Planning the Installation of a Garden Permanent Structure
If you’re planning the installation of a shed, hot tub or any other form of permanent equipment to your garden, then it’s essential to prepare the ground beforehand if you’re to avoid disasters in the long run.
Choosing a Site
When introducing permanent structure to your garden you need to carefully consider the ground you’re hoping to place it on. Whether it’s a shed, hot tub, permanent BBQ structure, or anything else, the same rules apply.
First you should try to find an area where the ground can easily be levelled which means avoiding rocky or sloping areas.
If you’re looking to make the process as easy as possible, try to find an area that’s already pretty level – this will save you a lot of time and hard work before you start your construction.
Repairs & Maintenance
Contrary to popular belief, you can’t expect to erect a shed or hot tub and not have to perform any kind of maintenance throughout the year. In order to be able to ensure access for essential maintenance, all sides should be free and accessible.
Avoid placing structures close to trees, bushes or plants that will need regular pruning. Not only will it be difficult to access these areas, over grown bushes and overhanging branches are common causes of damage to hot tubs and shed roofs.
You should also avoid any boggy areas of your garden too as eventually this could cause mould or rotting to wooden structures.
Mains Lines
It’s always worth bearing in mind the positioning of electric and water supplies when positioning any permanent structure in your garden because if you require running water or electricity then you’ll need to run lines to the area.
Placement
You should consider how the placement of any permanent structure will affect your garden as a whole and also your neighbours.
The entrance to your shed is likely to become a high traffic area and as a consequence, bald spots could appear if you do not take the right precautions to prevent this. Grass protection mats are the perfect choice for areas like this. They’re strong and flexible with a critical fall height of 3.3m. As well as this, their cellular structure enables and maintains natural drainage routes – which helps prevent a build-up of surface water – and, what’s more, once the grass has been allowed to grow through the grids, you won’t even know they’re there and a natural appearance will be maintained throughout the year.
Our rubber grass mats protect each blade at the root which means that despite an increase in traffic, you can be sure your grass will remain looking luscious and healthy.
Remember to consider the impact your structure will have on your neighbours, if it will block their view or cause disruption in the position you’ve chosen then you may want to re-think if you’re to avoid upsetting those around you.
Clearing & Levelling
Once you’ve decided on a suitable area and all preparations are in place you need to clear the area. Trees and shrubs either need to be removed or cut back so as to avoid imposing on the space, as for weeds, it’s imperative they’re effectively removed.
As soon as the surface is clear you need to level it out in order to avoid problems, such as warping, later on. If you’re unsure how to level ground properly then take a look at this helpful guide.
Hard-Standing
Finally, you need to build a hard standing for your shed, hot tub or structure to stand on. A lot of people opt for concrete or decking as a base, although these aren’t necessarily the best choices if you want to avoid mould or if you wanted to rearrange your garden in the future.
Our X-Grid paving panels make the perfect hard standing for a shed or hot tub base because they’re strong – able to withstand weights of 420 tonnes per square metre – they SuDs compliant and therefore reduce the risk of flooding thanks to their cellular design which enables and maintains natural drainage routes.
By using X-Grid as a base you can be sure your shed or hot tub is protected while ensuring the ground beneath is well protected too. What’s more, X-Grid is available in a number of colours and can be filled with gravel, soil and grass seed, bark and other materials to ensure a natural or decorative appearance.
