Renovating a Bare-Bones Shed - Wall Construction Help

[bobsled_time]

Hey Everyone:

I'm working on renovating a very basic shed. It's sitting on a 4" concrete pad (no footers) and the walls are built with the base plate directly on the pad, which is flush with the exterior grade (which I largely can't change). The exterior is just painted OSB sheathing currently.

My plan is to add vertical shiplap siding. I have a bunch of 1x6x8 pieces that I'm currently priming. What I'd like to address now is the exterior ground interface for these new pieces of siding. I'd rather them not sit on the ground like the existing sheathing is, so I'm looking into creating a temporary wall, cutting the studs and base plate out of the existing, and adding a 1 course cinderblock stem wall to the slab. Then I could go about doing the housewrapping, air gapping, and shiplapping as normal (with a 1-2" overlap of the shiplap pieces on the stem wall).

Am I overthinking this? Is there an easier way to address the ground interface of the siding (potentially a solution that doesn't involve essentially rebuilding an exterior wall of the shed)? I've attached a Sketchup model of the existing vs. what I'm thinking of doing.

Thanks for any help!

https://imgur.com/a/N6ABfEj

 

[66Caprice]

If it's just bolted down to the slab just unbolt it and jack the whole thing up and then add your new course of brick with new bolts then lower it back down.

 

[Skiff Builder]

You could take say a 1x8, treated, cedar or other resistant species. Cutout existing siding around the base. Run the 1x8 horizontal and overlap your shiplap about an inch over that.

 

[MFolks]

Are you in a known Termite area? If so,once your shed is built,look for the covered tunnels Termites make to travel protected from the nest to the wood.

 

[i4ni]

If it's just bolted down to the slab just unbolt it and jack the whole thing up and then add your new course of brick with new bolts then lower it back down.

What he said only I'd use concrete block 8 x 8 x 16 or 8 x 4 x 16. Then I'd slug em full of concrete and install anchor bolts. id probably add a treated sill plate at this time also. Hope that helps.

 

[i4ni]

Vertical ship lap?

 

[bobsled_time]

Vertical ship lap?

That's the plan. I have a bunch of plain shiplap already so I'd like to put it to use. It's very common around here for barns to have vertical siding (whether it be board and batten, some form of lap board siding, or metal made to look like vertical siding), but of course these older farm barns that have vertical lap siding aren't intended to be entirely weatherproof. So the idea is to keep that aesthetic from the outside, but build a wall system that solves for the potential water ingress issues that can come from driven rain with just a simple lap joint. So it'll be sheathing, housewrap for the waterproof layer, Cor-A-Vent (polycarbonate battens that are perforated to allow water to gravity drain) for the air gap behind the siding, and then the shiplap on top of that.

I wasn't going to go this route, but since the siding isn't dutch lapped, I'm worried about water sitting in the channels between boards if they're installed horizontally, causing the wood to rot prematurely. So I figured if both installation methods have potential issues, I'd go with the one that I both a) like the look of better, and b) can mitigate the potential problems of.

 

[rsanter]

I am with the lift the whole thing and lay the blocks down.
You can move the whole door casing down and then put a fixed box window above

Bob

 

[i4ni]

That's the plan. I have a bunch of plain shiplap already so I'd like to put it to use. It's very common around here for barns to have vertical siding (whether it be board and batten, some form of lap board siding, or metal made to look like vertical siding), but of course these older farm barns that have vertical lap siding aren't intended to be entirely weatherproof. So the idea is to keep that aesthetic from the outside, but build a wall system that solves for the potential water ingress issues that can come from driven rain with just a simple lap joint. So it'll be sheathing, housewrap for the waterproof layer, Cor-A-Vent (polycarbonate battens that are perforated to allow water to gravity drain) for the air gap behind the siding, and then the shiplap on top of that.

I wasn't going to go this route, but since the siding isn't dutch lapped, I'm worried about water sitting in the channels between boards if they're installed horizontally, causing the wood to rot prematurely. So I figured if both installation methods have potential issues, I'd go with the one that I both a) like the look of better, and b) can mitigate the potential problems of.

Sounds like you got a good plan.Mostly see board and batten vertical around these parts. Good luck

 

[CraigStu]

Another vote for lift the whole thing. I think that by the time you do the supports, cut the bottom of the wall away etc jacking the whole thing would be less work. Also in order to fit an 8 " block and 1.5" bottom plate you need to remove 9.5" of the wall. How will you slide the block and plate under the wall and attach the block to the concrete floor and how will you attach the new bottom plate to the existing studs. I'd rather jack it 12 inches or so, have plenty of room to work and then drop it down.

 

[Bretny]

Your relying on paint to keep a pine board from being destroyed and it's only 4in or less from the ground?

Your going to spend a lot of time scraping and painting in the years to come. Can you use a trim/band type board as a kind of skirting around the building? Coil stock would be my first choice, second would be some kind of plastic wood product.