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Foundation for shed..

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rsutoratosu

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In large parts of the US, if you pour a concrete foundation you just built living space and have to follow a bazillion different building codes. Basically you are building a small house and not a shed.
 
In my area, you need a permit if it's over 120 sqft.
I used pressure treated wood as skids and laid 1" T&G over that for the flooring.
 
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Evadman said:
In large parts of the US, if you pour a concrete foundation you just built living space and have to follow a bazillion different building codes. Basically you are building a small house and not a shed.
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I don't think I'd phrase it that way. The difference is between a temporary structure and a permanent structure. A permanent structure like a shed doesn't necessarily have to follow the same building codes that a house does. With a concrete base, it's most likely will be considered a permanent structure. Where in some places a shed without one will fall into the category of a temporary structure. That determines what permits and regulations you have to follow. Of course every state and country has different rules.
 
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I'd build it out of wood and set it on pressure treated lumber.

Well actually if it was for me here I would build it more like a house and bolt it to the slab, but as some mentioned you may have to get a building permit for that.
 
I didn't need anything when I did mine, State of Maine says go nuts if you are constructing something for an agricultural/horticultural business under a certain size, especially out in rural areas.

How thick were you planning on making the slab? I wouldn't go thin, thinking it won't matter on one that small. The thicker the better, if it's good crete (that stuff with the fibers in it) it will probably never crack. You just need to worry about your drainage situation near the edges. If any water collects at the base, it won't be long before it's a real depression and support material beneath will loosen and give way. Having some decent overhang with your roof is one of the best ways to do that, assuming you won't be using gutters getting that run off as far away from the slab is really important. In Maine it's really wet. Water freaking everywhere. When people build themselves a house, garage, barn, what have you, I've typically seen them use pressure treated lumber for everything within 3 or 4 feet of the ground. Shrouding normal cheap stuff with plastic doesn't last. Not to say that's the norm there though, plenty of people there who half ass it. Especially down east. 😉

I used wet hemlock for my structure, two big rows of 8x8s going down the middle of it's 36ft length. Used pine boards and spruce batons on the exterior. Had a 12' x 16' insulated office/infirmary/dog room in one corner, finished in cedar tongue and grove. Bolted it to the 6" slab, which I wish I had made thicker as well as situated 3" or 4" higher for more of a grade. Ended up running a 100amp conduit down from the main house, which allowed me to power both structures with my pto generator when we had an outage.
The biggest problems I had with my barn were bad drainage on one side, then a community of moles or something moved in underneath the slab, excavating away and making me really worried about downpours. I dealt with them several times but they always seemed to return. So, heads up!
 
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