How thick should your shed slab be? A practical guide for Tablelands soils.
The Guide
March 2026 5 min read

How thick should your shed slab be? A practical guide for Tablelands soils.

There's no single answer to shed slab thickness, but there's a sensible range for most situations on Tablelands soils. The bigger questions are reinforcement, edge thickening, and base prep.

A small garden or hobby shed (under 30m²) is generally happy on a 100mm slab with SL72 mesh and thickened edges. That's the entry point.

A double garage or workshop with car traffic usually wants 125mm with SL82 mesh and 300mm thickened edges. If you're planning to park a 4WD or run a hoist, it's worth talking about going heavier.

Machinery sheds, dairy slabs, or anywhere a tractor will live should start at 150mm with rebar to engineer's spec. The cost difference is small relative to a slab failing under load.

Tablelands soils vary wildly - reactive clays around Atherton behave differently to the sandier ground out toward Mareeba. Always have someone walk the site. Placeholder content - Shane will add a quick decision tree.

"The cost difference between a 100mm and a 150mm slab is small. The cost of a failed slab is not."

- Shane Tusel, founder

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