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Hi, new to this forum, thank you for having me! I have recently moved house and we seem to have much less storage space for outdoor type things such as golf clubs, tents and our lawnmower. There is one existing shed on the property but it is not really sufficient for all our needs. I am thinking of installing a metal shed, perhaps an ABSCO shed, but we are not spoiled for choice of location. We had thought of putting a long thin shed down the side of our house but have read that in NSW (we are in ku ringai shire) you need to keep sheds 900mm from the boundary and this would not work as our side pathway is only maybe 1800mm wide. There is another area in a C shaped space on the south side of the house where you could perhaps put a skillion roof shed with the roof sloping away from the house wall. I will provide a photo. This area as you can probably see is not flat, sloping down towards the wall of the house, and so if I used gravel and skids as the foundation I would need to compensate for this with timber sleepers or concrete blocks or something like that. Or use a sort of planter box like structure and fil it with gravel? I have a few questions: 1. Is it possible to make this work in this location? 2. Should a shed be off the wall rather than touching it? And by how much? 3. What would the best foundation be given that I don't want to put a slab of concrete here? (Ultimately we might not have the shed there forever). Thanks, hope my idea is not too silly!
Hi @jonathan_d,
Typically it is best practise to re-treat all cut ends with TWA Woodcare 300g Ecoseal Tanalised Timber Treatment. This ensures the ends are fully protected. Even sleeper cuts should be re-treated.
An exterior primer and then topcoat of paint would provide a decent seal to the ends and help protect them from decay.
Mitchell
Hi, I went ahead with the timber frame idea. I dug out the area to make it a bit flatter and at the lowest point I put 3 DEKO 250x250x150 blocks to support the 1.5m side, and some mini foot pedestal feet I had left over in the higher areas. I did my best to make it level. I treated all the cut ends with the product you guys suggested. I put decking boards on it spaced about 5mm. Now, I wood moves over time, and after just 1 day of moderate rain one of the boards bowed quite significantly in the middle. This seemed rather quick to me but I guess I haven't pre painted or oiled or varnished them. I have read all sorts of different things about what to do at this point, of course a lot of what I am reading relates to deck, but unlike a deck this will have a steel shed on top of it so it won't see as much moisture or UV etc. I am just wondering at this point: 1) do I worry about the wood splitting if it warps any more, can I avoid this by drilling pilot holes before putting screws in, 2) do I need to oil/paint etc? BTW these are the h3 treated pine decking boards 2. 4m long. Sorry I wonder if I should have started a new thread...
Hello @jonathan_d
Thank you very much for the update, your timber base is looking good. I totally agree with using pilot holes as this will prevent the timber panels from splitting. Generally, you would need to season the decking panels for at least 6 to 8 weeks or longer if it keeps raining. To bypass the waiting time, you can clean the surface of the base with Cabot's 2L New Timber Prep.
Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to oil your deck
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Evening @jonathan_d
You say one of the boards has bent a fair bit, are you refering to the timber top boards or the underlying boards?
I can only see one set of screws this end and what looks like one set of screws at the other end. Did you screw down to each joist or just the ends?
If its just the ends then that would explain the warping, pine or hardwood decking has bends in it and they do move a little even if sealed. Its one reason why there is 5mm gap between them as they swell and twist with the weather. You could put the spacers back and then screw the boards to each individual batten. That should fix any warping.
If I have the photo wrong just let me know 
Dave
Hi @jonathan_d,
Eric is referring to the decking boards when he says "base". You can skip waiting for them to weather by cleaning with the New Timber Prep.
You'll need two screws to attach the decking boards at each joist. If you only use one screw, the decking boards can cup and distort.
Mitchell
Afternoon @jonathan_d
The boards will bend and flex out of true without the extra screws. @MitchellMc beat me to the punch I have a project I will be putting up that shows what happens to floor beams without noggins and pretty much wood will definently move and flex with time.
The deck is looking great btw
Dave
