Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: drippin on April 25, 2010, 10:52

Title: Shed Base
Post by: drippin on April 25, 2010, 10:52
Hi,

I have finally saved up enough to buy myself a 6' x 8' shed, but which base to go for and how to do it is the question.  I have done a search, and read back over over peoples suggestions, and the deicision I have to make is whether to go for a full paving slab base, which would cost me about £69 using the cheapest flags I can find at B & Q, or the retaining board and gravel method recommended by Aunt Sally, which if her guestimate of 12 bags of pea shingle is accurate, would cost me about £57.  Neither of these prices include sand, weed matting or the shed and bearers.

Whichever method I go for, I presume I need to put sand either underneath the flags or pea shingle.  Does the sand go on top of the weed retaining matting, or underneath? How many bags of sand do you think I would need?

Our local shed company do a 8'x6' shed (with 1 window) fully erected for £299, which I think includes the load bearing boards underneath.  This seems a good price to me. What do you think.

All I need now is some bribery on my husband to get on and get the area levelled.  Any tips on how to do that too would be gratefully received!!!
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: dexyblue on April 25, 2010, 12:30
Glad you asked this question as I am having the same problem. I was given a nearly new 8 x 6 shed so would like to do a base as cheap as possible. I have visqueen could I use that under it?
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: Steven Rowe on April 25, 2010, 13:40
the cheapest way and best way i tell my custumers when they ask for shed bases and greenhouse bases is by useing the big 600x600x50 slab that you see on pavements etc, once down they never move and its a nice smooth base for standing on and cleaning up if theres a mess , you dont need a great deal of sand to lay them on , half a ton of sharp sand does a 6x4 so for a 8 x 6 id say 1 ton is plenty , rake some cement powder threw it and it will set up nicely , That price of £299 sounds pretty good tho , i think the time you add everything up and cost your time in it would be over that price , a company that does it day in and day out will be probally take a morning to lay the base and build the shed , hassel free
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: Ice on April 25, 2010, 15:15
I used 3"x3" pressure treated timber and made it into a rectangle the same size as my shed floor.  Depending on the design of your floor you might need a couple of pieces to support it in the middle.  Just make sure you don't leave a gap for critters to make their home underneath.   :)
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: slider on April 25, 2010, 20:15
i,ve just put up a 6x8 foot shed i got off e-bay i went to my local stone yard and bought some 2nd hand 2ft x 2 1/2ft flags for the base,the flags were £1.75p each and i could pick the best stones in the yard i  found a nice set of red flags,i just leaveled the soil and layed  them on that.if you have a local stone yard try them see if they have any 2nd hand flags and save a bit of money.
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: joony2bad76 on April 25, 2010, 22:44
gravel a cheap option
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: 1jim on April 26, 2010, 10:01
how would you do a gravel base, would you put a wooden edge?, how far would you dig down, would you then lay the shed base on battons or directly on the gravel. Sorry for questions am just working out how to put up my shed and also how to build a shed floor
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: pipfit on April 26, 2010, 10:05
Put my 8x6 shed on railway sleepers laid in teram solid as a rock
Title: Re: Shed Base
Post by: drippin on April 26, 2010, 23:39
how would you do a gravel base, would you put a wooden edge?, how far would you dig down, would you then lay the shed base on battons or directly on the gravel. Sorry for questions am just working out how to put up my shed and also how to build a shed floor
See an old post from Aunt Sally - I just searched under Shed Base in Design and Construction