Moving a Garden Shed

[Not_the_DJ]

Anyone done that?

Mrs DJ is forming a plan to move our shed over the easter weekend. It's currently sat on paving slabs halfway down our garden, but we now want to move it to a patio area we've got, about 20 meters away.


It's a decent size, maybe 8ft by 6ft (yes I'm mixing units here), so I'm not totally convinced that we can just rope enough mates into the project and lift it up without dismanting it.

Anyone tried something like this?

I've got mental images of us either destroying it by trying to move it whole, or destorying it by dismantling.

*Edit*

It's not just lawn between the two spot either, the patio it's going on is raised up a bit, and there's a veg bed with railway sleaper 'walls' to get over....hmmm

[StefB]

Best of luck is all I can really say. I tried moving this little bugger (4' square) about 8 yards in our garden last spring, and it was the devil's work.

Took three of us about 20 minutes to move it in the end, and it threatened to collapse around us the whole while. I know that isn't much help, but suggest as many pairs of hands as possible, all with heavy duty gloves ideally, plan ahead, be patient, and pray for the best!

[SeriousCat]

i think the usual method is to stress about it for around a week - then argue heatedly for a night or so - then spend a fair amount of money on equipment required - then stand next to the shed with the equipment in your hand for an hour or two - then realise that you got the wrong sort of equipment - then use the shed as an excuse for moving house

its all there on wikihow

[Lexie1]

Quickest method is to dismantle.... after you have read SeriousCat's advice that is.

[amberlamps]

if its a shed you would like to keep and pretty solid if you try moving it as is it will not be solid when you have finished, best to dismantle or at least part dismantle, if its felt roof best to buy a new roll and re-felt..

if its just a shack you want put to another part of the garden then move as is and hammer some nails in when you have re positioned..

[bertie]

Anyone done that?

yes, use joists or 6 x 3 put them under then move like a sedan chair

if its a tad rickety, cross-brace first (corner to corner) inside to provide some strength

[boogie man]

Moved a 6 x 4 shed once. Bastard job to do even with lengths of thick timber and some strong mates. Five of us couldn't shift it more than a couple of foot at a time. Gave up, dismantled and re-assembled it in the end.

[bertie]

Moved a 6 x 4 shed once. Bastard job to do even with lengths of thick timber and some strong mates. Five of us couldn't shift it more than a couple of foot at a time. Gave up, dismantled and re-assembled it in the end.

feckin lady-boy , me and a mate shifted a 6x3 on our own..............


*note- I was considerably younger then !!

[cramp]

I moved a 6 x 4 about 10 feet - took the roof off to reduce the weight but of course that removed any stability at all - not an easy job getting the roof off . Must have got help from my wife I think - she's a body builder (joke).
I slid it on joists and then set it up on treated joists laid on blobs of concrete so the floor doesn't rot.
Now I squeeze inside, wistfully wondering if I can convert it to a music room.

[ICBM]

I just moved a 6'x4' shed, complete, about 20 feet on my own. No I am not joking, and I'm not Superman either. And I have a bad back. I did empty it first though, I'm not stupid .

I got some old timber joists and made a pathway to slide the whole thing on - I had the advantage of going downhill, but only just - about a foot drop over that distance. Then I moved each corner about an inch at a time, by a combination of a slight lift to take the weight off it and a push or pull. If it got stuck I used another timber and a brick to lever it. Yes, it took time - but only about an hour. You just have to be patient and adopt the "many light moves to do the job of one heavy one" approach.

The biggest problem was that I had to swing it through a right angle, which meant carefully laying out the joists in a fan so the shed runners didn't fall off.