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Securing a shed to the ground?

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(@danux)
Estimable Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 210
Topic starter  

Not sure this is the right place to pose this question, but I'll toss it out there:
I want to get a shed kit and put it up in an area with potential for some fairly strong wind, am a little concerned that it might get caught & toppled. A concrete footing/base isn't really an option, the location is not really accessible by any vehicle I own. Any thoughts on how to secure an 8x10 wooden shed to the ground?

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(@thecrownsown)
Prominent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 858
 

You can dig a whole, and make a batch of concrete yourself. Very cheap and can purchase the bags from most hardware stores. It doesnt need to be pretty, just more/less level at the top so that when you sit your shed on it it will be level. Then bolt it down. Concrete is about 150lb/cubic foot. So pouring a couple cubic feet at each corner or more will give a solid anchor. If you get fancy, and auger the holes out deeper and use a sonotube you'll also help avoid frost heaving and you wont see much movement of the shed over the years. I like sonotubes because you can level them out, make sure all 4 are at the same height and then just fill them in with concrete. Thats my suggestion. (There are anchor bolts you could set in them before you pour to anchor the shed, but see what the hardware store offers. Probably some good products you could drill in after too)


https://www.internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7738


   
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(@farmgal)
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Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 2852
 

As you say that you can not get a vehicle in where this is to be built, do you have tree's in the area? If it was me, would take down a few big ones, trim them up, stripe them and give them a paint down-soaking to give them a water proof and put them around the outside of the shed and drill them together.. now, its not a shed that gets moved.. its a shed with big logs on three sides..


http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/


   
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(@danux)
Estimable Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 210
Topic starter  

Thanks for the replies. I have bush, not much in the way of trees. I'll have to look again, but I suspect there's nothing heavy enough to anchor to, to make weight my ally, there. It's just quite soft, and at the top of an incline that I wouldn't be getting back up from, without a big tractor and long tow rope. I am reconsidering concrete, I bought one of those small "Odjob" mixers that you fill and roll on a flat surface for 20 seconds. Maybe a few bags of Quickrete will do the trick. I found "auger anchors", when I researched after posting, they look OK too, but something about having to use guylines to secure the structure bothers me.

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(@denob)
Member Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 2754
 

I would go with one of these on each corner...
http://www.rona.ca/en/pylex-adjustable-foundation-screw



   
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(@danux)
Estimable Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 210
Topic starter  

I would go with one of these on each corner...
http://www.rona.ca/en/pylex-adjustable-foundation-screw

Nice, that looks like more my speed, thanks!
I also came across these tonight:
http://www.diamondpier.com/product-specs.htm

I am not entirely convinced that the load-bearing science is accurate, but I think they would make fine anchors, with longish poles driven into the ground.

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(@danux)
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Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 210
Topic starter  

So I ended up starting with a set of adjustable screw piles, as suggested, for this little project, and they worked pretty well. But because I was on uneven ground, about half of the piles were sticking out of the ground further than I think they were designed to. The shed felt secure-ish, but wobbled a bit in heavy wind, or with a bit of shaking from the inside. I ended up supporting the taller piles with a couple of sets of 4x4s + concrete deck supports

on top of sidewalk pads, just to stabilize it a bit. I suspect the screw piles would have held for a few years, but was water seeped into the soil around the shafts, would have caused everything to settle. They were an excellent way to get the building assembled level, and ready for use, in short order, though.

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(@thecrownsown)
Prominent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 858
 

If you have that much water around...on these blocks you will most likely get frost heaving and over time this will shift. If you cant dig down to get below the frost line maybe keep an eye out for diverting water...minimize the amount of freeze/thaw around these. Putting a good base of granulars below would help. Granular A or crushed stone.


https://www.internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7738


   
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Antsy
(@antsy)
Reputable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 411
 

So I ended up starting with a set of adjustable screw piles, as suggested, for this little project, and they worked pretty well. But because I was on uneven ground, about half of the piles were sticking out of the ground further than I think they were designed to. The shed felt secure-ish, but wobbled a bit in heavy wind, or with a bit of shaking from the inside. I ended up supporting the taller piles with a couple of sets of 4x4s + concrete deck supports

on top of sidewalk pads, just to stabilize it a bit. I suspect the screw piles would have held for a few years, but was water seeped into the soil around the shafts, would have caused everything to settle. They were an excellent way to get the building assembled level, and ready for use, in short order, though.

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Danux,

I can't help but wonder what went wrong with the screw piles? I had four installed for a deck this summer and they were sunk a good three to four feet each and were measured for p.s.i. resistance before the installer was satisfied. The installer used a small Kubota with a rotary attachment on the end. Is this what you did?


Needs must when the devil drives.


   
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(@danux)
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Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 210
Topic starter  

I spun them in with a 2x4 and circled like a donkey on a mill! It worked fine, but the problem was that, while the first few went in nice and deeply, in order to maintain a level floor, the remaining piles had to stick up progressively further. The tallest of them was just "OK", felt just a tad "nervous" under my feet. They weren't actually wrong, I just couldn't put all of them deeply enough to believe they would be reliable over time. -shrug- if the lay of the land had beena shallower angle, it probably would have been OK. A better choice would have been to level the area & gravel it, I think.

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Antsy
(@antsy)
Reputable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 411
 

I spun them in with a 2x4 and circled like a donkey on a mill! It worked fine, but the problem was that, while the first few went in nice and deeply, in order to maintain a level floor, the remaining piles had to stick up progressively further. The tallest of them was just "OK", felt just a tad "nervous" under my feet. They weren't actually wrong, I just couldn't put all of them deeply enough to believe they would be reliable over time. -shrug- if the lay of the land had beena shallower angle, it probably would have been OK. A better choice would have been to level the area & gravel it, I think.

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I think some of your problem could have been solved with a hack saw... I cut the posts for my build so that they would be level. Obviously a machine would have sunk the posts deeper and would have gotten around any rocks that you couldn't deal with using the Armstrong method. I get that sometimes that just isn't an option. For posts, an adapter bracket that is "U" shaped receives the 6"X6" posts and the collar bolts on to the end of the screw pile. I'm not sure what is out there for fastening to a shed floor but can imagine using the screw pile, with 5/8' holes drilled through the end to receive rebar, as a sturdy base for a small concrete slab.


Needs must when the devil drives.


   
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