The Foolproof Shed Foundation! (Works on Flat or Sloped Terrain) - DIY Step-by-Step Guide

rebar guy here... thats not fiberglass rebar. That is epoxy coated rebar.

wanted to add... epoxy rebar is only good if you coat every inch of it. So after you cut it you have to touch up the paint on the ends.... after you hammer it you should do the same. Now this isnt going in concrete so its not structural and doesnt really matter. Just saying no point in using epoxy here because it will rust out just as fast as normal rebar if you dont touch up the exposed metal.

That string trick for framing was worth watching this whole video.

Might have been ok with the old CCA treated lumber but the modern environmentally friendly stuff is going to rot in 5-10 years max. For those that don't know, the "A" in "CCA" is arsenic which is why they can't use CCA anymore.

I couldn’t do that where I live because of termites

How the stones are not gonna sink into the ground in time?

too bad with all that you used wood, woops.

The house I bought had no garage and a gravel driveway with a gentle slope. I did this same thing to create a level area large enough for a 2-vehicle metal carport to be put in. Has held up for 10 years so far.

Unopened bags of concrete wet with a hose would be better than the lumber in my opinion

Its only as good as the timber.

My left ear really liked what you had to say but my right ear got nothing but silence

Do you remember how much you spent?

Great video and I bet you were exhausted. How did you seal the edges of the shed to keep critters out?

I built something similar, but i added patio stones on top, and it made the floor feel way more stable. since they were going under shed finding used ones for cheap is easy

Overall it looks nice. Wood may not last forever but still fun to work with. Many retaining walls made of wood have lasted a long time but probably treated with the good stuff and not the arsenic free. Concrete or even retaining wall blocks would work. However given the height of the wall you built, I would think you would have needed some drain tile and openings to allow any water to runoff and out instead of building up behind the wall.

struggling to understand the benifit of ending it with rock instead of concrete? whats the benefit?

Why not just use AB and compact it flat and hard as concrete?

load of work amazing job

good job poop

and why not concrete with a simple retaining wall ?

Wood in contact with dirt, won’t last. Nice work though.

Yay...video of build on slope

If a shed is 6x4 and your slab is 7x6........is square slab critical?.

not watching to see what your drinking!

Why not a concrete slab ?

I'd rather do concrete on top - It'll be a LOT easier to keep clean with all those leaves in the area.

what is the advantage? is rock that cheap up north?

I like the idea of using gravel. If someone ever wanted to move the base, no busting concrete. Unfortunately using wood for the retaining walls is not. I would have used stone.

If you are jot finishing whit concrete, my question is: Why don't you use colums (pilots) instead?

Soil, soil, soil.

You could just measure corner to corner and make sure they match without doing any of that fancy-schmancy ancient Greek math.

Next video: how to make a tree fall on your new shed by cutting out its roots.

Here in Texas you'd get taxed on that for the test of your life!

Wood real rot... I would have used concrete wall blocks, they also are superior with water passing through, very little hydrostatic pressure. I was surprised to see so little gravel... you needed to use a plate compactor and with several iterations of adding fill.

Fantastic video . very well thought out and presented with a lot of clever ideas .

Great video!!! I have this exact need for a shed I want in my backyard. Loved this video very much and it actually gave me a better idea of what's needed for uneven ground.

Wooden foundation directly on the ground!!? Gimmie a break, that's gotta rot out in a few years.

Great project. Couple of things though.

1. ground can sink with rain, the gravel can eventually sink into the ground.

2. The gravel is good at holding compressive force, not tensile force. The tensile forces are basically handled by the wood. This is not great, because wood rots and can be a hassle to fix this when it time comes to replace the wood. Instead, a thin boundary of fiber glass reinforced concrete would have been a better option. It will a little more expensive than the wood. But will last you a LONG time.

Where I live the subterranean termites would would eat up that ground wood in a couple of years.

Do not use this method anywhere in the States where fire ants live... they Absolutely LOVE gravel beds.

Interesting. But in German yI did it with a concrete foundation, 60 cm deep. Under our frost line. But this solution is a very smart one.

Coating the outside wood with an oil based sealer will help slow the rot. But my concern is drainage. Shouldn't there be PVC drain pipes under the fill that exit on the low side?

The biggest failing point is water exposure to the wood beams, Yes they are pressure treated but will fail if the soil holds water. This happens when the ground is saturated. I should know. I built something similar years ago very much like your design. Once water finds a way to those beams, its just a matter time. I did find a solution for this design I would like to pass down.On the side walls use heavy plastic and make sure it overhangs the top rim Think of it like lining a trash can. The bottom is fine to have the landscaping fabric to allow for drainage through the stone. The pressure from the soil and stone press the plastic against the walls to minimize contact with standing water. Its been 20 years and its still holding upwell. I also painted my wood to protect the inside and outside from the elements as a little bit of insurance.

Horrible !!

Does the shed just sit on top of the gravel, or is it somehow tied down so high winds don't blow it over?

In the UK. tanalised (treated) wood rots very fast in the ground!
Tky. C

my comment is you should have went ang got the shed you think you need 5 years from now

Should have used like a galvanized steel. Those boards will rot

It will rot within a few years. I hope it doesn't as you have worked hard, but wood in the ground is temporary.

I dont think so. Itll last a while but not as long as crete