Base for a shed

[caseylee]

I have managed to get a shed off freecycle and want to put it up at the lottie.  THey only thingis I cannot get pallets to put it on, but I have tons of paving slabs would that be alright

[caseylee]

[Fork]

Slabs are much better than pallets anyway.

The pallets will eventually rot away and have lots of little nesting places for mice etc.

The slabs are a perfect alternative.

Before you ask,I havent got time to come and lay them for you!  ;) ;D ;D ;D

[caseylee]

lol the oh will be doing that this weekend hopefully, thats good news then I was worried that it had to be on pallets, thats put my mind at rest

[allaboutliverpool]

Whatever you do, do not copy Joe on Gardeners' World!
;D ;D ;D ;D

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

[morton]

Raise it up off the ground by 12 to 18 inches or you will get rats and mice inside. It will also help to keep the damp out. If you have plenty of slabs then stack them in the corners to gain the required height.

[Robert_Brenchley]

A couple of breezeblocks on top of a slab at intervals would do it nicely.

[PurpleHeather]

The advice so far is all good.

We have found that with raised sheds on pallets on plots on our site that they get residents in the basement flats.

Sometimes it is hedgehogs, which is great, they pay rent but more often
we have had rats and they are perfectly capable of gnawing their way into a shed through a wooden base.

Placing the shed directly on to concrete slabs will stop you getting residents and picking a raised area to place the slabs helps to avoid damp.

Guttering the slope of the roof should help off set damp too  :oand give some precious rainwater for watering.

People often forget to gutter the shed roof and it does provide quite a bit of water.

One of the most interesting 'green' ideas I saw for a gutter on a plot shed was to collect 2 litre plastic pop bottles. Cut them lengthways and then stick them together to form a line as a gutter. The base of the bottle is kept at each end for an end stop and a  top is inserted to form an outlet in the middle area of the gutter, which is then fed into a row of bottomless bottles for a down spout.  All held together with black tape and super glue.

A wet day project for a keen environmentalist.  :o

[Robert_Brenchley]

You need to raise the shed high enough for the rats not to find a refuge underneath. I inherited one built straight on the ground and it's a haven for the horrible things.

[Gail-M]

Hi, 

I am getting a shed this week & planned to put it on breeze blocks. They are only about 4 inches off ground.

Reading this thread is puzzling me - if you raise it 18 inches off ground - won't it look weird plus be hard to get in ? ( stupid women question ???)

Is there any other advice for stopping mice/rats getting in the shed ?

thanks Gail

[albacore1854]

Why not just build a tree house!

Please tell me you don't have sheds 18'' off the ground!

That has to be the dumbest advice I have heard in a long while.

[Fork]

I had a shed on my original plot which was placed on the top of breeze blocks.

Not quite 18" off the ground but it gave me storage underneath for my canes etc.

It was placed on blocks incase of flooding from a nearby stream......never had a problem though.

Never had a problem with rats underneath either.........only in my compost bins.

Had the council "rat catcher" come and he said,and i quote "you will have rats with all these vegeatables around... ;D

[Paul Dee]

Concrete slabs covered with a thick waterproof plastic should last you plenty long enough.

I added the plastic to stop water wicking through the slabs. But then that was a very wet place.

[Carls3168]

??? My shed is just sat on a couple of slabs with some weed surpressing material under it, I know others on the allotment whos sheds are semi burried into the ground.

Ive never had any problems with rats or mice (fingers crossed) just the occasional vole in the compost!

Our Site is quite exposed, and I think raising it up so high would just allow the gales to topple it over!  :-\

[caseylee]

my site is quite exposed aswell, we are going to put a layer of paving slabs down and anchor the shed on that, hopefully it will work.