Does my shed need a base?

Buying a shed can feel like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never bought one before. There is so much to think about, and just when you finally think you’ve got it all figured out, shed bases come into view…

Aaaarrrrgh! Yet, another decision to make?! 

It might seem like your small storage shed project has become a whole lot more complicated now and it’s easy to fall into the trap of asking yourself,

“Does my shed really need a base? is it really that important?”

The short answer is yes! Yes, it does.

The bigger and heavier your timber building is, the more important it is to get a solid base.

And even for smaller buildings, a solid base can add years to the life of your timber building whilst saving you hassle (and money!) down the road.

What is it they say about good foundations?

Let’s get stuck in 🙂

What is a shed used for? 

Let’s first establish some rules.

To figure out whether a base is important or not, we need to figure out what a shed is going to be used for.

In 99% of cases, that’s storage! Whether it’s for the lawnmower, a couple of bikes, your whole spare room or just a few bits and bobs, a shed should be a weatherproof, watertight place to safely store your valuables.

Adding in the weight of the building plus all your valuable belongings equals a damn heavy shed!

Depending on the size of shed you go for and the thickness of timber that your shed manufacturer uses, you can see some sheds ending up near 1.5 / 2.0 tonnes. 

That’s about the same as a Toyota Hilux Pick-Up Truck!

With that in mind, let’s figure out what would happen if you were to put a shed down without a base. 

What happens to my shed with no base?

Let’s say you were to buy a shed and put it straight down onto your grass. While it might not seem like a big problem initially, it might become one over time.

Your shed is going to sit on bearers to raise it off the ground and prevent the floor from rotting.

The bearers that most shed companies will use are 4” x 2”. When you have a two-tonne building sitting on top of these 4” x 2” bearers, that bearer is going to essentially become a knife that will slice through your grass.

What happens after your bearers start sinking through the ground?

As most ground is not completely even or equal, it is likely that one side of your shed will sink more quickly than the other, putting more pressure on that side of your building.

When this happens, the shape of the timber can change, cracks can appear and water ingress starts to kick in. That water ingress can cause rot and fungi on your shed, leaving the timber weak and ready to come tumbling down like a Jenga tower. 

Sounding like a horror movie? It’s not far off…

All of your precious valuables inside could be damaged and you might not have a shed anymore!

What if I had a shed base?

Let’s imagine a world where your shed was placed on a perfectly level slabbed base. As the slabs are concrete, the bearers have a solid base to sit on.

This means that they will not sink through to the ground.

A perfectly level shed base also means that there is an equal amount of weight going through each side of the building, which means that you can avoid any unwanted cracks or gaps appearing in your shed. 

It gets better than that, though!

Not only is your shed going to look great and maintain its quality over the next few years, but providing that you look after the rest of the shed by painting and maintaining it, a good quality shed on a good quality base should last you a lifetime! 

We really mean that when we say it…get a quality shed, put it on a quality base, do quality maintenance, and you should have yourself a shed that can last a lifetime. 

So, do I need a base then?

If you want your building to last as long as possible with the least amount of problems then we 100% recommend getting yourself a quality, slabbed base for whatever timber building you decide to build on it. A base is going to save you repair, maintenance and even replacement work in the future.

Want to learn more? Read: What kind of base do you need for a Gillies and Mackay Shed?

And…that’s it Sheddies. Quality bases win the day.