How to Build an Easy DIY Shed Floor

Building a Simple 8′ x 12′ Storage Shed Floor

If you are building a new garden shed or storage shed, constructing square and level flooring will make the entire project smoother and quicker. Here are tips for building an easy do- it-yourself shed floor.

Materials Needed for an Easy Shed Floor

Materials needed to build an 8′ x 12′ shed floor include: ten deck blocks (the ones with grooves cut into them) seven 8′ 2×6’s, two 12′ 2×6’s, two to three pieces of 3 tab roofing, three sheets of ¾” 4×8 tongue and groove decking, one pound of 16d galvanized nails, one pound of 8d ring shank nails. You will also need some bags of sand, the number depending on size of the bags. You need to have enough for ten 16x16x2 inch areas.

Area Selection for a Storage Shed

Stake out you area for the shed. Use the 3,4,5 method to make sure it’s square. (From a corner measure 3 feet one way, 4 feet the other way, and if it’s square it will be 5 feet from the two points). You want to arrange the deck blocks in two rows of five. They need to be one foot in from the edges, with six feet between the two rows, and spaced two feet apart in the other direction.

Leveling Deck Blocks when Building a Storage Floor

It is important to make the deck blocks as level as possible. This will make building the shed much easier. Having located roughly where the deck blocks will go, mark the locations so you can dig out at least 2″ of the soil. Replace this soil with sand. As you level the deck blocks, you can add or remove some of the sand.

If the area is not level, it is important to pick the lowest area for your first deck block. Place the deck block in the area you removed the soil from. Then place your second deck block in the location that is 6 feet away. Put one of your 8′ 2×6’s in the grooves of the deck block and place a level on top of it. Check the bubble to see if its level. This first check will tell you how much deeper the holes will need to be, if any. Once the holes are close to the depth they need to be, put in the 2″ of sand and replace the deck blocks. Check the 2×6 again for levelness, and adjust the amount of sand until it is level.

Once the first two deck blocks are level move over two feet and repeat the above process. This time you will want a second 2×6 to make sure that the blocks are level in the two feet direction as well as in the six feet direction. Continue until you have all 10 deck blocks lined up and level. The reason you kept the deck blocks one foot in from the edges, is that the 2×6’s can extend one foot out past the deck blocks and still carry the weight of your shed.

Building a Shed Floor Frame

Now that your deck blocks are level, break up the three tab roofing into pieces that are as long in one direction as the top of the deck blocks, and long enough in the other direction to wrap around a 2×6, about 10 inches. Bend them in a U shape without breaking them and slide them into the deck blocks so you can put a 2×6 inside, running them in the six foot spacing direction. You will have to use a hammer or small sledge to force the 2×6 into the slot. Make sure that the ends of the 2×6’s are lined up evenly.

Next attach the two 12′ 2×6’s to the ends of the 8′ 2×6’s. Then add the two remaining 8′ 2×6’s between the ends of the 12′ 2×6’s. You now have your basic rectangle for the floor of your shed. Before proceeding, double-check that the rectangle is square, as it may have moved a bit during the nailing. You can use a framers square at the corners, or use the 3,4,5 method again.

Decking a Shed Floor Frame

Once you’re sure the frame is square, you are ready to deck. Put the first sheet on with the tongue facing the outer edge. You will not need the tongue on this sheet, so you can cut it off. You will need to line up the top edge of this sheet with outer edge of the 2×6 below it, which will be easier without the tongue. Once you have the sheet lined up and square with frame edges, nail it in two places with the ring shank nails, one in a corner and the other at least 3 feet away on one of the edges so that it does not move. Then finish putting in the rest of the nails except the long groove side.

Place the second sheet on the frame with the tongue facing the grove of the first sheet. Use some scrap lumber against the edge of the grove side of the second sheet. Pound on the scrap lumber to move the decking into to grove of the first sheet. Nail it as before and then attach the third sheet as above.

You are now ready to build your shed.

Sources:

Family Personal Experience