How to build a gravel pad shed foundation by yourself | Shed Build Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 29 май 2024
- I'm building a 10x16 shed on a gravel foundation. I show the entire process of building the 12x18 gravel pad on a slope. This is part 1 of the shed build, stay tuned for the entire build. I'll show all the tips and tricks I found to build this thing on a budget.
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*Disclaimer: I'm not a professional, just a seasoned DIYer. You should double check my measurements and advice and adhere to your local building codes. 
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Wow 😮 as someone who delivers storage sheds i sure wish all the Pads looked like this when I showed up to place a shed! Nice work!
Safety First...when dealing with large timber, ALWAYS wear your bike helmet:). Thanks...I think your video is the ONLY one that explains the differences between different types of rock! Kudos to you for tackling this project:).
Looks great! Looking forward to the shed build 👍😁
This is exactly what I was hoping to see. A job well done!
Nice video. This was an excellent overview.
That must have felt very good, Karl. Great instruction. Keep it up
Just subscribe because I'm going to be adding a shed to my backyard, and I need ideas and knowledge to build this foundation. This video is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
So awesome wearing a bike helmet in the beginning. Nice work on the build, Looks amazing!
Thanks for filming this. It helped give some perspective before purchasing all the lumber.
Excellent looking base.
Thanks, this is the best detailed video I have seen to help me. Thanks again.
Thank you very much good Sir! I'm putting a 10 by 16 greenhouse on my foundation. I'm excited about it 😁
Great video, sir! Tackling my gravel shed foundation this weekend and my yard has a slight slope very similar to yours. Appreciate the insight!
This is spectacular video. My old raised shed base that Lowes suggested I do rotted out after 5 years. I should have just done a gravel base 5 years ago and I would not have to redo it again from scratch now. THANK YOU so much for this detailed video it has helped me so much! If you could put more detailed material project list in your description that would be awesome not only for me but future people who watch this video. ❤
We have a larger slope. Im thinking to use blocks but the gravel looks good too.but with our slope may need more gravel.
nice job
Nice pond
like your videos, it has great thinking about it,
Nice work! We have a groundhog colony living under our shed, the pad is not nicely framed and anchored like yours, just leveled on cinder blocks on top of ground-up blacktop. I have owned a few sheds over the years, I realized that it is well spent time to caulk all the interior seams along the studs and walls, when I did this no issues with rodents or even insects. Best of luck building your new shed, look forward to your upcoming vids, based on this foundation I'm confident you will build a quality shed. Like everything else since Covid prices have increased gone way up, for those looking to purchase a pre-fab site assembled shed. I purchased a few Sheds USA sheds over the years (A company that was based out of NH, they were bought out by Tuff Sheds, prices have increased significantly). I was always curious about the Amish built garage buildings, they seem reasonable relative to new construction by a local contractor, however you do have to provide the cement pad and I'm not sure what the requirements are with the local building dept., likely strict here in the NY Metro burbs in the lower hudson valley.
Quick question- Have you figured out how to get rid of the groundhog colony? I think we have the same problem under the shed that came with the house when we bought it. I am considering having someone move it so we can take it off of the blocks & put a gravel pad down instead. I am sick of the groundhog coming out every year. I want a garden beside our shed.
Nice video, Subbed for more. Appreciate your thorough approach.
Appreciate the video
Thoughts on driving rebar through the 4x4 skids to help secure the shed to the ground as well?
How deep was the trench for the back wall? You mentioned 4 inches for the front trench. I will try to use your technique for a playset pad. I am dealing with about a 9inch drop as well.
will this be affected by frost heaving?
Do you happen to have a material list you can provide?
Hi! How deep did you bury your lumber?
Did you lap joint the lower 10 and 8 ft beams or just screw them together? Your shed is coming along awesome!!
Thank you.
I just screwed them together and it's working fine since they're partially buried and the ground holds them together, but lap jointing would be better, especially if the wall is a little higher and they're more out of the ground.
What's the difference of using this foundation vs using raised footings to set shed on
Not trying to be critical but if you dug below grade and used 3/4 clear, will it not fill with water, freeze and heave? Should gran a crusher run be used below grade and clear if your pad is above to drain? Thanks
I liked your video a lot, especially since I am preparing to do the same type of project in my backyard. Did you treat the wood beams with anything prior to putting them into place?
I did not treat them myself, but they are already pressure treated from home Depot.
@@EveryotherKarlonly the pre exposed pieces are. When you cut, you should treat, or. The rot will start sooner and quicker at the cuts.
Do you need to re-seal the pressure treated lumber when you cut it?
You should, especially if you see an area that wasn't soaked through properly with the pressure treatment.
good job!!!👍
Interesting I plan something similar except with some wire mesh underneath to deter the pesky rodents digging.
I had a question hopefully someone had the answer to. Started mapping the foundation and just wanted clarification. My area has a similar slight slope down. Are you digging 4 inches down at the front just for the wood to sit in? And/or are you digging 4 inches along the boarder for all the wood to sit in, then leveling out with extra wood in the back? Or is that to account for the 4 inches of gravel you’re putting in the bottom? I assume the back you didn’t have to dig much, but like you said, fill in the dirt from the front.
That might not have been the best way to ask that, but I’m very new to woodworking/lawn care/etc. because my wife and I just bought a house last year. This video has been the most helpful so far. Thanks
Sorry I missed your comment. I think I understand your question. All the wood is sitting at least 4 inches in the dirt to hold it in place. In the back I stacked the additional wooden beams on top to level it all out.
Did you consider concrete blocks instead of the pressure treated lumber?
No, pressure treated was always my plan. Blocks would be good, but more work in my opinion.
Why are purlins used?
Where is the water going to drain to ??
looks like a heavy rain is going to give you a 4" swimming pool
The water drains into the ground and keep going. The gravel pad has been up for over a year now and I've had no issues with any water buildup.
Would you be so kind as to list the tools and screws and string and such you used in text form? I would really appreciate it.
did you put any stone / gravel under the 4"x6" beams >? or just lay them in the dirt?
They are just in the dirt
Make sure to use ground contact lumber
What kind of gravel did you use limestone?
3/4 Clean
About how long did it take for you to do this step?
I'd say it was about 10 hours of work spread across a few days.
What was the dimensions of the lap joints. 3” on each side? Planning my shed foundation now and want to do this as well.
I used around 6 inches on each side. But you could use more. I probably wouldn't use less though, especially if you're going any higher then my 9 inch wall at the back of the foundation.
@@EveryotherKarlHow did you actually cut the laps? A circular saw works for the crosscut at 6 inches down the board, but how did you cut the end beam in half? Just do your best to hold the circular saw at 90 degrees?
I was questioning this also for the lap joints. It seems that if you are planning on a 6" lap, then you add 3" extra lumber to each beam when you cut them flush, and then make your 6" notch cuts? Measure twice, cut once, but I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around this. Maybe overthinking it?
how many yards of gravel did you buy?
1.5 cubic yards
it sounds like you started with the highest point of the perimeter instead of the lowest. Is that true? I would have loved to see how you did the partial supports under the sloped area.
me too
Have you found another video that shows this? No one seems to show this part of the process, and it's the part I find most confusing about the instructions.@@danceforpeace
I'm not entirely sure I understand your question. If you mean how much I dug down on the side walls, I started by digging to my lowest point at the back of the pad (lowest part of the slope). At the lowest part of the slope I had to dig down 3 inches. Remember, I was stacking two 4x6 beams on top of eachother (12 inches of wood) at the lowest point. I had a 9 inch drop from the highest point of the slope to the lowest and I wanted the top of the pad to be level with the highest point of the slope (i.e. front side of the pad) - so the 12 inches of wood at the back (lowest point) was buried 3 inches leaving 9 inches out of the ground. That was the starting point. From there I had to dig the trenches up the sides. The lowest point of the side trench was 3 inches down. From there I dug a level 8 foot long trench towards the front of the pad (high point of the slope) the depth there reached at least 7 inches. Then I dropped my 8 foot beam down in there. The beam was level - the back end of the beam was exposed 9 inches out of the dirt and the front end (closest to the higher end of the slope) was buried by at least an inch. Then I continued the trench from the top of the 8 foot beam the final four feet to the front of the pad. This small trench started at about 1 or two inches deep to match the depth of the top/front of the 8 foot beam and finished at 4 inches deep at the front of the pad (highest point of the slope). I could then drop my 12 foot beam into that space.... 8 feet of that beam was sitting on top of the wooden beam below it, and 4 feet was sitting on top of dirt nearest the front of the pad.
That was a long explanation... hope it helps.
I really appreciate the detailed response! I think my struggle is that although I've measured the drop and such, my lowest corner will involve 4 stacked boards. I'm trying to figure out how best to lay the bottom shorter boards, level and square them, and add the next boards on top until I get to the actual level that I want to be consistent across the whole pad. I wanted to see a video of people doing this, but I've only seen it described in text. Your video and reply makes it sound like you put both of your stacked boards in at the same time, and I'm not sure how I would do that. Do you have any insights for me? Thanks again!@@EveryotherKarl
@@randycathcart3896 Hmm, I'm wishing I filmed more of that process now. I did do it in levels actually. I made sure the bottom boards were level before putting the top ones on. Similar to laying a cinder block foundation. However, I kept stacking the top boards on and off to check that the overall hight of the walls was correct. I actually ran some string lines to give me a visual of where the top of the walls needed to be. Basically level at the top of the pitch and 9 inches up at the bottom. However, the lines were ultimately getting in my way so just stacking/restacking and checking my level every now and again was my preferred method. The strings might be more important if your walls are higher.
Hi will the shed be secured to the foundation or ground in anyway or only by its own weight?
I may add shed anchors when the project is complete. I haven't decided yet.
@@EveryotherKarl did you decide on this ?
@@EveryotherKarlhow would you do that on such a base? I ask as first thing I thought of was storm braces. D consider a pad like this but need storm braces for high winds here in the UK
@@MegaVinny73 my shed is actually very large and heavy so that helps keep it stable in high winds. Even so, I will be installing shed anchors that screw into the ground and bolt to the base of the shed.
@@EveryotherKarl I noticed it was large and therefore heavy in the next parts / vids you released. I doubt it would move unless it's a tornado!
I'm probably building 3.5m x 4.5m with 45mm thick walls, it will be heavy, over a tonne I believe the package is (it's a kit) but I'm not convinced in the real high winds we get at times, there could be some movement, but maybe not and it will be fine.
This base looks more environmentally friendly, over a concrete pad, as it will drain away more efficiently and well, isn't concrete. So it was a good and helpful vid. And thanks for your response.
Can this base be used for a LIfetime Vinyl Shed 11x21?
The dimensions are different, but the design would work well. I would bolt the lifetime shed down though. Potentially anchor it to the ground.
Thank you! They recommend a plywood base, however, I'm thinking this route may work.@@EveryotherKarl
Is 3/4” clean gravel the same as 57 gravel?
believe 3/4" is called #8
How long did the build take you?
About 7-8 months, but only working on nights and weekends
I have a huge drop for where I want to place my shed. Its about a 15 inch drop. Anyone have ideas for what I should do? Same method as with this just add more timber? Thanks
My first suggestion would be to see if there was any other area that you could put it that was more flat. If not, you might want to follow a similar method as me, but you should probably use some larger timber like a railroad tie or something that size. You could also build a masonry retaining wall, or you could build you shed on deep concrete footings.
I would add some drain tiles as well to stop water from being trapped inside of a wooden frame
If you are in a frost location - pillars should be used otherwise the wood will start to sink after every frost - -
mount pillars deep enough to break the frost depth for your area
How much for all the materials?
What's that in metres?
Let me google that for you.
How many yds of gravel did you do?
It was one and a half square yards
@@EveryotherKarl I assume you mean cubic yards?
Good catch. Yes, cubic yards.
My math is off. I though it was (LxWxD)/27=cubic yards(1.4) = tons. So if you’re doing a 10x16x.33 = 1.97 ft^3 (1.4) = ~2.76tons….Do I have the wrong formula or am I missing something?
@@Aye_Wilks Your formula and approach are mostly correct, but there seems to be a slight error in the application. Let's break it down step by step:
Volume in Cubic Yards: To find the volume in cubic yards, you use the formula
Length
×
Width
×
Depth
Length×Width×Depth and then divide by 27 (since there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard). In your case, with a 10x16 area and a depth of 0.33 feet (which is about 4 inches), the calculation is:
10
×
16
×
0.33
27
=
Cubic Yards
27
10×16×0.33
=Cubic Yards
Converting to Tons: To convert cubic yards to tons, you multiply by the weight per cubic yard. The factor of 1.4 is commonly used for materials like gravel, but this can vary depending on the material's density. The formula is:
Cubic Yards
×
1.4
=
Tons
Cubic Yards×1.4=Tons
Let's calculate the correct total based on your figures:
The volume of your area is approximately
1.96
1.96 cubic yards.
When converted to tons using a factor of
1.4
1.4, it comes to about
2.74
2.74 tons.
So your initial calculation was quite close! You had the right formula and process; it was just a matter of precision in the calculation.
What’s the purpose of the string … how do I use that ?
It's just to check the level of the gravel to see if there are any high spots.
So is that the same for building a level rock base for a shed
?
Why wouldn’t you want the benefit of crusher on to prevent water penetration/displacement.. the 3/4 will retain and displace water continuously, leading to settlement
yeah you got to do one or the other, if you have 3/4 you do not wan to put landscape fabric and you want to have some sort of drainage pvc pipe in place to get the water out of this box. hes going to rot the wood pretty quick making this pool bed under his shed.
@@ZupE891 I think you may be mistaken. The 3/4 clean gravel is great for drainage, and the landscape fabric underneath it must be a permeable type so water will drain into the ground and not pool. What you say only applies if you use the wrong landscape fabric. Plus the fabric keeps the stone from sinking into the soil over time.
@@WhittyOne Heavy rain it wont drain through that fabric quick enough, it will become a pool. Also the fabric will start to come apart in 5 years and then you have a mess under your rocks with bits of fabric everywhere
if you are worried about weeds or grass coming up through the rocks, just put down cardboard, that will last a season and anything that's alive will be smothered, and the cardboard will break down naturally so you don't have a mess on your hands.
@@ZupE891if you use some organic fabric sure, so use the correct fabric it won't breakdown. Like polypropylene. That stuff will last over 100 years+
Is it important to bury the lumber or will it be ok to have it above ground?
My opinion: It's important to bury the lumber, otherwise, the ground beneath the lumber can erode and cause your lumber to shift and settle.
If in a frost area - pillars need to be used - otherwise, your pad will sink after every frost cycle
pillars need to be deep enough to break the frost line for your area
Off topic...but you have an excellent radio voice. Somewhat easy on the eyes too ;)
What location in this? Apparently not a frost area. Good for a no frost area. In my opinion utilizing this method in a frost area without piers will cause the shed to sink .
I don't follow? I bought a shed in michigan already built and in place at the seller site for 20 years never sank in that time 42" frost line.
I would be concerned that the beams are set in clay soil. There is nowhere for rainwater water to drain to and it might not soak into the ground.. The beams act like a retaining wall and will hold water. They should have a way for water to drain out. I would put the beams on only three sides to allow rainwater to drain out.
Just have the base on a slight slope so the water drains away
@@garrettharper6046 drains away after it fills up like a swimming pool and flows over the top ?
Drain tiles needed to be used so water has somewhere to go
as it is - during a heavy rain - it is simply a 4" swimming pool
Suncast 8 by 10 shed
why not just pour concrete?
poor drainage if its just a flat concrete base. especially if in an area with a wet climate. you definitely want good drainage
@@observantgeezer3292 if your going for drainage then he should of built an exit point for the water, pvc pipe drain would of been an easy solution.
A gravel pad is not a foundation. Ever. The land of stupid always disappoints.
You seemed worried about the drainage, then you put landscape fabric surrounded by a wood frame, you trapped the water into your foundation, I am sure on heavy ran you will get water flowing between your wood joints, so your wood wont last that many years. Landscape fabric really only prevents weeds for a few years, dirt will get on top of the fabric over time and seeds will germinate on top of it. for better drainage, better not to use any landscape fabric and just spray it with roundup twice a year.. not hard to do.
Round up is trash.
@@clintonclark1712ha for sure! You told him!
Really? You are putting more chemicals to our soil, because we don't have enough of them?!
Round up is good as long as you don't plan on having health happy kids.
Slightly confused as to how you can spray once there’s a massive shed there?
INTERESTING ( YET ) B. U. T. T. The Concept of { Ground Contact } Is just that. A Possible way things can be done. At the Very least. Pea Gravel should have been placed ( BELOW ) the Actual Treated Boards. Depending on Which Type of Treatment ( MAY ) determine an alternative product ( Specially ) to seek out. Ask YOURSELF ( WHY ) Am "I" Stating it this way? Dirt, Organic Materials contain Microbes and Insect growth as well as other things. The BARRIER YOU are building. May only Now be for the Process of another structure to go on top of it. Ever hear the Saying . An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of C U R E ???
Just like the Joists ( SKIDS ) in which the base of the building is to be sitting on. CLIP or Angle the ends . At least by 22 degrees or more. (IF) at any point in time ( MOVING ) Comes into play. YOUR Past Voice of Reason will be THANKING You more then any New version of the subject matter may know. Kulls ( Culls ) as a way to save ? All fine and Dandy ( YET ) traveling to multiple locations. The Price of Gas / Fuel - Time in the store and more. MONEY is being spent ( YOU ) will never re-coup Or reduce the total costs in a Lifetime of trying and more.
Last butt not least. Facts and Figures. Details ( LIKE ) the Devil Himself. Where the Most amount of effort versus the least amount of Gain is ( BALANCED ) will only play out ( IF ) others do as YOU do here today.
I have helped/ Guided/ Assisted and Corrected more issues through the Commercial- Industrial - Residential - Weekend Warrior ( DIY ) Guy and Gals then Ever heard of with five plus decades and still going overall. Do it YOUR way ? Listen to Mine ? Each may get you there 9 YET ) Faster is NOT always better ( WHEN ) Going backwards to correct what was NOT Broken in the first place...
ADVICE - Comments ( Voice of Reason ) All things that get ignored until the Bank Statements show How much Over BUDGET the Project truly goes.
MEASURE TWICE ( Cut Once )
Check - Double Check - then Check it All over again.
1+1 = 2 what does 1 x 1 = ???? More people get them confused.
Weed Control ??? Or More money than ( Viscuene ) 6 mil Back was costing by the 100 to 1000 foot rolls ??? Staples ??? Perhaps ( WE ) should have a discussing. Unless stainless steel is being bought. Rust, corrosion rot is what YOU got going on.
Saying all this for ( DIY ) is NOT the same as industry proven Method of Procedures. Plenty of Educated soles. Waste Lifes greatest gift. LESS is MORE. Use what is NEEDED ( When And Were ) Buy Once - Cry Once then no worries years later.
what
Wtf are you talking about man?
Mate if you feel the need to write a novel then go write one!