Ask a Building Trades Professional

[Cutlass]

To my knowledge, PT plywood is only for sale 1/2" thick. Now there could be products out there that i don't know about. But I've never seen it.

As an alternative, you could floor it with what they call 5/4 decking boards. That would give you 1 inch thick of floor.

 

[peter grimes]

"Marine plywood" is more marketing than substance. Unless you're building a boat there are is no valid reason to buy it.

Marine grade plywood has to meet extremely stringent limits on splits checks, knots, and voids in the veneers. Why? Because boats made of plywood are subject to environmental stresses while keeping people afloat. Lives depend on the integrity of the material. Your shed floor isn't in the same league.

Decades ago the Marine Plywood designation also implied certain characteristics of adhesives and resistance to delamination. This is no longer the case. Most non-chinese-lauan stuff uses adhesives that are on par with marine quality.
Better living through chemistry

I still think ½" ply is inappropriate for your stated use. My gut indicates ¾", b/c grade. No need for a/c, but stronger then cdx. And, Cutlass' suggestion of solid lumber.

Again, you should not trust me here! But hopefully you can ask someone who knows more than me.

 

[Silurian]

The base kit that came with the shed is basically a bunch of aluminium beams running across the ground, connected to the walls. So I can either get rid of them, cause you're right, we've talked about that option of taking them out.. or to put a wooden floor on top.

In some parts of the shed there are also small gaps under the walls, so rain would get in. Probably not much, because the whole thing is elevated now, but a bunch of it would probably get in. So given all that, might as well do the floor, right?

What are some of the downsides of putting it in?

The floor will add weight to the shed and the plywood will help to prevent the wind getting into the shed. This will reduce the chance of it being blown over.

If one layer of plywood has too much spring put in another layer of ply or a layer of OSB.

 

[warpus]

K, so I had a talk with my dad a couple hours ago, and we are probably not doing the plywood floor. It's probably good the way it is - we'll insulate the gaps under the walls, which really aren't that bad, and the patio stones should really be good enough as a floor. It'll save me a bunch of money too, so..

Silurian: We are drilling into the patio stones and conecting the shed to the foundation that way. That should keep it from blowing over or moving around. It's pretty heavy already as it is - not easy to shift.

Our plans call for 8 bolts into the patio stones, in strategic locations. That should be enough

 

[Cutlass]

Maybe you could work up a set of hooks around the walls to hang your shovels and rakes and implements of destruction. That would add weight too.

 

[warpus]

I am going to look up arrow shed accessories when I get back from the cottage. They might just have something like that, which by the way is an awesome idea.

Here's a photo my dad just sent me. He took this with his smartphone right after we were done with the assembly:

 

[Cutlass]

It's a good looking shed. I'm sure it will last you a long time. Just try to be careful about not denting it.

 

[Masada]

Get that man some more beer.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

A round of beers on me! (virtual beers).

This is the first organic project supervised start-to-finish from three continents by the wordly Ask a Building Trades Professional Panel of CFC builders. Let's hear it for brick and mortar projects! Today a shed, tommorrow the Pryamids (or, puck your Great or small wonder!)

Sent via mobile; apologies for any mistakes.

 

[warpus]

Haha thanks guys.

My next project is the garage. It needs to be cleaned out, 1 hole filled in, painted, shelves bought and put up, and organized. But that shouldn't require too much help I don't think. I can still post photos though, maybe one of a before and one of an after.

With my new roommate moving in soon, there should be a lot of work done around the house. He seems eager to help me with projects and I have a lot of ideas. We're redoing the basement into an entertainment room and and I want to partially rebuild my deck. Then, maybe new floors in his bedroom and in my office. Kitchen needs to be painted and the front yard needs some work too. There's a lot of projects to keep us busy

 

[peter grimes]

So let's say that I want to be able to use a hammock in our teensy tiny backyard. Let's say that I want to be able to remove the hammock and supports when summer is over.

Let's say that I hate those ugly freestanding frames, and have laundryline mast available as 1 hanging point.

Oh, I'm in a rental :O

I was thinking of setting a ~2½" pipe in a concrete pier, and using a ~2" pipe as a the other hammock support.

Is this a terrible idea? If not, how big of a footing will be needed?

 

[Cutlass]

That would probably work. Or you could use a PT 4x4. With a 4x4 you might get away with digging a 4' hole with a post hole digger and just setting it in there without cement and pounding the dirt back in the hole hard. With a metal pole, an 8 inch or so hole 2-3' deep would probably hold it.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

I concur. Since you have a good relationship with your landlord, the pipe-and-pier option is best. However, if you opt to bury the piers, having a 2-1/2" pipe set in concrete 2 - 3' down, then sliding the 2" pipe hammock hammock supports into them would mean you could dismantle the arrangement without leaving behind a trip hazard. Cap it with a fit-all plug in the winter...

Hope that helps...

Sent via mobile; apologies for any mistakes.

 

[warpus]

FYI: The shed is now screwed into the patio stones in 7 spots. The side of the shed where most of the wind would be coming from (on average) got 3 of the bolts. We were going to use 8 total, but one of the screws wouldn't screw in, so we said screw it. No cracks in the stones!

 

[Cutlass]

It shouldn't be subject to much shifting unless your area gets some pretty fierce windstorms. You could add weight to the walls with shelving hooks for tools.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Hey y'all! Check out this array of hand-made base cabs. My crew and I did all the work in-house -- raised panel doors and everything!

Now, onto the frames for the glass panel doors for the wall cabs!

Sent via mobile; apologies for any mistakes.

 

[Cutlass]

Nice work.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Thanks.

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[caketastydelish]

Out of all of these trade skills jobs, which would you say is the most lucrative?

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Out of all of these trade skills jobs, which would you say is the most lucrative?

I never got paid for any of this, but as an employee, I'd say plumbing is the most lucrative; as a contractor, or employer, I'd say tiles. The most well-off workers I know are plumbers, the most well-off employers own tile "studios" as they call them.

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