diy

[novicediy]

can anyone advise how to lay a concrete floor for a garden shed 10x10 what mix to use ? How much cement I need? I will be ordering the shed from B&Q will i be able to put the shed up on my own(not much DIY experience)

[Jules001]

can't help with the first part of your question as our base was already laid, however we have just this weekend put up a 10 x 10 shed/workshop and no it isn't a job that a person can do on their own, I think they recommend 2 people, but we had 3 and it wasn't easy especially if you don't have much diy experience. Rope in some mates to help with the promise of a bbq and some beers after.

[thundercrack]

hi, 10x10 is a large area. you are going to need a cement mixer or it will be a long job. level off the site and make sure the soil is firm. to make the base you will have to shutter up the area with timber that is 4" high at least, or for best results 6" and break up some old bricks etc and use them as hardcore about three inches deep. you will need a jumbo bag of ballast from a builders merchants and the cement will need to be mixed at a rate of 5 shovel full's of ballast to one shovelfull of cement. mix it quite wet and it will flow into all the nooks and cranny's and self level, so make sure your shuttering is dead level and firmly fixed. last time I used a jumbo bag of ballast I used 5 bags of cement. the other alternative is to build a wooden base of waterproofed treated timber, a lot easier but obviously not as long term permanent and usually suffers with vermin living under it.the other option is to level site, put a bed of sand down, and lay paving slabs. the name of the game with this is getting everything spot on level. this is a quick fix and you could brush a skim of cement over and into the gaps to seal it. my 10x8 shed has been done this way(not by me) and it has been quite adequate for the pupose over the last two years. the cost of a jumbo bag of ballast is about �40 delivered, the cement about �3 a bag. I would suggest you go to a wickes store and get one of their little books with all the items and prices in. they also have leaflets in the shop on " how to lay a concrete base etc " ( or something like that). to get a jumbo delivered you will have to use some one like travis perkins, jewsons or jacksons. hope this helps.
good luck, alf.

[jake-the-peg]

I did exactly this a couple of years back, 9x13 for an 8x12 shed.

Digging out the area was the hardest - and that's a fair bit of soil to dispose of make sure you know where it's going!

You can dig it out over a period of time and put in the hardcore but you really want to lay the concrete all in one day.

You need another person to help you tamp down the cement and probably to hold the barrow as you pour.

It's not actually that difficult but you want to make sure you put the shuttering in level and tamp the concrete down level to that because the shed won't sit level otherwise.

*It is however hard work*
You will be lifting several tonnes of sand and cement up to put in the mixer, pouring the same weight plus water into a barrow and then taking the barrow to your pad and pouring it - and I'd expect that you'd spend most of the day doing that.

But it does give you a really good base way better than you'll get with slabs.

Other advise - even if your shed is ready coated give it another coat of waterproofing on the underside of the floor - you might even want to glue some dampcourse strips to where it touches the pad - you'll never get to these places again.

you also might find this site useful

http://www.readersheds.co.uk

[woodchopper]

Stuff the mixing concrete - get a delivery of ready mix - saves time and effort.

[jake-the-peg]

The trouble with ready mix is that 10x10 (I presume we're talking feet here by 4-6 inches thick is only about a cubic meter which is a bit small for many firms.

These guys claim to do small quantities though:
http://www.bardon-concrete.com/index.html?./Pr oducts/home_improvement.shtml&2

[burnhal]

Seems the floor bit has been adequately answered. Regarding the shed, recently put up a shed for a local school. It was a B and Q job- one of their cheaper lines about 12 ft by 6ft. It was easy enough to put up on my own- just the niggles of wasted time of rubbish instructions and things not being square, slightly too long or too short or fitting where it touched!! Not the best kit in the world!! Dont know what their higher priced range were like but wansn't terribly impressed with their cheap range!!

[davidhm]

Hi,

Make sure your shuttering is well supported as concrete is heavy stuff adn can easily mis-shapen the shuttering