Garden shed standing - advice please

[Allshallbewell2021]

We are planning to put a slim shed down the side of our house. Our handyman says it can go on level gravel on a frame - but I thought you had to put a shed on hard standing?

I'm just interested to hear what the optimal approach is.

There are better ways, and worse ways, but there is no single way.

All you have to think about it how long you want to prevent the bottom of the shed from rotting. It will happen eventually. Gravel will help water drain away, but I'd probably put a pressure treated frame down too. That way, the frame will rot and not the bottom of the shed. Put chicken wire around the edge to discourage rodents.

Or, put a couple of courses of bricks with a DPC to lift the wood away from the damp.

We usually build sheds on frames, mainly because our garden is on quite a slope, in both directions and levelling ground is a massive undertaking. You can just level a frame with brick piers, etc.

Put chicken wire around the edge to discourage rodents.

Or build.it high enough off the ground that the local cats all hide under it. It would be a foolhardy rodent that ventured under our shed.

You need it off the ground to stop it getting damp - our old shed was on paving slabs. Our new shed is metal. It is on hard standing and has a suspended wooden floor a few cm above the real floor to prevent condensation due to the temperature difference between the metal floor, and the inside of the shed.

However you do it, I would advocate lifting a shed off the ground.