Building a storage or garden shed is quite easy and affordable but it will take a some careful planning to get the best possible results.

Build your own Shed – Step 1:

The very first step in the process of building your own shed begins at your local planing office. You will need to ask how your local planing, zoning laws and building codes view the construction of a small buildings like a garden shed.

In short you need to to find out if you need a “building permit” – as these regulations vary widely from location to location it is impossible to make any representations here beyond saying that step 1 and step 2 in this process maybe interchangeable as many areas have different laws for “small buildings” and having your “preferred” shed plans in hand before approaching the planning office may be the best option.

As a side note you may be interested in this download resource that shows the states in the US that have no building codes !

Build your own Shed – Step 2:

Next we need to determine the dimensions and the style of the shed we are going to build to be, there are litterally thousands of options however in my opinion this is the best resource for that

If you don’t yest have your shed plans check it out I promise you will be amazed at what they have on offer.

Build your own Shed – Step 3:

When you are certain that you can build your shed in accordance with all the laws then you will need to decide make a decision about the foundation. The style of foundation you chose will be determined principally by the style and dimension of the shed.

Let assume the shed is a fairly significant structure like in the image below.

This shed was built on a 100mm ( 4 inch ) thick solid concrete slab. This makes very durable and weatherproof floor for your shed however you could also select a wooden framed floor using treated 2 x 6″ timber and plywood decking supported concrete blocks.

Any wooden floor should be constructed from treated lumber that will resist rot and any attack by insects like termites. I prefer to use treated plywood for the floor of my storage sheds as well.

When framing out the walls of your shed you can often just use regular framing timber but I recommend you use a small section of treated timber as a bottom plate. This bottom wall plate will help to resist wood rot if water gets into the shed unexpectantly.

Prefabricated roof trusses are available at low cost today but in truth creating simple roof rafters is just not that hard.

If you would prefer purchasing a Garden Shed Kit and simply assembling the kit on site rather than building a shed step by step then you might like to check on this online supplier that have a good range of shed kits at very reasonable prices.

Power Generators

Regardless of whether you intend to operate a generator as a primary power source or simply for stand or emergency power, you will benefit from a strong understanding of their operation and maintenance.

It is worthwhile remembering that the principals of operation for power generators are the same from the smallest of generators eg the unit that charges your car to the largest generator in the state run electricity generating stations – be they coal fired, hydro of even nuclear powered.

In this series of posts we will be exploring how to build a generator ( or how to install a commercial generator ) perform preventive maintenance as well as how to undertake minor repairs on power generators and associated  power generation control equipment.

In this series we will be discussing both theory and practical review for both dc and ac generators.

HowtoBuild.cc presents – Concrete Form Design

The form work that we create for concrete construction must be designed to  be strong enough enough to support the plastic concrete until it has hardened.

If one fails to provide for adequate form strength form failure will cause most unfortunate results. Concrete forms must be designed for the total of the combined weight and stresses that they will be subjected to. These stress includes the weight of the forms themselves ( not insignificant when building using steel forms ) the weight of the plastic concrete in the form work once poured, the additional weight of the men working on the pour along with their equipment and materials, and any effects from the applicataion of mechanical vibrators

Quite obviously each of these factors will vary considerably with each project and some care must be taken to consider each one on each new form design.

For commercial reasons the ease with which a team can erect and take down  concrete formwork is also important factor in the design of your forms.

On occasion it maybe more economical to design and plan for platform and ramp structures to provide access for the workmen and their heavy equipment separate to the concrete formwork itself.

Hydrostatic Pressure & Concrete Form Design

When plastic concrete is placed in forms it exerts some “hydrostatic pressure” on the form support. We commence basic form design  therefore but reviewing the maximum pressure produced during placing the concrete, which in turn depends on the rate at which the concrete is placed and the temperature. The volume rate that you place the concrete affects the pressure exerted on the forms because this rate affects how much hydrostatic pressure build up follows.

The pressures associated with hydrostatic head increase continuously until the concrete takes its initial set ( normally in around ninety minutes ) However at lower temperatures the initial set will occur far more slowly. This is why we must factor into account the temperature at the time of placing concrete.

By knowing these two external factors and the material that the form will be constructed from it is is possible to calculate and good preliminary concrete form design.

Generally structural concrete is created by placing still “plastic” concrete into a space created by constructed form work, when the plastic concrete subsequently hardens it will harden into a shape created by the outline these “concrete forms”.

The exact dimensions of the concrete forms are established from the construction project plans and supporting documentation.

Concrete formwork must be constructed correctly to produce high quality finished concrete. Concrete forms must be both rigid and strong to be able to  safely withstand the pressures placed on them at the time of placement of the concrete. It is important that you do not attempt to create shortcuts in creating concrete forms.

When an earth face exists that is strong enough to support plastic concrete we can omit the form components at that location. For example with most footings, the footing base is cast directly against the ground with form work only used on the sides or the larger footings are called for in the specifications sometime both the bottom and the sides may be caste against the earth.

You will also sometimes see foundations that are cast with a concrete form on the inner wall and the earth surface on the outside.

Concrete Forms can be made from a wide variety of Materials

Concrete forms can be made from a variety of materials however the most common are wood, steel and earth.

Concrete Forms Built from Wood

The most commonly used concrete form used in building construction are made from wood. Wooden concrete formwork has the advantage of being cheap to construct, easy to handle, and can be adapted to almost any shape desired.

Wood used for concrete forms must be straight and strong and not fully seasoned. Kiln-dried timber will swell when exposed to the water in the concrete. If the wood is are tightly joined when this happens the swelling may cause warping and distortion. If you use green timber for concrete forms care must be taken to allow for some measure of shrinkage, alternatively green forms must be kept wetted down until the concrete is placed.

The best wood to use of concrete forms are soft woods such as spruce, pine wood and fir as these are the best quality most economical lumber are easy to work with, and cheaply available almost everywhere.

Any lumber that is going to come into direct contact with the placed  concrete should be finished at least on one side as well the edges with the surfaced side facing the concrete.

Plywood is an excellent material for creating forms provided it is of the type made with waterproof glue.  Good quality waterproof Plywood tends to be more warp resistant than softwood and can be reused many times before needing to be replaced. Plywood is manufactured in a wide variety of thicknesses, thinner pieces with require extra care with support but can be extremely versatile in creating curved form work.

Concrete Forms Built from Steel

Although more expensive and time consuming to create than wooded formwork steel concrete forms are very strong and are the preferred solution if a project is to be built more than once at different locations – eg project homes, concrete water tanks, swimming pools etc.

Prefab steel forms are easy fast to put together and very easy to strip down when the pour is finished. Steel forms provide a very smooth surface finish to the finished concrete. Steel forms are easily cleaned of excess concrete and long term maintenance is minimal.

Combination steel / wood forms are exactly like steel forms except for the form face which is constructed from a sheet of plywood.

Concrete Forms Built from Soil

Very often if the surrounding soil is able to retain the desire shape of the concrete on excavation we can use the earth itself as formwork for construction that is below the surface of the land contour.

One of the largest drawbacks to this method of creating concrete forms is the quality of the concrete surface is rough at best as such this method is  generally only used for footings and foundation formwork.

Concrete Forms Built from Cardboard

Cardboard forms are generally used to create complex shapes like round concrete columns. These forms are prefabricated ( offsite ) from cardboard that has been impregnated with some waterproofed material.

Concrete Forms Built from Nylon Fabric

Tough new nylon fabrics lend themselves very well to the formation of  a “bag” that can then be injected with structural concrete creating what one could describe as concrete “pillows.”

These “concrete pillows” have many uses including lining drainage channels and even as footing solutions for modular homes as shown in the image below

HowtoBuild.cc presents Working with Concrete

Concrete is without question the World’s most prolific construction material. It be almost impossible today to find a construction project of any significance that did not make use of this amazing material.

The strength, quality and visual appearance of finished concrete are profoundly affected by the quality control process and its placement. Following correct placement methods are vital to prevent segregation of the separate elements of concrete.

This series of articles is intended to provide an overview guideline for constructors in the forming, placement, finishing, and final “curing” of concrete.

We also provide an overview of the use of and management of reinforcement, and the creation of concrete construction joints.

How to Build Concrete Forms

Concrete Form Design