Move big shed

[camerart]

Moved. 3m x 3m office “cube” Made from timber clad with MDF inside and out then clad with laminated MDF to the inside and outer skin, so a lot heavier than a shed.
Used a dozen broom handles as rollers and pushed it about a foot at a time.
So scaffold boards together with rollers of some type should work, I would use at least 3 rows of boards staggered so as not to jam shed should one board move. You can use a long timber 3x2” to lever the shed forward about 6-12” at a time , slow movement also allows you to correct direction.

Wet scaffold boards also allow easier movement , moved a 6m steel thru a house with very little leeway but laying soaking wet scaffold boards and sliding steel along them.

Hi F,
I think the terrain is a bit too rough for the broom handle method.
C

 

[foxhole]

Hi F,
I think the terrain is a bit too rough for the broom handle method.
C

Would need large diameter poles.

 

[camerart]

Would need large diameter poles.

Hi F,
I understand what you suggest, but this is soil, they won't happily roll. Larger diameter = higher the shed has to be.
C

 

[foxhole]

Hi F,
I understand what you suggest, but this is soil, they won't happily roll. Larger diameter = higher the shed has to be.
C

You don’t put them on soil , that’s what the scaffold boards are for .

 

[Koolpc]

Hi,
I have to move a 10X8 ft solid built shed approx 30ft down a garden.
I intend to lay scaffold planks as tracks and drag it.
Any idea how much force is needed. Would a large van pull it, without burning out the clutch, or do I need a pulley system?
Cheers, C

Put some dynamite behind it...

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Axle + wheels from a scrap yard. Put it on the front, let the back just drag across the grass.

 

[yorksbuilder]

Hire 4x beam karts. Get a couple of car jacks.
Jack up at the corners and put them underneath, roll down to new location and remove them. Job done

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Any idea how much force is needed. Would a large van pull it, without burning out the clutch, or do I need a pulley system?

Several years ago, but I needed to rotate our 12 x 8 shed around, complete with floor. I jacked it up all round, a bit at a time, set it on bricks, then scaff poles, then got the help of friends to lift it, via the poles, and turn it around.

In your case, if the floor joists run in the direction you want it to go - hoist it onto scaff poles as rollers, sat on planks. Then a track of planks laid when needed up the garden. attach a series of ropes likes a series of V's, so all the joists get an even pull on them. I would not attempt to pull it with a vehicle - it will wreck the clutch. Use a pulley system, maybe attached to the vehicle.

If the joists go the wrong way, then you will need to had several planks bolted to the joists. Attachment holes drilled in the planks, then ropes in a V to pull on.

Wait, until the ground becomes hard and dry too.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I understand what you suggest, but this is soil, they won't happily roll. Larger diameter = higher the shed has to be.

Which is why you need a track - scaff boards, laid in a track will do it.

 

[pete01]

I bought a second hand shed of a similar size it didn't take much taking apart just the 4 sides and the floor obviously, between the two of us we carried it easily and put it back together in about an hour.

The only problem was the roof which I had to cut the felt and split it into two, but if I was just moving it down the garden I think 4 people could carry it and place it back on top.

 

[Mottie]

Kingandy2nd moved his 3mx3m shed using poles.

Next job was to clear the space for the outbuilding which mean the moving the shed, removing a conifer tree and then removing the old fencing.

Moving the 3 x 3m shed was going to be the biggest challenge, as it had been in situ for 10 years and was one of the cabin style sheds (where all the individual pieces of wood slot together one by one, rather than the whole wall is one piece). Therefore, I figured I try to move it in one piece rather than dismantling it.

Using leftover hardcore, sand and paving slabs from the old driveway I’d replace, I relatively quickly knocked up a new shed base patio - didn’t need to be pretty obviously as it was going under the shed.

View attachment 353399

(The old uPVC windows are part of my stash of building supplies).

Then came the fun part - the shed move!

The plan was to use the stone henge method to get the shed 15ish metres and turned 90 degrees for its new base.

Step 1 - pick a nice day and empty all your crap from the shed.

View attachment 353401

You can see in the picture the 3.6m 3x2 inch lengths of timber already inserted under the shed to lift the shed using the power of leverage. Also in shot are a couple of the 3.6m 4inch round fence poles I bought to do the main work of shifting the shed. I had to search quite far and wide to find those at a sensible price!

Step 2 - get it rolling.

It certainly helped that I knew the shed had a decent floor supported by 3x2 timbers (from when I built it). The worst part was the initial lift to get the fence poles under the shed, as I had to try and lift the shed evenly while Clare inserted the first poles. In the end I used two of the flat timbers, one under each shoulder, and from a crouched position I basically stood up and with a bit of creaking (from both my knees and the shed) it lifted up at the front.

Once the first couple of poles were in, I repositioned closer to the shed and repeated. When we had 4 poles in, the shed lifted its own rear up and I could get behind it and simply push (although it was still ruddy heavy).

View attachment 353402

Clare would remove the poles from the rear as the shed went forward, and replace them at the front. Slow going but we then had to pivot which was fiddly and we could have done with a few more poles.

View attachment 353403

And hey presto, shed in its new home after a bit more leveraging to get the poles out from under it.

View attachment 353404

I could then crack on with removing the old patio where the shed had been (the flags will get reused around the new garage. I then had to remove some old concrete fence posts that seemingly had half a ton of concrete holding them in place.

View attachment 353405

Thankfully having a mini digger at your disposal makes these types of jobs easier!

Then I put in the drains in for the rainwater (linked to the pre-dug soak way). In hindsight I should have removed the conifer stump which was massive before putting the pipes in, which made it more fiddly, but again having the digger to pull the top of the stump helped with pulling the rest of the roots out.

View attachment 353406

Finally, once again after all the work, you’re back to bare ground and nothing much to visually see

Not that you can see it in the photo, but I’ve pegged out the outline of the garage with sting line below too.

View attachment 353407

No too much spend for this instalment. Cement for the shed base (sand, hardcore and patio slabs were all leftovers). Had to get a grab truck for the soil. Couple of hundred quid for the timber for the shed move. All in all about £500 spend.

 

[cdbe]

3 lengths of 110mm soil pipe. I rolled a quarter tonne rsj up my drive with these.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Yeah I’ve done it. Need a couple of people and also round fence posts. Good luck!