Very helpful video. I'm starting my 10x12 shed and began the foundation work today. I got the first row of holes dug and blocks in place which took several hours. I thought, am I overthinking this and spending too much time? But after watching your video I realized, it's normal to spend that much time to get the foundation level and right before moving on.
Sam, I am 87 years old and my son-in-law, is 67 years old. I am glad i did not see this video before we started a workshop. The reason is we could have built the shop from scratch. We made the block/concrete foundation on a surface like yours BUT very hard clay. So, we did not want to dig much. We build our foundation to fit a purchased building of 12 x 20 barn type building to save a lot of work.
I learned a hole lot from this video. One thing was....I've never seen a torpedo level used in this "side" position before. I'll have to try that out. I've been looking for a video to help me with my deer hunting shed. It won't be nearly as big as this guys but his process for the foundation is priceless. Good job indeed.
I like your work ethic. Keep a steady pace, keep chipping away at the biggest, most tedious, most laborious chunk of work and before you know it, you're done.
Hey Sam, I really like both your channels, your family, and your video editing. My shop is in a 8 1/2 x20 trailer. Spent years getting it organized to utilize every square inch. I have about every power tool a sjobergs workbench and a large cnc. If any of my space saving ideas would help you, I am happy to share. Good luck with your new homestead.
Great start buddy ! You are taking your time and doing it right !!! I say do it right the first time and you won't have to go back over it ! Awesome job !!!!!
Congratulations on the ground breaking of your new shop. Sorry for the pun. Regardless, I built mine, 20 X 10 feet. The same process but, in Arizona the ground is unforgiving. Keep your eyes on the prize. Nice work!
High Sam , good job buddy , I recommend installing some barrier on the floor base cutting around your concrete blocks to stop the grass / plants / etc growing under the shed . Also it stops moisture transfer to the wooden base / floor via the grass etc . Top job keep on building I enjoyed your TH-cam channel .
Good work. Don't know what people can't understand about "temporary". If it starts to sag, jack that sucker up and shim it. Planning on doing this for a small cabin to skirt building permits. I built a 8x10 shed on stacked stone pillars in a fairly wet spot fifteen years ago. It's still as level and plumb as the day I finished it.
I had my workshop built a few months ago. Same design. Pier and beam building built on site. Builder put the floors on 12 in centers walls on 24. Additional bracing where he deemed necessary. A very strong building! I added a few extra blocks underneath that I probably don’t need, and I used Composite Shims. You might want to consider using them as they are extremely strong foundation shims. And cheap! I got mine at Home Depot
Thanks for sharing. We’ll be building a large shed this spring, and I’ve been in analysis by paralysis mode trying to choose a foundation. I really like skids but wasn’t comfortable with ground contact, even if using treated wood. I love putting them on piers like that.
I understand being stuck on design thoughts. :) What helped me realize this will be perfectly fine for me, was seeing the "plop and drop" storage sheds and how their "foundations" are done. Then seeing that it was perfectly fine for those structures and knowing it wold be fine for mine too. I then upgraded by the additional skids and supports and paver base to feel very good about what I have in strength and rigidity vs. cost and time. When my structure settles or moves (it will over time), it will be easy to raise up and shim to re-level with a bottle jack. Just like how mobile homes are able to be re-leveled in the same way. :) Happy this helped and good luck on your project!
Dude you need to go at minimum 20in down to avoid sinking. Sand then Quarry dust. Unless you're super dry where you're at but it really doesn't look it. I have heavy shale on my property, I went 20in down and my block still sunk 6 in within the first three years. Looks like you're doing a good job though hopefully it's not the case on your land.
Sam nice job, well done my friend. The new property looks great from what could be seen in the video, keep up the great work and keep in the back of your mind sawmill some day lol
Nice job Sam... it's that least glamorous , hardest work, that is most important. Looking forward to the rest of the build. Hang in there, it'll be worth it
If its not too late, have you considered building the shop mobile home style as in two detachable halves that could be separated for moving. A little extra lumber and engineering would provide a lot of flexibility in the future.
This is exciting!! I am not so much into the laser cutter. I remember you buying the Pasloade nail gun. So this is going to be more interesting to me. Thanks
Beautiful soil you have! Like Irish peat! Cool hat On some videos I'm watching as part of research before I build a shed, some people dig holes 4 foot deep for a bloody shed! Its way overkill. Has yours worked ok?
I literllay built mine in a similar fashion in 2020. I used landscaping fabric in the hole under paver base. We have sandy soil and I thought, it would be a better foundation to prevent the paver base from shifting into the sand. Seems solid a year later. If you haven't already, you should use hurricane straps at the butt joints of the skids you are putting your floor on. I used 16" straps on each side of the beam. While you're in there, its assurance that the skids will not slide apart if you have to move the building. I had to move mine to meet setback code and this allowed me to use 4 machine dollies (one in each corner).
Looks like nice work Sam! The feeling though of the satisfaction of a job well done far outweighs the hard tedious mundane work. Can't wait to see the floor and framing...ahhhhh. Happy New year 2022, may it be better than 2021. Andrew
I just got into building stuff out of wood. I think it is a amazing skill to have. Im so into it that I would even work for someone for free as long as they help me learn the skills. Speaking of learning would you care to explain how you jointed your 4x4's? Reason why i ask is because i am planning on making a 12 ft long skid foundation but i cannot transport lumber longer than 8 ft so i am curious as to how to joint two smaller 4x4 pieces of lumber to make a 12 ft one. Also, would you know if it is ok to combine two 2x4 with screws to make a 4x4?
This is timely. Rethinking my idea that I could lay a foundation for a Sam's shed 8x7. At 67, woman, just don't have the strength. And the foundation is the main part.
Sam like your Channel just a thought your two main Runners need to be 6 ft from outside to outside in the middle if you ever plan on moving this building all movers trailers will accept a building with a Runners 6 ft apart in the middle the outside Runners make no difference but if those aren't 6-foot they will not line up on the trailer
@@Samcraftcom I have made some videos Sam on my channel off me making it last summer I planned for 11 cnc and 3 laser and 6 3D printers and saws and more it tight at the moment but I have been on cad design to make sure that all fit and thanks for the tip on windows tablets saves a lot of space in a small workshop I have 4 cnc in at moment all full home made on my printers but now I have steel to make them solid on a cnc that I made my self in my pond shed and kitchen if you see videos 1/10 on channel I have came a long way in a short time
I've got something similar coming up if my property ever dries out. I was considering something like this. Alot of clay here, let us know if sinking becomes an issue. Great video. New sub
Our land has what they call hardpan clay about 8" below grade. I dug down to that and have been told it should be good. We'll see how it does long term. Most other sheds are just dropped on top of the soil. The benefit of this style foundation and floor framing (to be shown in next video), is that it forms a rock solid floor unit to where it can easily be jacked up with bottle jack and re-shimmed or leveled later as settling occurs. I'm sure it will settle some.
Sam great series I’m enjoying the videos on both your channels, but 1? Are you going to lay any type of plastic on the ground for moisture and are you going to insulate the floor??? Thanks for the Thorough information.
I didn't think of vapor barrier until it was too late (floor framed), and have no plans to insulate the floor. I guess I could go back and lay plastic under the floor on the ground and skirt the building, but don't have plans right now.
Hello! How about moles? Unfortunatelly, I can't build my shop this way due to mane reasons, one of them is moles-they digs out ground, it contacts wood and it start to decay( we have rotten floors in our house because of moles((
from what i have read as long as its under 200 qf most plases dont need a bulding permit but you might need some kinda zoning permit if you have a small yard
Nice start to a great project. I'm interested in your series analytics. My shed build was posted In January and it's one of the worst performing series out of my 1300 videos.
It will be interesting to see how the videos do. Between the two channels, but also in this time of year. I've found that if you want a build series to take off, the best thing to do is make a complete start-finish video of the whole process so it's a one stop shop. All my videos of that style are popular.
could have ran blocks cross the timbers (poles run east to west blocks should run north and south ) to be most stable over time and much easyer to shim level. Just my two cents
I was wonder this would u do this so u won’t have to worry about the Timbers rolling off the blocks and is it dangerous to have so many lawyers to build up the blocks instead of just one block height
Do not lay CMUs on one of their vertical faces. While it may prevent some sinking as the surface area in contact with the ground is increased, it will dramatically reduce the unit’s structural integrity.
Hi Sam Just watched WSB #01 on GAH. I will only watch it once so do you have a preference to which channel I/we view the build (GAH or Samcraft) as I normally watch both? 👍 😎
Doesn't matter to me. The two channels are drastically different so the content is made for the separate audiences of each channel. The overlap in viewers is nominal to not feature this on both channels.
I was thinking about throwing a 12x16 shed on just those hollow core blocks. Will be using 9 of them. Anyone know if that is strong enough for years of use?
I think it would be strong enough, but my concern would be them sinking or settling into your soil. All the sheds that are made and delivered are set on blocks like that.
Just wondering..... do you need tornado straps on the building? Also don't they need building permits where you're going??? Kinda sucks if you build something and they make you tear it down!!
Reminds me when I built a deck. Do not cut corners and take your time. If someone were to get injured, you would held accountable for cutting corners. Follow at least to code and then over build it above code. Great job with the foundation!
You're not loosing it. :) This applies to both channels we have and with the wide audiences and different channel types the project will be shared on both. :) Slight differences between them though (more family style on GAH vs. clear cut on SC).
"here comes the fun part ... ... 'i hate foundation work' " LMAO "Parallel, perpendicular ... What ever P word from geometry you want to use" Lol I like your style and the videos are informational as well as entertaining. I look forward to following your progress!
Very helpful video. I'm starting my 10x12 shed and began the foundation work today. I got the first row of holes dug and blocks in place which took several hours. I thought, am I overthinking this and spending too much time? But after watching your video I realized, it's normal to spend that much time to get the foundation level and right before moving on.
Sam, I am 87 years old and my son-in-law, is 67 years old. I am glad i did not see this video before we started a workshop. The reason is we could have built the shop from scratch. We made the block/concrete foundation on a surface like yours BUT very hard clay. So, we did not want to dig much. We build our foundation to fit a purchased building of 12 x 20 barn type building to save a lot of work.
Tough men 💪💪
I learned a hole lot from this video. One thing was....I've never seen a torpedo level used in this "side" position before. I'll have to try that out. I've been looking for a video to help me with my deer hunting shed. It won't be nearly as big as this guys but his process for the foundation is priceless. Good job indeed.
Hey Sam, how did you connect the ends of the 4x4s together? Thanks for this video!
I like your work ethic. Keep a steady pace, keep chipping away at the biggest, most tedious, most laborious chunk of work and before you know it, you're done.
Just what I needed. I'm going to watch more. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your time and talent.
Hey Sam, I really like both your channels, your family, and your video editing. My shop is in a 8 1/2 x20 trailer. Spent years getting it organized to utilize every square inch. I have about every power tool a sjobergs workbench and a large cnc. If any of my space saving ideas would help you, I am happy to share.
Good luck with your new homestead.
Great start buddy ! You are taking your time and doing it right !!! I say do it right the first time and you won't have to go back over it ! Awesome job !!!!!
Love the mantra, patience, time and effort pays off
Congratulations on the ground breaking of your new shop. Sorry for the pun. Regardless, I built mine, 20 X 10 feet. The same process but, in Arizona the ground is unforgiving. Keep your eyes on the prize. Nice work!
I am enjoying the full description of what you doing and why.
Thank you for taking us in your journey, please keep us updated
Thanks. I like your style of teaching.
You’re amazing, in my book, Sam. Looking forward to the build and everything else with this move. God bless you all and Happy New Year 😃
Thank you! You too!
High Sam , good job buddy , I recommend installing some barrier on the floor base cutting around your concrete blocks to stop the grass / plants / etc growing under the shed . Also it stops moisture transfer to the wooden base / floor via the grass etc . Top job keep on building I enjoyed your TH-cam channel .
Good work. Don't know what people can't understand about "temporary". If it starts to sag, jack that sucker up and shim it. Planning on doing this for a small cabin to skirt building permits. I built a 8x10 shed on stacked stone pillars in a fairly wet spot fifteen years ago. It's still as level and plumb as the day I finished it.
Exactly! :) It's still perfectly fine many years later too!
I had my workshop built a few months ago. Same design. Pier and beam building built on site. Builder put the floors on 12 in centers walls on 24. Additional bracing where he deemed necessary. A very strong building!
I added a few extra blocks underneath that I probably don’t need, and I used Composite Shims. You might want to consider using them as they are extremely strong foundation shims. And cheap! I got mine at Home Depot
That's very close to what I'll do -- 24" OC walls & roof. Thanks for the shim info, I'll have to check into them!
Good foundation! Lovely property! Blessings for the New Year!
Same to you!
Thanks for sharing. We’ll be building a large shed this spring, and I’ve been in analysis by paralysis mode trying to choose a foundation. I really like skids but wasn’t comfortable with ground contact, even if using treated wood. I love putting them on piers like that.
I understand being stuck on design thoughts. :) What helped me realize this will be perfectly fine for me, was seeing the "plop and drop" storage sheds and how their "foundations" are done. Then seeing that it was perfectly fine for those structures and knowing it wold be fine for mine too. I then upgraded by the additional skids and supports and paver base to feel very good about what I have in strength and rigidity vs. cost and time. When my structure settles or moves (it will over time), it will be easy to raise up and shim to re-level with a bottle jack. Just like how mobile homes are able to be re-leveled in the same way. :) Happy this helped and good luck on your project!
I would love to have your soil type! Here in Texas it takes a jackhammer to dig a simple hole.
Happy for your family
I hate this part too! Can’t wait to watch the whole series!
Dude you need to go at minimum 20in down to avoid sinking. Sand then Quarry dust. Unless you're super dry where you're at but it really doesn't look it. I have heavy shale on my property, I went 20in down and my block still sunk 6 in within the first three years. Looks like you're doing a good job though hopefully it's not the case on your land.
Benefit of this type foundation is that it can be leveled and shimmed as needed over time.
The holes in the 8x8 block will give the moisture somewhere to go.
@@Samcraftcomthat's what I was thinking, but how would you do it in the middle?
Sam nice job, well done my friend. The new property looks great from what could be seen in the video, keep up the great work and keep in the back of your mind sawmill some day lol
Thanks Jim! This new property is amazing compared to where we live now. It's 15 acres with about 3 acres of hardwoods. I would LOVE a sawmill!
Nice job Sam... it's that least glamorous , hardest work, that is most important. Looking forward to the rest of the build. Hang in there, it'll be worth it
Excited for your new workshop 👍
If its not too late, have you considered building the shop mobile home style as in two detachable halves that could be separated for moving. A little extra lumber and engineering would provide a lot of flexibility in the future.
Good job keeping this entertaining, your funny
Love this ..our kids have a place in Shelbyville...love TN God bless you and your family
This is exciting!! I am not so much into the laser cutter. I remember you buying the Pasloade nail gun. So this is going to be more interesting to me. Thanks
Beautiful soil you have! Like Irish peat! Cool hat
On some videos I'm watching as part of research before I build a shed, some people dig holes 4 foot deep for a bloody shed! Its way overkill. Has yours worked ok?
I literllay built mine in a similar fashion in 2020. I used landscaping fabric in the hole under paver base. We have sandy soil and I thought, it would be a better foundation to prevent the paver base from shifting into the sand. Seems solid a year later.
If you haven't already, you should use hurricane straps at the butt joints of the skids you are putting your floor on. I used 16" straps on each side of the beam. While you're in there, its assurance that the skids will not slide apart if you have to move the building. I had to move mine to meet setback code and this allowed me to use 4 machine dollies (one in each corner).
Looks good
That's a good start!
cheers Sam, good work and thanks for the inspiration
Looking well Sam
Nice work laying that and leveling.
Yea ! I know your excited
Looks like nice work Sam! The feeling though of the satisfaction of a job well done far outweighs the hard tedious mundane work. Can't wait to see the floor and framing...ahhhhh. Happy New year 2022, may it be better than 2021. Andrew
Thanks 👍
Thats the difficult job done now for the enjoyable work to begin 👍
Awesome start Sam 🙏💚👍🇬🇧
Looks good so far Sam...
after watching your work i’m surprised with the work on the new shop.
How so?
I have some pressure treated 2x6s laying around, can I place two of those flat on each other, screw them together and use them as skids?
I just got into building stuff out of wood. I think it is a amazing skill to have. Im so into it that I would even work for someone for free as long as they help me learn the skills.
Speaking of learning would you care to explain how you jointed your 4x4's? Reason why i ask is because i am planning on making a 12 ft long skid foundation but i cannot transport lumber longer than 8 ft so i am curious as to how to joint two smaller 4x4 pieces of lumber to make a 12 ft one. Also, would you know if it is ok to combine two 2x4 with screws to make a 4x4?
This is timely. Rethinking my idea that I could lay a foundation for a Sam's shed 8x7. At 67, woman, just don't have the strength. And the foundation is the main part.
I actually know how tedious it is getting the foundation set just right...even if on a much smaller scale. That's a lot a work.
Looking great.
True... you have recent experience in this "fun"!! :)
Sam, I would assume you sistered the beams since they did not go the full 20 feet length. Did you sister both sides of the beams ?
That is the most tedious part of the build. The rest is fun. Nice job.
Sam like your Channel just a thought your two main Runners need to be 6 ft from outside to outside in the middle if you ever plan on moving this building all movers trailers will accept a building with a Runners 6 ft apart in the middle the outside Runners make no difference but if those aren't 6-foot they will not line up on the trailer
Wish u could have shown exactly how you leveled each block to the other.
Seems that is a very important step like you said.
Boy your ground is much easier to dig than here in SE Ky! Lol
Great Video! Love the self encouragement. Looking forward to the next video!
What are you using to tie the 4x4s together or are you framing it out and putting it on top of the 4x4s ?
Love my new workshop 20ft x10ft
Sweet! Do you have any workshop tour videos?
@@Samcraftcom I have made some videos Sam on my channel off me making it last summer I planned for 11 cnc and 3 laser and 6 3D printers and saws and more it tight at the moment but I have been on cad design to make sure that all fit and thanks for the tip on windows tablets saves a lot of space in a small workshop I have 4 cnc in at moment all full home made on my printers but now I have steel to make them solid on a cnc that I made my self in my pond shed and kitchen if you see videos 1/10 on channel I have came a long way in a short time
SAM HOW DO YOU CONNECT THE SKIDS TOGETHER WHEN THERE ARE TWO (10'x4X4's)???
IE: A 20' LONG SHED.???????????
Hard work. Great job!
I must of missed it in the serious, but what has your budget been?
I've got something similar coming up if my property ever dries out. I was considering something like this. Alot of clay here, let us know if sinking becomes an issue.
Great video. New sub
Our land has what they call hardpan clay about 8" below grade. I dug down to that and have been told it should be good. We'll see how it does long term. Most other sheds are just dropped on top of the soil. The benefit of this style foundation and floor framing (to be shown in next video), is that it forms a rock solid floor unit to where it can easily be jacked up with bottle jack and re-shimmed or leveled later as settling occurs. I'm sure it will settle some.
Looks good! What’s your frost depth there?
Sam great series I’m enjoying the videos on both your channels, but 1? Are you going to lay any type of plastic on the ground for moisture and are you going to insulate the floor??? Thanks for the Thorough information.
I didn't think of vapor barrier until it was too late (floor framed), and have no plans to insulate the floor. I guess I could go back and lay plastic under the floor on the ground and skirt the building, but don't have plans right now.
Hello! How about moles? Unfortunatelly, I can't build my shop this way due to mane reasons, one of them is moles-they digs out ground, it contacts wood and it start to decay( we have rotten floors in our house because of moles((
Anybody know how I can sister 4x6 skids for a 50 ft long shed? Would it be 3 16 ft? Please help
Superb work
Did you apply mortar between the blocks or are they simply just stacked one on the other?
soil is about as solid as mud. this will become a boat during rainy season.
What is the brand of the patio paver base? I could not find it at Loews or Home Depot.
Is there anything different you have to do on a stopped hill
Ground Anchor system for high wind storm area Bldg Code? What holds skids to ground, Weight/ Gravity?. Strict code over 200 sq ft👍
Nicely done. Did you need any kind of permitting for this? If so, will the footers be inspected? Happy New Year.
When you live out in the country, you don’t have to deal with BS permitting
@@dentonjordan6992 sounds like its time for me to move. Cheers.
from what i have read as long as its under 200 qf most plases dont need a bulding permit but you might need some kinda zoning permit if you have a small yard
Thanks for sharing the build What part of Tennessee did you move to you have a happy New Year
Thanks, Eastern part - between Knoxville & Johnson City.
Are you using just cinder blocks?
Nice start to a great project. I'm interested in your series analytics. My shed build was posted In January and it's one of the worst performing series out of my 1300 videos.
It will be interesting to see how the videos do. Between the two channels, but also in this time of year. I've found that if you want a build series to take off, the best thing to do is make a complete start-finish video of the whole process so it's a one stop shop. All my videos of that style are popular.
what was that what looked like black sheets under the 4 by 4 that you used to help you level small lengths?
Roof shingles
I like this way of doing a foundation. But bro that’s not a spade. This is a spade shape ♠️ just messin with you bro. 😂cool vid
What is the proper way to connect the 4x4 skids?
Sam my friend, how much was it for one bag of that patio base?
Nice hat.
could have ran blocks cross the timbers (poles run east to west blocks should run north and south ) to be most stable over time and much easyer to shim level. Just my two cents
I was wonder this would u do this so u won’t have to worry about the Timbers rolling off the blocks and is it dangerous to have so many lawyers to build up the blocks instead of just one block height
I'd make sure any of those 8x8x16 blocks are placed with the flat side down unless on top of a solid block to keep them from sinking as fast
I agree it settle uneven
Do not lay CMUs on one of their vertical faces. While it may prevent some sinking as the surface area in contact with the ground is increased, it will dramatically reduce the unit’s structural integrity.
Most are on top of cap blocks, but all are on the compacted base to prevent sinking.
Hi Sam Just watched WSB #01 on GAH. I will only watch it once so do you have a preference to which channel I/we view the build (GAH or Samcraft) as I normally watch both? 👍 😎
Doesn't matter to me. The two channels are drastically different so the content is made for the separate audiences of each channel. The overlap in viewers is nominal to not feature this on both channels.
I’m with you, foundation work is the worst! But like you said, it’s gotta get done
I'd go ground screws and avoid the foundation work altogether 😅
What material did you put in the dirt before laying cement blocks?
Paver base.
I was thinking about throwing a 12x16 shed on just those hollow core blocks. Will be using 9 of them. Anyone know if that is strong enough for years of use?
I think it would be strong enough, but my concern would be them sinking or settling into your soil. All the sheds that are made and delivered are set on blocks like that.
Just wondering..... do you need tornado straps on the building? Also don't they need building permits where you're going??? Kinda sucks if you build something and they make you tear it down!!
No worries, the building will be anchored down very soon. Last thing I want is it moving around!
Welcome to Tennessee. What part of the state are you in?
Thanks, we'll be in the Eastern part of the state.
How did this foundation hold up over time?
Still doing great to this day, about 2.5 years later. :)
Nice, do you think the tie downs helped? I live in the PNW and we dont get any extreme weather, so I'm hoping I'll be good without them. @@Samcraftcom
All that foundation work and not using treated 4x4’s? 😬
Reminds me when I built a deck. Do not cut corners and take your time. If someone were to get injured, you would held accountable for cutting corners. Follow at least to code and then over build it above code. Great job with the foundation!
I thought this channel would be about lasers, not watching someone build a workshop.
It's Samcraft, not Lasercraft.
Wait a minute, didn't you already share this video with us? Or am I losing it.
You're not loosing it. :) This applies to both channels we have and with the wide audiences and different channel types the project will be shared on both. :) Slight differences between them though (more family style on GAH vs. clear cut on SC).
@@Samcraftcom makes sense. Glad I'm not losing it🤣🤣🤣. I enjoy both your channels.
Do you only sell your products locally? Couldn't find any clear links to your online store if you have one
Why are laying the level on its side? In my 53 years I've never seen a level used like that. Levels are designed to be stood on edge not laying down.
Ask a block mason and they will tell you differently. If your level is true and square it works perfectly fine.
"here comes the fun part ... ... 'i hate foundation work' "
LMAO
"Parallel, perpendicular ... What ever P word from geometry you want to use"
Lol
I like your style and the videos are informational as well as entertaining. I look forward to following your progress!
I hope your using pressure treated wood for that foundation!
😅😅😅 🤝
It will be a hair out of square....
Always is! ;)
you need to use 4x6 skids not 4x4, no shed company will move it without those