Shed, garage and carport slabs in Ferntree Gully

Backyard sheds on suburban blocks

Ferntree Gully's original blocks are generous by today's standards, and many owners use the back yard for a garage, workshop, carport, garden shed or home office. Each needs a level, well-drained slab that matches the building.

Square, level and to the drawings

Steel sheds and garages are made to exact dimensions. If the slab is out of square, or the bolts are in the wrong place, the frame never sits right. We set out from the supplier's engineering, check diagonals, and fix bolts or brackets using templates.

Benching a pad on a slope

Back yards in Ferntree Gully often slope, sometimes steeply toward the hills. A level shed pad may need a cut on the high side, fill on the low side and a retaining wall to hold the cut. We plan the pad, wall and drainage together so water from above does not run into the shed.

Edge beams and footings

Most shed engineering calls for thickened edges and pads under the portal frame columns. We dig them to the drawings and place the steel shown.

Floor finishes

A smooth steel-trowelled floor suits garages, workshops and storage. A light broom finish suits carports and aprons where grip matters. If you plan an epoxy coating later, tell us so the surface is finished to suit.

Carports

Carport slabs need footings for the posts and falls toward the street or a drain. If the carport will later be enclosed as a garage, we can allow for that now.

Aprons and drainage

An apron in front of each door, set slightly lower and falling away, stops water entering. Roof water should be piped to a tank or stormwater, not left to soak the ground beside the slab.

Access to back yards

Many back yards are reached only through a side gate. A line pump can deliver concrete over or around the house without trucks crossing the lawn.

Permits

Garages, carports and larger sheds usually need a building permit in Knox, and siting rules apply near boundaries. We pour to the approved drawings.

Garden sheds and small structures

Smaller garden sheds, cubby houses and water tank bases still benefit from a level slab that keeps the floor dry and the frame off the dirt.

Common problems we fix

Shed slabs cracked across the middle with no joints, edges broken by door traffic, floors that hold water, and slabs out of square are the usual call-outs. Each comes back to set-out, base and joints.

Quotes

Send the shed drawings and a few photos of the site and access, and we will visit and send a written, itemised quote.

Reading the shed engineering

Shed suppliers provide drawings showing slab size, thickness, edge beams and the footing locations for each post. Some sheds bolt to the slab; others need pier footings poured with the slab. We follow those drawings exactly, because the engineering depends on wind and load calculations for your site.

Setting the slab height

A shed slab should sit above the surrounding ground so water flows away from it. On sloping blocks, that means excavating at the high side and building up at the low side, often with a small retaining wall. We set the height so rain from the roof and the hillside cannot run into the door.

Garage and carport slabs

Garage slabs carry cars, so thickness and steel are set for vehicle loads, with a gentle fall toward the door and a step-down or rebate for the roller door. Carports need footings for the posts and a slab that drains away from the house.

Workshops and hobby sheds

Workshops benefit from a smooth, steel-trowelled finish that is easy to sweep and roll equipment across. Conduits for power can be laid in the slab before the pour. A floor coating can be added later.

Access for small backyard sheds

Many sheds go in back yards with no truck access. We barrow, pump or use small equipment depending on the site, and protect lawns and paths along the way.

Aprons and paths to the shed

An apron at the front of the shed and a path from the house make it more usable year-round, especially in wet winters.

Garden and storage sheds

Even small garden sheds benefit from a proper slab rather than pavers on sand, which shift and let water in.

Tank and equipment pads

Rainwater tanks, heat pumps and pool equipment need level, well-supported pads. A full tank is very heavy, so the pad must be built on a compacted base sized to the tank.

Timing with the shed builder

We coordinate with your shed supplier so the slab is ready and cured when the shed arrives.

Common shed slab mistakes we fix

We often replace shed slabs poured too thin, without steel, without enough fall or with the wrong dimensions for the shed kit. A shed that does not sit square on its slab is difficult to build and lets water in. Measuring twice against the drawings and checking the slab is square before pouring avoids these problems.

Large garages and double-height sheds

Bigger garages for caravans, boats and motorhomes need thicker slabs, bigger edge beams and wider aprons. Engineering is usually required, along with a building permit. We coordinate with the shed supplier and building surveyor.

Drainage around sheds

Roof water from a shed should be collected and piped to a tank or the stormwater system rather than dumped beside the slab. We can install the pipework when we pour.

Foothill ground, rain and councils

Ferntree Gully sits where the Knox plains run up into the Dandenong Ranges. Below the lawns on the lower streets you usually find heavy grey and orange clay that holds water through winter and splits open in a hot February. Higher up toward Upper Ferntree Gully, Upwey and The Basin, the soil is a stony, brown hillside clay over weathered rock, and the slopes send a surprising amount of water downhill every time it rains. Old cut-and-fill from earlier house builds adds another variable. We dig a test hole on every property, take the soft material out, rebuild with compacted crushed rock chosen for what we found, and shape the surface so water always has somewhere to go.

Inside your own boundary, most driveways, paths and patios need no permit. The crossover, kerb and council footpath always do, and that consent comes from Knox City Council for most of our area or the Shire of Yarra Ranges for Upwey and parts of Upper Ferntree Gully, Lysterfield and The Basin fringe. House slabs, large garages and many retaining walls go through a building surveyor with engineering. Bushfire and vegetation overlays affect parts of the hills. Your quote names whatever applies.

What our Ferntree Gully quotes spell out

You will not get a single number scribbled on a business card. Our written quote breaks the job into the pieces that actually drive the outcome: the area in square metres, breaking out and disposing of whatever is there now, how far down we dig, the class and depth of crushed rock, slab thickness and the steel inside it, the finish or stone blend you chose, the joint plan, each drain, pit and length of pipe, step and edge work, sealing, and any Knox or Yarra Ranges paperwork. If the site needs a line pump, a long barrow run or protection for a neighbour's driveway, that is listed too.

We keep square-metre rates off this website on purpose. In the foothills, the work hidden below the finished surface varies hugely between two blocks in the same street: one might be firm and flat, the next steep, wet and full of old fill. Pricing sight unseen means guessing, and a guess ends up either padded or short. After a visit we can price the real job.