In message , Marcus
Fox writes
... on a limited budget. Say £100. Want it to keep three bikes in, plus
other garden tools. We have ample space to place it, does the ground have to
be prepared in any way, or can we just plonk it down?

hmm, GBP 100 isn't much, even if you build it yourself. Using reclaimed
timber would make it a bit cheaper I guess.

My Grandad had a lean to shed built (IIRC) entirely out of old doors
and window frames. Of course this requires time and energy spent
scavenging materials. (I have a feeling that his was built in the
postwar period and getting hold of such things was pretty easy.)

You need some sort of base. If you just plonk it down, one the ground is
unlikely to be level anyway, two, it won't stay level for long, it will
settle and twist etc. three, it will rot in contact with the ground.

There are various options, and there have been threads here on sheds and
shed bases before. Possibilities:

Concrete blocks/bricks, bedded down on sand and cement and the shed
supported on that (I did this with shed posts laid crossways and then
the shed on top of that.

Slabs laid to form a base

Ditto but with concrete.

Do you have a wall you could build it against - this gives support
makes it cheaper etc. I built a small lean to 'shed' in the corner of
the house and garden wall once. Scavenged door, and plastic roofing,
scavenged wood for the 'frame, though I bought a bit of cladding for the
outside.

If using for storing bikes if they are adult bikes and you want easy
access to them all (as opposed to just stuffing them in any old how)
then leave yourself enough space. Hanging vertically from a wall by the
handlebars or by the wheels is a good way to do it, but you also need
the space to get them up and down etc. If they are covered on any sort
of insurance then that often requires them to be locked to an immovable
object even in stored at home.


--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html