When you think about building a wooden garden shed one of the first considerations that will come to mind is what kind of pad or foundation support do I need for my wooden storage shed. We will discuss five (5) options for the foundation or support base that will work just fine for your wooden garden shed. These are not difficult options so read on.

FIRST OPTION – Use 4” x 4” timbers for the base support for your wooden garden shed. These timbers need to be able to resist rot so use cedar, redwood, or pressure treated timbers (these are the green looking timbers). Simply level the timbers and use connector plates or spikes to hold the timbers to each other. The timbers will be laid out in the same dimensions as your wooden garden sheds. The timbers need to be leveled on top of the ground so you will need a shovel or hoe to level the ground. After leveling the timbers simply build your wooden garden shed on top of the timbers.

SECOND OPTION – Construct a level tamped gravel pad to use as the support for your wooden garden shed. One of the advantages of this method is that there is no wood involved other than using 2 x 4’s to hold the gravel in place. Simply build a wood frame out of 2 x 4’s the same size as your wooden garden shed is going to be. Use wood stakes driven into the ground on the outside of the boards to hold them in place. Fill the form with gravel and then use a tamper to tamp the gravel into a firm base. That’s it – you are done. Make sure you have leveled the form boards so that will cause the gravel pad to come out level. Use the form boards in building your shed and there is no waste. When tamping the gravel water it down from time to time and that will help you get a better tamping job. If you don’t want the gravel to spread out over time simply leave the form boards in place to hold the gravel together.

THIRD OPTION – Make a paving stone pad for your wooden garden shed support. Many homeowners have become very good at laying paving stones or blocks for sidewalks and patios. Well, simply do the same thing and then build your wooden storage shed on top of the paving stones. Many shed builders like to make the pad bigger than the shed to have areas to set potted plants etc. to give the shed a great look. If you lay a sidewalk to the storage/garden shed then you will really have a good look that is all tied together. If it matches other patios or sidewalks then all the better.

FOURTH OPTION – Use concrete pier blocks. You can get these concrete blocks at your local home improvement center or lumberyard. Set enough blocks to provide support for the wooden garden shed floor joists. You will obviously have 4 corner support blocks and add as many other blocks that you need for enough support. Simply level these blocks on the top of the ground and then set the shed floor frame on the blocks for support. The tops of all of the blocks should be level to each other.

FIFTH OPTION – Use a poured concrete slab for the foundation for your wooden garden shed. This is probably the toughest choice for most homeowners as they do not want to mix this much concrete. However, today there are many concrete companies that allow you to use their trailors to haul pre-mixed concrete to your home to pour into your wood frame. Also many concrete companies will deliver small batches to your house. To pour you own concrete slab you will simply build a concrete form the size of your garden shed or a little larger and pour the concrete into the form. Use a 2 x 4 to screed the concrete smooth with the top of the leveled form and let dry. You do not need to trowel the surface and can use a garage broom to drag across the concrete before it is dry to make a more non- skid type of concrete floor. Now simply build your wooden garden shed on top of the poured concrete slab once it is dried and cured.

GOOD LUCK ON BUILDING YOUR NEXT WOODEN GARDEN SHEDS!