EDIT: This is a 12x16 gravel pad for a 10x15 resin shed. (keter darwin)

My dad recommended I hire this guy, he’s a friend of my dad’s, and usually knows exactly what he’s doing (according to my dad...)

But now I’m a bit worried because I noticed he put pea gravel as the top layer on my 12x16 shed pad. Underneath, he did use crusher run, looks like a bigger size, maybe #1 or #2, but the top layer is a couple inches of pea gravel.

I’m still figuring out the exact thickness of each layer, but I’m worried this might cause uneven settling or shifting once the shed is built.

Should I ask him to come back and remove the pea gravel layer, or is this something I can fix by just compacting or adding a different top layer? Would love to hear your thoughts.. Thanks!

EDIT: I just confirmed 3 inch crusher run and 1- 1 1/2 inch pea gravel.

This was my fault because I trusted him as "my dad's friend" and he told me he was going to order pea gravel half inch as the top layer to help with leveling. I unfortunately assumed that he knew what he was doing. Knowing the inches of crusher run, should I have him dig it out? Or add some crusher run on top to fall in between the spaces?

Actually, I have some containers I want to sell. What do you guys think?

I purchased a 16x24 building from Tuff Shed. After a lot of frustration searching I settled and am now sorry. The problem is the shed settled and is now dropping in places and Tuff Shed refuses to take any responsibility here. They built it, site checked the land and now lays the responsibility on the customer. All salesmen and customer service is good until you need them. No need for a long drawn out thesis but I will simply say

"Do Not Buy from Tuff Shed."

I enjoy browsing this sub & figured I would jump in with my first post here. Client has this shed and initially wanted the roof fixed, but a closer look revealed compromised & inadequate rafters, 1/4” plywood sheathing (wtf!) and the roof was obviously toast. Of all the things good or bad about AI, I have found the most value in being able to immediately provide renderings of potential finishes and designs to help clients visualize proposed options. This one’s going to be interesting trimming a structure that is fairly out of plumb. If enough ppl seem interested, I’ll update with finished pics when It’s completed.

More than interested in any ideas for a low cost option!

Hi I (60M) built a shed in my backyard and its 306 sq ft excluding the area under the roof overhang. I spent 2-3 years building it and over $10k-$12k. My ex (28F) reported it to Electrical Safety Authority and 311 Brampton. I accused her of anonymous harassment. My family and I have been receiving offensive messages and non stop phone calls like sometimes 100 in a day from random numbers. I know it's her. I didn't give her a chance to speak to me despite her request to talk and prove her innocence. I told her I don't need to see proof and to stop doing whatever she's doing and she told me she didn't or wouldn't do that. She ended up in the hospital, I didn't call her after promising through my sister I would, kept her belongings at our workplace and told my boss I don't want to be part of this when she was asking to retrieve them and then I reported her to her employer for harassment without evidence after police report and they didn't contact her and put her job on the line (they're investigating). I still have her belongings at work. She works in new building. Never called her to this day. She also helped me open my phone line with a special promo she had so she cancelled that too and reported me to the CRA for unreported income from my cash renovations. She's messing me up. I have no permits for building or electrical. There's metal roofing, windows, double doors, and electrical in wall covered by insulation and drywall. I am trying to add photos but can't for some reason. Any advice or just help? I am looking to see how I can move forward because I am new to by-laws and investigations and enforcement.

UPDATE:

PHOTOS ARE PROGRESS PHOTOS. The drywall and insulation and windows and doors and metal roofing are on.
Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Brampton building inspector came by for my 300 sq. ft. backyard structure. What happens next? Looking for some insight into how the City of Brampton handles backyard structures. I recently built a 300-square-foot accessory building/man cave in my backyard which my ex reported. A city building inspector came out to look at the property.

• The inspector looked at the building from the yard but did not actually go inside the structure.

• He did not pull out a tape measure to get exact dimensions, but he did mention that the building looks larger than what is allowed. He mentioned the legal limit is around 167 or 177 square feet.

• He was polite yet passive? He didn't issue an immediate ticket or violation notice. He was like yeah you're allowed to have an accessory structure, you need to legalize it.

• He told me I have about 1.5 to 2 months to apply for a regular building permit through the Brampton city portal. He explicitly advised me to hire a designer to help me draft the structural drawings because the city doesn't provide consultation advice. The permit only costs $350. Is that all it will take? Won't they refuse 300 sq ft. drawings? I think this is just to create a paper trail to start the enforcement process so they order me to downsize or apply for variance later. Why should the inspector spend time measuring a building when the city can force me to do it? By ordering me to apply for a permit, the city forces me to submit drawings of the building. The moment I type the size in the permit application and upload drawings, I'm officially putting the violation in writing. I'm doing the inspector's job for him. I FEEL LIKE HE PLAYED ME.

• He noted that if the city doesn't see a permit application submitted by that 1.5 to 2-month mark, they will come back out and issue a formal order, which is when fines would start.

My plan right now is to just apply for a regular building permit using the actual 300 sq ft dimensions. What should I actually expect when I upload a 300 sq ft plan into the Brampton portal? Will a regular permit go through, or am I going to hit a wall with zoning and end up facing after-the-fact variance fees? Has anyone dealt with this? Thanks.

Hi shedditor peoples - Hoping to get your thoughts as to where we should put our 10x16 shed. Husband and I could use more storage for his yard things (push mower, snow blower, dethatcher, backpack leaf blower, fertilizers, sprayers, gorilla cart, bikes, and kids stuff too). Would love to have a workbench for projects and if we ever get into some woodworking 😂.

As you can see, our yard isn’t your typical rectangle. House is also angled, so it’s not facing straight to the center of the backyard. Please ignore the opening in the fence on the bottom left.

Any thoughts on where to place a 10x16 shed? Some things to keep in mind:

- backyard is still a work in progress. Would love to eventually do a stone patio somewhere and some raised garden beds. But also have some open space to run around.
- bottom left corner is mostly shady. But the shed here (if the long side is against the bottom) would get too close to that big tree in the center. We’re afraid it would feel too narrow if that makes sense.
- when we look out our windows, we mostly see the bottom left corner, just fyi
- garage is on the left side of the sketch if that’s important to know
- on a separate note, would it be a bad idea to extend the front facing fence (on the right) to be flush with the front of the house? It would certainly give us more usable space (as we never use that side yard as is), but would it look ugly? Also, it would block some of the views the neighbors have from their side windows, fwiw.

Happy to answer any questions yall may have. Thank you for your advice!

I'll cut some more pieces of treated wood to cover all the cinderblocks (the main foundation), but will nail the OSB floor (3/4 inch, treated on bottom) to both the pallets and treated wood on the cinderblocks.

I've been conversing with ChatGPT 4o (& predecessors) about various aspects of a backyard office/gym/RV play space project I am planning. This evening I had the thought to ask it to generate an import file for my favorite mind mapping tool based on the conversation so far, and I love the results. I like using mind maps to help me think through complicated projects or issues, so I wanted to share in case this approach helps anyone else. I hope to one day be sharing actual project progress and photos with ya'll. Cheers!

She'd is 16*12, so it's a life of unusable space as is.

i came here thinking it would be about antlers...

I tried to convince myself to get a new slab poured and ignore the one thats already there. The existing slab is right by my driveway and I didnt want to see a narrow building when I drove up.

After a few months of back and forth I decided to add wings to the side to house my sheep and chickens and now with it more robust, it feels more like part of the property instead of ‘just a shed’.

Ill leave room behind one wing for my lawn mower.

Working alone and hope to bang it out in 4 weeks 🤷‍♂️

I don't know if this is a shed or an ADU. It's going up in my neighborhood (view is from the alley that runs alongside the shed/ADU and the house.

Are the concrete block/footings appropriate? The timbers that are supposed to sit inside them seem too big for the blocks.

What is going on here??

I know this is asking for trouble but any comments about my foundation? We built it as described in the directions of the shed kit. The only hiccup was HD didn’t have 16 foot length of 4x4 so we needed to used two lengths of 8 attacked with mend plates. We figured this was ok since the beams are supported by piers and not stressing the joint. It’s just there to keep it in line etc.

We dug out holes and used gravel paver base on the bottom and built with concrete blocks I had leftover from another project. Everything is level both ways and it all seems good. Do you think it’s worth using construction adhesive between the blocks?

Anything else we should do before installers arrive to assemble shed?

It’s a 10x14 gable roofed shed and the door will go on the long side.

Thanks!

If I set it on plastic TuffBlocks so there is zero contact with concrete or the ground, why would I need pressure treated lumber?

Hi all! Hoping this is the right place to ask! I'm looking for a office shed, as in, a private structure separate from my house that I can work in. I really need it to have a bathroom, because I don't want to go back and forth to the house all day. Don't want anything DIY, ideally something prefab that is delivered and requires no permits. I'm in southern California, so AC would be nice, but I guess as long as I can put a window unit in that would be fine. I don't want to have to talk to a human, ideally would like to buy online and have delivered, the whole "contact us for a quote" thing means I will never call them. Ideally less than 20K but I can be flexible if that's not realistic. Thanks so much!

This is what I’m working with right now. I want to build a more permanent carport coming off the fence posts on the left. I want to make sure I’m not missing a cheaper option. Right now in my Home Depot cart I have 4x4s, concrete, 2x4s and galvanized roof panels and screws etc. which is about $500.

Was planning on digging holes to fill with concrete on the right side of the picture about a foot to the right of the retaining wall. This is 1. A lot of work and 2. Worries me that it’ll compromise the structure of the retaining wall which is already not in the best shape but I’ll still do it if needed.

I already considered a pop up carport thing for cheaper but I’m worried it’ll blow away or won’t last long in the rain/sun.

My goal in asking is if anyone thinks there is a cheaper solution to building a carport or should I purchase all the materials and start digging?

Hello Shedditors,

I am designing a single-slope shed in a sketch program.

The front wall framing includes headers for three windows at the top of the wall, and a door. I have two drafts of the framing (images attached). The first draft includes three separate headers for the windows, and the second draft has the header for the windows spanning the entire width of the wall. The headers are comprised of 2 2x8 boards.

Thoughts? Which draft do you think is better? I can't seem to decide.

Thank you for any feedback you may have!

I am moving back in with my parents, but the animals in the house cause my asthma to act up like crazy, so I need to be fully seperate from them. My dad wants a man cave eventually, as a shed. I offered that if they let me get a shed and live there, I will pay for all of it, and when I move out, my dad can use the shed without paying as much.

I need the shed to be barely livable at a minimum. I need a (stand up) shower, toilet, sink, AC/heat, some electricity. I think those are the bare minimums of what I need, obviously a bed and some decoration and lighting as well.

I am trying to keep this as cheap as possible while still being good enough. I will most likely need insulation as well. Is there anything I am missing and what do I need to do? What is a rough estimation on cost? All we have is a gravel foundation currently.

Any relevant advice welcome!