# Building a Shed in on a Concrete Yard With a Slight Incline



## lucky777

*Building a Shed on a Concrete Yard With a Slight Incline*

Hey there,
I'm planning on building a shed in my back yard, but it has a slight incline (slope) and I was wonder how I should level it. Does gravel work? That's what I've read you should use to level sheds on uneven inclines, but I don't know if that would work on concrete.


----------



## woodnthings

*Build the shed as if the concrete were level.*

Just build the entire floor platform and then use Pressure Treated wedges to level out the floor joists. Then you can build and raise the walls like you would normally and plumb them. Start with a level floor first. :thumbsup:

My sheds 8 x 8ft and 8 X 12 ft, are framed using either 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 floor joists. They sit on 6 x 8 P T landscape timbers to allow air to circulate underneath. They were leveled out first. Then the deck and framing were built on top. FYI.

Inclined? How much? Use a 2 ft or 4 ft level and post the amount needed to make it level.


----------



## cabinetman

For its length, or width, what is the elevation to level from zero? You may need to make a full length spacer for the floor frame. If you already have concrete down, IMO, concrete piers would be better than gravel.











 







.


----------



## MissionIsMyMission

How big is the proposed pad/foundation for the shed? How much of an incline? Concrete typically uses gravel and sand as a base. If the slope/grade is not to severe you can form up the pad and fill it with gravel and sand to get it level and pour the slab. You might want to dig and pour some footers/piers to ensure stability again depending on the degree/severity of the slope and the size of the pad.


----------



## ryan50hrl

are we talking 3 inches over 10 feet......or 3 feet over 10 feet.......makes a big difference....


----------



## lucky777

Thanks for all the suggestions:thumbsup:. I took a picture to better illustrate the slope and the foundation (don't mind the rust bucket on the right--I didn't build that and I'm probably going to tear it down to make room:laughing. The pad/foundation is probably going to be about 10ftx10ft, maybe a little bigger.












ryan50hrl said:


> are we talking 3 inches over 10 feet......or 3 feet over 10 feet.......makes a big difference....


It's probably a lot closer to 3 inches over 10ft than 3ft over 10ft, but I think it's more than 3 inches over 10ft (maybe 6 inches or so. I'll check later).

Update: Measured it. Seems to be around 5 inches or so over 10 ft.


----------



## MissionIsMyMission

You could build tapered forms out of a 2x 10 x 10 and form up the pad. fill and level the interior with sand and gravel so you finish with a 4" cavity. Lay your wire or rebar and pour your concrete. This crappy drawing kinda shows what I mean. The red line is the gravel sand finished level which leaves you 4" to pour the concrete. You keep the sand and gravel back away from the forms about 4-6" so it will form a stem wall especially on the deep end. This really is not a hard pad to frame and pour. Establish the highest corner point and make that your start corner. set the form and then use a long level to establish the level for the other end. Stake it in and go from there. You can use the 3,4 5 rule to square the frame.


----------



## lucky777

MissionIsMyMission said:


> You could build tapered forms out of a 2x 10 x 10 and form up the pad. fill and level the interior with sand and gravel so you finish with a 4" cavity. Lay your wire or rebar and pour your concrete. This crappy drawing kinda shows what I mean. The red line is the gravel sand finished level which leaves you 4" to pour the concrete. You keep the sand and gravel back away from the forms about 4-6" so it will form a stem wall especially on the deep end. This really is not a hard pad to frame and pour. Establish the highest corner point and make that your start corner. set the form and then use a long level to establish the level for the other end. Stake it in and go from there. You can use the 3,4 5 rule to square the frame.


This was actually what I was planning on doing except without the concrete (so that I wouldn't have to get a permit from the city.) Only thing that worries me is what would happen to the wood if it rains (rotting, etc). Probably going to wait until after Black Friday to see where this goes though (might be some good deals on plastic or pre-planned wood sheds.)

How do you guys think the shed would hold up with only grave/sand as a base (inside a form of course)? It almost never gets too windy or rains too hard here and there is zero chance of snow ever.


----------



## Acercanto

If you're not going to pour concrete, I would just forgo the gravel/sand and make your foundation out of pressure treated timbers. PT lumber is rated for ground contact for I want to say, 5 years? before rotting. To help, you can sit everything up on metal brackets like this and level everything with little columns or 4x4 or something. 

Hope that helps,
Acer


----------



## GeorgeC

Acercanto said:


> If you're not going to pour concrete, I would just forgo the gravel/sand and make your foundation out of pressure treated timbers. PT lumber is rated for ground contact for I want to say, 5 years? before rotting. To help, you can sit everything up on metal brackets like this and level everything with little columns or 4x4 or something.
> 
> Hope that helps,
> Acer


Completely agree. The pressure treated lumber is going to last for many, many years on that concrete base. However, it would be good if it is slightly raised.

George


----------



## ryan50hrl

If it were me, I'd burry some pilings, and build it level off of them. Keeping a few inches underneath for air flow.


----------



## jigs-n-fixtures

lucky777 said:


> This was actually what I was planning on doing except without the concrete (so that I wouldn't have to get a permit from the city.)


Typically, the permit requirement is based on size, (usually 200-square feet), or if there is power, water, sewer or heat. This is normal in all jurisdictions that have adopted the International Code Council codes.


----------



## tonyuno

As a concrete man my choice is a con caterer pad having said that when I built my shed ( 8' x 12' ) I used pressure treated lumber on piers ( cheaper) so it's whatever suites your pocket and choice.


----------



## tonyuno

Don't you just love spell check? Concrete pad of course. In our area we are allowed 100 square foot footprint . We have a good few 10 footers in the area ( 10' x 10' square) that people live in, some as high as three stories. Anyway back to the subject, concrete pad if you can afford it otherwise timber on piers.


----------



## patternboy

Check around for some pre-poured concrete piers. Getting the floor off the ground a few inches will avoid some critter problems later on...particularly if you will be storing any lumber. The concrete piers come in different sizes and maybe you can work out some for the 6- 10" incline you are dealing with so things can be leveled out. Once you have the floor leveled on the piers everything else should turn out square and level .

Gravel works best as a base where you are putting it down on dirt that has been leveled by shovel. Tends to want to run away down hill on a driveway or pavement.


----------

