Need help working out a maths weight problem.

Let me illustrate, I threw this together in google sketchup to show what I am talking about instead of trying to describe it in words (which I fail at frequently )

8x6 is not the value you will be multiplying by 2. Observe:



You need to use Pythagorean's Theorum to find the length of the slope, in order to get the area of one side of the roof. THIS is the area you multiply by two to get total roof area. The total area is what you multiply by 1/4 foot (3 inches). This will give you total required soil volume.

NOW you can take a sample of soil to weigh it and from there you can calculate the total weight the shed will need to support.

Again, I am not trying to be argumentative or demeaning. I was just trying to illustrate why the numbers people have been giving were off-base. Sorry if I offended you jerry.

reply to post by IntegratedInstigator


Thank you for the illustration, it's always easier to see how it works with a picture. (for me at least).

Thank you to everyone for the replies, and apologies for my incorrect info at the start (thinking i was measuring the weight of the base area instead of the roof), i think it was that which threw some of the answers off a little.

CX.