March 6, 20233 yr Hi All, I am preparing to build a shed from EUR pallets. These are very strong with 22mm planks. I want to put anti-weed membrane on the ground then concrete blocks. What concrete blocks should I use that will last? Please advise. Best regards
March 6, 20233 yr Any dense concrete block will last. Don’t go for celcon or any other insulation block. Reclaimed paving slabs would be ideal for this sort of job.
March 6, 20233 yr Aside from any weed membrane you want a damp proof membrane on top of your blocks, then your pallet shed. We anchored a 4x2 wall plate around our slab perimeter then screwed the pallets to that when we did my nephew's pallet shed: His slab had a DPM under it. The wall plate then sat on a DPC abovevthr slab edge. The DPM got folded downward and clad over. You'll then of course need a "floor" atop the DPM or it'll be a bit slippery! Paving slabs are an option or even pallet wood. You could lay some insulation under it too. Ideally any timber wants to be 6" above ground level. He was going to grade/lower the dirt around the shed but hadn't gotten around to it last time I was there.
March 6, 20233 yr Mine is sat on dense concrete blocks. If the don't last I pity many houses built from them
March 6, 20233 yr Author 1 hour ago, markc said: Any dense concrete block will last. Don’t go for celcon or any other insulation block. Reclaimed paving slabs would be ideal for this sort of job. if I use paving slabs do they have to cover the whole area of the shed or just provide support for the pallets? I understand I should wrap the pallets from underneath with DPM.
March 6, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, JohnBishop said: if I use paving slabs do they have to cover the whole area of the shed or just provide support for the pallets? I understand I should wrap the pallets from underneath with DPM. No need to cover entire area, would be a pain to level and pallets not rocking. Whole or part slabs stacked to support corners of pallets would work well
March 6, 20233 yr My mate in California built his shed on concrete piers: https://www.flickr.com/gp/122042403@N05/w34FF0rf63
March 6, 20233 yr 11 minutes ago, Onoff said: Is that the one with Patsy Kensit? Not sure. I met her at The Mean Fiddler. She wanted to swap her Lotto cycling jersey for my Joker one. She must have known how rare it was. I was a bit surprised when she appeared on stage.
March 8, 20233 yr Author On 06/03/2023 at 15:15, Onoff said: Are you intending to use whole pallets as a floor or just for the walls? Floor and walls. I have EUR pallets with 22mm planks, very strong.
March 8, 20233 yr 37 minutes ago, JohnBishop said: Floor and walls. I have EUR pallets with 22mm planks, very strong. Rat City! 😂 I'd just do supports round the edges and where 4 pallets meet. If concrete piers have a bit of DPC on each one. Leave enough height to stick a ferret / Jack Russell underneath! Is the plan to insulate the floor somehow?
March 8, 20233 yr On 06/03/2023 at 12:52, JohnMo said: Mine is sat on dense concrete blocks. If the don't last I pity many houses built from them Meanwhile, oop north: https://www.shetlink.com/index.php?/forums/topic/7700-bricks/ . Quite interesting to see a house literally melt away from rain. Ireland had its own thing too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica_scandal RE: pallets, my solar panels came on a ridiculously strong pallet made from plywood. It is now a shed roof .
March 9, 20233 yr Author 20 hours ago, Onoff said: Rat City! 😂 I'd just do supports round the edges and where 4 pallets meet. If concrete piers have a bit of DPC on each one. Leave enough height to stick a ferret / Jack Russell underneath! Is the plan to insulate the floor somehow? I don't know yet but I don't think I will be insulating the floor or walls. I mean I can put DPM on the paving slabs then the pallets and wrap around. Are the rats going to go through DPM? So far I haven't come across any rats but at least 3 cats.
March 9, 20233 yr 5 hours ago, JohnBishop said: Are the rats going to go through DPM? Like a knife through butter!
March 9, 20233 yr Author 6 hours ago, Onoff said: Like a knife through butter! so what is the solution?
March 9, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, JohnBishop said: so what is the solution? Quick, fag packet thoughts: Thinking leave the void but use a strip of rodent mesh around the perimeter. You could over clad with say uPVC or asbestolux type cement board...paint it black...
March 10, 20233 yr Author 11 hours ago, Onoff said: Quick, fag packet thoughts: Thinking leave the void but use a strip of rodent mesh around the perimeter. You could over clad with say uPVC or asbestolux type cement board...paint it black... what paving have you used?
March 10, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, JohnBishop said: what paving have you used? Erm, no I haven't used any paving, only ever built sheds on slabs. I just sketched it as you said that's the way you want to go. 3 2" council slabs would raise you 6" if you could get them for nothing/cheap. Or 140mm 7N dense concrete blocks. Cast your own plinths from knocked up timber boxes. Loads of options.
March 10, 20233 yr Author On 06/03/2023 at 12:40, Onoff said: Aside from any weed membrane you want a damp proof membrane on top of your blocks, then your pallet shed. We anchored a 4x2 wall plate around our slab perimeter then screwed the pallets to that when we did my nephew's pallet shed: His slab had a DPM under it. The wall plate then sat on a DPC abovevthr slab edge. The DPM got folded downward and clad over. You'll then of course need a "floor" atop the DPM or it'll be a bit slippery! Paving slabs are an option or even pallet wood. You could lay some insulation under it too. Ideally any timber wants to be 6" above ground level. He was going to grade/lower the dirt around the shed but hadn't gotten around to it last time I was there. what did you paint these pallets with?
March 12, 20233 yr Author Do you think this chicken wire mesh is sufficient to prevent rats? I don't think it prevents mice though.
March 13, 20233 yr Rats have strong teeth that curve slightly inward. Consequently they can chew through quite a lot of stuff if they can get their teeth into it. Google rodent proof mesh. It’s stainless steel woven mesh with varying hole sizes. They are also burrowing critters so you want the mesh to be buried about 10” and formed in an L shape facing away from whatever you’re protecting. The only reason I know this is because when you start off rodent proofing stuff it becomes a battle of wills and escalation as the various things you try don’t work. 😂
March 13, 20233 yr 7 hours ago, Kelvin said: burrowing critters Think this one was too fat to get down its burrow.
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