What you see here is the gravel pad for a shed. The running joke has been that this is the “Bachelor Pad” as I may actually sleep in the shed occasionally during these early stages of the renovation. (Not early on a calendar, but early as in “the house is in no condition for me to sleep there.”) The pad was completed soon after the shed was ordered, but as the shed was being constructed by the Amish and they take November off for family weddings, there was a delay in getting the shed completed and delivered.
As I’ve been in no rush regarding any aspect of this project, I wasn’t too concerned about when the shed would be delivered. My only concern around timing was the hope that, after delivery, there’d be enough time before ground freeze to run electrical to the shed. But even that isn’t really a requirement. And, eventually, the shed was completed and delivery scheduled. Arriving on the back of a truck, I like to joke with my neighbors that this photo shows just how small their house is. (Perspective, people!)
Delivery and proper placement of the shed was an interesting process. It’s important that the shed be level and stable or it could shift and leak or compromise the structure. How they do this is pretty impressive, especially so considering the terrain on my property. First, they removed the shed from the truck and that was simple enough. Next they use the really intricate little machine seen here to set it up and maneuver it. This machine is a forklift, tractor, and robot, all in one.
After using the forklift to attach wheels under one side of the shed, the machine itself is attached to the other side and the shed is driven into place. (See the videos below.) Most of this is done with the humans nowhere near the machine – using a remote control to assure safety if anything goes sideways. For the finer adjustments, direct human intervention is needed as seen here.
They took quite sometime making micro-adjustments to the placement until fully satisfied that the shed was level and stable on the pad. I was very impressed with the attention to minute detail and the care that they took in this effort. Once in place, the machine is again used to lift the ends and the wheels that were attached earlier were removed and reattached to the robot.
Finally, after they departed, I added some bluestone flags to the entry section to both complete the look of the shed and to give a solid base for entering and exiting the shed. The whole process was fascinating, and a little terrifying, to watch. Ultimately, though, I’m really happy with the shed and the work they did to get it onto my property. Now I need to do a little interior decorating. LOL!
Here’s how they used the robot to set up the wheels under the shed:
And here’s the actual placement of the shed – note the relatively steep slope at the start: