My first question in our latest windstorm was “How do you anchor a shed?”

I did some research on how to tie down a shed. And, I determined for my shed that American Earth Anchors products would be best.

Why Should You Anchor a Shed?

As the first question asks, you don’t want to lose your shed to a wind gust. But, there is another reason.

Utilities

I am currently using an extension cord between my house and the shed. I have an extension cord plugged into the shed. But, I eventually want to properly supply electricity to the shed. This requires burying either underground Romex or THHN wire within a conduit run. This would be tied directly to the shed and directly to our home.

If a storm blew away the send then the connected utilities could potentially provide a dangerous situation. For instance, we could have energized bare wires that could be touched. This could cause electrocution or shock.

It is strongly advised that you secure your shed with anchors if you plan on attaching electricity to it. The same goes for other utilities like gas and water.

Which Anchor to Choose

American Earth Anchors offers several models. The 18-inch Penetrator anchor earth screw is the best fit for my shed. It is a solid cast aluminum with a 2-inch flange for the tie-down. You can anchor the screw into the ground using an impact driver with a 1-inch socket. And, this Penetrator anchor has an impressive strength rating of 2,500 lbs.

I’m all about the numbers and four of these with one in each corner would help to hold the shed in a heavy wind storm. If all forces were equal then that would be almost 10,000 lbs of holding strength. Since forces from the wind come in many different directions, this is probably derating the value. But, it is still an impressive number.

When you order the anchor you also need to get a compatible tie-down for each anchor. This model is what the manufacturer suggests and is compatible with the PE-18 as well as a few other anchors.

Placement of Anchor

My main requirement is I do not want an obstruction in the siding. Which means that I want the anchor to be hidden. And I felt that the vinyl siding corner piece would serve as the best cover. The bolt and the cable easily fit within this corner piece. I also felt that securing all four corners would help to keep the structure on the ground in gale-force winds.

How Do you Anchor a Shed?

There are several ways to anchor a shed. In this video, I show you how I anchored our shed down. I’m holding the tie-down with a 3 1/2-inch lag screw that is secured into the shed’s floor joists. This could be the weak link, which means the 2,500 lbs of force may exceed what the lag screw can endure.

To see how my floor was built with double rim joists and double end joists, visit this article here: Do It Yourself Build a Shed – Shed Floor Construction

Hurricane Straps

Ok, so you secure your shed’s floor joists to an anchor at all four corners. And you’re confident that it is solid.

Then someone asks the question “Could a wind gust blow the walls off of the shed?”

And, yes, this is possible. That is why I used Simpson Strong-Tie Hurrican Straps to secure the studs to the top and bottom plates. In addition, the bottom plate is secured with several 3 1/4″ nails onto the double rim and double joists. I also have 6-inch construction lag screws that I will use to secure the bottom plate to the floor joists.

Lateral Shifting Prevention

I used rebar to secure the timbers that the floor joists were resting on. You can read more about it here: Do It Yourself Build a Shed – Securing Timbers with Rebar

Intrigued by Another Method

Through my research, I found one way that I was intrigued by using a series of cables and fasteners. You use a bolt from the exterior into the interior. This is similar to the way I demonstrate attaching the tie-down from the anchor to the shed.

Within the interior, you attach another cable to that same bolt. Then you feed it all the way up through the double-top plate and secure it to the top plate. What this did was secure the base of the shed to the double-top plate.

Although I appreciate this method, I think my shed achieves similar results with the combination of the anchors, rebar pins holding the timbers in place, and the generous application of Simpson Strong-Tie Hurricane Straps.