Why gravel works
Water is what kills sheds. A slab can hold puddles against the bottom rail; bare soil wicks damp straight into the floor. A pad of crushed stone lets rain drain away underneath, keeps the floor frame up in the air, and spreads the weight evenly so the shed stays square and the doors keep closing.
It's also cheaper and more forgiving than concrete. If you get a corner a little low, you rake more stone in. Try that with a slab.
When gravel isn't the right answer: on ground that drops more than about 12 inches across the footprint, or for a heavy workshop with a wood stove or machinery. Those need a raised timber platform or a slab, which we'll cover in separate guides.
The steps
These measurements are for an 8 × 10 ft shed. The pad is one foot bigger than the shed on every side, so 10 × 12 ft, which gives roof drips somewhere to land and leaves you room to work.
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Check the rules and pick the spot
Call your local building office and ask two things: do you need a permit for a shed this size, and how far must it be from boundaries and the house? Many places exempt small sheds, but setback rules still apply.
Then call 811 (or your local utility locating service) at least a few working days before you dig. It's free, and hitting a buried cable with a spade is not.
Pick the highest, flattest spot you can, away from where water pools after rain, with at least 2 ft of space behind the shed so you can reach the back wall to treat it.
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Mark out the pad with string lines
Hammer in a stake at each corner of a 10 × 12 ft rectangle, then set string lines a few inches outside them on batter boards or extra stakes so they don't get in the way of digging.
Square it with the 3-4-5 rule: measure 3 ft along one string and 4 ft along the other from the same corner. When the diagonal between those marks is exactly 5 ft, the corner is square. Double-check by measuring both diagonals of the whole rectangle; they should match.
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Dig out the turf and level the ground
Strip the turf and dig out the topsoil to about 4 inches deep across the whole rectangle. Topsoil is soft and full of roots; you want firm subsoil underneath.
Rake the bottom roughly level. Use a long straight board with a level on top to find high spots. On a gentle slope, dig the high side deeper rather than building up the low side.
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Build and level the timber frame
Lay four 4 × 6 pressure-treated timbers rated for ground contact around the edge of the hole, on their wide face. Screw the corners together with two long structural screws each.
Level the frame all the way round, packing gravel under low spots or scraping soil from high ones. Check the diagonals again. Then drill through each timber near the corners and midpoints and drive 24-inch lengths of rebar through into the ground so the frame can't creep.
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Lay landscape fabric
Line the hole with woven landscape fabric, running it up the inside faces of the frame. It stops weeds and, more importantly, stops the stone being slowly pushed down into the soil.
Overlap any joins by at least 12 inches. Staple the edges to the inside of the timbers so it stays put while you fill.
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Add the gravel in layers and compact it
Use angular crushed stone, around ¾ inch, not rounded pea gravel. Angular pieces lock together when compacted; round ones roll around like marbles.
Spread the stone in two layers of about 2 to 3 inches each. Run a plate compactor over each layer, two or three passes, before adding the next. Compacting in one thick layer leaves the bottom loose, and loose stone settles under the shed later.
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Screed it level and set the shed
Drag a straight board across the top of the frame to level the stone flush with the timbers. Fill low spots, compact again, and check with your level in several directions.
The shed's floor skids or bearers should sit on the stone, not the timber frame. With the base flat and firm, your doors will hang true and your floor will stay dry.
Materials and tools
For a 10 × 12 ft pad under an 8 × 10 ft shed. Tick things off as you gather them; the list remembers your ticks in this browser.
Example picks
Example products to show how recommendations appear on Shed World. They're placeholders, not endorsements, and the links don't go anywhere yet.
Woven polypropylene landscape fabric, 4 ft × 50 ft roll
Woven rather than the cheaper non-woven felt, because it holds up to stone being raked and compacted on top of it. One roll covers a 10 × 12 pad with overlaps to spare.
Check price (affiliate link)Structural wood screws, 10 in, box of 12
Driven with an ordinary drill, no pre-drilling, and they hold the frame corners tighter than nails. You'll use eight and have spares for the shed floor.
Check price (affiliate link)What it costs
Typical price ranges we found in US home centres and stone yards, autumn 2026. Stone and delivery vary most from place to place, so phone a local yard for a quote.
| Item | Quantity | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 6 ground-contact timbers | 4 | $90 | $150 |
| ½ in rebar, cut lengths | 10 | $20 | $35 |
| Structural screws | 1 box | $25 | $40 |
| Woven landscape fabric | 1 roll | $20 | $40 |
| ¾ in crushed stone | ~2 tons | $70 | $140 |
| Stone delivery | 1 load | $60 | $120 |
| Plate compactor rental | Half day | $50 | $90 |
| Total | $335 | $615 | |
Already own a level, shovels and a drill? These figures assume you do. If you can collect stone in a trailer, you'll save the delivery charge.
Questions people ask
How deep should a gravel shed base be?
About 4 inches of compacted stone for a typical garden shed on firm soil. On soft or clay ground, go to 6 inches and compact in three layers.
What kind of gravel is best?
Angular crushed stone around ¾ inch. Some yards call it #57 stone or clean crushed stone. Avoid pea gravel: it's rounded, so it never locks together and the shed can shift.
Do I really need the timber frame?
It's what keeps the stone from spreading out sideways over time, and it gives you a level edge to screed against. Without it, the edges of the pad slowly slump and the shed corners drop.
Can the shed sit straight on the gravel?
Yes, as long as the shed has pressure-treated skids or bearers under the floor. They hold the floor up so air can move underneath. If your kit shed's floor sits flat with no bearers, add a row of treated 4 × 4s first.
Will this work on a sloping garden?
On a gentle slope, yes: dig into the high side and use a deeper timber on the low side, or stack two timbers. Beyond about 12 inches of fall across the pad, a raised timber platform is usually simpler.