Garden shed base from scratch

[Dabow]

Hi Everyone,

I'm not a DIY expert apart from the odd bits and pieces around the house, and I now find myself faced with a task that's completely new to me - installing a garden shed. I've found a company which has been quite highly recommended who will build and supply a treated shed. They go as far as constructing the shed in my garden and placing it on breeze blocks.

The shed I'm going for is 8ft/sq. The garden is currently turfed. It's a new property and the turf was only laid a couple of weeks ago. The shed company has said that, as long as the ground is level, they can place the breeze blocks and shed directly onto the grass. This sounds messy to me - I'll have dead grass under the shed leading to new grass on the lawn, not to mention the potential for weeds sprouting up under the shed. I'd like to cut a section out of the lawn and prepare the ground properly for the shed, also to eliminate the chance of weeds. Some areas around the house are gravelled so gravel is also my preferred option for the shed area. I just need to know how I should prepare the ground properly and the sort of materials I should be using before the shed is installed on the breeze blocks.

Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Dave

 

[samm1978]

When I built my shed I dug down to around 10cm and compacted hardcore into the ground to bring the level back up to ground level. Took around 2 tons of type 1 sub base and created a solid foundation.

My ground was clay. If you're happy with how firm your ground is then most probably you'd get away with digging down around 5cm - if it's going to just be under the shed then I'd use hardcore as it's cheap. Maybe you could leave around 15cm around the shed and lay nice white spar or something there for a nice effect?

 

[Dabow]

Thanks for the info. Sorry if this is a novice question, but the hardcore you used, did you use it as is i.e. was it mixed with anything else, or just as it came from the bag? Also, if I'm going to lay down a membrane to prevent weeds, would that need to go below the hardcore?

The way I see it at present is:

Remove turf and dig down about 5cm. There is a layer of sand beneath the turf, but I'm not entirely sure how deep that layer is.
Lay some sort of permeable membrane inside the hole to stop weeds.
Fill rest of the hole with hardcore and level off.
Breeze blocks and shed go on top of this
Add a gravel border to tidy the edges up

Does that sound about right?

 

[samm1978]

Type 1 Sub base comes as is. Its rocks going down dust and the dust in it acts as a good binding agent once its compacted and been rained on.

You'll have to do compacting between stages. I'd dig down to 5cm, compact that down till it doesn't sink any further. Lay the membrane, add the hardcore and compact and keep adding and compacting until it's level with ground around it.

 

[smita]

Hello
There is a mention of a company which is reliable to build a shed.
I am looking for a company to do this . Can you please let me know of the Shed company.

 

[Dabow]

The company I'm using is based in Scotland and they only deliver within the locality. Sorry.