shed base

PH321

What would be the best type of base for a 16x10ft shed/workshop? I want something that will last. I have heavy clay soil that gets very wet in winter, so I don't really want a wooden frame base that will be in direct contact with the soil.

wrightk

For that size of shed I'd be looking at either a subbase then concrete base or the cheaper option of a subbase at least 75 mm in depth then slabs on top of a ;dry sand cement mix or wet sand cement mix or straight onto sharp sand. The choice is yours.you can make savings on the slabs because they won't be seen so the budget ones will do.

There is a cheaper option of excavating by hand and setting breezeblocks at various points to support a tanalised timber frame base,that way the timber will not be making contact with the ground.add a damp proof membrane between the shed floor and base to stop any damp rising up.

It's all down to how much you want to spend and to get the best for your budget

Try pricing up various options you are happy with and come back

zaax

Go for 3 foot deep, steel reinforced concrete base, like a friend did.

PH321

I like the rubble, sand and cheap pavers option. Not too keen on a huge cement slab because of the environmental cost of cement. I have lots of concrete rubble and old bricks I keep digging out of the garden! Would that need a brick/block wall around it to raise the shed up off the ground?

Davesnave

I put my sheds on a tanalised base timbers supported by blocks laid on concrete strips. This allows a bit of air underneath and doesn't leave a nice place for rats to hide.

wrightk

PH321 wrote: »

I like the rubble, sand and cheap pavers option. Not too keen on a huge cement slab because of the environmental cost of cement. I have lots of concrete rubble and old bricks I keep digging out of the garden! Would that need a brick/block wall around it to raise the shed up off the ground?

If your going for that option choose proper mot type 1 sub base it will compact together nicely.old bricks/rubble will create voids over time and under load.just construct as you would a patio,create a slight fall in the subbase layer so when you lay your pavers there will be a slight fall for rainwater.you could incorporate a DPM if you wanted under the shed floor

Your looking at around 2.2 tons of sub base for that size shed.round here it's £30 a ton

londonTiger

I got hold of loads of unwanted paving slabs from people on gumtree. I then placed them in stacks of 3 slabs into piles and levelled all of them out. I didn't join them all up, there's about 10-20cm gap apart between them because the land is on a slight incline and wanted to let water pass through.

So far it's worked flawlessly, floor is level ( i brought the stacks of paving up to level).

I dont understand people who make shed foundations out of wood. It doesn't matter if it's a railway sleeper or the hardest oak money can buy. If i't's touching the ground it will get moist and it will rot.

Dismantling an entire shed to change the rotting foundation is not fun. I took down a shed to build one from scratch to make it taller and use better quality cladding. I've used up 3 weekends and I'm just halfway through the job!

thankfully the foundation is perfect, everything above it is poor quality. It's worth doing the job right.

richy999

My better half's dad used some old concrete fence posts as sleepers to lay his new shed on.

I suppose it offers good ventilation underneath and keeps them off the wet ground.

It looks good so far but there is the potential of them shifting independently of each other.

PasturesNew

PH321 wrote: »

Not too keen on a huge cement slab because of the environmental cost of cement.

If one shed base will bring the planet down, then we're in bigger trouble than anybody thought!

Davesnave

richy999 wrote: »

My better half's dad used some old concrete fence posts as sleepers to lay his new shed on.

I suppose it offers good ventilation underneath and keeps them off the wet ground.

It looks good so far but there is the potential of them shifting independently of each other.

There's no right answer, because ground conditions vary.

My FIL laughed at my substantial concrete and breeze block under-structure, but I know the land much better than him.

Three months after that, we had an incredibly wet winter and a spring opened up behind the shed. The stream it created ran right underneath it, while all the ground around turned into a passable imitation of chocolate custard.

Had I done a quick job, the shed would have shifted, so I'd have been doing it all over again in the spring.

I had the last laugh.

andrewf75

PasturesNew wrote: »

If one shed base will bring the planet down, then we're in bigger trouble than anybody thought!

If everyone thinks that just because no single action will bring the planet down, its not worth worrying about - then we're in more trouble than anybody thought....