Has my shed base been laid correctly?

James_Pinder · 7 April 2018 at 7:38PM

I had someone in to lay a slab base suitable for a 12ft by 8ft shed approx. 2 months ago. The Shed was erected two weeks later. A total of 30 slabs (600x600mm) have been laid (5 down by 6 across). The shed was placed in the middle leaving half a slab visible (boarder). I have noticed today that one of the slabs has cracked and there are others that appear to be sliding away. I feel like the slab base hasn't been laid correctly.

I have asked my dad what he thinks (and have sent him some photos) as he has always been very capable and has always put his hand to any task. (He would have helped me lay the base originally if I had asked but he is in his 70's now and lives 3 hours away, so I didn’t think it was very fair to ask him for help). Anyway, he said that the slabs look like they have just been laid on cement straight onto the soil with no ballast. He has said for it to be done properly the guy would have needed to dig down to a 10cm depth to get it level, then beat it down to compact it, ballast 8cm min, compact, dry sharp sand and cement to level and then lay the slabs finishing off with sand in the gaps. He said it would have taken the guy about 2 days to do. The guy was done in half a day.

My dad believes the work needs redoing as the slabs along with the shed could move more as time passes by, which I don’t doubt as it is already doing this in a two-month period. So I believe I have three options:

1) Leave it as it is and have faith that all is ok.
2) Disassemble the shed, take up the slabs and redo the job. This would be done by myself as I don’t have the funds to pay someone else to redo this and at the same time having faith in the next person I choose to do the job. I understand that this may not be the easiest of options as I have little experience versus someone that has been doing it for years. However, if I do it wrong, all that I have lost is time and I can only blame myself and then start again.
3) Go back to the guy that done the job originally and pull him up on his work. However, as I have no knowledge of what has been done all I can say it “My Dad Said…” which I imagine wouldn’t go a long way and he could baffle me with the experience he has over me.

I am interested in anyone’s opinion which could help me decide what action I should take.

If you have made it this far then I thank you for taking the time to read this and I apologize if I have rambled on too much. I look forward to reading the replies I get.

Kind regards

James

pinkfluffybabe · 7 April 2018 at 7:47PM

3) but maybe don't mention the dad thing, just mention the movement and cracks and ask them to revisit it.

Depending on that you probably then need to do 2) unless they offer to fix it. Was there any guarantee with the work?

ceredigion · 7 April 2018 at 8:02PM

What did you ask to be done?
What did he say he would do?
If you said lay some slabs for a shed there, then that is what you got.

AndyMc..... · 7 April 2018 at 8:39PM

ceredigion wrote: »

What did you ask to be done?
What did he say he would do?
If you said lay some slabs for a shed there, then that is what you got.

These are the important questions, they shouldn’t have cracked if correctly laid.

James_Pinder · 7 April 2018 at 9:02PM

ceredigion wrote: »

What did you ask to be done?
What did he say he would do?
If you said lay some slabs for a shed there, then that is what you got.

AndyMc..... wrote: »

These are the important questions, they shouldn’t have cracked if correctly laid.

I said that I would like a shed base laying suitable for a 12x8 shed.
On the paperwork under Job Description he wrote
'Supply and Install 12x8 Shed Base as discussed'
'Supply and Install Type1 Hardcore'

In reply to 'If you said lay some slabs for a shed there, then that is what you got.' I interpret this as if I didn't go into specifics in the job spec then I only get what I ask for? However, at the same time if I have said "Suitable for" then surely this would be up the tradesman being the professional to recommend what I need?

AndyMc..... · 7 April 2018 at 11:52PM

And the thickness of the type 1?

I!!!8217;m guessing you didn!!!8217;t see it go in but did you see it arrive on site or the soil he dug out?

Tom99 · 8 April 2018 at 4:01AM

Try option 3 1st "the base is obviously not suitable as its cracking and sliding, please fix it"

If that does not work and you decide not to persue a claim further, then option 1, leave it for a year and see what happens. Taking the shed down will be a pain.

Furts · 8 April 2018 at 8:37AM

The work done is seriously wrong and here one has to consider some simple fundamentals. A shed base has little weight, and this weight is spread over a large area. That means the load applied to the slabs is distributed. Then consider the slabs. Everyday 600x600 are hydraulically pressed and as tough as old boots. That is why councils use them in pedestrian arcades and so on.

Put these points together and the fact that slabs are cracking when there is virtually no loading on them means the job is a duffer.

OK, slight long shot, there are folks who make up slabs in back yards and sell them to unsuspecting folks, typically via garden centres. These are poor quality, typically have a riven surface and are useless. It is possible these were aid under the shed, so over to OP here. But even if these were used the job is still a duffer.

Whether the slab layers are willing to return and re-do the work is another matter. This type of work is notorious for its association with dodgy characters, so again over to OP.

FreeBear · 8 April 2018 at 1:45PM

Put up a 10x6 shed in January. I did consider using slabs, but the cost would have been greater than a solid concrete slab. Used one bulk bag of ballast (a mix of sand & gravel), four bags of cement and got rid of a pile of rubble/hardcore in the process. Total cost, just under £70 and a couple of days of grunt work.

A 12x8 shed would probably need two bags of ballast plus a couple more of hardcore - If the OPs base needs redoing, the existing slabs could be reused in the sub-base.

Furts · 8 April 2018 at 5:15PM

FreeBear wrote: »

Put up a 10x6 shed in January. I did consider using slabs, but the cost would have been greater than a solid concrete slab. Used one bulk bag of ballast (a mix of sand & gravel), four bags of cement and got rid of a pile of rubble/hardcore in the process. Total cost, just under £70 and a couple of days of grunt work.

A 12x8 shed would probably need two bags of ballast plus a couple more of hardcore - If the OPs base needs redoing, the existing slabs could be reused in the sub-base.

Similar thoughts too. It is clear there was no specification for OP's job, and OP was foolish to go ahead based on the miniscule info supplied. No specification says "based on what was discussed, because if a dispute arises how does any third party know what was discussed?

But equally 600x600 slabs are wrong because they are bu--ers to lift and lay decently - here the manual handling guidelines apply and these slabs become two man lift, or whatever. Which means nobody on their own goes bigger than 450x450mm. Drainage is also an issue so tidy work can be permeable (or else solid) paving blocks - cheap, easy to lay and readily available.

I suspect OP's shed needs moving out the way and the job being done again from scratch but this time properly.

James_Pinder · 8 April 2018 at 7:13PM

FreeBear wrote: »

A 12x8 shed would probably need two bags of ballast plus a couple more of hardcore - If the OPs base needs redoing, the existing slabs could be reused in the sub-base.

I assume by this you would recommend that I lay a concrete base instead?

Furts wrote: »

Similar thoughts too. It is clear there was no specification for OP's job, and OP was foolish to go ahead based on the miniscule info supplied. No specification says "based on what was discussed, because if a dispute arises how does any third party know what was discussed?

But equally 600x600 slabs are wrong because they are bu--ers to lift and lay decently - here the manual handling guidelines apply and these slabs become two man lift, or whatever. Which means nobody on their own goes bigger than 450x450mm. Drainage is also an issue so tidy work can be permeable (or else solid) paving blocks - cheap, easy to lay and readily available.

I suspect OP's shed needs moving out the way and the job being done again from scratch but this time properly.

As much as I hate reading the word foolish when it is aimed at me, I know this is true. I've learned this the hard way this time. And I thank you for your advice (and everybody else's). I don't think I will pursue this with the builder as I have nothing substantial to back me up. I think once the weather is a bit nicer I shall get out there and have a go at it myself. In the mean time i'll do a bit of research online so I will have more of an idea of what I am doing. I won't try and take the shed apart as previously mentioned. I'm sure a few long timbers and a couple of friends round should be able to help me move it.

I can't just leave it and hope for the best as this could end up costing me more in the long run as the next step is to get electrics out there. I need it to be perfect before this happens.

Has my shed base been laid correctly?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free