Shed base

[Arthur 51]

Hi all. I've bought a 6' x 4' metal shed. I don't want to drill holes in back yard paving and the yard has a bit of a slope on it Will a layer of sand inside a bit of shuttering do for laying on 4x 5cm x 90cm x 60cm slabs?

Thanks.

Arthur

[Tim Watts]

Arthur 51 wibbled on Monday 19 April 2010 15:20

Have a quick google back at this group for "shed base" - there've been a couple of discusions recently IIRC. I recall mention something about sand and slabs.

Cheers

Tim

[Phil L]

Not really.

The shuttering will rot or move, then the sand will erode and the slabs will tip. Far better to add a few spadefulls of cement to the sand to give a semi-solid base for the slabs, and the shuttering can be taken down after a week or two without any worries about erosion

[Arthur51]

. I keep finding instructions for slab bases... Describing a dry sand and cement mix but no mention of wetting the raked mix before laying the slabs down.

I'm confused.

Arthur

[Tim Watts]

Arthur51 wibbled on Tuesday 20 April 2010 22:23

You don't. Mix dry, lay the slabs as if on sand (pack it, tamp it, level it, lay slabs. Much easier than laying on wet mortar - take all the time in the world.

Then a gentle hose over the top will get between the slabs and start setting the cement. Hose is optional because enough moisture will come out of the ground t do the job, but a light hose down will kick the process off in a timely manner.

[Phil L]

There's enough moisture already in the sand to set the cement, plus it will soak moisture up from the ground.

Just mix the cement with the sand in the hole using the rake, get it as level as you want it, then lay the slabs on it.

Don't walk on it for a day or two and then build your shed, the mortar will carry on curing for weeks after the shed is up and will gradually get harder and harder.

[mark]

Nothing wrong with the above method. However I'm currently working on a patio project and I'm using a weak cement mortar of about a 12:1 mix of sand and cement. I'm doing it wet with a splash of Feb (plasticiser) which I think is important as it allows the mortar to respond better to being tapped down , much more so than on dry mortar in my experience It goes down 2 to 3 inches thick just over the area of a slab then I pull 3 deep grooves in it with a bricklaying trowel and place the slab on top. The slab is easily tapped level and aligned.

mark

[Tim Watts]

mark wibbled on Thursday 22 April 2010 15:20

Nice variation :)