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Subsiding Shed..

Robert

Robert

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Around 11 years ago I built a shed in my garden. Quite close to the shed in a neighbours garden was a monster size Black poplar tree. A few years ago he noticed some rot in the main trunk and had the tree removed. This thing had a 4 to 5 foot diameter trunk and cost him (I think) £2k to get removed.

I'm guessing the roots of this tree are now rotting/rotted in the ground and as a result my shed is taking on a lean. I made a small foundation as I remember it and laid 2 brick courses on it. It certainly wasn't anything substantial. The shed floor was a frame of 4 x 2 with joists so in theory it might be possible to jack the shed up.

Currently the only problem the lean is causing is the door not shutting easily. Can't decide whether to tackle the reason or just make the door smaller :)

Thoughts?

Overview of the shed. it's 12 x 7' 6". The patio is too high but it drains well and I can see no rot. The phone camera makes the lean look worse than it is.
subs-4.jpg


The lean is mostly on the end view. despite the foliage I can get all the way round the back.
subs-3.jpg


The end window cill that was once level
subs-2.jpg


And the window frame on the front near the door. Not got the level leaning away quite enough.
subs-1.jpg
 
if you have access to where it rests on the bricks , I'd jack it and pack it.
a car jack or scissor jack might do.

I have the same problem with one of mine at the moment. it's resting on 6 padstone. and since overloading with junk one corner has sunk a bit , causing the door to catch.

I dug out a bit, used a decent long timber as a lever and a brick as a pivot and got wifey to walk the plank ! :lol:
I packed it enough for now, but am thinking of making a metal hook so I can jack it up. bottom of the hook under the shed , top of the hook under the jack . a crow bar might possibly work .. but I can't find mine at the moment.

I guess I could fix something to the wall through to the frame, and use that as a jacking point.
 
Not my area of expertise obviously but if you adjusted the door to fit better and it kept on subsiding you will be forced into rectifying and then you will have an ill fitting door. If raising it and packing it is easy to do then do it, It might need doing again in a few years so fitting an easy jacking point seems a good idea.

I take it you do not want to dismantle and relay the foundations?
 
Tusses":3svrw4dx said:
if you have access to where it rests on the bricks , I'd jack it and pack it.
a car jack or scissor jack might do.
<snip>
I guess I could fix something to the wall through to the frame, and use that as a jacking point.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm thinking bolting on a timber for a jacking point might work. Mind you just the thought of emptying out all the junk in the shed is off putting :)

Andyp":3svrw4dx said:
I take it you do not want to dismantle and relay the foundations?
Click to expand...

If the shed was rotten then I'd consider a rebuild but it all seems sound...just a little warped.
 
Robert":1oj2v5hp said:
Mind you just the thought of emptying out all the junk in the shed is off putting :)
.
Click to expand...

I lifted the corner with it full. depending on the construction , you may be able to do that ?
I built mine with a 2x4 frame , stuffed it with pollystyrene , then glued and screwed 3/4 ply top and bottom, so it's sort of a torsion box.

Ideally I want to move it about 20' so I can build a metalwork shop there .. but just the thought of emptying out all the junk in the shed is off putting :)
 
Robert":u89n4yd9 said:
Tusses":u89n4yd9 said:
if you have access to where it rests on the bricks , I'd jack it and pack it.
a car jack or scissor jack might do.
<snip>
I guess I could fix something to the wall through to the frame, and use that as a jacking point.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm thinking bolting on a timber for a jacking point might work. Mind you just the thought of emptying out all the junk in the shed is off putting :)

Andyp":u89n4yd9 said:
I take it you do not want to dismantle and relay the foundations?
Click to expand...

If the shed was rotten then I'd consider a rebuild but it all seems sound...just a little warped.
Click to expand...

You could just place it on some rollers to move it out of the way while new foundations were laid.
 
Had a go at the shed yesterday and today.

I tried making a jacking point and seeing what would happen if I tried to lift it. I had an old scissor jack and it lifted it but it was so much effort it was off putting. it did prove that it could be done so I looked at alternative jacks. The machines at the factory when they needed moving were lifted with toe jacks which have the lifting lug sticking out the side low down. They were way too expensive.
So I went for a cheap hydraulic bottle jack. There are plenty of really cheap 2 ton versions but I went for a 4 ton model that has a threaded middle post to extend its lifting height. About £18 from toolstation.

Having established I can lift it I needed to know by how much it has sunk. So I cleared most of the floor inside and went round with a long level. The corner nearest the door was highest. The back corner was 30mm low at the same end. The diagonal corner to the high point was 80mm low and the front corner 25mm low.

So I cut some packing shims from 2x4 treated
subs-5.jpg


One of my jacking points. The piece of timber is held to the ply with 8 screws. The ply is screwed to the shed at the bottom where the screws will go through the cladding and into the floor joists.
subs-6.jpg


Working round the back of the shed was a bit tight.
subs-7.jpg


There is no 'after' picture as it looks pretty much the same - except that to my eye now looking up the garden it looks straight and the door that jammed at the bottom now just swings closed effortlessly.
 
Result!!!

I had to remove an ancient pergola before I started my 'shop build.

I used my trolley jack to shift decades old metposts with timber posts inside.

I drilled through the wooden post just above the metpost and put a rod through that I jacked up and they came out with a little resistance, but they came out eventually.
 
Nicely done Robert and with those jacking points in place it will be a lot quicker next time.

I knew some people who had a bungalow on the Norfolk Broads at Horning. Every few years they had to jack up the whole bungalow up and replace the pads it was resting on.
 
Andyp":298vy02i said:
I knew some people who had a bungalow on the Norfolk Broads at Horning. Every few years they had to jack up the whole bungalow up and replace the pads it was resting on.
Click to expand...

you can get screw jacks for that. sort of like acrow props. leave them in place and adjust as needed.
 
Andyp":1tqrphyq said:
Nicely done Robert and with those jacking points in place it will be a lot quicker next time.
Click to expand...

They were temporary movable jacking points. I just unscrewed and repositioned them (there were only 2). They are heading back to the scrap wood stock where they came from.

Today I was inspired to have a go at tidying the contents of the shed. Took all day and I've gone through just over half of it. Couple of wheely bins worth of stuff that I'm fed up moving in black sacks awaiting bin space. So much stuff that might come in handy one day... that obviously never will.

Ebay offer me free listings now and again because I never bother to sell anything. Think I'll have to take them up on it next time.
 
Tusses":2iyjdvxm said:
free listings this weekend Robert.
Click to expand...

Not seen anything saying free yet. 2 or 3 times a year I get offered free listings with no fees at all for selling. They really want me to get in the selling habit. Takes a lot to motivate me as selling either goes smoothly or turns into a major hassle - and the thought of that makes me mostly not bother. Must be 3 years+ since I last sold something on ebay.
 
I was offered no fee until you sell the other week but nothing free.
I’ve got a couple of hifi things to sell but in no hurry

Rod
 
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