How to build a wooden shed?

[mikebarker]

Hi all, I am about to build a small wooden garden storage shed (3m wide x 2.4m deep) on a gravel base. I have been soaking up tutorials, reading the various excellent posts on this forum and on wooden framing and feel fairly confident about most stages but there are a few grey areas that I would love the community guidance on (and will likely lean on you for tips along the way!).

I previously prepped the ground and laid a gravel pad. The plan is to put 2 x 6 treated joists directly into TuffBlocks as the base of the shed and build on top of that.

So my questions are:

Flooring

1. I am looking at treated yellow tongue STRUCAflor is this suitable or is there a better alternative? Treated plywood looks very expensive but I don't mind paying if it means increased longevity.

2. Silly question, but given the fact an exposed tongue in these boards will be at one edge of the shed. Do you just cut these off or just fill the gap with sealant?

Walls

1. What options do I have for external wooden wall panels? I would like something that looks nicer than particleboard or OSB. Is there an outdoor option of these slotted panels? I guess I could use weatherboards but curious at alternatives.

2. Should I use building wrap?

Roofing

1. What are my options here? Just colourbond sheets? If yes, should I still put a plywood/OSB roof on and apply the colourbond to that or just attach it straight to the rafters? I assume I would have lots of gaps if I attach directly to the rafters.

2. If colourbond is the way to go, I'm curious to know what you use so that you don't just have sharp raw edges and what to use for the apex of a pitched roof?

Fasteners

I'm going to use screws instead of nails for framing (Personal preference, if I had a nailgun it might be different 😄). So I don't want to have to pre-drill or anything. What gauge is best, 12g? or thicker? Something like these Buildex RapidDrive Treated Pine Screws 12g x 75mm?

I think that's all I need to know at the moment, once I have these answers I can make my materials order and get stuck in!

Thanks so much

[mikebarker]

Awesome, thanks @EricL I'd not considered it from a weight point of view. 19mm it is!

I've also changed the roof slightly in that I am now using 90 x 19mm strapping as it will give me a consistent 3 points on the roof to screw the colorbond sheeting into. Before I had noggins in the roof in the middle but A. That still left me without a flat surface to screw at the at the peak and at the gutter and B. Since the noggins couldn't be offset like on the walls, they would be annoying to screw in, toenailing or similar. I think it's a good move!

o90 x 19 roof strapping

[Dave-1]

Evening @mikebarker 

With strapping as far as I know it goes diagonally to tie corner to corner so it dosnt wobble, usually on the walls but have seen it on roofs. I am not sure what you mean with the strapping for the roof tho as you have it in red?

With the ridge cap you just need some fastening pieces of timber either side of the centerline to make it easy. Here is the roof I put up with my pool deck. Tin roof with battons, no strapping. Pool deck stage 2  You can see the battons I put up (picked the timber up from a house being torn down) I used to screw the corrorgate dsheets to. There is a gap about 50mm apart at the peak of the two sides, The ridge cap goes over this, 

Step 3 and 4 are the setps dealing with the roof itself. 

Dave

[mikebarker]

Hey @Dave-1 ah apologies, I've called them the wrong thing! I've moved the pieces I am referring to up vertically so you see them better, what would you call these? Great project summary by the way! Some helpful stuff in there.

[Dave-1]

Morning @mikebarker 

I really am not sure lol I am also not sure what purpose they do other then cover that small gap beween the edge and the tin roof, not knocking, just acknowledging I dont know all the right terms either;

I probarlly should know as it really brings it together but maybe its just a fancy type of batton? I used more battons as I wanted the roof to be secure and had never built a roof before.

Dave

[mikebarker]

Ah yep no worries! I got the idea from this video which seems like a good way of putting on a metal roof. The issue I'm having at the moment is there are so many valid ways of doing things so I keep changing my mind 😅

[MitchellMc]

Hi @mikebarker,

I believe @Dave-1 was referring to strap bracing, which is used to provide rigidity to your walls and roof. It goes from corner to corner, and the tensioners tighten it.

Mitchell

[Dave-1]

@mikebarker 

Did you have a look at my deck roof? I was surpprised at how easy it went together as I built it up, one piece pretty much led to another. Just had a squiz to the start of the video, strapping = battons Will watch the rest later when I get a chance and work slows down  

Dave

[Dave-1]

Thank you @MitchellMc 

and Bingo! I am a shocker for knowing the correct term even when I am familiar with the item. Usually my mind fills in the blanks "Squiggly bit goes diagonally into the right angle" I describe what my eyes see and the names just fade away! 

Thank you 

Dave

[mikebarker]

@Dave-1 Yeah you did a great job on the deck roof! Ah ok, good to know they are battens 😌 

[mikebarker]

Happy Sunday everyone! My wood order arrived so I set about the joists today and I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on my observations of the layout of these foundation TuffBlocks.

My initial plan was to put a TuffBlock along the rim joists where the joists meet, intersecting and supporting both rim and the floor joists. However, I forgot that only 1 horizontal angle of the blocks allows 45mm wood (The other maxes out at 41mm). So I'm in a situation where I either support the rim joists at various points and then use joist hangers for the joists, as well as adding Tuffblocks in the middle of each joist or opt for the method outlined on their website and set the blocks back from the edges, essentially transferring all the weight to the floor joists.

Shown here, 300mm overhang (Note: that I can't do the ones shown at an intersection of 2 pieces of wood as my wood is too thick for 1 channel)

Tuffblocks on a decking example

However, this is for a deck, not a shed. So my feeling is that I need support on the outer edges. It would be nice to have the shed appear to float, I'm just not confident that's ok from a structural point of view... but I know nothing. If this is ok then great!

If I do add them to the rim joists, the spacing ends up a touch uneven given my 400mm on center joists spacing. I'm still well within the span allowance of the blocks, I could add more but it's quite unsightly especially when it's on uneven spacing! And of course, this example uses way fewer blocks than being at the end of each floor joist.

Long 3m back wall. Slightly bigger gap in the middle to avoid the joists but still be as even as possible

Ok, questions for the brain trust: 

1. Do you think the deck-based method of having the blocks set away from the edge (on each joist just not the rim joists) is ok for a shed application? More weight, door etc - It would still be 3x blocks per joist.

2. If no, do you deem the example I have set up using 4x blocks on the rim joists would be sufficient to avoid bowing etc - I could add some on each joist setback in addition as in the example but now we're using many many blocks and they aren't cheap.

3. Given I have spent so much effort creating a wonderfully self-draining gravel pad, should I just get some treated skids (3 of them, 1 on each end and 1 in the middle) 90x90mm pine (Cedar?) and set my joists on them? Then I am supported along every inch of the edge of the building.

I wanted to use these blocks for their low profile and for there being zero-ground contact issues, but I might be overcomplicating things using them.

Hopefully, that ramble made sense 😅 please ask any questions as needed.

Thanks!