Internal wall frames for CB kit shed?

[T-Rex]

Hi there, I am taking the "building a kit shed yourself" challenge (8 x 12 m x 3.7) and want to line internally to hide insulation and have inside area look and feel more like a room than a tin box (especially in summer).

Q1. What to use for internal studs considering this will be done AFTER the outside sheeting goes on. I am currently thinking to use tophat battens like the outside walls but fixed vertically to the wall battens (which are set at 180 and 1200 mm off the slab + fascia at just under 2700 mm).

Building my own wood frames was the original idea but how to fix these to the wall battens when sheeting is already on? Tophats also sounds a lot simply too. Actually internal walls will be either plasterboard or plywood I guess.

Q2. What options do I have for some type of (raftered) ceiling when the engineering designs do not support weight of plasterboard and wooden rafters underneath the C-section rafters?

Q3. Insulation under the roof sheeting. Both the aircell on-a-roll and air-con stuff says to install with an air gap between it and the sheet but how is this possible when the only place to put it is directly under the sheet?

[silentC]

I built an office inside my shed. The frame is just 90x35 pine made up like a normal stud wall. It is only fixed to the shed frame in the corners at the main uprights. The ceiling is flat and I have the top of it lined for storage. The ceiling joists span 6m with a wall at 1.8 and a hanging beam at 2.1. I lined it with hardiflex but you could use gyprock. I insulated the wall and ceiling cavity.

[Big Shed]

T-Rex, FWIW I lined my shed with MDF panels, 2400x1200x18mm. They are seconds, although some you wouldn't know it, and cost me $15 each. My shed is 3m high on the sides so put an extra 600 on top with a strip of MDF behind the join, put strip on before putting panel on. I screwed the MDF to the steel horizontal wall battens with self drilling metal screws (8gx30mm from memory). Put 5 screws per row, this whole thing becomes strong enough to hang cupboards from.

The roof I lined with 2400x1200 polystyrene foam panels, again bought cheap, from a manufacturer in Melbourne. They cast the foam in big blocks, then cut the end panels of to square them up. They vary in thickness, anywhere between 16 and 25 mm. Used waterbased liquid nails to glue them underneath the tophats that support the roofing iron.

So, look around and you will be amazed what you find and can put to use, I found the suppliers of both the MDF and the polystyrene in the Trading Post.

I had to line the shed as we lived in it for 12 months while building our house, it has turned out to be a good investment.

[T-Rex]

Thanks for the replies. Finally got a break in the weather and managed to stand up the remaining column-frames today after being rained out for the last 3 days - can't knock the rain at last but wish it hadn't come on my week off

Big-Shed - did you put insulation in the roof? If so, what type did you use? I assume it was directly under the roofing sheets as you glued those polystyrene panels underneath the battens.

Did your MDF panels actually touch the floor or finish a little above it so water couldn't get in?

SilentC - when you say you had the ceiling lined for storage I assume there must be a manhole or something to get stuff up above the ceiling?

[DJ’s Timber]

T-Rex, have a look through my thread here (about 1/2 way though the thread)on my current ongoing project, it shows how I lined my shed. Nice and cool in summer and warm in winter

[Big Shed]

Big-Shed - did you put insulation in the roof? If so, what type did you use? I assume it was directly under the roofing sheets as you glued those polystyrene panels underneath the battens.

Did your MDF panels actually touch the floor or finish a little above it so water couldn't get in?

No, didn't put extra insulation between the roof sheets and the polystyrene, as there is an airgap the height of the tophats. Together with the approx 25mm it provides very good insulation.

The MDF panels are sitting on the concrete, never had a water problem as the exterior cladding overhangs the concrete floor by about 100mm, the concrete was poured after the shed was erected.

Hope that helps.

[silentC]

SilentC - when you say you had the ceiling lined for storage I assume there must be a manhole or something to get stuff up above the ceiling?

The shed is 3m high at the wall and the office is 2.4m + joists so I lined the top of the joists and I can get up there on a ladder from outside the office.

[Dickiejim]

Hi T-Rex

I have a bit of a work in progress with the shed construction, mine is on a smaller scale than yours, I am using the V-joint pine lining boards you get from Bunnings and various other outlets, they cost about $1.90 per lineal metre, with a cover of about 140mm that works out approx $13.50 per m2 which is a bit dearer than plywood but it certainly looks classier and it smells like wood. I am laying a row of hebel blocks around the perimeter to keep the timber off the floor.

In this shed I am using 70 x 35 mm pine, screwed to the purlins as studs, I have placed a layer of accoustic insulation behind it.

At my last house I had a 9x 6 shed I did out the same way and it certainly looked the part.

I will try and attach a photo which shoes how I'm doing it, excuse the mess though

Good luck with the project

[Border boy]

Hi T-Rex,
putting the finishing touches on my shed. Shed is 12x9x2.7m & like SilentC, I have built an office & loo lined with plasterboard & insulated. Office is 2.4 high & again like SilentC I intend to use the roof above the office as a storage area. I used 90x35 pine to frame the rooms, attached these to the girts? using hex head metal screws- creating a "stud" wall frame. I countersunk the predrilled holes in the timber framing so that the linings would sit flush. I will line the rest of the shed later as time & cash permit. The roof of the actual shed has air cell between the tin & roof top hat battens which I am finding works very well- air gap is reated by the material itself ie. like bubble wrap.
I will post some pics for you soon - busy painting the office at the moment.
Cheers.