Building a "She" Shed

RayfromTX · Nov 4, 2018

I hesitate to comment about this, especially since it looks like you are doing a nice job and keeping everything really neat. I only want to say a couple of things for others that may want to follow in your footsteps.

When you wish to use foam board insulation in the floors there are two things I would do differently. First I would skip the runners and just run the insulation continuously and then I would use screws all the way through to the first layer or into the joists if wish to try that. If you use 5/8" or greater decking for the first layer then you can just go for the decking instead of trying to hit the joists. This will save time and money and is how I do all of my roofs. I use big washers on my roofs but that is to get the 110 mph wind rating. You wouldn't need that. Second is that I would wait until the building was dried in before adding the insulation and second layer of decking.

I am concerned about the rain water that gets into the layers and how long it would take to dry and what kind of mold and rot that can occur. I would get it closed up at this point and run a dehumidifier for a long time to try to pull the moisture out through the plywood. For sure don't cover it with anything that will inhibit drying until a deep probe moisture meter comes out under 15%. Good luck with the rest of the build. You're going to love it.

woodlandfarms · Nov 5, 2018

EddieWalker said:
Very nice.

On the framing of the floor. Why didn't you rest your joists on top of your beams instead of using all those joist hangers and building up the concrete so high?

I dislike smart people;-) Honestly until you said it I never thought of it. I just followed the plans we were given. And also why take the absolote fun of mixing 50 bags of concrete by hand and pouring them into small tubes deep in the ground.

woodlandfarms · Nov 5, 2018

RayfromTX said:
I hesitate to comment about this, especially since it looks like you are doing a nice job and keeping everything really neat. I only want to say a couple of things for others that may want to follow in your footsteps.

When you wish to use foam board insulation in the floors there are two things I would do differently. First I would skip the runners and just run the insulation continuously and then I would use screws all the way through to the first layer or into the joists if wish to try that. If you use 5/8" or greater decking for the first layer then you can just go for the decking instead of trying to hit the joists. This will save time and money and is how I do all of my roofs. I use big washers on my roofs but that is to get the 110 mph wind rating. You wouldn't need that. Second is that I would wait until the building was dried in before adding the insulation and second layer of decking.

I am concerned about the rain water that gets into the layers and how long it would take to dry and what kind of mold and rot that can occur. I would get it closed up at this point and run a dehumidifier for a long time to try to pull the moisture out through the plywood. For sure don't cover it with anything that will inhibit drying until a deep probe moisture meter comes out under 15%. Good luck with the rest of the build. You're going to love it.

Ray, great advice. Honestly appreciate it. I am very new to working with foam sheets and the strength of the sheets makes me unnecessaryly leary. I was worried that the sheets would not support so I ran those stringers. As for drying, yeah, we will be water tight very soon and intend to put a propane heater in the building for a day or two.

sailfast · Nov 5, 2018

Propane heaters add moisture

RayfromTX · Nov 5, 2018

Propane heaters add a lot of moisture. Get a big dehumidifier from the rental yard. Run it for a month. That will help but test with a deep probe sensor. You don't want to have a building that always smells like mold. The right way to fix it is to remove the plywood and let it dry out. I'm giving you the easier way. You can also pick a spot that will be covered with a cabinet or what have you and use a hole saw to investigate what is going on underneath.

The foam sheets will support lots of weight. Tons

If that is polyiso then the minimum compressive strength is 16 psi.

woodlandfarms · Nov 9, 2018

Thought i would throw this up. Sheathing is done as well as a very custom house wrap. We lost the light so no pictures of this house wrap.

dragoneggs · Nov 9, 2018

Looking good Carl... I don't dare show this thread to my wife. I am presently getting away with a HF greenhouse and a Costco plastic storage shed for her gardening.

jcmaurice6 · Nov 9, 2018

My wife also want to have her own workshop/hobby shop/tool house! It痴 a hard long project, she is mediculous on every aspect. It痴 a multi year never ending project. But it痴 slowly coming. I have use an old shop and incoporate the old tractor garage together. Using existing building add time and complexity!

This what it was in 2013 when we had just bought our property, and how it look now.