Mike Lyle wrote:
Roger wrote:

Mike wrote:

Also is it worth lining the shed side of the bed.



My only contribution here is with regards to the 'soil against the
shed'.

Don't!!

The shed will rot faster than you could believe.

I have made a raised border against the neighbours fence and laid
three rows of concrete blocks, laid flat, just clear of the fence
and fronted the border with a couple of rows of 'book sized'

broken

paving slabs. The plants at the front tumble over onto the patio

and

the plants at the back 'almost' cover the concrete blocks, but
strategically placed containers are also on the concrete blocks as
they form a very stable shelf.

All of this was made on very old rough concrete, but I made holes

for

drainage before filling with soil and compost.

This is the first full year, I did this in the Spring of last

year,

and it looks fine :-))

Mike



Correguated roofing sheet can be placed against the side of the

shed

in front of the earth. Make sure that the sheet goes right down

below

the level of the woodwork and that the air can circulate from
underneath the shed.

I would suggest the heavy duty resin types. Light plastic is not
stroong enougth, and cement fibre will still hold the dampness.

Give a good pasting of wood preserver to the bit of the shed to be
covered before placing the panel.


Interesting, Roger. How long does it keep on working? With my luck
the weight of soil would squeeze even heavtyweight resin. Would you
recommend fitting 2x1 treated timber spacers edge-on along the bottom
of the shed to make sure the resin sheeting stays away?


I first saw this technique in a courtyard where it had been placed
between the plant beds and the white plaster walls. The proud owner
pointed it out to me as his own invention, but having been made aware of
it I have noticed it in many places. The person who showed it to me said
that orginally he had used bitumen like impermeable sheets but the
problem with these is that if moisture does creep in, it is trapped,
wheras a simple corregated panel allows air flow.

The heavy duty resin sheets I was reffering to are the sort that are
used as an alternative to cement fibre panels (i.e. like you get on
corregated factory roofs). Because of UV degregration they are normally
used where mediteranean style tiles are to be placed on top, but that is
not really a problem when you holding up a bank of earth! Maybe the
cement fibre is just as good?

As for the bottom, I would just tap the sheet a couple of inches into
the ground, or gouge a little trougth if it won't tap in.

If the sheet is impermeable, it does not need to be 'kept away' from the
surface it touches.