I want to build a shed to house boats (canoes) in the Adirondacks, approximate size 12×18 or so. This is a big project for me. What advice do folks have about a foundation? Tentative site is moderately uneven. Winter weather is severe — could hit -20 or worse with heavy snow. Depth of soil might be shallow enough that I would hit rock before I was below the frostline. I am thinking about trying to dig 5 foot post holes (or as far down as I can go), drop in a fiber tube, pour a concrete plug at the bottom, and then rest a 4×4 on top of that and backfill with gravel (as described in Taunron’s “Sheds” book). Any special gotchas or problems you more experienced folks might anticipate? Is there any less labor intensive foundation suiutable for this climate? And oh yeah, I forgot, the property is water access only, so everything needs to come by small boat or be floated across!
Thanks in advance.
Roald
Replies
Sounds like a cool project.
if you are digging your postholes and hit solid bedrock, I wouldn't worry too much about frost heave. You might consider drilling into the rock to anchor some pins to help hold this in a high wind, but otherwise just anchor to your poured concrete. With the snow loads a decent pitch on the roof is prudent unless you want to overbuild the structure with that in mind, though the Adirondack style favors a good pitch.