I have a small shed out in my backyard I’d estimate is about 25-30 years old, it’s 6‘ x 8‘. What I don’t get is they appeared to set the thing directly on the ground, so it is literally rotting from the ground up.

That is not normal, right? I always thought you had to put a shed on some sort of concrete pad or at least a base of crushed stone?

I am in the process of shopping around for a new shed, I’m going to go with a 8’ x 10‘ or 10’ x 10‘ model, fortunately around here we have a lot of Amish shed builders so there is a good variety of them to be had and they are built like tanks.

With that being said, is crushed stone base going to be OK for this new one? Or should I look into getting a concrete pad poured?

Concrete pad.

All of our sheds are raised and leveled on cinder blocks.
Like this and skirted to cover the gap between the ground and shed. Never bothered with gravel underneath.

I poured concrete for mine (Rubbermaid plastic one) with the expectations that it would quickly be replaced with a "real" shed. 15 years later my $150 shed (last one they had before switching brands) has surprised me, it will likely outlive my time in my house.

All that aside, it's preferred to be on concrete. Cinder blocks are a good cheaper option. These are a reasonable middle ground between poured pad and cinder blocks.

I wouldn't set it on bare ground but that's me. I put up a Suncast 8 x 10 shed a few summers ago. I put crushed rock down in the 4 corners then leveled it up with cement blocks. I made the base with 2 x 6 treated lumber and covered it in 3/4" treated sheeting.

A lot of sheds get built on skids which will rot over time. A shed is typically a short-life building. If a building is set on skids, then it isn't permanent, and thus untaxable in some jurisdictions. It becomes a temporary building. That can cause equal problems in other localities.

Typically real estate is improvements built on permanent foundations or otherwise affixed to the ground.

If you want a shed to last, a pad is a great way to do it. Constructing some other sort of foundation, like pilings or blocks can be another way. The soil type, size, and anticipated weight should factor into your site work. Don't forget drainage.

I am glad you posted this thread PASig. I am in the market for a new shed myself and trying to figure some things out as well.

I would like to do a concrete pad but don't know how much that would cost compared to the cinder block version Black posted?

The shed size I am looking for is a 10' x 12' or more likely a 12' x 14'.

We're house/property hunting & per my mower thread, this one is timely, as mower storage will be a priority if not already in place.

My uncle did bricks with sand. Seems to be holding up the last 10 years.

We built our own shed from scratch about 25 years ago, and we poured a slab of concrete with steel wire mesh.

All of our sheds are elevated either on concrete blocks or footers. I would never put one directly on the ground (even if using PT lumber).

Definitely should not be on the ground. Either raised by some type of cement blocks, or on a cement slab. I built mine myself and poured my own cement slab. I just had to replace all the siding after 21 years, which was a major pain and cost, because my sprinkler system was directly spraying the sides of the shed which had wood siding. I now replaced the siding with hardi plank and will change the sprinklers so they don’t directly hit the sides of the shed.

at least where I live you pour a pad its a building and taxed. So I would check that. And a real pad is silly expensive. Anything that gets it off the ground works fine. I normally just put down a bed of gravel over fabric (for drainage and humidity control) then put it on PT. Alternatively put in a couple of sonotubes of concrete which you can easily do. But I built a minihorse runin on PT skids (so I could move it) and its in year 25 without issues, so with real PT lumber (not the crap at lowes) you can do that but you will have to search for PT lumber rated for ground contact.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

I always thought you had to put a shed on some sort of concrete pad

Had to... No
Should... Yes

Here, anything under 200 square feet is exempt from any building codes so a homeowner can do whatever.

Last one I added was 225 sq ft. I had to go full blown permit route including lot line set back rules.

Where I live in the city, if your pour concrete, you need a permit. So a lot of sheds in the neighborhood are on skids, but I’ve seen them all put on pavers or crushed rock.so they don’t harbor snakes or other nasties. In a gap underneath

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

I always thought you had to put a shed on some sort of concrete pad

Had to... No
Should... Yes

Here, anything under 200 square feet is exempt from any building codes so a homeowner can do whatever.

Last one I added was 225 sq ft. I had to go full blown permit route including lot line set back rules.

Been a while since I built mine but I think it was about the same rules. I built just under the requirements for a permit, but still had to follow set back rules.

I put one up 18 months ago that's 9x11.

It's on a pad that's 6" thick with rebar. 1 foot margins all the way around with a bit of slop on the pad for roof drainage. Concrete was 2,500 strength.

I like concrete because I'm in a high wind area and the shed has anchor points where you can attach it to the pad using using a small concrete bit an expanding anchor bolts.

Cost about $2,100 and took 3 days from start to pour.

The shed is a poly wood resin that will outlast me and the shed shows no signs of UV or weather wear.

I’ve used these before, when I didn’t want to pour footers or a pad.



The blog discussing shed foundations where I got that pic.

A concrete pad is expensive these days . I wouldn't pour concrete unless I was doing something permanent like a garage or workshop . I have had several lawn sheds that sat on concrete blocks . Works just fine .

I bought 6 yards of road stone. Leveled it off with a slight fall front to rear. and sat the shed (16 x 32) on that. The shed itself is dead nuts level with cinder blocks where necessary. It's Amish built with real PT lumber for skids, rated for ground contact. I have ledger boards all around to keep the critters out from underneath. If I laid a pad to site it, it would cost a fortune and render me liable to increased property tax.

(I was quoted over $45k, plus the cost of the slab to have 16 x 32 one stick built by a construction company. This one cost me 18K delivered from Wisconsin)

It will outlast me.

Go a little bigger than you think you need!