Building Your Shed Base - Concrete Or Slab?

Building Your Shed Base - Concrete Or Slab?

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The first step in building a wood shed is to have the proper blueprints (shed plans). This way, you will know how to build your roof, shed base and have a list of all the materials and tools needed to start construction.

Novice shed builders might find building a shed a bit overwhelming, but with so many available resources they can breeze through shed construction even with the internet as the single source of information.

If you already have a plan for building your own shed, you should start working from the ground to the roof.

Your shed base (foundation) will be the starting point of your project, and you need to plan in advance how to start building it. In general, there are two routes you can take in building it.

Creating a Slab Base
You will need flat face paving slabs, standard cement, and building sand for your materials. You should also prepare tools such as a mallet, spade, tape measure, sweeping brush, and some pegs and strings. First, use the strings and pegs to place marking lines on the base. Make sure that you have at least a five-centimeter allowance per side. Uncover the top soil of the planned base area before you dig with a depth of at least 3-4 inches. Once you have leveled the area, you can then remove the pegs.

Create a mixture of eight parts building sand and one part cement, and spread it in the base until it reaches a depth of four centimeters. Starting from the corner, place the slabs individually. You can do this by tapping down the middle of each slab onto the base using a rubber mallet. Make sure that all slabs fit together and at level with each other. Once you have placed all the slabs, remove any excess sand and cement mix.

Creating a Concrete Base
In creating a concrete base, you will have to buy building sand and standard cement. You also need tools such as timber, tape measure and some pegs and strings. Just like in creating a slab base, you need to mark out the base with pegs and strings, keeping in mind the 2 inch allowance, 3 inch concrete layer on top of another 3 inches of compacted fill. Use a shovel to root out the pegs and a rake to level the base.

The above referenced methods are the most common ways to build a shed base. Remember to think about which of these will better suit your type of shed and location. Shed building can be arduous at first, but with guidance and enough tools you can finish your own shed in a speedy manner.

About the Author:
Sean Thomas has been building wood sheds for more than 15 years. He started http://www.ShedPlansHeadquarters.com as a free resource for others who wish to explore woodworking. Visit the website for tips on how to build a shed base.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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