How to seal the bottom of shed walls?

[jjebw]

Hello, anyone have any suggestions as to what I could do to seal the bottom of the shed walls? Sand and debris keep coming in and building up. It is a metal shed with a concrete slab, the walls are also staying to rust at the bottom.

Community manager's note: Check out How to waterproof a shed floor for expert advice.

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jjebw. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about sealing your shed from the weather.

Looks like a perfect job for Sikaflex 11FC. It is a flexible jointing sealant designed to stick to concrete and steel. It'll seal that area well and is far superior to silicone. Just make sure you give the area a thorough clean before caulking it along the gap and seam between the floor and wall. If the steel is beginning to rust, it would be a good idea to seal the outside to stop water from migrating under the sheeting. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Remarka6le]

Can also recommend Sikaflex, I just used it recently when renovating our shed. Best advice is wait a couple of days after rain and clean it throughly. Apply a generous amount to the inside, clean as required. Apply a smaller amount to the outside, clean as required. Don't do it on a rainy day, try to do the project when you have at least another day of sunlight to allow it to seal properly. 

[EricL]

Hello @jjebw 

Would it be possible for you to post a picture of the other side of the shed wall? Is soil gathering on the face of the wall? Is vegetation overgrowing in that area of the shed? Is there a retaining wall next to the shed? I understand these are a lot of questions. But I'm proposing to look at the source of the water and perhaps pre-empt it from reaching your shed wall.

Standard solutions include putting in Vinidex 65mm x 20m Draincoil With Filter Sock or Everhard 3m EasyDRAIN Polymer Grate And Prejoined Channel. My only concern is that if we don't address these possible causes more water will enter your shed.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please don't hesitate to post them.

Eric

[Jason]

Hi @jjebw,

Just checking in to see how you are going with this project? I trust the advice you received was very helpful. Please let us know if you need any further assistance.

Jason

[jjebw]

Thanks for all the tips everyone, project took a couple of months. I used the Sikaflex and dug a trench around the side and put in some draining grates so hopefully it'll stop the rust.

 

 

[Jason]

Well done @jjebw. It looks like a fantastic result. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing some photos as this is a topic that has popped up on the site before. It will be really helpful to others to see what you have done.

Thanks again, we look forward to seeing what projects you tackle next. Please let us know if you need a hand with anything.

Jason

[MarcinW]

Great advice Mitchell, thank you.

Im putting a new shed on a fairly even slab. One of the shed's walls will be leaning flash against the house wall, so I won't be able to put the sealant on the outside of that wall. This is the wall likely to leak most at the bottom as there's likely to be some water dripping from the house wall and the shed roof into the narrow gap between the shed and the house wall (probably 2-3cm).

How much sealant should I be applying on the inside of the shed? Is there anything else I could do to waterproof it at the bottom?

Thank you in advance, all ideas and guidance are appreciated!

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @MarcinW. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about sealing a shed wall.

The methods described in this guide on How to waterproof a shed floor can be applied to the inside of the wall. Only a 5mm wide bead of sealant is required to cover any gaps between the shed wall and the concrete. Smooth the bead into a cove so it rides up onto the shed wall and out onto the concrete. The aluminium angle then provides an additional layer of protection in case any water manages to get under the shed wall. You might like to seal the wall first and check to see whether that is effective. If the issue persists, you can add the angle over the top.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[MarcinW]

Thank you Mitchell for the welcome and advice! I'll go through this and likely to ask more questions :-)!

M