Ground work and foundation-Chapter 2

When you open the sheds carton according to the dotted line on its outside, the first thing you encounter is the instruction manual. After a week or so of studying it, I have to say that while all the information you need is probably there, the manner in which it is presented does not really inspire confidence that it is really possible to build a 100 square foot building from the contents of the box. Perhaps if I could translate the Spanish, Thai, Esperanto and Tagalog versions of the instructions I could divine some sense out of it all. To be pithy, I'll just say the instructions are pithy.
The first admonition in the instructions is to make sure all the parts are there. After perusing the contents, gathering up all the hardware bits, nuts bolts and screws, I was relatively sure all the main parts were present. Keep in mind though since the box is sitting outdoors near the erection site, I wanted to keep the box intact and all the painted parts nicely wrapped. All the parts are packaged so that they come out of the box mostly in the order in which you use them, providing you follow the instructions closely.
Since the ground I'm working with is already like concrete I figured it was redundant to pour a slab. A treated wood foundation seemed like a better solution. My plan boiled down to 4X4 posts set 2 feet in the ground with a 2X4 perimeter.
My dog Reggie seems to approve of the progress so far.
The floor will be built from 5/8 exterior plywood. I would have used marine plywood but it was a special order from Home Depot.
4 sheets of plywood, the treated lumber and a new screw-shooter came to almost $300. I'm getting painfully close to what the Sea-can would have cost. No turning back, no remorse, get on with the job.
While trying to figure out how the floor kit fit into the whole scheme of things I discovered the kit which the lady at Sears guaranteed was the correct one for the shed, absolutely was not. A visit to her left me with the advice to call Arrow on their toll free number. The lady there really knew her shit! I suppose they get these problems all the time and she promised the correct parts within a week. She also allowed that the shed can be built without the floor installed first and the kit and plywood can be installed last. So that's the way I'll do it.
Once the foundation is built with careful checking with a long level so that everything is squared away, I'll be bringing the level of the ground up a bit with some coarse sand I picked up at the lumber yard for a buck a bag. The floor kit has to be the same height as the perimeter of the shed to support the floor properly. You can't pay too much attention to detail and if you do it right the first time you won't have to do it over again.

All that's left to do now is bring up the grade under the floor with sand and I'm ready to start building the shed.
That will have to wait for an un-windy day. Something we don't see too often in the desert but mid-August is a good time to get one. Hopefully before our monsoon season starts!

Getting started on a shed project-Chapter 1

OK I admit it. I'm a packrat. I represent at least the 4th generation of my family afflicted with the same pathology. Not only that, but I'm a hopeless collector, hobbyist, techno-freak and car builder.
This means I'm always looking for more places to keep tools, materials, collections. hardware, gee-gaws, fooferaw and what-nots. Don't even ask about tires, wheels, truck, jeep and bus parts.
Suffice it to say, that by the time I finish a decent shed project it will already be insufficient in size and in spite of all my organizational abilities, it will be instantly impossible to find anything within its confines.

The Shed
While contemplating the practical aspects of additional outdoor storage, my imagination immediately began drawing mental pictures of a 40 foot shipping container with a roll up door and air conditioning. A wooden frame shed, more like a little house really, also appeared on my fantasy shed parade. Both of these storage solutions unfortunately, start out over $1000 and inexorably go up from there.
A look at the Sunday paper revealed the only really practical solution: Arrow shed from Sears.
Our local Sears store had a 10'X11" gambrel roof shed for $349 including a floor kit. Sounded like a good deal to me.
The Sears experience was not exactly what I expected. The gal that runs the local franchise was not in any way equipped to sell Arrows products. I expect she has some sales ability for some product or other but metal sheds isn't on the list. We eventually negotiated a deal for the shed and the floor kit. Then I found out the shed weighs 250 pounds and she had no one to help me load it. Back tomorrow.
Finally, I have my shed kit and sufficient gumption to get busy putting it together.
I had already resolved to put it on the west side of the house with the door situated so that my truck or trailer could be backed up to the shed door for unloading and loading of stuff. It also needed to be situated close to my utility box so that it can be electrified since I plan to keep my air compressor within to keep the noisy thing out of my garage. Here's where the shed will go and the shed itself still in its carton.

I live on a granite bluff about 3000' in thickness so my ground is basically decomposed granite (dg). Here in the desert it is common to dig down 2 feet or so and find a caliche layer a couple inches thick. Dig through that and its sand until somewhere close to China. In my yard the deeper you dig the harder it gets. Simple as that!
In the next chapter we will get the ground prepared for the foundation and start the construction.