ᐅ Garden Shed – What Size and Type of Foundation?

Created on: 17 May 2018 07:05
R
Rollo83
Good morning everyone.

I am probably planning to set up a garden shed in my backyard after the summer this year. It will be used to store all the stuff that is currently in my garage and is not related to the car.

- Lawn mower
- Gas grill
- Shovel, pickaxe, rake, bucket, and other small tools

Optionally a wheel rack and 2 bicycles, but these items will mostly stay in the garage.

The garden shed will be placed in the farthest corner of my already relatively small garden, so the size needs to be chosen accordingly. In other words, not too small but definitely not too large.
I am considering two sizes:

1. W 1.82 m x D 1.22 m = 2.22 m² (6 ft x 4 ft = 24 sq ft)
2. W 2.12 m x D 1.54 m = 3.26 m² (7 ft x 5 ft = 35 sq ft)

It is important that one of the sides is under 2 meters (6.5 ft) so that the shed fits well into the corner.

The second point is the base. So far, I planned to pave an area of roughly 2 m x 3 m (6.5 ft x 10 ft), put the shed on it, which would also give me a paved area in front of the shed and be done. The advantage is more flexibility with the shed location and probably not the cheapest option.

Now I am considering making a pier or strip foundation and simply placing the shed on that. If needed, I could still pave an area in front of the shed.

I would appreciate some input and suggestions.
T
trendyandi
25 May 2018 09:46
A few weeks ago, we built our garden shed (wood, wall thickness only 14mm (0.55 inches)) along with an attached roof on the paved area prepared for it (arena paving stones on a 5cm (2 inches) gravel bed over 20cm (8 inches) of compacted crushed stone). I spent a long time beforehand thinking about how to secure it, but since it now seems heavy enough, I didn’t take any additional measures. According to the delivery note, the materials weigh a total of 310 kg (684 lbs)...

It’s still standing ; - )
I hope it stays that way!
A
Anoxio
25 May 2018 10:02
How securely does the unit resist slipping?
And how did you handle the transition from the wooden side walls/beams to the paving? There’s nothing directly underneath, which would soon cause rot.
T
trendyandi
25 May 2018 10:22
The house is supported all around on these rubber granulate pads...
B
Bieber0815
25 May 2018 10:27
A Google search reveals at least one incident of damage:
Severe storm over Waldbröl. Several garden sheds on the Cronrath company’s parking and exhibition area were overturned, ended up on Wiehler Straße, and some were even blown as far as the car dealership Zielenbach on the opposite side.

Therefore, anchoring the shed securely in the ground is definitely advisable. Storms are not becoming less frequent...