Foundations - Why not Concrete?

Many of our garden rooms are installed using groundscrews, which will always be our footing of choice if the ground quality permits. Groundscrews are growing ever more popular in the industry, now commonly used for industrial buildings and even flats.

So what is so clever about them?

There are a number of stages involved in installing a concrete base. First you have to excavate and muckaway about 6 inches of soil, turf, or whatever the ground consists of there. This often results in mixed waste which is expensive to dispose of. You then need to install accurate shuttering around the perimeter, and compact down several inches of hard core. After this you pour and level the concrete, which can either be ready mixed or mixed on site. All of this usually involves plant machinery such as diggers and dumpers, piles of waste, and deliveries of bulk aggregate. There is often mess and sometimes damage to existing turf from tracking machines across, and the process typically takes a minimum of 2 days.

Groundscrews provide a much simpler option. Once you have marked out the screw positions and set a laser for height, you simply wind the screws in to the desired depth and bolt the timber base straight on top. This takes less than a day and makes zero impact on the surrounding landscape.

It's not to say we can't use a concrete base for a garden room. A lot of clients prefer to do their own base, and providing we have a flat and level surface to work with that's no problem. It's worth chatting it through first though as there are some easy ways to ensure the water run-off works correctly.