Float a Timber Base on Concreted Steel Legs So the Frame Never Touches Ground

The Problem

A timber base sitting on or near grade is on a countdown — ground contact keeps the underside damp, and damp wood with no airflow rots regardless of treatment. The usual escapes are a poured slab or a ground-screw system, both of which cost more money and labor than a garden building may justify, and neither of which forgives a sloping site gracefully.

The Technique

This garden-room builder sets the timber base on galvanized steel legs instead:

1. Dig a hole where each leg lands.
2. Frame the timber base first, and set it up on temporary blocks, roughly level, with the legs hanging in their holes.
3. Concrete the legs into the holes with the frame still on its blocks.
4. Once the concrete is in, fine-tune the frame to dead level using the legs' screw adjustment, then bolt the frame to the legs through the provided holes.

The result is a base elevated clear of the soil on every side. Air moves under and around the timber, so it dries after every rain — no ground contact, no trapped moisture. The leg heights absorb whatever slope the site has.