Putting steel shed (and base) between trees

[stefg]

Hi All,

Previously there was a wooden shed / play house that was raised on small wooden stumps tucked in between some trees in our garden. The wood was completely rotten so I pulled it down and I want to put up a metal shed in its place.

I was planning to put down gravel, sand and then paving slabs for the base of the metal shed but I'm just wondering if this might be a problem for the trees and or it's roots. The trees are mature coniferous trees about 30ft tall (maybe more). There are no roots visible on the surface and when I was clearing the surface in preparation I only came across a few small roots, nothing significant.

Would putting down the gravel, sand, slabs and then the shed cause problems for the trees?

It would be great if I can put the shed in between the trees but I don't want to kill the trees or significantly weaken them.

Thanks,
stefg

 

[roker]

Personally I would hire a mixer and put a concrete base down, this should not effect the trees, after all you see trees surrounded by road and pavement all over the place.

 

[Leo]

Trees surrounded by broken road/ pavement are also very common. Many house extentions have cracks where they join the existing structures due to the ground they are built on subsiding as it dries out.

As the trees are well established, and there has been a shed in that location for a number of years, putting in a concrete base now shouldn't cause any issues with ground movement due to changes in moisture levels. Younger trees or putting in a structure where there hadn't been one previously could cause issues as a result of the roots adjusting and seeking out water.

Build the base up over ground level to minimise disrupting the roots too much.

 

[stefg]

That's great, thanks for the responses. I'll go ahead with the shed between the trees.