Printable View
I've ordered a new shed, which is coming in a few weeks and on ripping out the old shed, I realised the present base is rubbish, so I need to re-do it. The questions is, what to use? I was thinking of plain paving slabs but then I came across the plastic slabs. Basically, they look like the bottom of the old milk crates you used to get. Anyone used them before? I was concerned they'd look rubbish but apparently you can fill anything that sticks out with pea shell or similar...
my 2 sheds are resting on breeze blocks... think i have 9 on each shed... 3 front 3 middle and 3 at end..
http://www.farmac.co.uk/sites/defaul...s/DSCF4870.JPG image is too big...
the plastic ones allow the ground to drain. handy for some uses but is your shed going to be letting water through? probably not! I would either go concrete blocks as above post or timber joists/sleepers onto paving slabs. I don't know enough about the milk crate ones to say if they'd be ok, but I can see potential problems if they're not done properly.
Well if you soil is clay I'd go for a concrete float as the ground heaves and sinks and the shed will have no stress, stony ground and you could use paving slabs (or whatever) if you remove some of the top soil first.
The shed comes with 4 2" runners on the bottom, but my concern is that any water that gets underneath would stay there and rot the timber if I did a paving slab base. The positioning is in the top corner of the garden, and will only have 6-12" of space on 2 sides. The last one rotted in the floor, but then I don't think it was particularly waterproof in the first place...
Edit: These are the blocks I was thinking of: http://www.simplygardenbuildings.co....y-575-43-p.asp
Fascinating, that looks rather similar idea to http://www.diy.com/departments/diall.../195448_BQ.prd that I recently bought to extend our driveway a bit. Useful stuff.
I went for the cheapest paving slabs that Wicks stocked, and some sand/cement underneath to level them. My worry with the plastic trays would be ants, but perhaps I just have an obsessive hatred for ants.
bear in mind water can go both ways through those gratings. Damp can seep up, and this could well be a longer duration wetting than rain evaporating from the paving slabs. Coat the runners with creosote (if you're lucky enough to still have some) or failing that one the newer (but less powerful) preservatives. Waterreppellant breathable coatings are quite good. NB you can do a paving slab bed with slabs missing in areas where direct support is not required. Leave those areas gravel filled for drainage. Then you could have the best of both worlds.
Make sure its over solid ground and not over something like marsh or the North Sea.
If you're going to put your own timber bearers in, if softwood look for ones that are Tanalith-E pressure impregnated and use Ensele end grain preservative to any cut ends. (You can get Ensele, and I think Tanalith also, in green or brown colouration)
e.g. these http://www.batsfordtimber.co.uk/home...ategories/1898
(NB There are other suppliers, this one just came up near the top of a quick google search)
Thanks. I was going to put part of it over next door's pond. Would this be OK?Quote:
Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH
I guess whatever I do I need to dig out a level patch, what I put on top is going to be the same effort no matter what I choose...
Levelling is a pain. Ours was dug down to a gravel level, little sand on top to allow levelling of the slabs (1 on each corner) then we had some breeze blocks that I lined up with the timbers and filled around loosely inside that frame with more gravel. Leaves quite a bit of ventilation but all the important bits are supported.
That said, one of my corners settled a little, it's only an inch but I can see it and it drives me mad so make sure you compact the gravel/sand REALLY well before you lay.
sand levelling for a building, even a shed, is not recommended for foundations. Far better to compact gravel into the top layer of soil and cap with a weak concrete slurry (blinding). The liquid is easier to level, and once set laying stuff is far easier. That said, not the easiest for DIY, as it more relies on having the right experience and kit to do it.
If you're cutting into the garden, consider what level the adjoining earth will be. Is there a step in ground level and if so how much?
Our garden had a layer (or five) of stones and gravel, I added a cm (literally) of sand to what was already compacted stones to stop a little wobble as the surface was uneven. I think the drop in one corner is because I'm an idiot and by that point I was sick to death of the garden and rushed where I should have taken more time :(
if the settlement is only an inch, consider changing the slab there for a thicker one. You can get 75mm slabs and switch out the 50mm one. Alternatively you could shim the corner with ply/steel plate. NB to use waterproof WPB/marine grade ply.
or slates....
I\'ve already got a layer of stones/gravel down that the guy who built the previous shed put down, but I don\'t think he understood what \'even\' meant. It\'s more hilly that Hobbiton. Hopefully if I dig it out a bit, he\'ll have laid the stones quite far down, so it\'ll just be a case of levelling off, but having seen some of his other DIY attempts, I\'m not hopeful...
good luck finding a small number of those for an affordable price!Quote:
Originally Posted by listy
I am in the process of buying a new shed too and I was going to use the purpose made plastic shed base grids as they seem really easy ???
It's the getting the ground level bit that's difficult...Quote:
Originally Posted by brohoward71
I went with 6 600x600mm slabs on a bed of sharpsand/concrete mix, and it's still level. The annoying bit is that you dig for ages, remove plenty or earth, then you look and you don't seem to be any flatter, and the spirit level still says you're miles out.
that is where you want a dumpy level and staff or else a laser line and staff. makes it much easier than solely relying on spirit level.