Disassemble Costco Shed

[Wubicon]

A little background might help on the whys of this thread. When we bought our house it came with a plastic shed, that I assume came from Costco. Looks just like this:Looking at them at Costco, they're quite expensive and I'm quite cheap, so I'd like to save it. The problem I have is that whoever built it, built it on a rotting and now rotten floor/base. I can tell that the whole structure is twisting because the doors don't want to close completely at top and bottom and need some persuading to get mostly closed...Ideally I want to keep it, build a new base and set it back down.

I was thinking about trying to move it, fix the base and move it back. But I think that will twist it and destroy it. Has anyone ever disassembled and reassembled one of these? Got any links for anyone who's done it or other helpful info? I've never even built one so I'm not really sure how it's built. Could be that once it's assembled, it's not really ever meant to be taken apart again...

 

[gmcgeo]

do it in reverse
You tube

PDF of installation

 

[tncatadjuster]

I would have new gasket material on hand and seal it up as necessary on assembly, appears worth keeping for sure.

 

[PassnThru]

An owners manual for that shed is available here:

Lifetime Shed

 

[Wubicon]

Thanks for the PDFs. I'll scan through them to see if I spot trouble points. So far it looks like it's mostly screws and goofy little plastic brackets holding it all together. Might come apart well.

I would have new gasket material on hand and seal it up as necessary on assembly, appears worth keeping for sure.

Yeah, that's a good idea - When will it ever be apart again? When a tree falls on it, probably.

 

[micromind]

The use of explosives will make the disassembly process much quicker..........

My daughter got a used one of those a few year ago that was already disassembled. It wasn't very hard to put back together but certain things need to be done before others or you'll need to do it twice.......lol.

 

[Wubicon]

The use of explosives will make the disassembly process much quicker..........

My daughter got a used one of those a few year ago that was already disassembled. It wasn't very hard to put back together but certain things need to be done before others or you'll need to do it twice.......lol.

I have a funny feeling making some notes and taking pictures along the way and trying to not disassemble it completely are going to be very important.

 

[bwringer]

People always seem to skimp on the foundation for these things. Or just skip the foundation entirely and throw them together on the grass, then wonder why everything cracks and leaks and the doors don't close.

The screws are not standard deck screws. You might peruse McMaster-Carr for screws intended for plastic and have a supply on hand for the ones that inevitably get dropped or chowdered.

This should be a good start:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[logical]

I'd be tempted to get it afew inches off the rotten base, lay down a few 2x8's under and extending behind or in front of it, and slide it off the base, build a new base and slide it back. I think if you lay a full width 2x8 across the back (or front) and push on it (and not the shed) to distribute the load it won't crumble.

 

[J-Man22]

You could build a frame, similar to a deck frame and probably similar to what your shed is currently sitting on, with no decking on top. Build it at the same height as the base your shed is sitting on. Add some wheels to it. Slide the shed off the base, on to the temporary frame/cart and roll it out of the way while you repair/replace the base. Those sheds aren’t too heavy and they slide pretty easily on the plastic floor.

 

[Joe Reed]

I suspect that taking it apart and reassembling it might do more damage than moving it intact using the method posted above.....and take a LOT more time!

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Interwebs say it is 466 lbs. It looks like the screws that attach it to the "foundation" are accessible from the inside. I'd get some 2x planks, unscrew it, and have a couple friends slide it off whatever it is on now onto the planks, and rebuild the base, pref a slab, then push back into place. Probably a lot easier than dismantling it.
Or, build the new foundation first, and only move it once, if it doesn't have to stay in the same spot.
You could put ratchet straps around it to distribute moving stresses, and provide grab points.
Or, there's the reason you need to get a telehandler.
Everybody needs a telehandler!

 

[pcmeiners]

Have one boxed up in my garage for over a year, anyone assemble these as a hobby?

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you do disassemble it, since the base is rotted and sagging you should try to prop it up so the structure is square and level first. Otherwise the various components will bind up against each other.

 

[Fixr]

I barely managed to move a Rubbermaid 7x7 about 50 feet with the attached plastic floor. Twisting was a big problem. It was repeatedly close to blowing apart from the twisting. I would expect a bigger one without a floor to be considerably more difficult. I would want to have at least a full perimeter very flat frame to very slowly and cautiously slide it onto while holding it together with ratchet straps. Then don't even open the doors until it's on to its flat, level new base. Don't forget to tie it down well so it doesn't fly away in a big wind gust. We had two of the Rubbermaids until a really serious gust performed a RUD on one and damaged parts enough to prevent reassembly.

 

[Wubicon]

If you do disassemble it, since the base is rotted and sagging you should try to prop it up so the structure is square and level first. Otherwise the various components will bind up against each other.

I think that's the problem I see with moving it, is that it's already not flat and true due to sagging from it's current base. The starting point is a shed that's already twisted, I think that might be a mistake with the move it plan. Considering how deteriorated the base is, it might not be all that feasible to wedge into a better shape and still be able to move it.

Need to spend some time looking at how it's constructed before I make my decision.

 

[Wubicon]

I hadn't considered ratcheting the whole shed together before moving it. Definitely going to keep that mind.

You could build a frame, similar to a deck frame and probably similar to what your shed is currently sitting on, with no decking on top. Build it at the same height as the base your shed is sitting on. Add some wheels to it. Slide the shed off the base, on to the temporary frame/cart and roll it out of the way while you repair/replace the base. Those sheds aren’t too heavy and they slide pretty easily on the plastic floor.

I think the issue with this plan, is that I'd have to build it out of flat stock steel to make it low enough and strong enough...

I'd be tempted to get it afew inches off the rotten base, lay down a few 2x8's under and extending behind or in front of it, and slide it off the base, build a new base and slide it back. I think if you lay a full width 2x8 across the back (or front) and push on it (and not the shed) to distribute the load it won't crumble.

I've thought about something like this too but I think it will be really easy to twist the **** out of it when lifting it. The only reason it stay upright, is because all of it's components are connected, including the floor.

 

[reader2580]

My experience with plastic of that type is that it gets bowed or twisted is that it won’t go back to the original shape. Not always the case, but I have seen it a lot.

 

[ozyborn]

Tell a kid not to take it apart. When my 2 sons were young. I spent 5 hours putting a shed together. Took a nap in the hammock while they played. Woke up to a dissembled shed. They told their mother they helped me take it apart....

 

[Wubicon]

Started the process yesterday. Actually comes apart fairly easily. Hopefully goes back together easily...

 

[gmcgeo]

Yeah they are not hard to tare down or put up.

 

[Wubicon]

Yeah they are not hard to tare down or put up.

I think this is the move, rather than trying to move it, assembled. The more I looked at it, the more I see missing fasteners...Which consequently means it's coming apart faster...

 

[gmcgeo]

I think this is the move, rather than trying to move it, assembled. The more I looked at it, the more I see missing fasteners...Which consequently means it's coming apart faster...

Maybe it was moved before and not put fully back together.

I have seen many many times that ppl will not put everything together the first time. I see that on vehicles a lot too

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Concrete slab this time?

 

[Wubicon]

Concrete slab this time?

I have a stupid amount of pavers around the property from the previous owner so *I think* I'm going to use those. We'll see what it looks like shed is fully disassembled and the rotting base is removed. Might put some gravel down first to build up the grade and provide better drainage first. We'll see.

The issue with a concrete base in these parts is contending with the frost line (read expensive, lots of concrete). I'm also cheap and this is for a plastic shed that holds my shovels, rakes etc and in winter, my patio furniture. Nothing exciting tbh.