrained concrete which tends to hold up best. There is one alternative and that is to rent a concrete trailer from a rental store or landscaping company if you are pouring a smaller slab. You tow the trailer home filled with one yard of mixed concrete and pour it yourself.

You may want some help with the pour if you have never worked with concrete as finishing a large slab can be quite challenging.

The tools required are as follows:

• Circular Saw
• Drill
• Mason line
• Sledge Hammer
• Line Level
• Framing Square
• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Rented Plate Compactor
• Bolt Cutters
• Bull Float
• Hand Held Concrete Float
• Concrete Edger
• Compactable Gravel