Using Railway Sleepers and concrete for shed base

[Countossie]

Hello

I am looking to build a 8ft x 6ft shed/workshop base in my garden on uneven ground. Was thinking to use railways sleepers to get the shape of shed base and poor the concrete inside this. I cannot see examples anywhere online of this do you think it doable.

The ground slopes about 20cm so two Railway sleepers would look nice I think on the one end

Any advice would be great first ever shed and project like this

 

[Jameshow]

Sounds good make sure you have at least 75mm of concrete at the shallow end.

Put a couple of forks in the ground in front in front of the sleepers to stop them moving whilst you pour the concrete.

 

[Countossie]

Sounds good make sure you have at least 75mm of concrete at the shallow end.

Put a couple of forks in the ground in front in front of the sleepers to stop them moving whilst you pour the concrete.

Thank you. I was thinking to pin the sleepers using rebar but is this overkill?

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

If you are using them as a shutter they are a bit overkill and it would be cheaper to use a smaller section timber or ply and fill with concrete, unless you already have them so no cost to consider. Will they be visible at the edge or in the floor inside, is it a look you are going for?

Also if you are bearing the shed onto both the concrete and the sleepers they would move differently depending on the seasons which could bring a bit of instability to your shed. Treated sleepers won't last forever if incontact with the ground and will rot out, concrete would last a lot longer.

 

[Countossie]

If you are using them as a shutter they are a bit overkill and it would be cheaper to use a smaller section timber or ply and fill with concrete, unless you already have them so no cost to consider. Will they be visible at the edge or in the floor inside, is it a look you are going for?

Also if you are bearing the shed onto both the concrete and the sleepers they would move differently depending on the seasons which could bring a bit of instability to your shed. Treated sleepers won't last forever if incontact with the ground and will rot out, concrete would last a lot longer.

They would be the outside with concrete poured inside. So yes as shutter but definitely the look is something I am going for would look something like the attached photo maybe with the sleepers flat. Would also look to pin the sleepers

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

The base in the photo look good. Make sure you support the sleepers well when you pour the concrete as it has a lot of power and could easily move your sleepers. May be worth placing dry lean mix behind the sleepers before you pour the main slab, especially if you ar pouring any where near that depth. Will the concrete base be your shed floor?

 

[MikeJhn]

I suggest drilling through the sleepers and pinning into the ground with road pins, but concrete shed base's are cold, I did my shed base as below.

 

[Sideways]

Just a garden shed but concrete lintels to raise it off the deck, floor joists hanging from the sole plates and once up, it was battened and clad with feather edge to keep the water off.
Wood in contact with the ground doesn't sound ideal to me, even sleepers.

The floor is laid in loose so I can lift it to check the void though it's so full now this isn't likely to happen.
Actually, it's 8' long and about 6' wide so there you go...
2x2 and 4x2 framing, 11mm osb3, fabricated some simple roof trusses, osb3 and edpm rubber roof, door's a ply torsion box.
There was no intention to insulate this so the osb is on the outside and the frame open on the inside.

 

[Adam W.]

Pinning the sleepers together at the corners is a must, as it looks like a lot of concrete and trying to move it backwards if they shift will result in extreme comedy.

Don't forget your DPM.

 

[Fergie 307]

I have a similar sized shed sat on concrete fence posts. I got these cheaply from my local builders merchant as they were chipped in transit. Just laid them level on the ground and the shed sits on a frame of 4x2 on top. Handy too if you ever need to move the shed, as I have a couple of times.

 

[2sheds]

Or try these. Shedbase.com | Shed Bases | Professional Solutions for the DIY'er. I've used these a number of times as time is more important to me than money, and they're not much more expensive and a lot easier than making a concrete base. And you can move the shed and base if you want to!

Steve

 

[James555]

I built my shed / workshop on a concrete base.
If I did it again Id use the system Oakwood Gardens Rooms uses on YouTube. I really like the way he does it. Take a look.
Basically thread rod in concrete piles then a timber frame on top.

 

[benitod]

Some nice ideas here for a future project.

 

[Countossie]

Laid the base over the weekend

 

[Countossie]

Another Question

Should I use a damp proof membrane on top of this?

 

[niall Y]

I take it, there is not a membrane in the concrete? If not, then lay a some brickwork DPC around the periphery of the slab. Once the structure is built up on top of this, then paint the floor with several coats of 'Black Jack' or similar,. You can then add a 50mm sand/ cement screed to the top. Dusting the bitumen with some fine, dry sand will allow you to move about without much damage to the bitumen.
If there is a membrane , then I would still put a DPC under the walls.

 

[MikeJhn]

Too late now, but for future reference the DPM should be under the concrete base lapped up the sides then under the brick/timber walls and lapped with the DPC back to the outside of the wall, the walls should oversail the concrete to provide a drip for rainwater running down the walls, in addition the concrete base should be let into the ground at the edges to prevent the rainwater running off the walls undermining the base.

 

[MikeJhn]

What you can do now is put an impermeable membrane on top of the concrete and pave the floor hard up against the walls.