Replacing Foundation on Shed/Cottage
TooMuchDIY
10 years ago
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sdello
10 years agocindywhitall
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Replacing foundation shrubs
Comments (7)if god had meant for plastic to be used in the garden.. then all the plants would be plastic .... AAARRRGGGHHHHH ... the minute the plastic is laid down ... wind starts bringing in weed seeds and soil ... and soon enough ... weeds are growing on top of the plastic ... and then.. you go in a pull out the weed breaking the plastic.. bringing up, more soil.. more seeds.. more weeds ..... and ad nauseum.. there is no way around it .... YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE PLASTIC .... which means you have to remove the rocks ... i had to do such in an area 10 times bigger than yours... so don't come complaining to me.. lol .. its god forsaken, backbreaking, skin ruining work.. that will take a long time to do right... just psyche yourself up and do it ... mixed with a good soil.. rocks are not all that bad.. its called good drainage ... so all the rock need not be removed ... soooooo since you have to rework the bed ... you can make the soil what you want .... and therefore.. you might not be as limited in choice as you are now .... sorry for the bad news .... ken...See MoreNeed ideas for replacing foundation shrubs...
Comments (6)A variety of evergreens and deciduous flowering shrubs would most complement a cottage style garden. Boring straight lines of the same plant used as a hedge is icky. Be creative. Use groups of odd numbers. Play light foliaged or variagated plants off of bugundy foliaged or dark green foliage. Many china roses will be virtually evergreen in your climate and will bloom from April through November. Look at Cramoisi Superieur, Old Blush, Ducher, Louis Philippe, and Hermosa. These are well foliated shrubs with blooms, not leafless thornsticks with candy apples on the ends....See MoreConversion of small 3 season rundown shack to 4 season cottage - help!
Comments (12)I would first address structural issues. It looks to be very lightly constructed; probably not anywhere near current codes. The roof, in particular is subject to some serious stresses if you get snow in your area. I would like to see some kind of rafters tying the walls together for starters. If you could find some rough-sawn material, it would add to the look. Even a few of them would add considerably to the roof integrity. It's going to be hard to insulate the walls and keep the exposed studs. To look good, you would have to have some kind of planking as your first layer on the outside, followed by considerable insulation and then siding. Bear in mind that walls like that have little protection from wracking. You certainly either want to do just one wall at a time, and probably put temporary diagonal bracing. There really should be permanent diagonal bracing for a planked wall structure. It would be much easier to sheathe the outside with OSB, then a layer of foam, then the siding. Use conventional insulation in the wall cavities, then drywall, or better yet, horizontal planking to keep the character of the cottage. The same rules apply to the roof, although you would want to keep the planking if it is in good shape. I would strip the roofing, and if all is good, apply a thick rigid foam layer- like 6", then outer sheathing screwed through the foam to the roof structure, then tar paper and shingles. I think it looks like a fun project! Just make sure you protect/improve the structural integrity as you go. It's been found that tightening up air leaks can have as much impact as insulation, so work carefully, and put some study into modern energy efficient practices. Greenbuildingtalk is a good forum for more technical info. As for the pipes underneath, they can go into the ground in an insulated (and possibly heated) box. You're going to want to insulate the floor, too....See MoreReplacing partial dirt floor basement in 1911 cottage style home.
Comments (3)Note that the slab may or may not be part of the foundation. Given the age of the house, I'm pretty much sure it isn't. It's just a floor someone poured. As Geoffrey says, we can't really guess at prices. Get bids AND REFERENCES. I agree a floor under a 5' ceiling will not really do much for the value of the house, it's really a convenience for you when you're storing stuff in there. Yes you can excavate down, but as Geoffrey says, you need to make sure you're not weakening the existing foundation which on a house of that age could be anything from concrete to brick/block to loose stones/rubble. However, unless you also intend to finish that into habitable space, I agree you'll never recover the costs of doing this in home value....See MoreElmer J Fudd
10 years agoklem1
10 years agosoutherncanuck
10 years agoBruce in Northern Virginia
10 years ago
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