Kitchen Garden Forum

I bought the shed for my allotment in November 2006.
It sat on a base of marine ply, with a frame underneath, painted with (if I remember correctly) two coats of fence paint over all surfaces.
Last year the base gave up. I wasn't particularly surprised; being a metal shed there is a lot of condensation in the winter.
So I have just put a new base together. This time I have used OSB and bitumen paint on a frame, with stones filling the gaps in the frame. What I omitted was the plastic under the frame which I think helped retain the moisture.
What is always a bit of a surprise is how long the exercise takes. Excavating the space. Getting everything to the plot. Building the frame. Painting one side then letting it dry. Turn it over and paint the other side and ditto. Repeat and repeat. Lay the frame down and fill with stones (previously set aside - lots of them). You have already painted one side of the OSB (twice). Lay the board down and nail into place. Two coats of paint (letting it dry in between).
Then you are ready to empty the shed, sort through the rubbish (sorry useful stuff) you have kept there and remove the junk, putting the tools and useful stuff back.
Phew! Thank goodness it is in the shade under trees.

Definitely a job in progress! I like your diligence! Yep! I think your new base will last longer than the previous one but 12 years with a bit of fence paint isn't bad going!

I always keep shed bases off the ground, At worst I'll put a breeze block or brick plinth in a two to three foot grid. At best I'll make a foot deep hole, fill it with postcrete and insert a bit of perforated metal strapping, build off the ground two bricks high, a pair of bricks on the first layer, and either another pair ir a single for the second course.
Th floor frame or simple set of joists sit on the plinths and then the floor gets nailed on top, ply or planks, whatever I can scrounge for up cycling. The strapping, installed on two diagonallyopposite corners is screwed to the frame and prevents blow or push overs.

This method allows air circulation beneath the floor and pretty much prevents floor rot.
My roofs usually go first, asphalt isn't as long lasting as it used to be.

The rats have eaten a lot of the floor under my hut but can't get in because I lined it with aviary mesh so they've started eating the sides now.
I've cut a new floor to put on top of the mesh and put more mesh up the sides. I'm going to nail some more thick plywood round the sides.
Fortunately I've got lots of marine ply left over from a job my son did for me.
Dad always said to put huts on several bricks to give good ground clearance but I did it in a hurry. Should have followed his advice.

I avoid gaps because of the likelihood of rats. I have certainly seen them occasionally; I hope the two cats which are habitués of the place are good hunters!

I'm lucky/unlucky in that the shed is a) at the top of the slope b) under large trees (also this is the south) so the ground is always dry (or so it seems).

P.S. Plumpudding, I understand that rats will gnaw through anything except wirewool.

Surely the only base for a shed is concrete, either a concrete pad or slabs on a sand base.

I go along with peter. Keep a good air-flow underneath.

I always mix the fence paint with old engine oil.about half a pint of fence paint to a gallon of oil , modern day fence paint is useless my mate has a business making and selling it be says if you can get the old creosote you are better off he means the oil based ones