A long time coming…
It doesn't look like much but close to a years worth of work to get here! I am fortunate enough to have family with several vacant blocks of land to sit it on free of charge. This one was correctly zoned (shed <50sqm/acre) and was just down the road from my parents place. The block itself used to be a small farm but it is pretty bare now, just a few small trees, lots of dirt, weeds and catheads! There is no water or power just yet but most of the work can be done with hand-tools and a gennie. The local council regulations require any building or shed to be at least 10 metres from the curb and 5 from the boundaries therefore I have put it right on the very corner where there is a bit of shade and is furthest from neighbouring properties. Originally I wanted to put it on another corner under the cover of a very large old tree however two weeks before delivery there was a huge storm - the tree was struck by lighting and burnt to a crisp! This is a temporary spot whilst I build it and once it is ready it can be relocated somewhere nice with a bit of shade!
Prepping the property was a bit of work, a mate was able to clear the spot but I still needed to level it and figure out placement. At first I wasn't sure how I wanted to have it sit whether on a layer of gravel, on some kind of supports like railway sleepers etc. In the end I decided I wanted to have it off the ground enough to minimise erosion and maximise airflow, it will also allow me to work on the underside later on. About a foot of the ground is ample for what I wanted to do so I started searching for a suitable solution. Was considering stacking railway sleepers or using huge i beams until I found these precast blocks which were perfect, not sure what their intended use was but works for me although they weren't exactly cheap but I hope to re-use them. Once they were down I had to level them - first time trying to do this kind of thing, did not think it was worth to bother to hire a dumpy level. Despite the Riverina region being dead flat it was surprisingly out of level quite a bit and your eyes can be very deceiving. It wasn't until I got the string line out and over a couple days I had gotten it reasonably level with the help of my dad. I could of probably gotten it done a lot faster but there is a first time for everything - part of the reason I am doing such a project. The site was now ready to receive my baby.
The containers temporary new home!
It was delivered via tilt tray and dropped directly on the piers. The driver told us this was his first job with his fancy new remote controlled truck which was a bit nerve-wracking! But the whole process went unexpectedly smoothly, Dad and I made a bet that it would topple and we would require crane assistance. I think the last minute decision to fix the piers in place with star posts saved us here - they really did look like they were going to topple when backing up to land the rear end. Now that it is finally down I can get started with everything else; painting, floors, windows, electrical and internals - stay tuned!