varmits!

[WQ59B]

I have a 24x48 steel-over-wood-post Agway shop, coming up on 20 yrs old now. The building has been excellent over these years.

My one issue is that when the contractor put some lumber around the 4x6" posts to contain the concrete pour, that wood was not PT, but regardless, it has rotted in spots over the years, allowing the meese to get in.
At one point I dug all around the shop and replaced the dirt with gravel & blend material, but they dig thru that. Hopefully, the below crude sketch shows the scenario:

The yellow block is the now-rotting form wood.

Last year I installed bricking under the edge of the (red) sheetmetal, but the frost heaves & drops this, opening the gap again.

My thinking is to get something like flat stock steel or maybe concrete board and install it vertically against the edge of the sheetmetal, so that if/when it heaves, it will move independently up & down and not open the gap again. But I am totally open to suggestions here... a concrete pour around the outside? Any other ideas?

I really want to get them out of my shop...

 

[Brad Beam]

Try one of these

 

[chickenhauler]

Is it just a problem around the posts? What about spray foam?

 

[Brad Beam]

In all seriousness can you fill the holes with steel wool they won't chew through it

 

[WQ59B]

Cat is no good - I'm not out there everyday due to work.
• •
The problem is the complete perimeter (minus the 4 car doors).
• •
I did spray-foam the 'ridges' in the sheetmetal, tho there's a bottom edging piece that does well to close them off. Further issue is; mice can chew thru spray foam. I want something more permanent & physically-encompassing.

 

[Dickey]

Foaming some steel wool in place seems like a good idea to me.

 

[chickenhauler]

Ok, after looking at your pic again, and re-reading everything, why not just use a sand/cement mix and go along your perimeter on the inside?

 

[WQ59B]

Hmmm, I like that; immune from frost/weather problems outside. Gonna have to move a lot of ****, but it'd be worth it.

Should I put anything between the steel & the concrete, such as this, to keep possible rotting of the metal at bay, or once the concrete is cured is there no worry there?

 

[chickenhauler]

I'd be worried about little gaps with the foam roll - mice only need 1/4" to get in. If I used anything to protect the steel, I'd just spray it with undercoating. A couple of cans should go a long way.

 

[Jazz]

You might also want to put some bait on the outside to poison them before they make it inside. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

 

[BPJOOP93]

if you have pets be careful where you put poisons. i put moth balls in and under my storage shed and that keeps em out.

 

[5lima30]

Can you replace the rotted 2x with some of the same size but pressure treated? I think that would be a better long term fix IMHO.

 

[rockchucker]

I would dig out the Formboards. If they are rotting then they will just continue to rot even if you cover them up. The Form Boards should have been removed in the first place. I would remove the old Formboards and replace them with Pressure Treated Ground Contact Wood. Make sure you seal all of your cuts on the ends or your PT Wood will rot out also.

I would anchor them by going through the Steel with Gasketed Sheet Metal Screws that are long enough for the job to attach them to the Bottom Plate. Or just use a Ram Set with Yellow Charges to attach them to Concrete. You could also use some Adhesive on the back of the PT Wood to make sure they stick along with the Ram Set.

You could also RotoHammer and predrill all of the Holes then use Concrete Anchors. Just make sure you are a few inches lower than the top of the Slab so it doesn't flake off under your Bottom Plate.

 

[WQ59B]

Digging the forms out might be a real hassle. They do extend up behind the sheet metal a bit, so I would have to get a trench going & hope no nails were higher than the metal.

5lima30 & rockchucker- what say you if I followed chickenhauler's idea and covered them with concrete on the inside; the boards can rot away and nothing can get thru. I'd have to remove the bottom foot of sheetrock for about 35', plus move all sorts of stuff against the walls to get full perimeter coverage, plus I need to work it behind the 4x6's, but I'm not seeing a downside here longevity-wise....

The form wood wasn't 2x, but some sort of T&G about 1" wide, so the gap is a bit smaller. If the concrete berm is a good 4" wide, it'll cantilever over the 1" gap and never fall in.

 

[chickenhauler]

I didn't know you had sheetrock. I was under the impression is was an unfinished pole barn. But either way, you wouldn't have to cut a foot off. 3-4 inches is plenty to push some mud in and trowel over it. Since it's covered, aesthetics doesn't really matter as much as function. Then you could just cover the hole with a baseboard. I wouldn't personally worry about the concrete against the steel. It wouldn't cause any more moisture against the steel than the rotting wood does.

 

[WQ59B]

10-4 on the moisture.
24x48 building: only 1 short wall and 1 bay of the back is rocked- NBD. I only mentioned going up that high in order to hit the lowest horizontal if I wanted to re-hang drywall again... but I might just leave it off.

I've been mulling over your suggestion and I still like it best. Going to try it out in sections and see how it goes. Thanks a bunch, CH.

 

[WQ59B]

UPDATE :: Been working on this process over the last week or so. LOT of stuff to move around; the walls were 'buried' with stuff. To date I have about 60% of the perimeter done, and it's going great, IMO.
I ripped from a 5/4 deck board down to 1.25" high, and I trim/piece together/ reuse these as I go. I measure out 4" from the sheathing, and I pour it flat and trowel it smooth. I'm not obsessing with the finish here.

The benefit to all this work (besides the obvious), is that it forces you to re-evaluate all your sh!t and re-organize things. I haven't been this psyched about my shop in years. Thanks again for the advice, guys.

 

[WQ59B]

Here's a 'before' shot which shows the framing lumber for the slab pour (the yellow board in my diagram above). This methoid is an eventual MISTAKE, IMO.
Ideally, the slab should pour out under the sheathing, where the frame is a few inches outside the building. If I were doing this type of building again, that's how I would do it.

 

[jzabrams]

UPDATE :: Been working on this process over the last week or so. LOT of stuff to move around; the walls were 'buried' with stuff. To date I have about 60% of the perimeter done, and it's going great, IMO.
I ripped from a 5/4 deck board down to 1.25" high, and I trim/piece together/ reuse these as I go. I measure out 4" from the sheathing, and I pour it flat and trowel it smooth. I'm not obsessing with the finish here.

The benefit to all this work (besides the obvious), is that it forces you to re-evaluate all your sh!t and re-organize things. I haven't been this psyched about my shop in years. Thanks again for the advice, guys.

Started on my garage around this time and for my first post I just gotta say know EXACTLY where you're coming from! What started out as replacing some rotten boards before painting has turned into jacking up walls to replace still plates and foundation repair. And I never imagined I'd be so excited about it! Just finished yet another tangent project which was "everything's on wheels!' so i can get to my walls easier. This forum was also an unexpected gem - so active and so many knowledgeable people. Anyway, good luck!

 

[rodm1]

What size and mils is the plastic?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Could be worse. You have the rare Varmit. You could have the common Varmint...

Tommy