12x16 Shed Sitting on Blocks Needs Attention

[Hexa Fox]

I have some free time coming up. My problem is that if you are facing my shed the running boards are ran horizontally. That means that if I try to do something like Dave did, I would be going from front to back. Also I think I mentioned if before but the back end of this shed is literally a few inches or more in the ground. Not to mention I am going to have to rely on this one pneumatic jack (bought one) to lift that entire side of the shed.

I guess the good news is that if I can get this idea to work the prep work can be done in advance. Then all I have to do is run the boards under it. I guesstimate that I am going to need something that is at least 20' and strong. I will probably have to put a support in the middle too which means I will have to get under it at least temporarily. However, I would be comfortable with putting the middle support on some blocks and calling it a day there.

I just found an old long 4x4 post that I think is 6'-8' long that I thought I could use to lift the shed.

Can someone tell me the best way to determine this sheds balance/level? Just taking an angle finder inside the shed and sitting it down on the floor? Because it does look like the back end of it is lower than the front. However, that could just be the way I am looking at it and seeing it in the dirt. If the back end is low though that would really help this idea though since the back portion needs to come up out of the ground anyway.

 

[2manyrocks]

If the interior of the shed isn't obstructed, you could use a laser level inside to quickly assess what's not level. Amazon.com : green laser level

If there's stuff that would obstruct a laser level, you can use a water level to check level outside the shed at all sides provided that you get enough hose to reach.

If you don't have much clearance for a jack, one thing you might try is to cut a 3 foot 2x4 at a diagonal angle into two equally angled pieces to make two large wedges. If you position the two pieces against each other, you can tap them together to act as a wedge/jack. I would put a board under the bottom piece to keep them from digging into the ground while you're doing this.

 

[Hexa Fox]

If the interior of the shed isn't obstructed, you could use a laser level inside to quickly assess what's not level. Amazon.com : green laser level

If there's stuff that would obstruct a laser level, you can use a water level to check level outside the shed at all sides provided that you get enough hose to reach.

If you don't have much clearance for a jack, one thing you might try is to cut a 3 foot 2x4 at a diagonal angle into two equally angled pieces to make two large wedges. If you position the two pieces against each other, you can tap them together to act as a wedge/jack. I would put a board under the bottom piece to keep them from digging into the ground while you're doing this.

Thanks. Unfortunately there is still some stuff in the shed. Either way I do this is going to be hell. I was just thinking if I spent a little more and did it this way now it would provide more of a 'permanent' solution. That is, as opposed to just jacking up the front faulty corner, bracing it and placing it back down on some new blocks.

The worst part of all of this is that I wish I could use the new jack to lift up part of the shed now and see how much of the back end comes off the ground. However, I am scared sitting it back down would finish it off. So I would need to reposition the blocks or something and temporarily sit it back down on that until I dug footers on each side.

Another pain in the @$$ is that I forgot there is a large surface root on the front side of the building as well. Going to be so much fun.

 

[sandman2234]

Good luck with it!
I have two sheds to move a couple doors down, and one shed to move around in a backyard. Mine will be easier than yours, because I can pick them up with my FEL!
David from jax

 

[Hexa Fox]

Good luck with it!
I have two sheds to move a couple doors down, and one shed to move around in a backyard. Mine will be easier than yours, because I can pick them up with my FEL!
David from jax

Hey David, so I know a guy in the neighborhood that that has a large wheel loader with long pallet forks. I thought about asking for his help. He could probably lift up the entire building and have it pretty well supported too.

Hope the tractor is coming along.

 

[2manyrocks]

Thanks. Unfortunately there is still some stuff in the shed. Either way I do this is going to be hell. I was just thinking if I spent a little more and did it this way now it would provide more of a 'permanent' solution. That is, as opposed to just jacking up the front faulty corner, bracing it and placing it back down on some new blocks.

The worst part of all of this is that I wish I could use the new jack to lift up part of the shed now and see how much of the back end comes off the ground. However, I am scared sitting it back down would finish it off. So I would need to reposition the blocks or something and temporarily sit it back down on that until I dug footers on each side.

Another pain in the @$$ is that I forgot there is a large surface root on the front side of the building as well. Going to be so much fun.

If you raise it in small increments, it will be less likely to rack and give you more time to study how it is reacting to being raised. Professional house movers use a lot of what they call cribbing which is a bunch of large wooden blocks that they stack as needed to support sections of the house as they work on raising it. They raise a section with hydraulic jacks and then support it with wooden cribbing stacked as needed as they work their way around until they get the whole thing where they want it. I would think that at least having some pieces of 2x6s, 4x4 or maybe 6x6 PT material would be very handy for temporary support until you can install permanent support. Lumber is lighter to move around as temporary supports than concrete blocks. But the boards are laid flat on the ground and stacked flat on one another---if you try to use them vertically, they'd be too tippy. You could raise one section a bit, insert the boards as support, and then reposition your jack to work on another area doing the same thing back and forth until you get the whole thing raised.

Goes without saying to be careful because you don't want to get a hand or something crushed when a temporary support slips out of position or something breaks in the shed because of the weight and it not liking being moved. Whatever you have to buy to make this a safe job is cheaper than the ER.

 

[zzvyb6]

I also thought about this. You are basically talking about brackets to pull the structure back together right? Like I said, I am not the greatest when it comes to construction so what do you place on the piling it if the piling itself is not big enough? The 4x4? I would like for it to sit on something with a larger base.
EDIT
A potentially dumb idea that I had was to run the heavier duty straps all the way around the shed and attempt to pull it back together then put said 4x4 behind it and secure it. Do you guys think this has a chance of working? How about if I jack the building up? Dumb still??

I think the straps idea could work really well. But: careful not to pull the other posts off kilter. I also think that getting it onto a concrete slab, maybe even one just at the very edge of its current location. Then shoehorn it onto the slab.

 

[2manyrocks]

Although I doubt straps will pull the bottom corners back in enough by themselves, they would help stabilize the shed to raise it.

other bracing may be needed

 

[Hexa Fox]

I think the straps idea could work really well. But: careful not to pull the other posts off kilter. I also think that getting it onto a concrete slab, maybe even one just at the very edge of its current location. Then shoehorn it onto the slab.

So I have been thinking about that and I decided if I go that route I think I should consider just using carriage bolts with large washers. This would eliminate the chance of the wood splitting and I think be stronger overall. The problem with this plan is I would have to get under the shed at least temporarily.

Because the skirt is so offset right now I would have to predrill the holes in the 6x6, get it into position, beat the skirt back into place and finally get under the building to run the paddle bit through the predrilled holes to get through the skirt on the other side. I could always 'persuade' it back into place first then drill through the skirt and 6x6 safely from outside the shed but in my opinion it leaves too much room for error. Especially since I will be at least slightly guesstimating where I am drilling at.

Everyone is getting into this new "dry pour" concrete idea and it has me very intrigued. I was thinking that could be an idea for me. Of course I would have to make them thick and still have to sit the shed onto it. I need a second building and may do a pole barn of some sort and try the dry pour method. The heaviest thing I would need to store is a small tractor. Mostly just a couple zero turns.

EDIT

Another advantage to the carriage bolts is that if I cannot get the corners back together perfectly the carriage bolts and washers may do the rest for me.

 

[2manyrocks]

I suspect the wood splayed out because there's too much weight in the shed and the shed wasn't sitting level on enough foundation material to carry the load. I also suspect the weight is going to fight you being able to beat the wood back into position without splitting all to pieces unless you get the weight off and somehow raise it enough that it is free to move back where it should be.

Pipe clamps could be useful to try to pull the wood back into position. If you get a long enough piece of pipe, you may be able to find some solid material to set the clamp and then work the clamp end from the outside of the building without getting under the shed. If you feel too much resistance while clamping, time to back off before breaking something.

There's another method of raising a light, unloaded structure like a porch without getting under it that could potentially work on a shed if unloaded. Basically, you would bolt a 2x6 ledger to the top plate from the outside. Then position a series of 4x4 posts at an angle resting under the ledger. The posts would be positioned on 2 x6 or 2x8 runners and then each post is raised by driving wedges. The structure has to be structurally sound enough to hold together doing this. Not something to do when there is a lot of wind, either. I would also want to have some blocks or wood handy to put in place as the shed gets raised. I replaced a 50' section of barn foundation for a barn's side shed using this method. For all the details, look at the PDF at this link. Restoring a Porch - Fine Homebuilding