Home Improvement

Emailed this to a friend...who already informed me that our local building codes require at least 2x6 for flooring, so looks like I'm using 2x6es for all of it.

You really don't want less than 2x6 on the floor, anyway. Too much sagging and changing shape, otherwise. I tend to over-engineer stuff, but using less than 2x10s on a floor seems like tom foolery to me.

any thoughts on needing to use metal L-brackets anywhere, or will just screwing it all together be sufficient?

I typically don't use metal hangers for this kind of work. Especially if you can frame it all with screws from the outside. Three substantial decking screws in each end is going to hold up, and that's far less finicky than the metal hangers. But, that's just an opinion, and I know many people like the hangers. I did use them for my kids' tree house, but that was because I was matching some old, reused materials.

I'm a little worried about not being anchored to the ground (we do get high winds/tornadoes around here)

Anyone have experience using an anchor system like this:

Amazon.com : Ground Anchor System IS 50016 6 Piece kit With Drive Rod : Boating Anchors : Patio, Lawn Garden

$30 bucks, will anchor 5000lbs to the ground, seems like a good deal and looks easy to install

The maximum span for a 2x4 floor joist assuming it's no.2 southern yellow pine is only 5' at 16" centers. If you go up to 2x6 is just under 10' with the same deflection for a given load.

Big difference.

The last shop I built here at the house I used 2x6 No.2 for the floor joist and went 8' and have a lot of really heavy stuff in it including a lathe. 2x10 is WAY overkill for a shed and that was for a 12'x16' "shed".

If you are concerned about deflection (there are span tables for lumber on the internet) that you put in the size, no2. or no1. select etc..and it gives you the max span for a given deflection with 240 or 360 being normal.

If you want less deflection you're better off to sister two together than going to a 2x10.

I wouldn't think of using anything other than a 2x6 and in fact you could even go 24" centers on something that small. A 2x6 with a standard /360 deflection can go 9'-0 at 24" centers isntead of 16". If you wanted to go /480 defletion which is above code for homes you could still go 24" and have a span right at 8'-0.

Basically pick either 16" or 24" centers and you are good to go with a no.2 2x6 for the floor joist. That's 40 pounds per square foot over the entire floor at once which is a huge amount of weight in a hurry, with no more deflection than you would get in a house.

I'd say you're welcome to try that, but I'm guessing if you get a tornado, I'm going to go ahead and say that's not going to save your structure. Might keep the floor down, but the rest isn't staying.

If a tornado comes that close to my house, the least of my worries is my shed

thanks for the info Borzak, definitely going 2x6, which should be plenty since I'm only spanning 8 feet, I might go ahead and space them 24" apart instead of 16". would save a bit on costs

joeboo_sl said:

If a tornado comes that close to my house, the least of my worries is my shed

thanks for the info Borzak, definitely going 2x6, which should be plenty since I'm only spanning 8 feet, I might go ahead and space them 24" apart instead of 16". would save a bit on costs

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You could just put the the floor joist on your concrete deals and put the floor right down on that without having a floor joist and a support under it on the concrete deal. Put them on each end or even if you want one in the middle and then fill in level at the top with joist hangers using short joist between them. Keeps the bulding from being an extra foot tall.

On my last one I made an L for each side out of 2x6. Glued and screwed together. Put those on the concrete blocks and sait the floor joist down in the L and screwed them from the end.

I'll see if I can make some paint up real quick. I suck at that even tho I'm a designer/drafter I normally don't use paint. It's super stiff and you can cut down on the number of conrete blocks and save on the height of the building etc.

That's some quality CAD work, Borzak!

Hey, I did it for a living for 25 years. I designed and produced shop drawings for an $18 million furnace for the Exxon refinery on graph paper and a penicl and a straight edge only 2 years ago in the field.

I could have done it in cad but honestly I didn't want to dick with uploading it.

lol, I got the general idea. MS Paint is for pros

Borzak_sl said:

Hey, I did it for a living for 25 years. I designed and produced shop drawings for an $18 million furnace for the Exxon refinery on graph paper and a penicl and a straight edge only 2 years ago in the field.

I could have done it in cad but honestly I didn't want to dick with uploading it.

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Dude, I'm yanking your chain. I entirely understood what your diagram showed. Just call me a dick head and move on.

lurkingdirk_sl said:

Dude, I'm yanking your chain. I entirely understood what your diagram showed. Just call me a dick head and move on.

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Oh I know, I was just making a joke. I don't like dicking with it if I don't have to. Just pointing out even tho I have actual cad skills I'm not above using a piece of paper and a pencil which in my career field apparently is akin to tech related people using a calculator.

lurkingdirk_sl said:

Dude, I'm yanking your chain. I entirely understood what your diagram showed. Just call me a dick head and move on.

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Dickhead.

Moving on: Have any of you fellows had experience with a local woodworking co-op? I've been pondering joining the St. Louis one just so I can get some lathe and drill press time. Seems fairly cheap at $30/year, and $5 per hour on tool use.