Nothing is worse than getting stuck with a rusted or rotten shed. Here in Pinellas County Florida with our afternoon showers and sea breeze the rot and rust happen pretty quick. In this step-by-step guide we are going to walk give you the information and tools to successfully tear down your shed and dispose of it.
5 Step Shed Removal Process
Knocking down a shed is not a daunting of a task as you might think. Taking a systematic approach and pre planning all the proper steps will ensure a smooth transition so you can say goodbye to that eyesore haunting your space.
1. Planning and Prepping the Shed Demo
First, before you start buying saws or renting dumpsters check your local city to see if you will need a permit to demo the shed. Pinellas County has many different city government agencies all with different regulations so be sure to check.
Estimate your Shed Demolition
Once you have figured out if you need a permit, you'll need to see how much a permit cost in your city. We have many other factors to consider also before we start cutting.
Shed Material: figuring out what your shed is made of is not too hard. Typically a shed is made of wood, metal, plastic, or a combination of these.
Location: Figure out what is going to be the best way to haul away you shed to the front yard. Clearing the area around your shed so you have room to work. A parking area for either a dumpster or a pickup truck.
Tools: You don't need a huge budget for tools but you will need to find a way to either source tools from friends or neighbors, rent some from home improvement stores, or purchase new / used ones.
Date: Understand that if this is your first time knocking down a shed, you can expect it to take up your whole morning or afternoon. Secure a date, get childcare if needed, make sure its not supposed rain.
Tools and PPE needed
Will go over the tools needed to get your shed knocked down like a pro.
Tools:
• Reciprocating saw
• Ladder
• Screw Driver
• Adjustable wrench
• Pry Bar
• Drill
• Shovel
PPE:
• Working gloves
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Long sleeve shirt
• Long pants
• Boots
• Hearing protection
The better the equipment the faster the process. Using tools like a drill, driver, bull bar will greatly speed up this process but if you haven’t used these types of tools before or do not have the funds to purchase them then using standard hand tools is just fine. Consider renting a mini excavator. You could knock down the shed and load it into a dumpster without breaking a sweat.
2. Clean Out the Shed
Sheds over time end up with a lot of forgotten relics. This is the perfect time to pull everything out of your shed and divide it into 4 sections. Donate, recycle, waste, hazardous waste.
Hazardous Waste Disposal
You probably found oils, paints, gasoline, and pesticides in your shed. In Pinellas County Florida it is prohibited to dispose of these items in your waste trashcan. The solution is to go to Pinellas County Hazardous Household Waste this facility accepts all of these items. Just check on the website to make the facility is open before you head to it.
Donating and Recycling
Old tiles or wood you may be able to donate to places like Habitat for Humanity. Old broken mowers or metal items can be recycled. At this point you should have a dumpster close by, which means all your trash items can go straight into the dumpster.
3. Disassembled the Shed
Starting off with the easy part, doors and windows. For metal sheds you can just pop the doors off the rails. For woodsheds you may have to unscrew the hinges. Windows you will need to remove the window frame. Using the pry bar or reciprocating saw will be your best bet.
Remove the Roof and walls!
Metal sheds are easier then woodsheds. For metal shed you can take your reciprocating saw with a metal blade. Starting at the middle of the doorway run your blade from the front of the shed along the roof straight back. This will essentially cut your metal shed in half. After you have that first big cut step outside of the shed and cut the bottom door frame on both sides. Once the metal shed is in two pieces you can continue to make additional cuts so the pieces and smaller and manageable
Pro tip: Wear utility or heavy-duty gloves, the metal will cut your hands.
Disassembling the Wooden Shed
Wooden shed does require more attention. You won’t be able to just cut a big line down the middle of it like metal shed. For a wooden shed we have two options. Take out the roof first or a wall. Working from outside the shed begin to take out either the left or right-side wall. You can cut it with the saw using a wood blade. After the wall is cut the shed is ready to fall like a deck of cards. At this point the structure is completely unstable, and you risk it collapsing.
Pro tip: a collapse zone is considering three times the length of the wall. Example: 5ft wall you need to be 15ft away to be considered safe.
Most sheds after the wall is cut will begin to fall right down if not you can continue to cut on the corner to weaken it more or if it is small enough push, it down from the opposite side. You also have an option to attach straps to it and pull it down the remainder of the way. Once these steps have been performed the roof of the shed will begin to fall inward. Giving you easy access to cut the shed into smaller pieces.
4. Taking Out the Shed Frame
Once the walls and roof have been taken down and disposed of in your dumpster it’s time to work on the bolts. Most sheds should be on a concrete slab and secured to the slab with bolts. You won’t be able to overcome the bolts with a pry ball you’ll need either a socket set or Adjustable wrench.
Pro tip: We use impact drills at Junk Rescue Pinellas to get these bolts out.
Once all the bolts are removed the remaining wood or metal frame should come right off. If the bolts are stripped, you may need a large set of plyers to grab the head and manually rotate the bolt loose “get ready for a workout!” If that is the case.
5. Cleaning up Your Shed Demolition
Finally, the home stretch! At this point, you are left with not much other than a concrete slab or maybe some cinderblocks and plywood that was used for flooring. This is the point in the shed demolition process where we’re going to go around and pick up any loose bolts screws or nails.
Pro tip: consider renting a magnet from a home improvement store that you can run across the floor in the ground to pick up any loose nails.
Ensure a very thorough cleanup process and make sure everything makes its way to the dumpster. Once everything has been thrown out, we’re all done. Now it’s time to call your dumpster rental company. Have them come pick it up and we’re all set.
If you have any questions about shed removal, demolition and disposal here in Pinellas County Florida, you can always contact Junk Rescue Pinellas.