I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:12:16 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:


The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

I can picture your old method, but so far, I can't picture this, so I
can't discuss advantages or disadvantages. But if it's as it seems
to you, it wouldn't be the first time merchandisers have made
something more complicated than necessary in order to have something
to sell (or give away free, perhaps after they didn't sell.) After
all, if they wanted to make a kit out of your method, what would it
include?

On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:12:16 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:




The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood).

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

Well yes, you got what you paid for. If you buy a house, the floor
does not extend out from the building itself? Though your way may be
better, I'd not expect "better" from the manufacturer for free.

It sounds like you put a 6 x 8 shed on an 8 x 8 plywood base. That
would give you a nice apron in the front

Ashton,

Ok, you have a shed with a set of cross braces as part of the flooring
systen. You bemoan the fact that the floor will not be supported uniformly
by gravel, as your old sheds were. Why you can't put and level gravel after
the cross braces are installed is not explained. That will give you the
floor support ypou think is desirable.

Dave M.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

If you don't think the included cross members will provide enough support,
why not get some PT 2x4s and add some support in between the cross
members? Maybe even some patio blocks placed in between the cross members
will do the trick.

Question: If your old method consisted of a shed that sat on top of a floor
that was larger then the shed frame, how did you prevent water from going
under the frame? Typically, there is sheathing that cover the sill plates
and the floor is interior of the walls.

On Sun, 20 Oct 2013 11:34:21 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

Ok, you have a shed with a set of cross braces as part of the flooring
systen. You bemoan the fact that the floor will not be supported uniformly
by gravel, as your old sheds were. Why you can't put and level gravel after
the cross braces are installed is not explained. That will give you the
floor support ypou think is desirable.

Dave M.


That's true but then why bother with the "floor kit" if I do that? The
floor kit will have added nothing but extra work and extra rock I
would otherwise not need.

Can you see any benefit I'm missing to using their floor kit system
versus what I would otherwise do? That's the question. If there is
some benefit I'm missing I'd like to know before I just do it my old
way.

On Sun, 20 Oct 2013 16:22:58 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Ashton Crusher wrote:
I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

If you don't think the included cross members will provide enough support,
why not get some PT 2x4’s and add some support in between the cross
members? Maybe even some patio blocks placed in between the cross members
will do the trick.

Question: If your old method consisted of a shed that sat on top of a floor
that was larger then the shed frame, how did you prevent water from going
under the frame? Typically, there is sheathing that cover the sill plates
and the floor is interior of the walls.


Basically it's 'prevented' by the whole thing sitting "up" a little
from grade on top of the crushed rock that is the landscaping it's
going to sit on top of. If it was in a depression I'd be hesitant to
do it the way I am and might see some value in the floor kit although
even then it would leave the entire outside frame sitting down in the
depression getting soaked. When I read "free floor kit" I had
envisioned it would be a complete outer frame the same size as the
shed frame that the shed frame would sit on top of with the plywood
like the inside layer of a frame/shed sandwich. Instead it's just
effectively a raised interior floor over my normal way of flooring it.
Just wondering if someone sees a benefit I don't.

Maybe the frame kit is for use where a solid filled-in gravel area would not be available, like on a sloping surface, or one that tends to flood. That's where I think a flooring system like you described would be used. Or maybe someone would like to put the whole thing up a foot or so on top of cement/concrete blocks, for whatever reason.

On Sun, 20 Oct 2013 19:09:12 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Maybe the frame kit is for use where a solid filled-in gravel area would not be available, like on a sloping surface, or one that tends to flood. That's where I think a flooring system like you described would be used. Or maybe someone would like to put the whole thing up a foot or so on top of cement/concrete blocks, for whatever reason.

FOLKS we have a winner.

.... stone pyramids. timber, pillars, pilings on the level.

Get off the ground ...get level

On Sun, 20 Oct 2013 19:59:25 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:

DerbyDad03 wrote:
Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Sun, 20 Oct 2013 16:22:58 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Ashton Crusher wrote:
I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

If you don't think the included cross members will provide enough support,
why not get some PT 2x4?s and add some support in between the cross
members? Maybe even some patio blocks placed in between the cross members
will do the trick.

Question: If your old method consisted of a shed that sat on top of a floor
that was larger then the shed frame, how did you prevent water from going
under the frame? Typically, there is sheathing that cover the sill plates
and the floor is interior of the walls.


Basically it's 'prevented' by the whole thing sitting "up" a little
from grade on top of the crushed rock that is the landscaping it's
going to sit on top of. If it was in a depression I'd be hesitant to
do it the way I am and might see some value in the floor kit although
even then it would leave the entire outside frame sitting down in the
depression getting soaked. When I read "free floor kit" I had
envisioned it would be a complete outer frame the same size as the
shed frame that the shed frame would sit on top of with the plywood
like the inside layer of a frame/shed sandwich. Instead it's just
effectively a raised interior floor over my normal way of flooring it.
Just wondering if someone sees a benefit I don't.
Hi,
When I set up a shed I use floor kit to make frame with PT lumber.
Also I use gravel bed for the floor to sit on. Key word here is floor
off the ground.


Yeah, I'm starting to warm to that thought.

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:09:18 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.


A cousin of mine mounted his shed (tuff-shed??) on timber skids. I
imagine he braced it. He can pull the shed around his property

On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:12:16 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

If I'm reading you correctly. you're just placing some sheets of plywood
on the gravel, and attaching the shed to them. The correct way is to
build a frame out of treated 2x4 or 2x6 and attaching the plywood on
top, then attach the shed. Ground anchors are recommended in case of
high winds too. Personally, I prefer placing 4" thick solid concrete
blocks under the wooden frame to keep the wood away from the soil. If
you want it level by the door, use patio blocks to make a ramp, or pour
a slab.

As far as the floor kit, I'd toss it in the trash and do as I said
above.

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:25:01 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:09:18 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.


A cousin of mine mounted his shed (tuff-shed??) on timber skids. I
imagine he braced it. He can pull the shed around his property

Don't know why you would want to move a shed around the property but
it works for ice fishing.

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:37:22 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:25:01 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:09:18 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.


A cousin of mine mounted his shed (tuff-shed??) on timber skids. I
imagine he braced it. He can pull the shed around his property

Don't know why you would want to move a shed around the property but
it works for ice fishing.

'Cause you want to. Nothing about a "need" to move the shed.

Like a gun. I want more!. Nothing to do with "needs"

On Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:41:47 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:37:22 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:25:01 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:09:18 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.


A cousin of mine mounted his shed (tuff-shed??) on timber skids. I
imagine he braced it. He can pull the shed around his property

Don't know why you would want to move a shed around the property but
it works for ice fishing.

'Cause you want to. Nothing about a "need" to move the shed.

Like I said, "I don't know why you want..."

Like a gun. I want more!. Nothing to do with "needs"

Of course, but I did say "want". ;-)

On Tue, 22 Oct 2013 20:13:30 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:41:47 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:37:22 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:25:01 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:09:18 -0400, "David L. Martel"
wrote:

Ashton,

I suspect that the floor kit provides structural bracing to the flooring
frame.

Dave M.


A cousin of mine mounted his shed (tuff-shed??) on timber skids. I
imagine he braced it. He can pull the shed around his property

Don't know why you would want to move a shed around the property but
it works for ice fishing.

'Cause you want to. Nothing about a "need" to move the shed.

Like I said, "I don't know why you want..."


Okay, I wasn't talkin' about that.

Like a gun. I want more!. Nothing to do with "needs"

Of course, but I did say "want". ;-)

I did. I can have my wants and needs together.

It really is simple

On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:24:35 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:12:16 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

I've bought and assembled several Arrow Metal storage sheds in the
past. Just bought another one from Home Depot (I'll post THAT
experience in another thread..). In the past I just bought a couple
sheet of ext plywood, cut they to make a "floor" that was just a tab
larger then the fully assembled outer frame of the shed and plunked
the shed down on top of that plywood floor and run some screws around
the metal frame bottom into the ply wood. Last two I did are 15 years
and 25 years old and seem fine.

The new shed I bought came with a "free" floor "kit" (just add
plywood). This kit is just some metal cross pieces that will sit on
top of the sheds metal bottom frame on the edges and run across the
middle in a few places. So unlike past "floors" I've built which sit
on my Crushed stone base, this one will have the plywood sitting on
top of these metal cross rails and the bottom frame rail.

Doing it my way puts the plywood on top of the gravel with a more or
less uniform support under all of it and then the shed itself is
sitting on and attached to the TOP of the plywood. Using the floor
kit means the floor is on top of the frame rail and will only have
support where it sits on the cross rails and of course along the
edges.

In my mind I'm having a hard time seeing how using the floor kit is an
improvement over my old way and instead of the bottom frame having the
nice threshold in the door opening, like it does doing it my old way,
there will be the plywood sticking up there scrwed down to the top of
the threshold just as it will be scrwed down to the top of the bottom
frame all around the edges.

When I saw it came with a "free floor frame" I thought it would be a
full perimeter frame, not this interior kludge.

Thoughts???

If I'm reading you correctly. you're just placing some sheets of plywood
on the gravel, and attaching the shed to them. The correct way is to
build a frame out of treated 2x4 or 2x6 and attaching the plywood on
top, then attach the shed. Ground anchors are recommended in case of
high winds too. Personally, I prefer placing 4" thick solid concrete
blocks under the wooden frame to keep the wood away from the soil. If
you want it level by the door, use patio blocks to make a ramp, or pour
a slab.

As far as the floor kit, I'd toss it in the trash and do as I said
above.

Well, the instructions for the shed specifically say not to use
"treated" wood as it will corrode the metal. But, yes, one could
build a wood frame to go under the plywood and then instead of the
plywood rotting the wood frame would. Not sure I see much benefit
there. If the plywood eventually rots too much one can always put a
new layer of plywood on top of the old and voilà, have a new floor.

Best would be to make a concrete floor but my past experience says the
effort will not be worth the benefit in my climate.

After considering all the feedback from my original question I've
decided to go ahead and build this one with the floor kit so the
building will be sitting on it's frame on the rock and the floor will
be on top of that frame with the cross-stringers on the rock.