/diy/ - Do It Yourself

go get some copper naphthenate wood preservative and paint the legs. give it a coat every day for 3-4 days so you know that it soaks in.

the wood will swell, it will dry, but it least it won't rot.

Bleach bottle is more durable than milk jugs.

Milk jugs under the legs is a bandaid and could work, but it'll wobble and slip around a bit. Have you considered checking the drainage and soils buildup around the slab? Concrete is porous, so if it "sweats" when it rains, it actually means theres a pool of water where your shed is. Fix that issue and you won't have to deal with a wet floor again.

>>1248203
Sounds like no one put a capillary breaking layer like sand / gravel under the foundation. The way to fix this would be to remove the foundation and but a a proper foundation under it. But I think its not a reasonable action for a shed. You cound try to tackle the problem with drainage around your shed. How big is your shed? A picture and dimensions would be helpful.

>>1248203
Dehumidifiers are your best friend, you could also fire the concrete with gasoline

>>1248203
Seal the floor with an epoxy floor sealer

>>1248203
Get some aluminum coil stock (flashing) or some roofing rubber and cut out some squares and glue them to the bottom of the legs.

Also like the other guy said, seal the concrete with epoxy sealer.

Although I think the biggest thing to worry about is the bottom of your shed's walls rotting out.

>>1248321
+1
Either live with it and put everything on blocks for as long as you own the shed, or take a weekend to seal the concrete. Heat the surface with a torch to remove any residual water before you apply the sealer. This would be a long term fix.

Liquid water can't pass through concrete but water vapor will go through concrete. This is why basements are always damp and musty/moldy. You want basemen walls to be able to breath which is why people rarely seal their walls, but for a shed that's a different story. Seal that shit up.

It's also possible your concrete floor is cold enough for condensation to precipitate on the floor, like dew on a cold can of beer. This would only happen in certain geographic locations, and the only fix is to insulate your floor from the cold (not practical I'd think), increase ventilation, or use a dehumidifier.

OP here.

>>1248306
The ground around the shed is flat and there isn't really anywhere for the water to go. There is no pooling against the shed itself, though. Just when it rains a lot and the ground stays wet for several days it happens. The shed itself is only 10 ft by 16 ft. It uses post and beam style construction and has concrete piers under the beams. Between the piers, it is just a concrete slab. No clue on the thickness. The shed is 80 years old but the concrete is still in one piece, though.

>>1248318
It is a shed. It is just wood beams, wood siding, and a metal roof. There is no insulation, weatherstripping any anything like that. The rain doesn't get in but that doesn't mean it is airtight by any means.

>>1248381
The piers don't sweat water. They are substantial and extend into the ground at least to prevent frost heave. So the beams are rock solid. The wood siding doesn't touch the concrete slab so it lasts pretty well.

>>1248389
>>1248321
I will look into sealing the floor. I don't know how well it will last due to the amount of traffic the shed gets. All sorts of stuff are driven and dragged out of it on the regular. Firewood, lawnmower, crates and such, etc.

>>1248321
If the concrete is taking up water then an epoxy seal won't adhere to it once the slab is wet and the epoxy will pop up, proper drainage around the slab needs to be done first

The "best" method would be to tear it all up and do everything properly, but that's not really worthwhile for a shed, I would just get proper drainage around the shed to keep most of the water away from the slab

Is there no polythene under the slab? Did you pour it?

>>1248700
Did they have polyurethane liners back in the 30's?

>>1248729
Not sure but it was / is common to put sand/gravel under the concrete, at least 15 cm / 6 inch. And that's all you need for a shed. Water won't rise up thru the gravel and the concrete stays dry.

PVC or rubber roofing. With luck, you can get it free when they reroof a commercial building like I did.

>>1248729
They had shellrock, whoever done poured your shed fucked up. How bigs the shed? Is it worth rebuilding?

>>1250262
>How bigs the shed?
>The shed itself is only 10 ft by 16 ft.

>>1248203
Drill a 3 inch hole into the centre of the concrete floor, hire a high pressure pump and fill the space under the concrete with some acrylic sealant

>you're welcome

You could treat the cause rather than the symptom and see why your drainage is so shit and see if there is an easy fix to prevent your concrete from getting soaked in the first place.

OP here.

>>1250758
As I said, the drainage is a problem only when it rains a lot for days on end. We're talking constant ran for a week or more. This happens 1-2 times a year. Eventually, the soil just becomes saturated. As there is basically no pitch to the ground it has to trickle down. Now, you might say, "Then grade the ground." Can't. Nowhere to grade it too. The whole area for acres around my house is flat as a pane of glass.

>>1250670
That is a lot of money to keep the feet on a workbench made out of recycled timber from rotting.

>>1250679
Now, this looks like it can work. I did some googling and they even make plastic ones you can screw to the bottom of the timber. I will give those a shot and upgrade to metal ones if they don't hold up. Thank you.

>>1251816
Get rustoleum epoxy seal and seal the floor. Pressure wash, degrease and acid wash it first to ensure adhesion, also make sure it's dry before you paint. If you really want it to stick well then floor grind a layer off the top. After you're done, put a bucket of rock salt to capture the any humidity/moisture that wicks through. It's epoxy so it's a lot tougher than regular paint and shouldn't peel.
They also make a product called "rock solid" which is polycuramine. $250 a gallon, but it's true to it's name and you'll want to use it if you plan to put anything heavy with rubber wheels in the shed. They also make a regular sealant that may work, but won't give you that nice gray polished look of epoxy.

>>1248696
didn't read this before I made this
>>1251838

Definitely use "rock solid" as it's designed for things like hot tire pickup and dries almost as hard as concrete. You can also add sand and flake to it for traction. Get enough to do it all in one shot as you cannot reseal and use it again and it starts to turn hot and harden within 40 minutes.