Building your own shed can be a fun weekend project.
But sometimes were not sure how to proceed with a project when were in an area that we don't have a lot of expertise in.
I had a friend of mine ask me the other day how to build a shed on skids.
Since I have been in the building trade for sometime now I explained to him how to do it.
I thought I would layout the steps on how to build your shed on skids in case anyone else who may need this information is there for the reading.
The article that follows will go through the process it takes to build your floor system and attach it to the skids of your shed.
Step 1.
Determine the type of material your going to use for the skids.
In most cases 4x4 or 4x6 pressure treated material will be used as the skids.
If your shed is going to be placed on the ground, piers, or a concrete, it's always best to use pressure treated lumber.
This material has been injected with chemicals that will help deter insect infestations from occurring.
It also helps to prevent wood rot from water.
Warning! DO NOT Burn OR LET PETS CHEW ON PRESSURE TREATED WOOD.
IT IS POISONOUS.
Step 2.
Place the skids on the surface where you intend to build your shed.
Make sure the surface is as level as possible.
Determine how far apart the skids will be from one another.
Try not to go over 4' apart.
If you do then there will probably be some sag in the floor system once it is built on top of the skids.
Line up ends of the skids with a straight edge or sight them in as close as possible.
Step 3.
Once the skids of your shed are in place, you have two choices to make on how to proceed.
The first is to build your floor system on top of the skids as you go, or build the entire floor skeleton and then place it on top of your skids.
If your floor is small enough to build separately and then place it on the skids, this is the best way to do it.
Step 4.
Build the floor with the appropriate floor joists remembering to crown each joist with the bow pointing up and then secure in place.
Be sure to use screws instead of nails when your fastening the floor joists to the skids.
This will help to keep the structure secure.
Nails tend to pop up after time.
Don't put down any plywood until the floor system is together and secured in place.
Building Your Shed Floor In Place If your building in place, fasten the rim joists to the skids first.
These are the 2 outer joists that run perpendicular to the skids.
Fasten these with L brackets and wood screws.
Once the two outer joists are in place than attach the two end joists that run parallel with skids.
At this point you should have a box set in place on top of the shed skids.
From there, you can now fill in the rest of your floor joists.
Take your tape measure and on the two outer joists that were the first to go up, mark your floor joists at 16" oc from one end to the other.
Mark an X on the side the joist goes on and then cut and fill in the rest of the floor joists.
Where ever a floor joist crosses over a skid, attach an L bracket to the skid and the joist.
Secure it with wood screws.
Building Your Shed Floor Separately If your building the floor separately, make sure the floor skeleton is square and than go ahead and attach it to the skids.
Use the same procedure for attaching the rim and the interior joists to the skids as I mentioned above.
When all floor joists are secure you can go ahead and lay your plywood down.
Use glue that is suitable for securing wood to wood and finish with wood screws to hold down the plywood.
So you've come to the point where your joists are attached to the skids and you've glued down the plywood to the floor joists.
That's all there is to it if you want to build a shed on skids.
Just remember to keep everything square as you build and you'll be fine.
But sometimes were not sure how to proceed with a project when were in an area that we don't have a lot of expertise in.
I had a friend of mine ask me the other day how to build a shed on skids.
Since I have been in the building trade for sometime now I explained to him how to do it.
I thought I would layout the steps on how to build your shed on skids in case anyone else who may need this information is there for the reading.
The article that follows will go through the process it takes to build your floor system and attach it to the skids of your shed.
Step 1.
Determine the type of material your going to use for the skids.
In most cases 4x4 or 4x6 pressure treated material will be used as the skids.
If your shed is going to be placed on the ground, piers, or a concrete, it's always best to use pressure treated lumber.
This material has been injected with chemicals that will help deter insect infestations from occurring.
It also helps to prevent wood rot from water.
Warning! DO NOT Burn OR LET PETS CHEW ON PRESSURE TREATED WOOD.
IT IS POISONOUS.
Step 2.
Place the skids on the surface where you intend to build your shed.
Make sure the surface is as level as possible.
Determine how far apart the skids will be from one another.
Try not to go over 4' apart.
If you do then there will probably be some sag in the floor system once it is built on top of the skids.
Line up ends of the skids with a straight edge or sight them in as close as possible.
Step 3.
Once the skids of your shed are in place, you have two choices to make on how to proceed.
The first is to build your floor system on top of the skids as you go, or build the entire floor skeleton and then place it on top of your skids.
If your floor is small enough to build separately and then place it on the skids, this is the best way to do it.
Step 4.
Build the floor with the appropriate floor joists remembering to crown each joist with the bow pointing up and then secure in place.
Be sure to use screws instead of nails when your fastening the floor joists to the skids.
This will help to keep the structure secure.
Nails tend to pop up after time.
Don't put down any plywood until the floor system is together and secured in place.
Building Your Shed Floor In Place If your building in place, fasten the rim joists to the skids first.
These are the 2 outer joists that run perpendicular to the skids.
Fasten these with L brackets and wood screws.
Once the two outer joists are in place than attach the two end joists that run parallel with skids.
At this point you should have a box set in place on top of the shed skids.
From there, you can now fill in the rest of your floor joists.
Take your tape measure and on the two outer joists that were the first to go up, mark your floor joists at 16" oc from one end to the other.
Mark an X on the side the joist goes on and then cut and fill in the rest of the floor joists.
Where ever a floor joist crosses over a skid, attach an L bracket to the skid and the joist.
Secure it with wood screws.
Building Your Shed Floor Separately If your building the floor separately, make sure the floor skeleton is square and than go ahead and attach it to the skids.
Use the same procedure for attaching the rim and the interior joists to the skids as I mentioned above.
When all floor joists are secure you can go ahead and lay your plywood down.
Use glue that is suitable for securing wood to wood and finish with wood screws to hold down the plywood.
So you've come to the point where your joists are attached to the skids and you've glued down the plywood to the floor joists.
That's all there is to it if you want to build a shed on skids.
Just remember to keep everything square as you build and you'll be fine.
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