Your shed wobbles because of low-quality materials, poor craftsmanship, or damage. It's essential to correct a wobbly shed; otherwise, the shed may collapse onto your tools, pets, or family members.
If you live in a house or anywhere that has some land, chances are you have a shed. Sheds are one of the most valuable structures on any piece of land, but they can also come with some serious problems, including one of the most serious problems for any structure, wobbling. If your shed wobbles, you should quickly figure out why it does for safety reasons.
Your shed wobbles because of low-quality materials, poor craftsmanship, or damage. It’s essential to correct a wobbly shed; otherwise, the shed may collapse onto your tools, pets, or family members.
In the rest of this article, I’ll go over the most common reasons your shed is wobbly and some potential solutions.
Things To Know Before Fixing a Wobbly Shed
The tips I share in this article can help you identify why your shed is wobbling and what you can do to improve it. However, you can avoid many of these issues from the get-go if you follow one simple piece of advice: Don’t skimp on the materials or craftsmanship.
If you start your building process off on the right foot, you can avoid many of these issues. By purchasing treated wood, high-quality screws, thick enough wood, etc., you can also prevent many of these issues from occurring.
For example, buy treated wood if you know that your shed will be placed near the tree line where termites could pose an issue. If you know that moisture could be a problem, use blocks to elevate the wooden aspects of your shed.
Poor craftsmanship can cause a shed to wobble. Just as important as the materials you use in your shed is how the shed is built. If you’re buying your shed, you won’t have much control over this.
However, if you’re making your own, you have a lot more control over what quality of shed you’re going to have. Decide to make it as sturdy as you can from the get-go; that way, five years later, you wouldn’t be wishing you’d paid a professional to do it instead.
When you’re looking at a shed, you can spot several telltale signs that it hasn’t been made with the most care.
The following discusses 6 reasons your shed wobbles.
1. Metal Bracing Can Easily Bend
When building your shed, you may think that metal is the best choice for the bracing, which makes sense to a certain degree. I mean, metal is very strong, after all. It’s used for building bridges and other professional structures, so why shouldn’t it be used for your shed, right?
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Metal, while being strong, is very pliable and relatively lightweight for its strength, which can cause your structure to wobble. While it may be strong, the metal bracing you’re using simply isn’t rigid enough to support the structure.
So, it may be super strong and can technically hold a lot of weight, but it’ll bend under the weight of the other materials, and that’s not what you want in your shed.
2. You’re Using Plastic Sheds That Aren’t Thick Enough
For plastic to be strong enough to support your shed, it’ll need to be extremely thick. While thin plastic is relatively cheap, as it gets thicker, the price increases exponentially, making it a less economical price than wood or even metal.
Also, just like metal, plastic doesn’t tend to have enough weight to weigh down your shed. If you choose to go with plastic, you’ll end up spending a massive amount of money ensuring your shed is heavy enough to not blow away in the first strong wind.
3. You’re Using Thin Wooden Beams
One of the most popular choices for materials for sheds, and the one that we recommend the most, is wood. However, there are some things that you need to consider when it comes to building your wooden shed, including stability, strength, and weight.
Wood is an ideal choice for building your shed. However, you need to make sure that you’re using thick enough wooden beams. The minimum recommended size for your frame’s beams is 6×6. Anything less than that, and you run the risk of them bending, ruining your shed’s integrity (source).
It may be tempting to go smaller than that with a 4×6 or even a 4×4. These sizes are near impossible to bend with human strength alone, so it may seem like they’re strong enough for your shed.
Remember that your frame will be put under the stress of supporting the rest of your shed. It needs to be strong, and it’s always better for it to be stronger than is necessary.
4. Your Shed Doesn’t Have Cross Bracing in Every Corner
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One of the most important features of a sturdy shed is strong cross bracing. If you’re looking into buying a shed, you want to make sure that the shed has cross bracing in every corner. This is one way that sellers can take advantage of you because your shed may hold up without them at first (source).
As time takes its toll, cross bracing will be the thing that keeps your shed supported and strong. It’ll allow you to place more weight on top of your shed and keep the frame in its place. Without cross braces, your shed will be much more likely to bend.
5. Your Shed’s Wood Has Excess Moisture
If you notice your shed looks a little black or greenish, it may mean that there’s black mold or algae growth — they’re signs of excess moisture in the wood.
While the algae and mold aren’t necessarily the problem, they signify a much more severe problem. Excess moisture will eventually lead to wood rot, resulting in you needing to replace the entire rotted section of your shed.
Termites. The bane of the existence of just about every carpenter. While there are some things you can do to help prevent insect damage, sometimes it just doesn’t work. Yes, you can buy the treated wood. And yes, you can keep it away from trees and other insect hotspots, but you can’t keep them away altogether.
The best thing you can do is replace the damaged wood and start fresh. If the insects haven’t gotten into your main frame, you may just be able to replace some side panels. If not, getting a new shed will likely be your best option.
Final Thoughts
Sheds are a great resource to have on your property. However, they’re not without their issues, and, just like any structure, they’re going to require maintenance, and you must catch any problems early.
If you start well with high-quality materials and craftsmanship, you’re already on the right track to having a shed that will help improve your life instead of making it more difficult.
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Photo: Tembela Bohle
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