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How much does a concrete shed base cost?
In Cheshire, a concrete shed base price depends on the size, the access, what is dug out and whether a shed is included. This page does not print a figure, because we could not find two dated public sources that agree on one.
Last reviewed:A slab is not a price for "a base"
In Cheshire a concrete shed base is groundwork a quote should describe in metres and in lines, not as a single phrase. The gardens this guide is written for first are in Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach. People elsewhere in the UK can post a job too. This page does not tell you how to pour the concrete. QuoteZila is new, so how many quotes you get depends on how many businesses near you have joined [QZ5].
Say whether you want the slab only, or the slab and a shed. A concrete rectangle with no building is a different paper from a package that includes a timber building, a door and a window. If you mix those papers you will think one firm is far cheaper when they have simply left the building out.
Limits that change whether the job can stay as permitted development
The Planning Portal's outbuildings guidance is the source for the limits below. They apply to sheds and similar buildings, and this page is using them so a base-and-shed quote can be questioned. They are not a method for pouring concrete.
The building should not sit forward of the principal elevation [S1]. It should be single storey [S1]. Eaves should be no higher than 2.5 metres [S1]. Overall height should be no higher than 4 metres for a dual-pitched roof, or 3 metres for any other roof [S1]. Within 2 metres of a boundary, the overall height should be no higher than 2.5 metres [S1]. Verandas, balconies and raised platforms are not allowed, and a platform must not exceed 0.3 metres [S1]. No more than half the area of land around the original house should be covered by additions and outbuildings [S1].
The Planning Portal says that in National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites, the area covered by buildings more than 20 metres from the house is limited to 10 square metres [S1]. On designated land, which that page says includes those places and conservation areas, outbuildings at the side of the house need permission [S1]. Any outbuilding in the curtilage of a listed building needs permission [S1].
The original house means the house as first built, or as it was on 1 July 1948 if it was built before then [S1]. If you do not know which extensions count, say that in the post. Do not let the contractor guess so the quote looks simpler.
Building regulations are a separate question
Planning permission and building regulations approval are different, and you might need both [S3]. The Planning Portal says building regulations will not normally apply to a small detached shed or summerhouse when the floor area is less than 15 square metres and nobody sleeps in it [S2]. The same page says the planning rules for outbuildings also apply to sheds [S2]. Turning a garage into habitable rooms normally needs building regulations approval [S2]. A shed base is not that project unless you are actually converting a garage. If you are, say so, and do not price it as a garden slab.
If you cannot tell whether approval is needed, check a building control body [S3]. You do not have to arrange approval yourself where a competent person scheme covers the work [S3]. The GOV.UK page is building regulations approval [S3].
GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
What the quote should measure
| Line | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| Length and width | The slab must match the building you named |
| Depth and what is dug out | Soil leaving the garden is a line of its own |
| Access | A barrow through the house is not a wagon on the drive |
| Shed included or not | A building is not assumed |
| Height assumed | Eaves 2.5 metres and the roof limits above [S1] |
| Floor area | Less than 15 square metres is the Planning Portal's normal exclusion from building regulations, and only if nobody sleeps there [S2] |
| Distance to the boundary | Within 2 metres, overall height is capped at 2.5 metres [S1] |
| VAT | Threshold £90,000 [S4] |
Do not dig the garden yourself to "prove the depth". Do not break out an old base beside a neighbour's footing to save a visit. If the work would be excavation near to and below the foundation level of a neighbouring building, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 can cover that excavation, and the Act is separate from planning and from building regulations [S5]. A shallow pad in the middle of a lawn may not be that excavation. Ask the contractor to say which they think it is, rather than folding a legal job into a slab price.
Reading the paper
Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is only a rough guess, so do not rely on a verbal figure [S6]. Get written quotes from at least 3 traders if you can [S6]. Some traders charge to write a quote, so ask first [S6]. Once you accept, you have a binding agreement [S6]. The paper should show a fixed total, a breakdown, how long the price lasts, whether VAT is included, and when the price can rise [S6].
A business must register for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or when it expects to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days [S4].
A daily rate can stretch the dig. If time is the basis, ask for days and hours in writing [S6]. Where a deposit cannot be avoided, do not agree more than 25%, take a receipt, and prefer a card to cash for the whole job before the hole is open [S6]. You can offer to buy materials yourself instead of a deposit [S6].
If an advert says there is no call-out charge, the Advertising Standards Authority says the claim is fair only when there is no charge for travelling to the premises, the initial diagnosis, or any other charge before you agree the work [S7]. A site visit to pace the garden can be that fee.
Ask to see insurance that covers the dates of the dig [S6]. A much lower price may mean the work is not the same work [S6].
What "ready for the shed" should mean
A base quote should say what the shed maker is expecting to stand on. Some buildings arrive with a floor. Some expect the slab to be the floor. If your paper does not say which, you can pay for a slab and then find the building needs a timber floor that nobody priced. Ask the quote to use the words "slab only" or "slab is the floor", and to name the length and width the building needs, not a round number that sounded convenient.
Levels matter as much as area. A slab that slopes toward the house, or toward a neighbour's path, is a different outcome from a slab that sheds water the way you described. You do not have to design the fall. You do have to ask them to write where the water is supposed to go, and to keep a new drain out of the total unless you asked for one. A French drain or a soakaway beside the slab is another trade's paper.
Access through the house is a common Cheshire terrace problem, and it should be priced as itself. Protecting floors, taking a door off, or waiting because a fridge blocks the hall are lines. A price that says "access as required" has not said whether those lines are in. Ask for them to be in or explicitly out before you accept [S6].
If an old shed is still standing, say who dismantles it and who takes the timber. Leaving a rotten floor for you is a way to make a base look cheap. Concrete from a previous base is heavy. Ask whether it stays as the foundation or leaves the garden. Those are not the same dig.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- A slab 2.4 metres by 1.8 metres at the back of the garden, more than 2 metres from the boundary as far as you have measured, shed not included. Ask the quote to confirm those sizes and to leave the building out. The 2.4 and 1.8 figures are your measurements, not a published rate.
- A shed and a base together. You do not know the floor area. Ask the firm to state the floor area and the eaves height against the Planning Portal limits, and to say if they think permission is needed [S1].
- An old paved patch where a new slab might go. You have not broken the paving out. Ask who removes it, and ask them to say whether the neighbour's wall is close enough that the dig needs a separate conversation [S5].
Builders and landscapers are the trade pages. A French drain or a soakaway is not a shed base. If the quote adds one, split it off.
How to compare two base quotes
Match length, width, depth, waste and whether a building is included. Then match the height they have assumed. Two slabs of the same area with different eaves stories are not the same outbuilding. Be wary of a trader who will not write it down [S6].
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
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Questions about shed bases
How much does a concrete shed base cost in Cheshire?
Size, depth, access, waste and whether the shed itself is in the quote all change the total. Compare written quotes that use the same length, the same width and the same statement about the building, so a slab-only paper is not set beside a slab and a shed.
Does a shed base need planning permission?
The Planning Portal sets permitted-development limits for outbuildings such as sheds, and a base that is sold with a shed should be checked against those limits. This page does not tell you that your plot qualifies. If the base is forward of the principal elevation, or the building would break a height or area limit, ask the council before you accept a dig.
When do building regulations apply to a shed?
The Planning Portal says building regulations will not normally apply to a small detached shed or summerhouse if the floor area is less than 15 square metres and the building is not used for sleeping. A garage conversion into habitable space normally does need approval. A slab quoted on its own is not that conversion. If you cannot tell, check a building control body.
What height limits should the quote respect?
For permitted development, the Planning Portal says an outbuilding must be single storey, with eaves no higher than 2.5 metres, an overall height no higher than 4 metres for a dual-pitched roof or 3 metres for another roof, and no higher than 2.5 metres if it is within 2 metres of a boundary. A raised platform must not exceed 0.3 metres. Ask the quote to state the heights it assumes.
What is the original house?
The Planning Portal says the original house is the house as it was first built, or as it stood on 1 July 1948 if it was built before that date. Outbuildings and extensions added since then can count against the rule that no more than half the land around the original house is covered. Your quote cannot invent that history. If you do not know it, say so.
Does QuoteZila check builders?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Can I post a shed base?
Yes. Give the length and width, say whether a shed is included, and add a Cheshire postcode. Up to five matched local businesses can quote. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses.
Related reading
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Related pages
- Conservatory Roof Insulation: Cheshire Guide. Conservatory roof insulation in Cheshire covers a lining, an inner panel or a new build-up. Compare quotes for the same roof and the same inside finish.
- Conservatory Roof Work in Cheshire: What to Ask. Replacing a conservatory roof in Cheshire means the covering on a room that is already standing. Compare quotes that say whether the frame and the walls stay.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and jobs copy.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms, customers.
- QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ.
- S1: Outbuildings, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/outbuildings/
- S2: Outbuildings: planning and building regulations, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/home-improvement/project-advice/project-advice-outbuildings/planning-permission-and-building-regulations/
- S3: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
- S4: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S5: Party Wall etc Act 1996 guidance, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls
- S6: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S7: Call-out charges, Advertising Standards Authority. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/call-out-charges.html