What do you want in your garden shed?
Which is the best floor for a garden shed? Poured concrete, dirt, metal? To answer this question you must consider your climate and the use f the garden shed.
A poured concrete floor is durable and need not be kept clean. It will not rust or rot. The only consideration is how deep to dig out the place for the slab, so the floor is at grade with the yard, or above grade. If the floor is level with the grade, you may have water seep beneath the door into the shed. If the sides are not snug to the slab, they also may admit water. The result will be damp, mold, mildew and rot. Not good. However, if the floor is at grade with the garden, getting the wheeled equipment in and out of the shed will be much easier. So it becomes a consideration of how much rain you get versus the strength to man-handle the mower in and out of the shed. And just one more thing, if you electrify your garden shed, standing in water is not a good thing.
One word about a dirt floor for your garden shed. It is possible that a dirt floor will work for you. You must consider rain, damp and how many things you will have to put up on palettes to keep them from rotting. But, in some climates, dirt will work (southern Arizona).
If you buy a prefabricated shed, it may some with a floor as part of the design, and the shed may require the floor to maintain its structural integrity. If so, you cannot fore go the floor, but you will need to be especially attentive to the installation instructions and recommendations for ground preparation before the shed is erected. Do anything recommended to keep the floor from rusting or rotting. If you are having the shed dealer set the shed up, talk to the dealer and the installation people about this before you start. Having the floor rot out from under you will not be good.
Either way, pay attention to the door sill and the problems of getting the lawn mower in and out of the shed when you are shopping around. Ideally there will be only a weather strip across the door sill to negotiate when using wheeled equipment.
The floor of your garden shed will probably be a matter of choice, of the material it is made of, the size, and probably not determined by local restrictions.
See this checklist for all the things you may have to consider before putting up a garden shed.
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