One of the key things we discuss with customers prior to the delivery of one of our Glamping Pods or other Garden Buildings is the importance of a flat, level base for the building to rest on.
It may seem insignificant and can often be overlooked, but it is actually a very crucial part of installation, with just a few millimetres being the difference between having a problem-free building or one that can cause nothing but problems.
What's the Worst that can Happen?
Even one of our small Glamping Pods are still very heavy and with uneven or soft ground, over time, the building will "settle" into its foundation, leading to premature deterioration of a building that would otherwise have a lifetime of 30+ years.
To give you an idea of what could happen, here are some of the problems that we have seen can occur with an uneven base:
At Wood Wizards HQ, we advise that a concrete base provides a consistently even and solid surface, which will keep even the largest and heaviest of our garden building stable and correctly supported for many years.
You can choose to sit your garden building on Flagstone, hardcore or sleepers but a concrete base is what we strongly advise.
When deciding where you want your garden building to go, you need to be mindful of the following:
For our buildings, we recommend around 75mm-100mm in concrete thickness and sited on earth with a suitable hardcore. Try to ensure the base sits around 50mm above the ground, to give extra elevation, away from soil that could rot the timber.
If you already have a concrete base in place, or if you are getting a local builder to lay the base for you, we recommend that the base is made using the metric size of the building going on top of it to allow rainwater to run straight off the building's roof and into the surrounding garden.
This will minimise water standing around the lower timbers of the building, which is something that would eventually lead to damp problems (please see French drain recommendation above).
Please ensure that the base is within 5mm of level before delivery of your building, even if a professional has done the job for you.