Shed Floor

V

Valhalla

Registered User
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I have just built a large shed at the end of my garden that is 26ft x 15ft. I have ruled out a concrete floor as I would need to put in hardcore and then concrete and I have estimated at costing over €1000.

My other option was to put in a wooden floor. This would involve putting a plastic covering over the soil to stop dampness and 7 x 2 joists and plywood. Some people are telling me that this would be fine and others are telling me that it still won't stop dampness and insects etc from comming up through the soil.

I know that concrete is the better job but I can do the wood floor for half the price and so want to know if it would last.

Thanks.
 
Would laying a weedproof groundsheet and then laying patio slabs on top be an option? That's what I did to create a base for our Yardmaster metal shed and it worked out fine. The main trick was trying to get the ground level and stable before laying the base. The stuff is not concreted in or anything like that.
 
what's going into the shed? If it's a car, you can scratch both of your choices so far.

Forget wood, it'll only rot, or,stuff will grow on/in/under it........

I'd have thought 1k was a small sum for a quality floor on a building of that size..........it's a job for life, remember. Anything else will need to be re-done in a few years, so you'll end up spending it anyway - including removing whatever you put in, now.
 
Look for concrete I beams which you infill with blocks. 400 blocks for 200 euro, rest the I beams on the ground (if ground is solid enough).

4.5 m I Beams could be €30 (guess) each and you'll need (guess) 10 so another €300. You could probably get seconds cheaper.
 
Valhalla said:
This would involve putting a plastic covering over the soil to stop dampness and 7 x 2 joists and plywood.
Click to expand...

I only just spotted this part of the OP's post........you're kidding right, putting anything down on soil ..??? No matter what floor you intend putting down, topsoil has to come out, and you'll have to put something back in. Whether thats hardcore, chips, quarry dust or whatever, you'll still have to do it. Top soil in a building makes it a........greenhouse. Great for growing potatoes/tomatoes, but anything else.......forget it.

And as for 7 x 2" and plywood.............there is a std detail available in the Homebond book for use of timber in ground floor construction. For a start, it will need to be laid on footings/dwarf walls, with a continuous vented airspace underneath. Otherwise it'll rot faster than you can say 'how much is a conc floor, again??'

And a continuous airspace under a garage is a no-no if anything remotely resembling an engine is be inside it - car/motorbike/even a lawnmower....the fumes from the petrol will sink into the space - a sump, if you like - and just sit there...........waiting for a spark.

You'll need a lot more than a new floor, then............and your ins co will be very, very interested in how you built it........
 
I think galwaytt has pretty much spelt out your options here! Dig out the existing soil cover, put in a 150mm concrete floor slab on 1200 gauge dpm on blinded, well compacted hardcore; depth of hardcore is dependendant on site conditions but 200mm is a minimum. You won't be able to lap the new floor dpm with the wall dpc (if there is one??) but for a garage or workshop this is something you can live with.
 
Yup, concrete is your only man.

Anything else is like wearing a fur coat and no knickers.
 
Thanks for all the replies,

The shed is to be used for storage/entertainment so no mechanical equipment will be in there.

At the moment, the old soil is sitting 10" below the wall DPC level. One of the options I was looking at was to lay a 1200 guage dpm over the soil and and run it up the walls to the DPC lavel. I would then have 3x 2 battons fixed to the back and front walls to with the 7 x 2 joists fixed to them. When the 18mm plywood is fixed to this the floor is then at the same height as the floor DPC. I was also planning to put in a two vents for air circulation.

Do you think this is enough? If not, could I put in hardcore on top of the soil and compact it in? I do have 10" to play with at the moment.
 
If you're going to go to all that trouble, wood/battens/ply/hardcore etc......concrete would be both easier, and, I'll argue, cheaper. Wood ain't that cheap, and neither are carpenters......

And if you're prepared to put hardcore/DPC in anyway, you're only one step away from concrete anyway, so I don't understand the reluctance.....

Finally, and at the risk of repeating myself, leaving soil in there is A Bad Idea. You might as well fill it with sponges. Wet ones.
 

Your right, I'm gonna go the concrete route now. Thanks for the advice.
 
There are a lot of good Polish guys out there, btw.......so you needn't pay silly money, either. Glad you made the decision.

Don't forget the DPC !
 
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