How To Secure a Plastic Shed To The Ground
Having a shed in your yard is great for extra storage, but metal and woodsheds can be expensive. Thankfully, there are plastic sheds available too, that are inexpensive.
However, when you install a shed in your yard, you need to anchor it to the ground. So, how do you anchor a plastic shed to the ground?
There are many options you can use to anchor your plastic shed to the ground. The most recommended is to use augers with straps and brackets with bolts. It’s ideal to use these two methods together to ensure your plastic shed is fully secured and isn’t going anywhere.
How do you install augers with straps and brackets with bolts onto a plastic shed?
Why should you always anchor your shed to the ground? What are the considerations you need to keep in mind when choosing an anchor option for your shed? Let’s find out!
The Best Ways To Secure Plastic Sheds To The Ground
Installing a shed in your garden can be an exciting thing, as you will finally have that extra storage space you’ve been craving that won’t clutter up your home. Sheds come in many different material options, with plastic being one of the most popular.
Plastic sheds are lightweight and fairly easy to install. However, when installing your plastic shed, you need to anchor it to the ground to ensure it is fully secured.
Unfortunately, you can’t just unload it from the delivery truck and place your plastic shed on grass without first building a base.
You need to secure it to the ground as you never know what nature will throw at your shed and the last thing you want is for it to be blown away. Anchoring plastic sheds to the ground can be tricky as screws might not hold as well on this material compared to wood or metal.
Thankfully, there are several methods you can choose from to get the job done. You might even want to use multiple ways to ensure your shed is anchored properly and won’t go anywhere.
Depending on their size, there are regulations about how many anchors sheds need in some areas. So, you will need to check with local authorities to determine how many anchors your specific shed requires.
Here are ways you can anchor your plastic shed to the ground:
These industry-standard anchoring methods are relatively easy to install and will keep your plastic shed in place. It is a good idea, as mentioned, to use more than one method, though.
Step-By-Step Process Of Securing Plastic Sheds To The Ground
In this step-by-step process, we will look at installing augers with straps and bolts with brackets as anchors to a plastic shed with a concrete foundation.
First, you will need to purchase the equipment required for the job. You should easily find everything you need at your local hardware store.
- Large L-shaped brackets that will fit comfortably to the angle of the shed wall and the ground, about 8 of them.
- You will need bolts that fit into these brackets; with each bracket taking two bolts, you will need 16 bolts.
- At least four augers and two straps that can reach over the roof of your shed to the ground on both sides easily.
Once you have this equipment, you can begin anchoring your plastic shed.
Step 1 –
Take a bracket and line it up on one of the shed walls, close to a corner. Mark the holes on the concrete and the shed wall. You will need to do this in each corner of the shed so that there are two brackets on each wall.
Step 2 –
Drill the holes in the areas you have marked on the concrete and shed walls. Ensure you use the right-sized drill bit for the bolts you have.
Step 3 –
Once all the holes have been drilled, place the brackets in place and securely bolt each of them down. Ideally, you should use an impact driver with an appropriately sized socket to fasten the bolt.
Step 4 –
Next, you will need to create holes in the concrete for the augers. All augers are different, so you will need to follow the instructions your specific augers have come with to install them. You will install two augers on each side of your shed. One closer to the back corner and one closer to the front corner.
Step 5 –
Feed the strap into one of the augers and throw the remaining piece of the strap over your shed.
Step 6 –
Go to the other side of the shed and feed the other side of the strap through the adjacent auger on the other side of the shed, and pull it tight, but not too tight to damage your shed.
Step 7 –
Follow steps 5 and 6 with the other strap and two augers. If you follow these few steps, your shed should be perfectly secure and anchored down to the ground.
Note, using the augers and straps and the blots and brackets, you can ensure that your plastic shed is not going anywhere, even if a large gust of wind rolls through your yard.
Do You Need To Anchor Plastic Sheds To The Ground?
When installing a plastic shed in your garden, it can be easy to skirt around the rules and recommendations slightly when it comes to anchoring your shed to the ground correctly.
You might think you’ll get to it later, or maybe that it’s not really necessary, but this type of thinking can cause you problems down the line. There are several reasons why you need to anchor your plastic shed to the ground as soon as you have installed it.
If you don’t anchor your plastic shed, this can lead to many different problems that can cost you time and money later on. It’s better to take a little bit of extra time and money to secure your plastic shed to the ground.
Let’s go through why you should always secure your plastic shed in place and what problems you can avoid if you do, so you can always be sure you are making the right decision anchoring your shed in place.
Increases Safety
The main reason people install plastic sheds in their garden is to have a place to store their garden tools safely. A shed will help keep your garden tools in one place and easy to find, and it will help protect your tools from the outdoor elements.
Garden tools should not be kept outdoors if you want them to last a long time before they need to be replaced. If you purchase a big enough plastic shed, you will most likely also use your shed to store other bigger, more expensive items that you don’t want standing outdoors, like bicycles.
Keeping your garden tools and other items inside your plastic shed will also protect them from your kids, so your kids cannot play with them and possibly get injured.
Having your garden tools out the way will also decrease the chances of someone accidentally tripping over the tool and injuring themselves. However, when you have a plastic shed, the safety of your tools should not be your only priority.
You need to ensure the plastic shed is safe by anchoring it to the ground properly. Many people think that the items inside the shed will help keep the shed anchored in place, but this is dangerous thinking.
If you live in areas with frequent heavy thunderstorms with fast winds or in hurricane areas, you especially need to anchor your plastic shed to the ground.
If you don’t anchor your plastic shed to the ground, it will blow away and possibly damage your property or neighbors’ property, causing you even bigger problems than just losing your items and shed.
So, securing your plastic shed to the ground will keep your family and those who live around you safe from any possible harm from a shed that’s being blown around.
Improves Strength And Stability Of The Shed
If you want to store expensive items in your shed, you need to have the plastic shed anchored to the ground. When you anchor the shed to the ground, using whichever method you choose from this article will help increase the strength of the shed’s structure.
When you anchor the shed to the ground, it makes the plastic shed more robust and less prone to damage from the weather. This is essential to keep expensive equipment, and items in your plastic shed safe.
This is especially true for a plastic shed, as plastic is a light material vulnerable to damage from even the lightest thunderstorm. So, it’s much more necessary to anchor a plastic shed to the ground than other sheds as it can help improve the overall integrity of the shed itself.
Protects Against Possible Wind Damage
If you reside in a location with crazy gusts of wind and heavy thunderstorms, you need to anchor your plastic shed to the ground to ensure it’s secure and stays in place no matter what comes its way.
The very last thing you need is to have your shed damaged by the wind in your area, or worse, have your shed damage someone else’s property due to a large or unexpected windstorm.
If you are new in the neighborhood and want to install a plastic shed in your new garden, you need to look online for the wind charts of your area. This will give you the wind rating in your area and give you a clear sense of certain laws in your location regarding sheds.
There are laws and regulations regarding the installation of a shed in your garden in certain locations. In some areas with high winds, you might need a permit to install your plastic shed.
Finding the wind rating for your area will help you determine if you need a permit for your shed and any other security requirements you will need to follow. However, one requirement you will have is to anchor your plastic shed to the ground.
Anchoring Plastic Sheds Is Needed For Insurance Purposes
This is another great reason you need to anchor your plastic shed to the ground. Keeping your plastic shed properly secured to the ground can help you save a large amount of money in the long run.
The very last thing you want is to deal with insurance companies when you can avoid it, and keeping your shed secured to the ground is a good way to avoid it. Property damage costs have climbed sharply in recent years.
So, if your plastic shed is not anchored to the ground properly and a hurricane or large gust of wind comes through, causing your shed to damage someone else’s property, it can become a costly event for you.
If you don’t secure your plastic shed to the ground properly, you might not be able to get insurance for it, as the insurance companies will think it’s a liability. Based on the insurance company you choose, you might also have some other protection precautions you will need to follow to get cover from them.
So, it’s best to go the extra mile and get your plastic shed anchored to the ground properly, as it will protect you, your family, and your property, but it could save you a lot of money later.
Considerations When Choosing An Anchor Option
So, now you know how to install anchors on your plastic shed to keep it safe and secure and why doing this is a great idea and will save you money in the future.
That said, there are a few considerations you need to go through before deciding which anchors to use on your shed.
These considerations are important as they can affect the strength of your shed and what your shed can withstand when mother nature decides to flair up.
So, let’s take a closer look at these considerations to help you choose the correct anchor options for your plastic shed.
The Size Of Your Plastic Shed
The first thing that will determine which anchors you should use for your plastic shed and how many anchors you will need is the size of your plastic shed. If your shed is 1.5m x 0.78m to 3m x 0.78m, you should have at least eight anchors in your shed to secure it in place.
If your shed is 2.25m x 1.5 to 3m x 1.5m, you will need at least 12 anchors for your plastic shed. If your shed size is between 3m x 2.25 and 3m x 3m, you will need 14 anchors to secure your shed. You will need 16 anchors or more for your shed at any size bigger than this.
You might only require a few brackets and bolts to keep your shed anchored to the ground when you have a small shed. However, if you have a large shed, you will require more than this and possibly need to use multiple anchor types to keep your shed secured.
Location Of The Shed
The location of your shed will also determine the type of anchors you can use to keep your shed safe.
For example, if one side of your shed is close to a garden fence or your house wall, you cannot use the augers and straps method to anchor your shed as there is no space for the augers on one side of the shed.
In a case like this, it would be easier to use brackets and bolts to secure your shed to the ground as you can install the brackets and bolts inside the shed, eliminating the need to access that side of the shed close to the obstruction.
The Climate You Reside In
When you are installing a shed in your garden and are looking for a method to anchor the shed to the ground, you need to account for the weather in your area.
If you are located in a stormy region or receive heavy thunderstorms or hurricanes, you will need to secure your shed to the ground better by using more anchors than if you don’t live in these areas.
You don’t want a burst of wind to take your shed, so you will need to overcompensate with your anchors by using more than you need to for the size of your shed. You should also use multiple methods to anchor your shed to ensure it’s not going anywhere no matter what happens.
The Shed Base You Have
The type of shed base you have will also dictate what anchors you can use for your shed. There are several shed bases, including concrete paving slabs, concrete, plastic grids, wooden frames, wooden battens, and more.
The one you have for your shed will influence the anchors you can use, as the anchors that work well with concrete won’t be as successful when used on plastic grids.
If your shed has plastic grids or wooded bases, you must use multiple anchor methods to ensure your shed stays secure. While with the other bases, you might get away with only one anchor method.
The Bottom Line
Anchoring your plastic shed to the ground will require more work than anchoring a wooden or metal shed, but it can still be done.
Plus, considering the cost to build a shed, it’s worth the extra effort, and it’s a relatively easy process if you follow the steps provided in this article.
There are several anchoring methods you can choose from, and all of them are pretty easy to install.
You should always anchor your plastic shed to the ground no matter where you live, as it can save you from many problems later. Good luck anchoring your plastic shed!
