Building your outdoor shed's foundations

Importance of foundations

In the construction process choosing and building a proper foundation will determine whether your shed will be stable and durable or the opposite. No matter how well designed or built is a structure, if it doesn’t have a good support base it won’t last for long. Foundations have two main functions:

• Prevent your shed from being in contact with the humidity from the ground, which will cause rot in the wood. It should be at least 15 cm away of the pavement;

• Correctly distribute the shed’s weight and ensure it remains level;

Types of foundations
 

There are two main types of shed foundations: floating foundations and permanent foundations.

Floating foundations are the simplest and quickest to build bases. They are also cheaper and their components are easy to set into place and shift around because they are small and light, so it’s very easy to set up all and level.

A frequent technique is using flat concrete blocks which are placed in the ground in straight, evenly spaced lines to support your shed. You may use other type of special blocks as well: pyramid-shaped blocks.

Another technique is using skid foundations. It consists in using two or more long, straight logs placed on the ground in parallel, evenly spaced positions, acting as skids. The building’s floor frame is then built on the logs.
 

Shed foundations - Skid foundations

Most sheds are designed to be built with this kind of foundations because it offers accessibility and at the same time when properly built can last more than the necessary.

However, depending on the shed size and the weather conditions of the place you live on, you might need to use a stronger base, because some soils change in volume depending on the weather. That change will unlevel you shed.

Outdoor Shed Foundations - Piers
Picture Owner

This is achieved by building permanent foundations. Although they’re more expensive and difficult to build, they’re more stable and long living than floating foundations, as this type of base extend deep into the ground.

They are built using piers. A pier is basically a column of concrete poured into a hole you previously excavated in a specific place, in order to support the shed’s floor frame. So your structure will have a rock solid base to prevent it of problems related to ground volume changes.

Take the time to make the right decision. Properly analyze all the variables and only then start building your outdoor shed. 



Other helpful posts:

How to build a shed: the 8 main steps
Get your outdoor shed plans
Building your outdoor shed's ramp
The importance of planning 
Common mistakes during the building process
The advantages of DIY