The shed in the video at the bottom of this page was in fairly good condition. The only problem was that the floor had gone rotten. The surrounding ground had built up with leaves and dirt. This fed water in underneath on top of the concrete base. As with nearly all shed companies, they don’t think about the long term effects of not installing a damp proof membrane (DPM). Consequently the bearers were constantly sitting in water. This not only causes rot but also rising damp which caused the floor boarding to rot as well.
Damp proofing
Damp proof course (DPC) under each bearer is very cheap and will stop rising damp. However it isn’t the best solution in most cases. That is because lying water on the base only needs to be 2mm deep to get on top of the DPC. Therefore you are back to square one and the bearer is sitting in a puddle and rotting.
DPM is the best all round solution as it is a complete membrane under the whole floor. The way Hortons install it means that there are no edges at ground level. Therefore it doesn’t matter if the base is constantly wet because the water is always underneath the DPM and the timber stays dry.
The floors we install are Tanalised (pressure treated) and usually much stronger than the original floors as well. The floor bearers are 45x45mm at 400mm spacings with 18mm Tanalised tongue and groove floor boards on top.
Hortons process of replacing a shed floor
We have specialist equipment that lifts the whole building “as one”. This keeps it all “in plane” – no skewing or ricking the building by lifting and wedging up one corner at a time. This method stresses the roof / roofing felt and could damage the walls as well).
Not only did we replace the floor, but we added a full damp proof membrane. The DPM wraps up and over the floor so no cut edges are at ground level. And so no water get in contact with any part of the floor. Now it can flood all around the shed and the timbers will stay perfectly dry.
If you have a perfectly good shed apart from the floor then it is economic for Hortons to replace the floor. Contact us stating the size of your shed and ask us for a price. You will see that a new floor (rather than a new shed) is cost effective.
