Quick question on laying slabs for a shed

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Hi all

Mum moved house and the garden had a rotten old shed sat on slabs (the massive square 30kg-ish ones) which in turn were sat on a thin layer of mortar, a load of sand, then on top of general soil/stones etc.

Ripped the shed down, removed the slabs (gonna reuse them), and chucked the mortar in the tip. I've dug off most of the sand too so it's now just a mixture of some sand, some soil, and small stones.

I want to stick the slabs back down and whack a new metal shed on top but unsure how best to do the slabs. It doesn't need to win awards but I don't want to do a bodge-job which will subside leaving the door unable to close in 6 months or something.

What would you recommend please? Initial thoughts:
- Tamp the ground down as much as poss with one of those manual whacker things
- Add a membrane of some sort
- Put some appropriate sand down
- Level it off with a rake and a long piece of wood (using a spirit level etc) until I'm happy it's flat
- Stick the slabs back down

But this doesn't work, presumably. Those slabs are bloody heavy so putting them down while retaining a fully flat surface is gonna be tricky. Do I need to look at screeding or something here, or is there a simpler solution I'm missing?

cheers in advance
Matt
 
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Im wondering if type 1 MOT would make a good sub base, use a whacker plate to consolidate then lay slabs on that.

The stability of the base depends on the site conditions, if surrounded by trees and clay soil it will move.

Ive heard metal sheds suffer condensation.....
 
Im wondering if type 1 MOT would make a good sub base, use a whacker plate to consolidate then lay slabs on that.

The stability of the base depends on the site conditions, if surrounded by trees and clay soil it will move.

Ive heard metal sheds suffer condensation.....

Thanks for this buddy. What's type 1 MOT?

There are no trees in range but the soil is clay heavy.

The slabs were down for 30yrs before apparently and were only a bit wonky when I took them up. I'd have left them in situ but mom wanted the level brought down a little as it was all raised about 6".

Ta,
Matt
 
Thanks for this buddy. What's type 1 MOT?

There are no trees in range but the soil is clay heavy.

The slabs were down for 30yrs before apparently and were only a bit wonky when I took them up. I'd have left them in situ but mom wanted the level brought down a little as it was all raised about 6".

Ta,
Matt

Type 1 mot is granular sub base -its got stone and fines. When compacted it goes pretty hard, it def wouldnt move when putting down slabs.
 
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Another vote here for type 1. Also you need your slab base to NOT be completely level - it needs to have a fall of 1 in 40 to ensure rainwater run-off - ideally from the centre of the base downwards towards each edge. I spent ages ensuring my base was level and ended up with a rotten shed base sitting in a puddle :(
 
Type 1 mot is granular sub base -its got stone and fines. When compacted it goes pretty hard, it def wouldnt move when putting down slabs.

Ah thank you! In which case, I think that's what they might have used - just sparingly. I'll look into it, ta. Which actually makes me feel a ton better, as I was thinking "how the hell am I gonna compact the ground correctly" etc. But as long as it's there or thereabouts, I can focus on getting the type 1 right instead.

Another vote here for type 1. Also you need your slab base to NOT be completely level - it needs to have a fall of 1 in 40 to ensure rainwater run-off - ideally from the centre of the base downwards towards each edge. I spent ages ensuring my base was level and ended up with a rotten shed base sitting in a puddle :(

This sounds like a ballache :D Do you happen to know any trade secrets in how to achieve this with the least amount of grief? I wouldn't have a bloody clue; I'd just end up there with my spirit level until the bubble looks like it's very slightly off-centre, but that's far too imprecise for a 1 in 40 surely...

Thanks again both this is really helpful already.
Matt
 
A spirit level sitting on a long piece of timber. Prop one end of the timber on something an inch or two high and you have your gradient
 
A spirit level sitting on a long piece of timber. Prop one end of the timber on something an inch or two high and you have your gradient

Perfect, thank you! Didn't know how to achieve that gradient so that's really useful - cheers again!

ta
Matt
 
As above.
Lay one row with a tight level string line and then level off them.

Its a shed base and it needs to be level.
 
Another vote here for type 1. Also you need your slab base to NOT be completely level - it needs to have a fall of 1 in 40 to ensure rainwater run-off - ideally from the centre of the base downwards towards each edge. I spent ages ensuring my base was level and ended up with a rotten shed base sitting in a puddle :(

If it was level there wouldn't be a puddle.
 
A neighbour in Liverpool admired my block paved drive so he eventually decided to get his done. Gave him the contact details of the firm that did mine but he decided to get someone else to do it. I went round to see it afterwards and I had to admit it looked as good as mine, which had been done 2 years previously and had regularly had a family car parked on it. He was overjoyed to discover he had paid less than half what I did and it only took 2 days whereas mine took 5. (Oh, oh! I thought).
A few days later we had wet weather. When he came out to get in his car the rear wheels had sunk below the original level and created 2 hollow ruts because they hadn't laid the base correctly. Final straw was when he contacted them and explained the problem they promised they would call round later that day. Obviously they didn't and successive phone calls were eventually being blocked.
 
A neighbour in Liverpool admired my block paved drive so he eventually decided to get his done. Gave him the contact details of the firm that did mine but he decided to get someone else to do it. I went round to see it afterwards and I had to admit it looked as good as mine, which had been done 2 years previously and had regularly had a family car parked on it. He was overjoyed to discover he had paid less than half what I did and it only took 2 days whereas mine took 5. (Oh, oh! I thought).
A few days later we had wet weather. When he came out to get in his car the rear wheels had sunk below the original level and created 2 hollow ruts because they hadn't laid the base correctly. Final straw was when he contacted them and explained the problem they promised they would call round later that day. Obviously they didn't and successive phone calls were eventually being blocked.

I'm a firm believer in buy cheap, buy twice.

I'm aiming to do this one myself as I figured laying some hard-standing and chucking a shed on it can't be that hard (I'm good at stuff once I know how) but for more technical/skilled labour I'll always pay good money. If you've spent four years learning to plaster before I'd even finished my second year of uni, who am I to think I can do it just as well with 10mins of YouTube?

It never ceases to amaze me when people are looking at investing 4 or 5 figures into a job (e.g. conservatory/extension) and go with the cheapest offer... I'd rather save for another 12 months and spend a little more.

I'm fortunate enough to have lifelong mates who now have their own successful businesses as a plumber, a spark, a floorer, and a landscape gardener so I can usually get excellent jobs done for mates' rates luckily. Unfortunately the landscaper is now so successful, he's tied up with things like the Chelsea Flower Show and turning business away left right and centre while he manages his constant expansion, so I'm not wanting to trouble him with my shed base!!

I digress. Glad you had a success with your drive - again when you consider how long you'll have it in place, it's better to spend appropriately I agree.
 
Lay your slabs level.

make the base the size of the framework, so the cladding overhangs.

No rain will then get on the slabs.

Im sure laying slabs with a fall is an option.....just not one for me!
 

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