Your Shed Base – What You Need to Know

Before we roll up with your brand new shed, summerhouse or garden building, there are a few important steps to make sure your site is ready.

Don’t worry - this guide explains everything you need to know about preparing the correct base, and why it matters.

A good base is the difference between a building that lasts for years… and one that causes problems from day one.

1. The Base: The Foundation of Your Building

Your shed base is the foundation of your building's strength, stability and long-term durability. It's one of the most important parts of the whole process — and if the base isn't right, the building can't perform as it should. A properly prepared base ensures:

  • Your building sits solid and secure
  • Doors and windows open and close correctly
  • The floor stays protected and level
  • Rainwater drains away properly
  • Your building lasts as long as it should

2. Suitable Base Options

We recommend the following base types:

✔ Concrete Slab

A solid concrete slab is an excellent option as long as it is fully level.

✔ Paving Slabs

Paving slabs are often the preferred choice for our buildings, provided they are:

  • laid on a proper sub-base
  • firmly bedded down
  • fully level
  • not rocking or moving

✔ Timber Frame Base (Supplied by Us)

If you don't already have a base in place, we can supply a timber frame base, made to suit your building size.

(CLICK HERE for more information.)

3. What Does a “Perfect” Base Look Like?

A correct base must be:

Level: Your building must sit completely level. This is essential to keep the structure square, prevent twisting, and ensure doors remain aligned and easy to use.

Correctly Sized: Your base should be built to the exact size of the building being installed.If the base is too small, the building won’t sit properly. If the base is too large, it can cause water pooling around the building, which may lead to damp issues over time.

Solid and Stable: The base must be firm, secure, and capable of supporting the full weight of the building.

4. What’s NOT Suitable?

Unfortunately, we cannot install onto the following:

  • Grass or soil
  • Uneven ground
  • Loose slabs or slabs laid directly onto earth
  • Gravel or chippings without proper edging and compaction

Even small differences can cause the building to twist, affecting door alignment and overall longevity.

5. What If You Already Have an Existing Concrete Base?

That's absolutely fine — many customers already have a concrete slab in place.

However, we strongly recommend using timber bearers on top of the concrete base.

This is because bearers help:

  • improve airflow underneath the building
  • reduce moisture build-up
  • prevent damp and decay over time
  • protect the floor structure

Timber Bearers – Supplied by You or Us

We use 3” x 3” pressure treated timbers for our bearers.

You can either:
Source your own bearers and place down and level yourself, or
We can supply a full set of bearers as an optional extra and lay them down for you, bringing them up to level where needed.

Important: If you are supplying your own bearers, they must be:

  • Placed down ready in the correct positions
  • Fully levelled and ready before installation day

👉 Click here to read more about our Timber Bearers

6. Suitable Surfaces for Timber Bearers

  • Concrete slab
  • Patio slabs
  • A properly prepared chipping base

7. Don’t Have a Base? We Can Supply One

Many of our customers choose to build their own base prior to installation, or already have an existing one in place.

Please note: we do not supply concrete bases or patio slab bases.

However, if you don’t already have a base in place, we can offer a timber frame base, made to suit the exact size of your building.

This is a popular option for customers who want a strong, reliable base without the hassle of organising groundwork themselves.

👉 Click here to read more about our Timber Frame Bases.

Need Advice?

If you’re unsure whether your base is suitable, just get in touch.

You can also send us a few photos of the area and we’ll happily advise before installation day.

(We’d much rather check beforehand than turn up and have an awkward “well… this isn’t level” conversation 😅)