How to Build a Shed - How To Prepare a Gravel Pad For a Shed - Video 1 of 15
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Our 8x10 and 10x12 shed plans for the shed built in these videos can be found here: countrylifepro...
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In this video Henry teaches you how to prepare a gravel pad for a shed or other outbuilding. Everything you need to know is included in our detailed instructions - some of the main parts covered in this tutorial are:
What type of gravel to use for the shed pad
How to choose the best location for the gravel pad & shed
How level the gravel pad for the shed floor
Considerations to make sure the gravel pad has proper drainage and remains dry
Need Inspiration? Checkout sheds built by our viewers using our videos and/or our plans at countrylifepro...
View 15 all of our Shed Building videos on our UA-cam Channel: / countrylifemedia
Our Shed Plans for this shed are available here: countrylifeproj...
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#shed #gardenshed #diy #framing #carpentrytips #carpentry #woodworking #sheds
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My motto in life is: I don't know what I am doing but I am having fun doing it! The point is that I don't allow fear to keep me from building things I don't know anything about. This series is amazing that even a Goober like me can even build it. I took lots of notes and stored them up in the cloud. I really appreciate you for providing these to all of us. My hope is to build a 30'x60' shop which is bigger than my waistline but I am not afraid. Many, if not all, of your instructions are applicable to building larger buildings with the exception of larger beams and stress points. I understand those things like I understand women but what we will probably do is buy a metal building kit from professionals...lol. At least I know how to pour a ton of concrete. Thanks again. It will go along way when we build a doghouse.........for me.
PanJammi god bless you
You're hilarious! Cheers
I’m 72, still a semi active carpenter builder. Your videos are the most thorough and interesting diy videos I have ever seen. Bravo….
Seven years ago and still a quality video. Thank you for your time and effort.
You are nothing short of professional. This information is pure GOLD. From the bottom of my heart, Thank You!
15 videos of PERFECTION. I have spent this Sat and Sunday just concentrated on this COURSE. My father was a perfectionist carpenter in his early life, thus I was his helper at home many years afterwards when something had to be fixed on wood, or built using wood, or just maintaining wooden doors and furniture. This course is just perfect to the details. I am so happy I came across it. Special thanks to his presenter and builder for his patience on explaining all the details on the whole 15 videos. I give more than 5 stars to this course. Yes, It is an online course. Thanks a lot indeed. Blessing.
People like you really make the difference, do not measure the effort to help out others doing an amazing job!
God bless your family, congrats...
This video is exactly what I was looking for. Cleared up a lot of questions in my head on how to get site ready for my new shed. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank You! I just completed my shed using ONLY your videos. It was a great learning experience I had never done any kind of construction before. I did make some changes to suit my needs. First my HOA required a concrete pad (I am glad now not at the beginning). I lowered the pitch by half looks much better for the small structure. And I made it a real 8x10 and I understand now why you made yours slightly smaller. I highly recommend to everyone to use the same style door it gives the shed a style of its own.
This is a great video. Straight to the point without someone who is trying to be a star. This guy knows what he's talking about and explains it in an easy to understand manner. Kudos to a involved in the production.
Thank you very much for making this video series. I just finished an 8x8 shed and used these videos as my guide. Lots of very helpful ideas and tips that really helped me.
Very helpful video. Specific, clear explanations at just the right tempo. thanks for posting! :D
Great video's I spent part of the summer building a shed from information from your video's. I did 95% of the work by myself using many of your great tips. Everyone that has seen it said how great it looks. I did put on a metal roof and added a second door in the back wall and a 8'X6' deck on the back with the roof extended over it. That is so I can sit and look over my garden without seeing a car. I just love it and could not have done it this nice without your expert video's. THANK you
Glad you liked the videos and found them helpful.
Excellent series of videos, will be building my shed for sure now with these brilliant references, thank you for the time and effort and your very clear and calm instructions, a must for any novice shed builder, cheers.
Awesome 💞 👌🏽 👏🏽
I've just finished watching the series of videos - congratulations, they are very informative and easy to understand.
I ordered the ez print paper version pdf plans from their website. 50 detailed pages 🔸 GREAT VALUE. This is the best how to build a shed video on UA-cam. - Ternerzero
Great video sir! What is your gravel depth? Looking at doing same for a 10.5" x 8' Duramax shed and will put it on a 2x6 joists with plywood floor.
Thank you, Gracias , Amigo
This is our first time trying something like this. Can you please explain or let me know if there is a video to explain how you prepared the ground under the landscape fabric? My understanding of an undisturbed ground would mean no digging, is that correct? I am not sure what a shaved ground is. Would you mind going into a bit more detail for me? Thank you so much.
Hi D&M... What we mean by undisturbed soil is to not dig up the ground so that it has to be compacted again prior to gravel placement. So what we did, is used a flat shovel and shaved off what was needed, some areas that were really hard with a pick until we had the area fairly flat and level (it does not need to be perfect as the final leveling can be done with the gravel).
This is one of the best how to videos; that I have ever seen! Greatly appreciated.
I learned a lot. I have watched this video series several times; there is a lot to take in. Thanks. I have a 12x12 slab at my home. The previous owner took their shed.
I would do the same if I built my own; which I plan on doing.
Thanks to Country Life Projects
Excellent videos Henry! I would love to see a similar video series of an outdoor sauna.
Thank you for the information, really helpful.
How much gravel did you use? I am prepping a site for an 8x10 this weekend. Thank you!
Sorry for the late reply - about 3" on average.
This is a great video. How many inches thick is the gravel?
Hi Susan... glad you like the video :-) On average the gravel was about 3" thick with some high spots at about 2" + -.
OK good points...box with sheathing exterior and interior, nails and glue all connections, probably also bolted to cement footers buried approx. 2-3 ft. I really wasn't considering it for sheltering people in an earthquake but storing supplies that we could get to afterward. My house was built in 1924 so it has stronger walls than drywall, mostly lathe and plaster, and it has a basement. If house collapses on basement though, we wouldn't be able to get to emergency supplies stored there. Basement has approx. 4 ft x 3 ft cement footer walls. However can't tell if house is bolted down because the smaller foundation wall on top of the footers is covered in wood. Thus wanting storage area that wouldn't be damaged and would be accessible. Our soil protects from liquefication effect, so we'd be mainly dealing with shear/shaking. The other thing is that if/when we have a large earthquake, the house is in a dam inundation area... 4-10 ft high water would reach us in about an hour if the dam breaks or breaches. House sits about 2.5-3 ft above ground level. So if I could make storage area waterproof that would be good too...seal it and cover with boat/dock paint perhaps?
Loved the Video.. Will help me out a TON!! Thank you ... went to your YT page and I see, Sadly, you have not posted in two years... hope that changes and Hope all is good in your world..
Thanks Rick. Yes it has been awhile, videos are all done in spare time and that has been in short supply the last couple years (construction has been crazy busy in my neck of the woods). But, I do keep this area up to date and reply to comments etc.
Thanks
Thank you for the video. I was trying to build a shed 8 x 8 and I wanted to pour concrete mix on top of gravels. What type of gravels would you recommend?
Much depends on the ground/soil. If you have very hard compact ground, sand would be good. If softer ground, you may be better with navy jack or 3/4" crushed rock and then compacted prior doing forms and pouring concrete.
I am going to be purchasing an amish built home, 12x46, do I use same method? And do I have to have something between ground and gravel if I dont care about grass and weeds growing through the gravel?
Hi... I would think for a home, you would need to have some kind of crawlspace for plumbing and so on. Without knowing the construction of the house, it is hard to say what you can or cannot do. I personally would not place an entire house right onto gravel, fine for a shed as there is not much floor area and no need to get underneath after. I would think concrete blocks or skids would be the minimum requirement.
It does sound to me more like a mobile home situation where you would have key support points in the floor system and then skirt the entire house. But again, hard to say without knowing the structural design of the house. If you are buying this home from a company, they should have recommended foundation types you can use.
@@Countrylifeprojects Yeah it's going to be set up like a mobile home on blocks and the gravel was recommended by the people who sold it to me but he has been hard to get a hold of to tell me what to do, not a scammer, I know him, great guy but he's dealing with a lot atm.
Is there a reason why the skids are not needed ?
It really depends on how much moisture/rain you have where the shed is built. The location we built this one is fairly dry and the gravel would likely allow any moisture to dry out. However, if you are building in a wet area, or where the ground stays wet for long periods, then building on top of skids makes sense. E.g Oregon for sure in many places, New Mexico climate probably not required.
Will there be adequate ventilation with the floor joists straight onto the gravel or is it best to put the whole floor frame on skids? Thanks.
Hi MSW, This depends on the climate you have. For dry areas or those with minimal rainfall this method should be fine as the coarse gravel does allow some air flow (although marginal). If you are building on ground that is frequently damp, then skids would be the better option to ensure air flow can keep things dry.
Nice video!!
should I use a compactor to compact gravel base?
Hi... if you are using coarse gravel and only about 3" thickness there should be no need to compact it. Coarse gravel binds into itself and just walking around on 3" of this gravel should be enough to compact it.
I like the edging look but how do you attach it to the ground?
You can use 24" pcs of 3/8" rebar (usually available at lumber yards) or as we did 12" galv nails (but our ground was very hard so that was enough). it also depends on how high you go and if any soil is held back by the ties. E.g. going 4 high may require thicker rebar and longer as they may need to be driven further into the ground to get enough leverage resistance (force of the soil or ? against the ties).
Great Video(s)
I want to build a new shed using a concrete floor/pad. Should i make the pad exactly 8x10 or bigger than that? Thank you
Ciprian M Hi Ciprian... If you are following my plans, no. If you are winging it and building to the size of your choosing, then you would build it to suit your needs.
Thanks for the great video! Do you have any suggestions for a site that isn't very level to begin with? From the highest corner to the lowest corner, it's about a 12" change in elevation. Can I just double, triple (or even quadruple if needed) up the landscape ties as the elevation changes? Thank you!
Ian McCormick Hi Ian... You could do that, but I am not sure if they would have enough strength as a retaining wall for the soil. It depends on the soil, rainfall etc. If I was to do this, I would offset each tie by about 1" on each layer so that you have a gradual slope back on the high end... and I would use long enough nails to secure each layer to the one below it (say 6" spikes every 24" to 30" and on each corner to lock the corners together - I would pre-drill for the nails with a smaller diameter sized bit as you go - makes life much easier). On the sides you could just step them up as needed to match the highest point. On the bottom row all the way around you may want to use pieces of rebar (or similar) hammered into the ground through predrilled holes to make sure they do not shift - how long will depend on how hard the ground is (the softer the ground the longer the rods).
I've really enjoyed all your shed building videos. I wondered if the plans are available to build a 12x16' version?
whiteoconnell We only made the plans for an 8x10 shed (the best selling size at most building stores). The reason for this is that we built the shed based on the plans to make sure they were accurate and problem free (and we do our own plans manually from scratch). So, to answer your question, no, we only offer the plans for an 8' x 10' shed.
If I build a 8footx12foot shed with a gravel foundation, and there is not much space around to contain it, can I border/gravel exactly the length and width of the shed or maybe 1 foot wider around the shed with gravel and border? Also what size border and type did you use to contain the Base Rock? Or is it better to pour concrete Thank you!
I would suggest keeping the gravel base about a foot bigger all around if you can (provides good drainage). I used landscape ties double up (had about an 7" difference) but you may get away with one layer. These were secured in hard soil with 12" galv spikes to keep them from shifting sideways. Pouring concrete is not a bad idea... just make sure to take the time to square up and level the forms - very similar to some of the tips I show in the construction of the floor framing - e.g. how to check for square etc.
Country Life Projects
Great Thanks for the tip!! Awesome videos!
Can you add recommendations for making this earthquake proof, as in maybe bolting the floor to cement footers?
+akkbluesky Building for earthquakes is the task of engineers, that is beyond my expertise. However, I can say that you would use sheathing under the LP Panels or other exterior finish, likely glued to the framing. Trusses might have to be engineered. Walls would have to be bolted to a concrete foundation (designed for earthquakes) etc etc. Earthquake proof buildings are a substantial undertaking.
+Country Life Projects & Living Thanks, in my area, it would be good to have a storage space that's protected and accessible in case of earthquake.
+akkbluesky I have built shear walls in commercial buildings and few homes. What it really comes down to in the design is building so that the forces of wind or earthquake cannot collapse the building. For a small structure I would recommend you look at it overall as building a box that cannot collapse or twist apart - this may also require the use of nails versus screws (spirals or ring?) (check with local codes) and minimum 1/2" sheathing - all glued to every stud and plate. Every truss secured to the top plates with substantial tie down anchors and so on.
+Country Life Projects & Living Sheathing the inside may not be a bad idea too. Also, IMO no windows, and no glass in the entry door for safety reasons. But, if you live in an earthquake zone.... I do feel it is best to consult an engineer in this field before you start design and building.
+Country Life Projects & Living Was thinking about this more... Have you considered building a safe room in your home versus a shed? After all, if an earthquake was to occur at night, you may not be able to reach the shed. Just a thought... how to go about this for your home/area I am not sure.
How did you install the the border between the gravel and the grass?Is the 2x4 anchored into the ground somehow?
Carrie Getz Hi Carrie... we used 14" galv nails but you could use long pieces of rebar or other solid bar. Since we are only going two high and we have gravel against the base piece, the main thing is to keep them from shifting sideways. I believe we put one every 24" or 30" (been awhile since we did that). The second layer we used 6" galv spikes nailed to the first layer (pre-drilled with slightly smaller diameter bit than nails to make nailing easier). We also alternated the overlap on the corners to lock them together.
Country Life Projects & Living also... we pre-drilled the base ties so the nails easily go through the ties so the hammering was not compacting the ground anymore under the ties and changing the height afterwards (we did use a sledge hammer on the first row before nailing to compact the ground first and used a 2x4 on flat on the ties that are just one layer to make sure we did not damage the exposed surface).
im building a 12x16 shed on skid, if I use 3/4 gravel as a base do I need pavers under my skids or can I just lay the 4x4 skids right on the gravel?
+MrDpms2010 4x4 skids are fairly narrow and may settle into the gravel. Personally I would use coarse gravel, compact it and then use the pavers - or wider (treated) skids directly on the gravel - 6" to 8" wide e.g. 4 x 6 or 4 x 8.
+Country Life Projects & Living ok thank you for the response. you think the none reinforced patio pavers would work. maybe 12x12
+MrDpms2010 The main consideration is that the pavers need to be placed on compacted gravel and the pavers must be level and solid on the gravel (no spaces that may allow them to crack in the future and cause the shed to settle). However, personally I would use wider treated skids placed solidly and level on the compacted gravel.
I'm confused , it looked like you built yours without runners or pavers would that be correct ?and are pavers or runners necessary?@@Countrylifeprojects
3-inches of gravel, that is an important number.
I have a finer grade of gravel I would like to re-use for the foundation. Would this work or will I need to buy some coarse gravel?
Richard Baker The size of gravel is not as important as the type. Coarse gravel will compact and not move making for a very stable base. However anything over 3/4" gets hard to move around and level. Pea gravel or any smooth stones will constantly move and shift making it more difficult during construction.
Can I ask about the landscaping ties; Did you stake them to the ground somehow, or are they just resting on the gravel? Did you screw the ends together to join them? Im worried about them moving during our cold winters.
By the way... this series of videos is amazing. Very helpful. Definitely the best ive seen on youtube.
Thanks in advance.
Well, its been a while since we did the project but I am pretty sure we used 12" spikes (Galv) for the first row into the ground and then secured the next layer with 6" galv spikes into the lower layer (pre-drilled slightly smaller than the nails so they would not disturb the first layer when nailed). The ties that have an equal amount of soil on one side and gravel on the other were not secured. That said, the ground was very hard so 12" spikes worked, but if the ground is a little softer you can also use 3/8" rebar cut longer and hammered into the ground through the first layer - or both layers if you have a long bit... for the rebar, make the holes snug (pre-drilling the ties that is) but not so tight that you have to hammer through the ties, just into the ground. We also nailed the corners for extra strength. Please Note: Landscaping is not our area of expertise, but the above worked for us. Much will depend on how many rows you need to stack, how many corners you can tie together etc.
Excellent. Thank you!!!!
That's not gravel , that is processed stone. Gravel is something entirely different
More accurately then... Processed 3/4" crushed and cleaned rock (or stone).