I've quite recently moved into a new house and there's this powered shed in the backyard that I am not putting to use at all, so I would like to set up my smithy/workshop in it. On the face of it, it would seem like an ideal solution, but it has a couple of problems. It's uphill on a fairly steep incline and it has a raised particleboard floor that needs replacing. Fortunately, the joists and bearers seem to be in reasonable condition.

It's a tin shed about 10' by 12' and although the floor itself is level, the ground underneath it falls away by roughly 2' from one corner to the opposite one.

My first idea is to replace the particleboard and lay down some cement
sheet to protect against hot iron and coals. But that won't be solid enough for an anvil, so I would probably need to cut a hole in the floor and sink a tree stump through it into the ground underneath. That is of course, when I get a proper anvil - until then I can make do with a good length of RR track buried vertically.

If you have any suggestions, criticisms, opinions, or other ideas, I'd like to know.

If I had this project to do, I'd lay a few courses of cement block foundation walls, to shore up the open side under the shed. This may be considerd a 'ratwall' depending on your local building codes, and may requires a footing poured first. Then I'd fill the space inside the walls with rocks, gravel, and a top coat of concrete, with a extra spot formed and poured, to be level with the wood floor, for the anvil.

well you could consider turning it right side up, but then your wif would likely think you daft

once you start banging away in there you'll rapidly appreciate the benefits of some sort of sound absorbing wall covering (possibly your neighbors as well)

ventilationcoolingheating also comes to mind

loud uncomfortable workshops just don't get used as much

as far as foundation work goes, Id reexamine the whole shooting match
is the shed where you want it, what (if any) is the prevailing wind direction, can it be used for ventilation, is there shade, or sun or a view youd rather have. If the sheds location is the ideal, then move it and do the foundation, then move it back onto it. Extending or shortening a power lead is relatively simple, so letting that dictate its current location when another might serve far better (for one reason or another) doesnt make a lot of sense. Then trying to work under an existing structure is a pain in the butt.

Building is easy, remodeling around a half dozen things is hard

good luck M8 ;)

What do you have in your workshop? That makes a lot of difference to what sort of floor you need.

I believe in working out what is needed and then adding quite a bit more on top. Nobody I ever knew was sorry for putting down a cement floor 2" thicker than needed but plenty were sorry for going too thin and having to rip it all up again!

Why not try just working a little in there and seeing what you need and where you want things?

you could just backfill the floor area with dirt and bury your anvil stump at the same time.my forging area has a dirt floor,i find it easy on the legs and it doesnt burn.probably a cheap way to go.