Siting a shed on an existing patio

cheesyboy

cheesyboy

cheesyboy

Soldato
Joined
7 Dec 2012
Posts
17,652
Location
Gloucestershire
Requiring a bike shed, I have ordered a 7x5 shiplap one from tiger sheds, THIS ONE, which should arrive in about 3 weeks. I've never put up a shed before.

Now, i'm putting it in the corner of my garden on an otherwise unused patio area. The patio is a bit bigger than the footprint of the shed.

I know that for a shed base you should ordinarily aim to make the base slightly smaller than the shed, but the base is already in situ. Is there something I should do with the base, or put on the base, to help prolong the life of this new shed?

Also, I'll be putting it close enough to the boundary that I won't be able to paint at least one side of it - is it good practice to treat/paint it before assembling?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I painted my tiger shed before I put it together, it also sits on a patio larger than the base. However the slabs are riven buff rather than flat which allows water to sit/drain in the recessed parts.
 
The point in putting a shed on a smaller base is to avoid splash back from water running off and making the bottom excessively wet. You could install guttering which would eliminate the vast majority of this issue. If you have space the a water butt would be ideal.
Or create something that will absorb the falling water to stop it splashing. From pots to surface etc you can come up with something, but guttering is the easiest.

Treating before you put up is a good ideal as its far easier lying on the ground than when up. Eventually you are going to get issues with no treatment, but its a lifetime vs cost/hastle balance.
 
I wouldn't worry about splashed water as long as it can dry out afterwards.

What you want to avoid is having the shed sitting in water. Having the base smaller than the shed allows the shed to shelter the base so it never gets wet.

If you want to achieve this on an existing patio lay an additional base area of slabs on top of the existing patio. The cheapest, nastiest, slabs you can find will do.
 
Thanks guys.

Will go ahead with painting before assembling, at least for the inaccessible side. Guttering sounds like a good idea (I can probably drain it to soak nearby where we've got shingle down on the ground), and I've got some slabs stacked up behind another shed that might be enough to put underneath.
 
+1 for guttering - for the cost it is worth every penny - I put larger battens under the shed next to the ones already there - That is larger than the ones under the base - if they rot then just jack up the shed and renew which will leave your original ones still in good condition - I used treated 40x25 or there about roof lathes - cheap as chips and will save you a lot of trouble in the future. Do not under estimate the damage water can do.
 
Paint the under side of the shed with a blend of old engine oil and Diesel, it will stop the wood soaking up and moisture and also keep vermin away, my Tiger shed (6x8 Shiplap pent) will be 5 years old this summer, I could do with a bigger one now to store all the kids garden toys, but other than the felt needing looking at (I have a crease in it that bugs me) its as good as the day I built it!
 
BigBoy said:
Paint the under side of the shed with a blend of old engine oil and Diesel, it will stop the wood soaking up and moisture and also keep vermin away, my Tiger shed (6x8 Shiplap pent) will be 5 years old this summer, I could do with a bigger one now to store all the kids garden toys, but other than the felt needing looking at (I have a crease in it that bugs me) its as good as the day I built it!
Click to expand...

I'd really want toxic carcinogenic stuff bribbling around my patio

If you've still got left over patio slabs I'd look to lay some of those under the shed lifting it off the ground to allow some airflow.
Could even stick some DPM where the shed base will have contact with the slabs for a bit more caution.
Would also men the shed wasn't sitting in water, guttering to a water butt it also a very good shout :)
If you're painting it then just get a decent outdoor one with preserver in it
 
I had a small 6x4 shed sitting on an existing patio for around 10 years. I raised it off the floor by screwing some 3"/75mm pressure treated fence post to the underside as extra bearers. This stopped any chance of it sitting in standing water and allowed plenty of ventilation underneath.

When we moved it to have our extension built the bearers / posts had started to rot a little but the base of the shed was still fine. Not bad for a decade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom