just got rid of a greenhouse and want to put a summerhouse in its place. the summerhouse is bigger than the greenhouse was. the pic below shows the ground at the moment. it slopes a bit as you can see, cos it digs into the grass on LH side and is well proud of it on RH. and its just soil from where i lifted the concrete slabs that the greenhouse was sat on.
(yeah i know the gardens a mess, but hey, its a building site at the moment :-))

ill have to cut away a bit of lawn, but how do i need to prepare it? i assume the summerhouse will have beams on the bottom so i need some slabs strategically placed in corners, along sides, and various places in the middle.

will i be ok digging it all out and filling with sharp sand, and then slabs on top of that, or do i need it cementing? (please say not) 🙂

if sharp sand is ok, how deep will i need to go? and how much would i need if the footprint is 10ft by 8ft?

thanks for any help 🙂

I used sharp sand and a few concrete slabs for the kids summer house which looks about the same size.

No problems so far and it’s not blown away or owt and has good circulation so no damp

Sorry, it’s got to be cemented IMHO, and the fewer slabs you are going to put under it, the more cement each one needs. Big blobs will do OK if you are making it a full base, full and quite deep for strategically placed slabs.

If it’s already a building site, is there no builders handy who could do it quick/cheap?

Is it stopping for a while?? If so do it proper like!! I always half a 4″ concrete block layed flat a concrete base. You could also do the same scenario but with slabs . Your highest point of ground should be a minimum of say 50mm below top of foundation just to keep the moisture off the timber. Bit of work involved admittedly but worth it!

hmmm no builders that i know could do me any favours im afraid 🙁

i spose cements gonna be a lot more money than sand yep? might have to take a chance on the sand for that reason.

ill have a bit of a google and see if theres any more advice out there.

thanks a lot chaps

I’m a builder ya cheeky sod 😆
The only prob with washed sand is it will eventually wash away. A bag of cement is £3.50 tops and you’ll need bugger all. Just do it the cheap way if you like, get down to a bit of firm ground , 5 spots of washed sand and cement mixed at 6/1 and bob ya slab down. You don’t need to slab the whole base, 600 centres would be fine. Also you don’t need to use a whole slab for each found. You could even cut a 600 sq into four to keep the cost well down!

No, cement is cheap. Only a few quid a bag and you use make it up 3 parts sand to 1 part cement so 3 or 4 bags should do you easy. If you are doing a small-ish area like that you can even make it up in small batches on a big wooden board and save yourself the expense of hiring a mixer, (thought that makes it much quicker).

Have you got a mate who has ever done any patio laying who help, or at least give you a start with it, as, (forgive me) it sounds like you’ve not done anything like this before!

edit – Oh, 6 to 1. That’s even cheaper! I’m so NOT a builder, (and as such the edge of the patio laid a couple of years ago in our garden is currently waiting to be re-laid) so listen to him ^^^ 🙂

wrightyson, looks like you posted whilst i was typing my post, and sneaked in before me, so no offence meant 🙂

i spose i cant say for defo that it would be there for ever, we already changed our garden around a few times. had decking down 2 years ago which we havent really kept looking spick and span, and considering taking that up now to grass 🙂 so……yes i realise i should do it properly with a cement base, but, if it was sound enough id probably take a chance on the sharp sand. thats what i need to know, IS it sound enough. you suggest itd wash away? how long are we talking before it started doing that?

incidentally, how much money are we talking for a cement base, all in, with hardcore, sand and cement? and how deep would it need digging out? 10ft by 8ft.
and how much for the sharp sand method?

i also found whils googling, the ecobase which looks like it just sits on hardpacked soil? looks like just shy of £200 for our size, so interested in your thoughts on that, and also how it compared cost-wise.

Have you got a mate who has ever done any patio laying who help, or at least give you a start with it, as, (forgive me) it sounds like you’ve not done anything like this before!

tthew, youre right there, never touched cement before, so id defo need a hand. ive got a couple of mates who can probably lend a hand, altho no experts theyll have some idea of what theyre doing 🙂

If it’s already a building site, is there no builders handy who could do it quick/cheap?

you about much this week wrightyson? 😀

Get a ton bag of sand delivered and a few bags of sand to make the 6:1 mix. When I’ve built sheds I’ve just mixed the concrete in a wheelbarrow which adds a couple of hours work but definitely worth it for a few years peace of mind.

There are paving slabs in the background, do you have any more?

When I put up my shed i laid a base of slabs that i got free from freecycle and put the shed on that.

I removed the lawn in the area i wanted then went down an inch or so into the soil and leveled the groundand stamped it all down so it was a firm base (we have quite sandy soil up here in Aberdeen so didn’t see any point in digging out more to put in a layer of hardcore) i then back filled the hole with an inch or so of sharp sand so it was about 1/2 inch below the level of the grass then laid slabs on the top so they are about 1/2 inch higher than the grass.

I made the base a few inces wider than the shed to help stop the grass growing up onto the shed making it damp.

CM, have you also built a wooden framework for the concrete, as again, i wouldnt really know which would to use, how to build it etc as ive never worked with it before. dont mind learning tho, and if its gonna be ‘fairly’ cheap id give it a go.

RM, yep got same amount of slabs on other side of garden too. that was my first thoughs on how i should build it, sand, slabs in corners and along sides at intervals, and also in strategic places in the middle. wasnt thinking id need it fully slabbing. just not sure which way to do it really :-/

thanks

Where abouts are you?
I’m in East Sussex and have just done a 18ftx20ft base for a friend to put a summer house on. I did my own 8ftx6ft as well for the small front shed.
A full days graft with a cement mixer but worth it. (the big one, not the little one :O)
Hardcore can be had for free off Friday-Ad/Freecycle and a smaller base doesn’t need a cement mixer, just a wheel barrow or mixing board/tray.
Tim

im in lincoln mate.

still a bit unsure as to what the differences are between the two. this is how i see it, tell me if im wrong:

cement base. dig a pit 6″ or so. put wooden framework around the 10X8 square hole. fill 3″ of hardcore. mix 3″ of sand/cement on top. level with big plank or something. let dry for a day. summerhouse base goes directly on top, no need for slabs. cost – dunno

sand/slab. dig 3″ deep hole. fill with sharp sand, possibly dry mix of sand/cement. cement dot and dab slabs around the edges and a few in the middle, make sure level with big spirit level. base drops onto slabs. cost – dunno

ecobase – make ground flat. drop ecobase on and join it up. drop base straight onto it. easiest. cost <£200

please put me right on anything ive got wrong there 🙂

thanks

The first one if you want to do it all proper like guv! Oh 10×8 isn’t a square, not even in East Sussex where we all talk a bit funny.
The second one if you want to possibly do it again after a heavy period of rain.
Don’t know what an Ecobase is but being as it’s got Eco in it I assume it will save the planet at the same time as keeping the summerhouse in place :O)

Mmm, just had a look at Ecobase. I like the idea of it but I’m a bit unsure of quick and easy solutions. Looks like the sort of flooring they put down for concerts when they hold them at cricket grounds/football stadiums. It might work but then again………..

If your summerhouse has a floor/base that the sides screw into then it forms a cube type shape. If the base isn’t level then the cube will move ever so slightly when you use it. This can cause them to pull apart according to the guys I bought my workshop from. It can also allow the wind to rock it slightly and stress the frame a bit.

My 2p worth. How about getting the lads around for a Saturday BBQ and lay on the beer after the shed base is complete. Free (ish) labour and the more hands the merrier. That way you can do a proper job quickly and have fun at the same time. The tricky bit is getting the gravel boards in level before you add the hardcore and concrete mix. As long as they are level (ish) then it’s just a case of mix/fill/repeat/level as you go/drink beer/feel smug.

gravel boards?? what do i need those for? thought itd be ‘dig a hole, fit some wood round the side to make a frame, fill frame with concrete, sit base on concrete’. (this isnt looking good is it?) 🙂

fit some wood round the side to make a frame

=

gravel boards

get the top edges of them level then fill with concrete then use big plank to tamp down to level of the top of gravel board would be my understanding

Just to confuse further, another alternative:

Get some pre-stressed concrete lintels and lay them level onto the ground. Sit Summerhouse over (with floor joists running perpendicular to lintels). Not overly expensive and faily simple to do. As a suggested guide, you’ll either need 5 @ 10ft or 6 @ 8ft depending on which way the floor joists run.

mixing the concrete is easy with a mixer and they are cheap to hire

hard bit is the digging – plus you need to put the dirt somewhere, and there will be much more than you think

llama, we overlook a field, im sure farmer giles wont mind a bit more soil 🙂

thanks for all the advice. i cant say i know what im going to do yet, a lot to consider. ive got some wood behind the garage, 2 and 1/2″ wide, 5/8″ thick. would that do for the framework if i went concrete, or would i need something deeper and more substantial?

thanks