The shed has been stabilized
Nov. 29th, 2022 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unicorndukeThank fucking god
The shed had been....shifting. I think since I had started to go in it to put a few things in there, it had started to shift on it's cinderblocks. Now, unsurprisingly the people who put it there did a bad job and I think just assumed because it was on rocks, it wouldn't shift at all. The rocks in that spot are shale/gravel types that break really easily. So the cinderblocks on the lower side of the hill were going into the ground. At an angle.
In the last two months, I was actively terrified the shed was going to fall down. The main problem was that the joists ran across the shed short ways, perpendicular to the hill slope. The thing holding the joists in place were two 2x6s on the ends. There was no other joist support. The only thing holding the entire shed up was the outer 2x6s sitting on concrete blocks. When the concrete blocks on the lower hill side started shifting, the 2x6 on the up hill side started pulling away from the joists it was supporting since it was just nailed it. Or rather, the shed was pulling away from the 2x6 since that was on the concrete block there and the 2x6 perpendicular wasn't resting on the same block. Or rather, the thing that kept the entire shed from collapsing was that the short side 2x6 pulled away from the up hill 2x6 by an inch and a half and finally stuck onto the concrete block.
Anyway, the shed was moving slightly and I asked F's BIL Z, who is a farmer and also has done construction work in the past, for some help. He came over and came to the same conclusion I did, that the people who put the shed there were dumbasses.
We slowly jacked both danger corners up, switching back and forth until we got the downhill side off the blocks. Then we leveled the little gravel area, resettled the concrete blocks and added a 2x10 board in to rest under several joints and reduce the risk of board connection failures. Slowly slowly lowered it onto the blocks. Then we jacked up the up hill danger corner, leveled it, put the concrete blocks in and added a board there as well, with more emphasis on joist support. Since the outer 2x6 had pulled away, the joists in the middle of that section had begun to sag so we did our best and got it set under there.
The middle support concrete pile on the down hill side was still very tippy but we came to the conclusion that we were going to leave it alone because there was too much pressure on it when we tried to jack the corner back up and the risk of the 2x6s bowing out and collapsing it from the jacks (bottle jacks) was too much. Also in order to jack up that specific section, we would need to be downhill of the shed while doing it.... we decided the corners were sufficient.
So we left the jacks under the corners just in case things shifted in the next few days. Z braved the shed and jumped around a few times to make sure nothing was going to move around and we hammered the loose 2x6 back in place and were pretty satisfied with the safety of the building. We took two loads of stuff out of the shed as well since we want it empty for this weekend.
Because my dad is coming up with the bobcat and we are going to skid the shed this weekend. Lots to do before this weekend, I need to get 2x4s for bracing, buy supplies from the hardware store. I called for gravel delivery already at least.
Shed of doom, stabilized. You can see how angled the center cinderblock supports are, the far end supports were more angled than that before we fixed it.
The shed had been....shifting. I think since I had started to go in it to put a few things in there, it had started to shift on it's cinderblocks. Now, unsurprisingly the people who put it there did a bad job and I think just assumed because it was on rocks, it wouldn't shift at all. The rocks in that spot are shale/gravel types that break really easily. So the cinderblocks on the lower side of the hill were going into the ground. At an angle.
In the last two months, I was actively terrified the shed was going to fall down. The main problem was that the joists ran across the shed short ways, perpendicular to the hill slope. The thing holding the joists in place were two 2x6s on the ends. There was no other joist support. The only thing holding the entire shed up was the outer 2x6s sitting on concrete blocks. When the concrete blocks on the lower hill side started shifting, the 2x6 on the up hill side started pulling away from the joists it was supporting since it was just nailed it. Or rather, the shed was pulling away from the 2x6 since that was on the concrete block there and the 2x6 perpendicular wasn't resting on the same block. Or rather, the thing that kept the entire shed from collapsing was that the short side 2x6 pulled away from the up hill 2x6 by an inch and a half and finally stuck onto the concrete block.
Anyway, the shed was moving slightly and I asked F's BIL Z, who is a farmer and also has done construction work in the past, for some help. He came over and came to the same conclusion I did, that the people who put the shed there were dumbasses.
We slowly jacked both danger corners up, switching back and forth until we got the downhill side off the blocks. Then we leveled the little gravel area, resettled the concrete blocks and added a 2x10 board in to rest under several joints and reduce the risk of board connection failures. Slowly slowly lowered it onto the blocks. Then we jacked up the up hill danger corner, leveled it, put the concrete blocks in and added a board there as well, with more emphasis on joist support. Since the outer 2x6 had pulled away, the joists in the middle of that section had begun to sag so we did our best and got it set under there.
The middle support concrete pile on the down hill side was still very tippy but we came to the conclusion that we were going to leave it alone because there was too much pressure on it when we tried to jack the corner back up and the risk of the 2x6s bowing out and collapsing it from the jacks (bottle jacks) was too much. Also in order to jack up that specific section, we would need to be downhill of the shed while doing it.... we decided the corners were sufficient.
So we left the jacks under the corners just in case things shifted in the next few days. Z braved the shed and jumped around a few times to make sure nothing was going to move around and we hammered the loose 2x6 back in place and were pretty satisfied with the safety of the building. We took two loads of stuff out of the shed as well since we want it empty for this weekend.
Because my dad is coming up with the bobcat and we are going to skid the shed this weekend. Lots to do before this weekend, I need to get 2x4s for bracing, buy supplies from the hardware store. I called for gravel delivery already at least.
Shed of doom, stabilized. You can see how angled the center cinderblock supports are, the far end supports were more angled than that before we fixed it.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 02:15 am (UTC)I'm hopefully going to start getting the bracing up in the shed tomorrow, need to buy 2x4s from the lumber mill...
no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 02:49 am (UTC)There's a little voice in me that says you might be better with 2x6s just out of an abundance of caution. But then again I tend to overdo these things.
Real house prices on that shed is an entirely funny mental image. I can see it helping thin out the prospective buyers pretty comprehensively.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 08:36 pm (UTC)We were the only ones who made an offer and we almost didn't see it. So you know, it did help.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 09:05 pm (UTC)Not much difference in the amount of effort to pull a 2x4 or a 2x6 appart in tension, yeah, and something else has exploded already if something manages to generate the force required. Hopefully the will to become a parallelogram will never get close to being that strong.
"Skidding in the rain" is best avoided, oh yes. Strong agreement from this corner. (Might might an effective title for a mournful song from the viewpoint of the only survivor.)
I completely believe you about the photo keeping people from looking! If I'd seen that photo with a full house price I'd've assumed I was dealing with either brain worms or a might-as-well-be-brain-worms small house enthusiast and would have passed lightly on. Yay for being hopeful and thorough!