Wooden lean-to project - some questions

[optionclick]

My house has a rather tatty wooden lean-to shed which I'm thinking about tidying up and extending as it doesn't currently offer much usable space.

It has been rather crudely constructed from 4x2 timber, roofing felt and corrugated plastic roof panels.

My plan is to dismantle the current arrangement and move the front wall back by a couple of metres, past the line of the metal storage box (which will be removed)

There is already a thick base of concrete laid which was probably a garage floor in the past.

So, on to my questions:

1) I don't want the wood in direct contact with the concrete, so I will lay a course of bricks on top of the concrete - is this the right approach?

2) Will laying these bricks on top of the contrete be ok?

3) Should I use engineering bricks, regular bricks or would breezeblocks be suitable?

4) I really hate the corrugated plastic. Are there any other options available. Might I be better off constructing a shed-like roof and cover it in roofing felt?

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• optionclick
• 8 Jul 2010
• 1

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• optionclick
• 8 Jul 2010
• 1

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• optionclick
• 8 Jul 2010
• 1

Thanks in advance for all advice!

 

[DevilDamo]

1) I don't want the wood in direct contact with the concrete, so I will lay a course of bricks on top of the concrete - is this the right approach?

Why don't you want the timber in direct contact with the concrete? Worried about damp? If so, just lay a DPM on the concrete, then fix a timber sole plate through the DPM to the slab and then form new stud walls off the sole plate.

2) Will laying these bricks on top of the contrete be ok?

Providing you don't go OTT as in forming a 2.1m (for example) high brick wall. If you're just forming a low level wall/plinth, then that will be fine.

3) Should I use engineering bricks, regular bricks or would breezeblocks be suitable?

Just out of interest, what would the blocks/bricks be there for? As mentioned before... for damp or just to make the garage/shed a reasonably solid structure?

4) I really hate the corrugated plastic. Are there any other options available. Might I be better off constructing a shed-like roof and cover it in roofing felt?

There's no reason why you can't form a traditional felt roof so just utilising timber joists and felt.

 

[optionclick]

Yes, the bricks would be purely as a preventative measure against damp. The current wall sits on a single course of bricks, so I assumed this was the best approach.

A length of timber laid on some DPM - sounds straightforward but will it be effective? Would the DPM need to cover the whole concrete base/floor, or just the area where the wood touches the ground?

To be honest, the damp is a low priority at the moment - before I get demolishing I need to address (i.e. completely remove) the VERY suspect wiring currently in place

Thanks

 

[ColJack]

the bricks will keep the bottom of the wall out of the puddles..
since it's on a flat concrete area is it likely that water will pool in areas and not drain away?

 

[optionclick]

I have now cleared the concrete area and have drawn out some plans.
I'm wondering whether installing two layers of DPM is necessary - one will go directly on top of the concrete, and perhaps an additional one on top of the joists, underneath the OSB board - see the attached pic.

Is this overkill perhaps? As you can probably tell by this and my original post, I'm really keen to keep this shed dry and as rot-free as possible!

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• optionclick
• 9 Aug 2010
• 1