How to Build a Shed Base | 2023 Guide
Even if you’ve decided to purchase a DIY shed kit or ready-made structure for your outdoor space, you’ll still need to carry out some extensive work to ensure your garden building has a stable foundation. If you’ve never built a shed base before, the undertaking can seem like a challenge. However, provided you invest in some quality essentials and follow some straightforward steps, completing a shed base project is fairly achievable. Below are two of the easiest methods you can follow for putting together a first-rate foundation for your new shed.
Concrete Shed Bases
If you’re looking to add a particularly large shed to your garden, you should probably consider a concrete foundation. Firstly, you’ll need to prepare the area you have chosen for the location of your shed. Next, measure out the area precisely with clear guidelines. You will now need to excavate the area to a depth of around six inches. Once you have done this, fill around half of this excavated depth with compacted rubble or hardcore material. If this material looks uneven, you can think about adding a further layer of sand to level things out.
You will next need to install some shuttering around the edges of the excavated area. You can use timber or steel for this, although regardless of what material you use, the shuttering should be precisely measured prior to cutting to ensure you have completely square angles. Once the shuttering has been installed, you can lay concrete in place. Make sure the concrete is properly levelled, paying particular attention to the corners and spaces near the edges of your shuttering material. To ensure the concrete properly dries, cover the area with a tarpaulin. Once the concrete base has completely dried and is firm to the touch, you can commence building your shed.
Using Paving Slabs
An easier alternative to laying down concrete is to use paving slabs. As with the concrete method, you’ll need to clear an area and prepare it for foundation work, before excavating soil to a depth of around 3 inches. Unlike the concrete method, you won’t need to worry about installing shuttering here.
Once the area has been marked and excavated, you should lay a very thin mix of light cement at a depth of around 1.5 inches. Ideally, this mix should include a combination of cement and high-quality construction sand. Once this mixture has been applied, make sure you level it as quickly as possible. Because of the sand/cement ratio, this mixture is likely to dry quickly so you’ll need to act fast.
You can now lay your paving slaps in place. Once each slab has been positioned in place, use a soft-head hammer or mallet to tap them down and secure them atop the sand/cement mixture. When installing your slaps, make sure the surface of the slabs sits slightly above the surrounding lawn or soil level. This will ensure your foundation achieves optimal drainage. When all slaps have been laid, remove any excess cement/sand and brush the foundation clean of any debris. You’re now ready to build your shed atop your new foundation.
