How can I cover the bottom part of our new shed?

Question

It sounds crazy but only one corner of the shed is on the ground.If I try to put anything around it to cover it up it still will not be the same height.We we told by the company that they had to add 16' to level it.It is a 12X20 shed so it sticks out like a sore thumb.We also don't want animals to be able to get under it.Excuse our yard it is a work in progress. We tore off our deck, pulled out bushes and had a tree cut down.Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Tammy · Answer

If you built up a flower bed around it you would be able to adjust the height along it to appear level.

DerrickAlissa Bales · Answer

Add mesh gateing, then bushes, flowers, roses!! No animals and looks cute!!

Elaine · Answer

I was going to say the same as Derrick. Put some sort of screening around it to keep critters out then plant shrubs around it. Consider Boxwood as a shrub because it is beautiful, classy and stays green all year, otherwise, if you plant deciduous shrubs and plants, you will be looking at that big gap when Fall/Winter comes! Boxwoods are easily trimmed if you want them a certain height plus there are smaller varieties now. If you want color, you could easily plant a few annuals amongst the Boxwoods.

Linda · Answer

I have the exact same problem with my shed! I hope more of you write in your ideas on how to solve this "look". I thought about bringing in soil to make the ground around the shed level for about 4 or 5 feet out so it would not look so lopsided, but that seems too expensive. Linda gamz1941@frontier.com.

Johnchip · Answer

The issue here is to keep out varmints. You can cut the lawn down to fit in a course (rows) of a masonry, concrete block. or landscape ties. Afterwards you can always landscape.

Diane · Answer

Chicken wire will keep the big critters from getting underneath. Then small flower bed. Or one of those storage box/benches

Michelle · Answer

I agree wth folks, chicken wire or something a little heavier, some critters can chew through chicken wire. Staple wire around the bottom edge of shed on all sides, bury the wire 3-4 inches deep, cover back wth dirt then plant shrubs

Jan Clark · Answer

Seriously, it doesn't look level! If you don't want the added work of plants 'n such, I'd head to a home store and get some fiber cement siding. Drop a few studs to attach it around the base of your shed, cut to fit and screw them in. You can paint it any color and it's just about maintenance free.

Cynthia H · Answer

Personally I would check it with a level. If it is a trick of the eye because of the slope of the yard, I would trick the eye with shrubs after enclosing the base with a boxed in foundation. As long as you can see the uneven look of its current base, it will always look ready to topple over.

Karen Merritt3 · Answer

Thank you Tammy for your advice.

Hou6529435 · Answer

We had the same problem with our new shed this year. It looked like it was floating above ground, more so in the rear (our neighbors view) than on the sides and front. We were having our yard landscaped, so the contractor volunteered to fix it and fix it on the cheap! She used the underpinning I've seen on mobile homes (I questioned it at first, but she reassured all would be okay!), but finished it in such a way were the bottom was well below the surface of the ground that no critters could get underneath it. It matched our shed perfectly and grounded it. It is beautiful! We'll landscape it next year, but honestly, if we don't get around to it, it will still be an attractive 'finished' addition with no landscaping! Good look!

Elaine · Answer

To Kmerritt3 - I'm glad you like my idea! They stay green and as I said, you can buy much smaller varieties these days if you wish. I bought a few two years at Walmart - think the variety was called 'Green Mountain' or something like that for about $4.97 each. They grew to about 24' high and only required VERY occasional trimming.

Eroque022810 · Answer

Can you get a jack like you would use in a basement if house was settling? Then if that works great if not can you excavate that area and stick another block under corner or can you at least buy enough paver and just use what you need. Because it's crooked and there is no way to make that look better right now. Then deal with critters. I have the same size shed and love it and I had a loft built like a tiny house to put seasonal stuff. My husband is like a human tornado. I clean it and he destroys it worse then our kids ever were. Anyway I have a cat that sometimes hangs out there and it's not ours but hey if it eats field mice it can hang around. I haven't had scunks nor anything else down there probably because the cat urinates to mark it as its place. I can't smell anything. Good luck but see if you can rent a jack to raise the corner again to proper height then just place pavers. Good luck.

Linda Albert · Answer

Looking at the photo, I had 2 thoughts:

1). Is the photo taken off center? ( I can see a fence post, and a telephone pole, and they BOTH appear VERTICALLY straight), just not the shed.

2). I would use a longer level, and make sure to check it VERTICALLY.

3). Never recommend the compnay who took your money, , they should be shot for leaving it like this!

Call them and ask for an Owner/Manager to visit and see for themselves.

Granted the yard isn't level, but neither is the shed!

Charly · Answer

I'm sorry but there is no way that I would have paid the company that did this! First of all, it is not level. Secondly, the right front corner looks like it is sitting on the ground. If this is correct, that side of the shed is going to absorb moisture from the ground and your shed is going to rot. I woyld definitely go after the company that did this shoddy work.

Flipturn · Answer

Agree with everyone who said that the shed is not level, because it was not installed correctly in the first place.

Attempting decorating schemes to try to disguise the unsightly bottom is only masking the real problem, and is inviting many more due to the fact that the structure is sitting directly on the ground.

You will soon have problems with rotting, moisture retention, erosion, and drainage.

Ken Hughes · Answer

Am I the only person that doesn't see a cement block on the right corner of the shed ?

looks to me like they didn't block it level ..if that's the case ..Jack that end up and place a cement block under the right corner and level

JERRY HARPER · Answer

I used a coordinating lattice to cover my bottom . . . worked very nicely.

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