Shed base quetion for newbie

[mickymouse67]

Hi great site..Hope you can give me a few pointers regarding putting down a base for a shed.

I am thinking of getting a 12x12 ft wooden shed .I was thinking of removing some of the grass in a 12x12 ft area where the shed would go and lay down some flag stones with sand and cement mix underneath the slabs .once done i intend to lay the shed onto 5 12ft treated skids ..

will this work ? or could i just tamper down the area once grass removed and add some plastic sheets to stop the weeds coming through and then fill the area with those stones you can get from a builders yard .

Once a level surface is done i would lay the skids on top of the stones for shed to go on,only trouble here is would the weight of the shed sink into the ground.Any ideas welcomed that would be cheaper than a concrete base for a novice to go at.

Would the slab idea be better ? Thanks

 

[Sombrero]

Mate, I'm a DIYer who's put up a few sheds..... and as long as the ground is sound (i.e. doesn't allow the shed to move) and the shed doesn't sit in water after rain, you should be fine... either of your ideas mentioned should be fine in my opinion...

I think it's fair to say that the weather (i.e. rain, snow) will play a bigger part in your shed's demise than the base !!! Treat it well !

 

[mickymouse67]

Thanks Sombrero might go the stones idea with the plastic sheet underneath then add the treated skids ready to put shed on. Will be easier for me lol

 

[piratebaz]

I wouldn't put stones on top of plastic then wood on stones as the plastic will stop water draining effectively and may pool in the stones. The wood will rot quite quickly if its sitting in water, even if treated.

You could maybe use a layer of good quality weed fabric then stones then wood. Might last a bit longer

 

[scbk]

There are many way it could be done, another way is;
Dig out a few inches of soil, if the ground is ok then whack/compact it, put down a few inches of hardcore, and whack this tooo, Then lay out breeze blocks in the right places to support the floor joists of the shed.
Put a layer of DPC/tile/slate etc between the blocks and the wood to stop damp rising up.

 

[mickymouse67]

I wouldn't put stones on top of plastic then wood on stones as the plastic will stop water draining effectively and may pool in the stones. The wood will rot quite quickly if its sitting in water, even if treated.

You could maybe use a layer of good quality weed fabric then stones then wood. Might last a bit longer

sorry should not have used the term plastic but I could not remember the name of that material stuff you can put down to prevent weeds growing? I know plastic would not drain water away.thanks all the same for pointing it out.