Summer House Directly on top of old Concrete Shed Base? Post your questions and find answers on all garden related topics and areas

[saki]

I have removed a shed and plan to replace it with a smaller summer house. I have been left with an 8x12ft concrete base which is sound and level. Most advice I have read seems to suggest just installing summer house on top of the concrete base. I do not see how rainwater will not rot the floor if installed directly on top of the concrete base. Am I worrying over nothing or should I put sleepers on top of concrete base and install on top of them? Friend also suggested putting plastic sheeting over sleepers. Is that overkill?

TIA

[katoosh525]

Cheapest way is to lay bricks (loose, you do not need to cement them together), then a damp proof course (DPC, heavy plastic sheet you buy on rolls) on top of the course of bricks, then put the shed on top of this.
You have to lay the bricks where the shed timbers will be of course, and I suggest you cut the DPC back around the edges of the shed so it does not trap rain water coming down and get the shed timbers wet this way.

Bricks don't rot like sleepers, and your shed is now insulated from any rising water by the DPC. Easy, cheap and you can do it all yourself too.

if using Sleepers I prefer to lay them on brick pillars which are cemented and have a dpc built into them, or put on top of them. My summerhouse is done this way as I wanted the extra height for that of pillars and sleepers.