How to Build a Shed That Can Be Transported
Check local regulations before starting any shed project. You usually will not need a building permit for a portable shed, but some residential developments prohibit all portable buildings and even without a permit, local building codes may have rules on placement and size of sheds. It is one thing to move a 6-by-8-foot shed and quite another to transport one 16-by-20-feet. Locate the shed where equipment will have good access to move it without cutting tree limbs, destroying flower beds or patios or taking down boundary walls. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shed base, concrete slab, gravel bed or concrete piers
- Skids, railroad ties or big beams
- 2-by-4-inch framing lumber
- Hammer
- Framing nails
- Tape measure
- Joist hangers (optional)
- 3/4-inch plywood
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Instructions
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Make a solid base for the shed to rest on, using a concrete slab, tightly compacted gravel or concrete blocks or precast concrete piers. Lay three skids, big beams on which the shed will rest, on the base, facing the long dimension of the shed. Use railroad ties or 4-by-4-inch or 6-by-6-inch posts. Set one skid in the center, two on the outside edges a foot or so from the edge of the shed. Make sure they are straight and parallel and level. Do not attach these to the base.
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Build a platform floor, using 2-by-4-inch framing lumber, to the dimensions of the shed, 6-by-8, 8-by-10 or whatever. Make an outside frame first and square it by measuring corner to corner with a tape measure until those diagonals are the same. Nail the frame together with a hammer and framing nails. Add 2-by-4 joists spaced 24 inches apart across the width of the shed, either nailed through the side bands or installed with hangers -- U-shaped brackets which fasten to the bands and hold the joists when they are nailed to the hangers.
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Set the floor platform on the skids. Position it so joists go across the skids and use a level to level it. Adjust the base under the skids or use wooden shims to get the platform level. Secure the platform with framing nails driven diagonally (toenailed) through the joists and bands into the skids. Cover it with 3/4-inch plywood nailed to the bands and joists. Run the plywood with the top grain across the joists.
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Build the shed walls on the platform floor and add a roof and siding. Nail walls to the platform bands and joists, nail corner studs together and tie the walls with a cap board which overlaps the corner wall joints. Add diagonal cross braces to the wall studs of a larger shed to reinforce it for transporting. Make these of 1-by-4-inch boards.
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Tips & Warnings
Use pressure-treated lumber for skids and floor platform.
Cover the platform with waterproof membrane stapled to bands and joists before installing plywood flooring, for extra protection against moisture.
