Scaffolding boards as new build shed floor ?

[CompoSimmonite]

I'm building a new 9'6" x 7'6" shed / workshop which the main frame will be out of scaffolding and KeeKlamps.
The base will have poles across the 7'6" width every, say, 18" and original idea was then to add 3" x 2" down the length and water resistant chipboard on top.
I'm now wondering if new scaffolding boards down the length could be viable instead of the 3" x 2" and chipboard ?
Would biscuit joint type connections (large penny washers ?) between the boards be need to stop flex ?
Opinions appreciated.

 

[steveo3002]

no scope for a concrete floor or some slabs then ?

 

[brightspark]

If you decide to use planks and do biscuit them, use wooden or stainless biscuits.

Normal bzp or natural penny washers will rust and blow quickly...



Edit: don't use chipboard. Ever. For anything.

whats your kitchen units and worktops made off

 

[8ob]

It might be an idea to rebate along the length of the boards to allow for expansion, the difference in size come winter/summer is quite substantial.

Bob

 

[Kevin tph]

CHIPBOARD FLOOR GRADE TREATED PANELS (L)2400MM (W)600MM (T)22MM WATER WILL NOT MOVE IT, DON'T USE SCAFFOLD BOARDS UNLESS THEY ARE TREATED BUT YOU NEED TONGUE & GROOVED THAT'S BEST FOR A FLOOR BECAUSE WOOD MOVES SHRINKS AND EXPANDS, FLOOR CHIPBOARD IS NOT LIKE KITCHEN UNITS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

 

[CornishPete]

How come you're building a shed out of scaffolding?

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Chipboard flooring wouldn't be my first choice. Water
Still ruins it over time. Replaced enough of it in kitchens and bathrooms to know.

If using scaff boards why not run a biscuit cutter along the whole length and use continuous strip wood in between boards. There gonna expand widthways more than length though. Especially with the changing seasons.

Why not a concrete base?

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I live in an old quarry and my garden slopes. Add to that the ground is "infill" so it's not stable enough for a concrete base. I have got, however, a big frame made from 100mm x 50mm with legs I intend concreting into the ground at the corners thus avoiding leveling the land. I'd already cut new scaffolding to make the shed frame and have hundreds of KeeKlamps "in stock" so logical I use them.

 

[Robotstar5]

Chipboard flooring wouldn't be my first choice. Water
Still ruins it over time. Replaced enough of it in kitchens and bathrooms to know.

If using scaff boards why not run a biscuit cutter along the whole length and use continuous strip wood in between boards. There gonna expand widthways more than length though. Especially with the changing seasons.

Why not a concrete base?

Think it's called a spline joint?, was what I was going to suggest too.

 

[Olderisbetter]

I have used scaff board old and new for a few projects, I did a shed floor with used boards cleaned off with a weak caustic mix and wire brushed, A good hose pipe blast and left to dry, Then a quick belt sand on the face and Just on the edges to round them, They went down on a base made from treated 3x3 fence posts spanned every 18" with a DPM on top of the posts, The guy i did it for dealed them with marine varnish and built the shed on top after, I guess it all comes down to cost and how llong you want it to last, Any way good luck with you project.

 

[Rocketman]

Sealed coated chipboard in a centrally heated environment, and even so I've yet to see a kitchen unit over a few years old that's not blown - and they're not outside a few inches above dirt...

And they're only chipboard because I don't own them - if they were mine they'd be real wood with a splash of granite.


And before you ask, no, my floorboards upstairs aren't chipboard either, they're actual real wood.

I Woundn't use chipboard outside in a shed. But there is huge differences in quality of units, plastic coatings and glues used when making the panels for kitchen units and the like. You are welcome to come around to inspect a 7 year old German made marine fish tank base which gets pretty wet on occasions in perfect condition not blown the surface off anywhere - and it gets pretty damp inside the unit because it is sumped tank.

 

[Burdekin]

The boards will shrink a lot, so if using them you'd need to store them inside for a good while to dry out. Once dried out you can just but them together but you will get a draft. In one part of my workshop I just use two sheets of sterling board (OSB) and have painted it with floor paint. No issues and the texture works a bit like non-slip compared to my painted concrete floor.

I like the idea of using scaffolding, please post up some pics when you make a start.

The guy who built this is an ex-scaffolder, he such an inventive guy: http://www.lastcafe.org/lost-cafe.html

 

[angellonewolf]

dont know how long your having the scoffold boards but i have them in my shed and never had any problems the shed i got is 8x6 and they go the 6foot way and have never seen it move or expand that far to move the walls of the shed and there butted up together not even a gap between them

 

[Barlidge]

I used chipboard in my shed which was put down about 15 years ago, it spent the first few years getting rained on as I didnt have a roof.

Not your average stuff from diy shed but some leftovers from a building site I was working on, this type of stuff.

http://norbord.co.uk/products/caberboard/caberdek/

 

[Agroshield]

The base will have poles across the 7'6" width every, say, 18"

This means the boards will span only 18", something that seems to have been missed by replies so far.

They won't flex much at that span.

If your ground is not stable, is it worth putting a screwjack at each support so you can relevel the shed if anything moves?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@CompoSimmonite Many properties in Oz are built on concrete 'rafts' which 'float' on the substrate, is your slope/ground condition too unsuitable even for a similar approach?
It's only little.......

 

[Burdekin]

The floor at our cottage has the joists sitting on concrete blocks and packed up with slate to level. It's not attached to the walls or ground. I only knew this as the other day I had to cut out a section of the shower room floor to change the plumbing about.

 

[cumbriasteve]

CHIPBOARD FLOOR GRADE TREATED PANELS (L)2400MM (W)600MM (T)22MM WATER WILL NOT MOVE IT, DON'T USE SCAFFOLD BOARDS UNLESS THEY ARE TREATED BUT YOU NEED TONGUE & GROOVED THAT'S BEST FOR A FLOOR BECAUSE WOOD MOVES SHRINKS AND EXPANDS, FLOOR CHIPBOARD IS NOT LIKE KITCHEN UNITS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

@Kevin tph

Please write any input in normal lower case and not upper bold uppercase, it is not comfortable to read and in the world of the internet forums usually recognised as shouting, so does not go down too well.

Bold can of course be used to highlight an important part of a sentence that you feel you wish to ensure is noted, usually done for a safety reason.

Thanks

 

[Burdekin]

@Kevin tph

Please write any input in normal lower case and not upper bold uppercase, it is not comfortable to read and in the world of the internet forums usually recognised as shouting, so does not go down too well.

It's good for us half deaf folk though. ;-)

 

[slim_boy_fat]

It's good for us half deaf folk though. ;-)

Don't you use PPE?