Anchoring a storage building with concrete anchors or ground pegs

A storage building must be anchored to the ground. Depending on the ground type, the storage building is anchored with ground stakes or concrete anchors. In this blog, we will tell you more about how this anchoring works, what tools you need, and some tips & tricks for anchoring your storage building. But first, we start with a brief explanation of the three types of ground on which you can place the storage building. You can read more about this in our blog ‘Do I need a foundation to place a storage building?’

Types of ground for a storage building

Option 1: Your storage building on a concrete foundation
This option is suitable for permanent construction and is the best choice if you want a watertight connection between your storage building and the ground. For a storage building, you can have a strip foundation, also known as a ring foundation, installed. This is a foundation laid under load-bearing walls. You can choose whether or not to include the floor between the strips in the foundation. We do not construct concrete foundations ourselves. You can engage a construction company of your choice for this purpose. Please ensure that the dimensions on our construction drawings are followed during construction. The exact surface dimensions are important for installing the frame or water barrier around the storage building. It must fit precisely to divert rainwater over the edge of the foundation. A (structural) engineer can calculate the strength of the concrete for you. Data on the strength of your foundation is also important if you need to apply for a building permit to construct your storage building.

Option 2: Your storage building on concrete slabs (or Stelcon slabs)
This option is suitable for both permanent and temporary use. The Stelcon slabs can be quickly removed and reused. Stelcon is a commonly used brand name for a concrete floor slab of standardized dimensions. The price of Stelcon slabs is higher than for other standardized concrete slabs. Other brands of standardized concrete slabs also serve as a suitable base for a Kroftman storage building. The concrete surface must be larger than the surface dimensions of the storage building according to the Kroftman construction drawings. We recommend placing the concrete slabs directly under the facade to prevent the slabs from tipping up.

Option 3: Your storage building on a hard surface
Our storage buildings can be placed on a hard surface such as asphalt, pavement, compacted sand, gravel, or rubble fraction. This option is suitable for temporary or semi-permanent construction. You anchor the storage building to the ground using 1200 mm long and ∅25mm diameter ground stakes. The ground stakes are not included in the price of our storage buildings but can be ordered separately. The surface where you place the storage building must be flat with a slope of no more than 1 cm per meter in one direction. A curved surface is not possible. If there is a slope greater than 1 cm per meter in the installation area, you must fill it in before placing the storage building.

These three types of ground have the following anchoring methods:

Type of ground	Anchoring by means of:
Concrete foundation	Concrete anchors
Concrete slabs (Stelcon slabs)	Concrete anchors
Anchoring on hard surfaces such as paving, asphalt, or compacted sand/gravel.	Ground stakes

 

Concrete anchor

Anchoring your storage building using concrete anchors

Always ensure that the ground is flat before attaching the storage building to the concrete foundation or concrete slabs. A flat surface is necessary for the best possible connection of the base rails to the ground. Next, mark the spots where the base rails should be placed on the ground. Place the base rails and mark the holes in the base rails on the concrete. Then, drill the holes in the concrete. The depth and diameter of the hole vary depending on the type of storage building and are specified in the assembly manual. Use your own concrete drill and the correct size drill bit to drill the holes in the concrete. Once the holes are drilled and the bolts are in place, use a wrench to screw the base rails, along with the bracket, securely onto the concrete. The columns for the storage building will later be attached to the brackets.

Tips & tricks for anchoring your storage building using concrete anchors

• It is important to ensure that there are no conduit pipes, sewer pipes, and/or lightning rods in a location where the storage building profiles will be mounted.
• The concrete surface must be horizontal, flat, and cured before the storage building can be installed. If there are irregularities higher and/or deeper than 5mm, a good connection is not possible.
• Ensure an adequate distance, at least 6 cm, from the base profile to the edge of the concrete. You want to prevent the concrete from cracking.
• Larger diameter anchor bolts are used at the corners of larger storage buildings. This is also mentioned in the manual. Therefore, pay close attention to which anchor bolts you use where.
• Concrete crumbles when drilling, and debris collects at the bottom of the drilled hole. If left, the bolt cannot go deep enough. There are two solutions for this. You can drill a slightly deeper hole and leave the debris or remove the debris with a bellows. The instructions for use are provided on the packaging of the concrete anchors.

Instructions on the packaging of the concrete anchors

Anchoring your storage building using ground stakes

Even with this type of ground, it is crucial that the surface is flat for stable anchoring. If the ground is not flat, you can level it. Since our storage buildings are standardly designed for anchoring on a concrete foundation, the base profiles do not have holes for ground stakes. When anchoring using ground stakes, you need to transfer the anchor holes of 30 mm in diameter to the steel base profiles yourself. You drill these holes using the supplied hole saw in the base profile. Due to wear, you will receive several fitting hole saws with the storage building. You can then drive the ground stakes into the ground through the holes in the base profile, but on a hard surface, this can be a tough task. In that case, it is wise to pre-drill the holes in the ground. You mark the holes you drilled in the base profile on the ground. Pre-drill the holes almost to the full length of the ground stake so that you have room to drive the last piece of the ground stake into it.

Ground stake

Then, you attach the base profile with the bracket to the ground by driving the ground stakes through the pre-drilled holes with a pneumatic hammer. A regular hammer can be used, but it requires a lot of force to drive a ground stake of over 1 meter into the ground. If you want to anchor your storage building with ground stakes, you can adjust this for an additional cost when ordering your storage building. The number of ground stakes you receive is tailored to the type of storage building you order. Extra ground stakes are used around the wind braces of the storage building. This reinforcement is necessary because the wind braces divert forces, such as strong winds, to the ground. This is also indicated in the assembly manual. The E500 storage building do not have brackets, and the base profile looks slightly different. However, the attachment with the ground stakes remains the same as for the H-series storage buildings.

Tips & tricks for anchoring your storage building using ground stakes

• Never shorten ground stakes to make installation easier. The ground stakes have this length to ensure safe anchoring. If you shorten them, there is a risk that the storage building will come loose, for example, in strong winds.
• Drive the ground stakes far enough into the ground to ensure a firm connection of the storage building to the ground.
• Again, ensure that the location where the base profiles are placed is free of pipes. It is important that there are no conduit pipes and/or sewer pipes in a location where you secure the profiles to the ground.

Costs of ground stakes and concrete anchors

Since our storage buildings are standardly designed for anchoring on a concrete foundation, concrete anchors are provided free of charge for smaller storage buildings, up to a width of 8 meters. For larger storage building, from 9 meters in width, a small additional cost is charged. There is always an additional cost for ground stakes. Larger storage buildings require more ground stakes, which is why the total price for the corresponding set of ground stakes increases. Below you can see what amounts you can expect. Since raw material prices fluctuate, it may be that the prices have changed by now. If you fill in our quotation tool, you will always see the current prices and whether an additional cost is charged for the concrete anchors.

Storage building	Ground stakes	Concrete anchors
E509 uninsulated	Approximately € 660	€ 0
H806-37 uninsulated	Approximately € 900	€ 0
H1213-30 uninsulated	Approximately € 2.260	CApproximately € 150

If you’re going to anchor your storage building, regardless of whether you do it with concrete anchors or ground stakes, our main tip is: Always read the assembly manual carefully before doing anything. This helps prevent mistakes.

We hope the above information helps you make an informed choice. If you want to know exactly what the storage building of your choice costs, please feel free to fill out our quotation tool. From this, you will receive a quotation by email showing you at a glance the costs and transport costs for your storage building. You can create multiple quotations and select different options to compare them effectively.

Do you still have questions? We are happy to assist you further.