# Forum Home Renovation The Garden Shed  urgently calling all stratco owners/installers

## mattwilliams78

Hi guys, 
I finally took the plunge and bought a stratco homeshed at the end of last year and have been procrastinating about whether I would build it myself or pay someone to do it ever since. 
Well, the arrival of my first child 8 weeks ago made the decision for me and so now I'm paying someone to do it. Trouble is, after budgeting to do it myself with a few mates I found the quotes excessive and didn't know what to do until my friendly landscaper offered to do it with one of his chippy mates for half the rate of the Stratco registered installers. Now, that doesn't necessarily phase me as a) I was going to do it myself anyway so he probably won't be any worse and b) he has all the necessary tools, lasers etc. and the manpower. He's already done a tonne of landscaping/retaining walls for me and whilst they aren't necessarily perfect everyone who sees it is impressed and it happened very quickly and totally transformed the place. Anyway, the garage kit is predrilled, has instructions and bolts together so how wrong can it go? right?! 
My question to you (hope you're still reading) is, with kits like this, do you HAVE to install the wall sheets whilst it's on the ground? or can you put the frame up first and sheet after? The guys have read the instructions and watched the video but they really want to erect the frame and do the slab before they put the sheets on so they can work easily. I can totally see the logic in this (I'm not bolting to a slab I'm pouring concrete footings after the frame goes up) - I was going to get them to pour the slab inside the shed as per the manufacturers instruction but they would prefer to do it without the sheets in place and form up the slab which I have to agree seems more sensible, we can even rebate the edge that way to have a nice detail of the sheets meeting the slab. 
My only compromise to the instructions was maybe if I put one sheet on the end so that I knew it was square and it would make it easier to add the rest of the sheets later because I would know I had a plumb edge to start from. What do you think? 
abrogard, I read your post with great interest as you have the same garage and I was wondering what you had learnt from it.  
Thanks for reading, they are installing week after next so it would be good to get any feedback before then. Instructions from manufacturer below, its the 3.9 x 9.2m version  http://stratco.com.au/pdf/Installati...on%20Guide.pdf

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## r3nov8or

On reading the PDF, there are 'only' bolts holding the right angle members together (so some movement out of square is possible under stress) and there is no diagonal wall bracing, and so in effect the wall cladding is providing the stiffness to maintain square when the wall is stood up. Without prior experience and knowledge of any potential 'gotchas' I would follow the instructions.

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## Hoppy

Hi Matt 
Stratco products are generally very good. My son and I both carpenters, decided to erect a 12m x 6m steel frame shed, and like your guys read all the instructions and decided we knew as much. With walls 12m long we decided there is no way two of us could erect the walls after having the cladding attached, so we decided to dig the concrete pads, erect the frame work with girts and purlins attached and then concrete the pads. The trick is to have enough temporary bracing for each and every wall in all directions. It proved to be quite tricky to get all the walls plumb and to hold them in position. good luck.
Hoppy

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## pinger

It would depend on which type of Stratco shed it is, 
a) the c section product, or
b) the bottom rail, mid rail and top rail product.  
A) could be sheeted easily once it is stood. B) the sheets effectively do the job of the wall columns so I would say they would need to be sheeted on the ground.

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## Bloss

Follow the instructions. Although it is a C-section product they have not given plan and design for perimeter beam slab which would be needed if you were to pour the slab then attach the frame. You could check with Stratco though as they might well offer that as a PDF. MO that's a better option, but they all work _if done to the instructions_. The way Hoppy described would work too, but keeping everything in sqaure and plumb is no mean feat. They have this PDF, but it is just more detail on their regular way of construction. http://stratco.com.au/pdf/Installati...crete_slab.pdf  
Really, really important whether slab or footings that you get levels within 1-2mm and plumbs and distances very accurate.  :2thumbsup:  
BTW - cheap tie-down straps are very useful in steel shed assembly to provide temporary diagonal bracing in multiple directions - and the ratchet mechanisms make for easy adjustment. But you _will_ trip over them!

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## mattwilliams78

Thanks Bloss, its not that we want to bolt to the slab its that, as Hoppy said, they don't want to try and maneouvre the wall once all the cladding is on because a) it looks a bit unmanageable on the video and b) if you put the frame and girts up first then you can pour the concrete footings and slab more easily without the wall sheets in the way (i.e from inside). 
I had the option of buying the kit for bolting to an existing slab as per your instruction but it was going to be more expensive including all these base plates and I would have needed to worry about setting chemical bolts in exactly the right places etc. 
Hoppy, I think what you're saying is what they want to do - I might get them to do it how they want and see how we get on. 
Thanks all

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## mattwilliams78

oh, and thanks for the ratchet strap idea Bloss - thats a good one!

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## Kaptan

Hey Matt,
On my 18' x 20' Stratco I had to pre-sheet one wall that was up against a boundary, then I built the frame off this and sheeted later. No problems encountered, but as has been pointed out, be sure the frame is true. I found the frame to be pretty solid once all bolted up. 
The main reason I did it this way was that my concrete drive pad sloped two ways, and so I couldn't guarantee squareness of all the pre-sheeted walls. It was hard enough doing the one wall! 
At the end of the day I'd go the easier way of frame first, then concrete, and clad last.
After all, it's just a shed . . . . what could go wrong?  :Doh:

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