Garden Shed

 Time has come to put a shed in our small garden for storage and
occasional whittling. 8x6 should do it nicely and this style looks just
the job:

http://www.tigersheds.com/product_detail.asp?prod=7&optionB8

Couple of questions:

There seems to be quite a range in price and specification. Local garden
centres (Derbyshire) are roughly double, for example, although these
include assembly. On which:

How difficult are these to assemble? All looks quite straightforward to
me from the guides.

Thanks, Rob

 
How handy are you?
How long do you want it to last?
Can you afford more?

The reason I ask is that most commercially made sheds are of very
light construction, not very secure and aren't made to last. I've just
helped to move one from a neighbours house and at 7 years old the
floor was starting to rot.
Floors and roofs are often made of chipboard or osb board and they
will not tolerate any wetness at all. (I replaced an old one I
inherited when we moved here and the roof literally fell apart around
my head when I was dismantling it to the extent that I just shovelled
up the shreds into waste bags - there was nothing solid left at all)
So - If you are reasonably competent with a handsaw, tape measure,
spirit level and cordless screwdriver (use Spax screws instead of
nails) and you can double your budget then make your own. That size
shouldn't take more than about a week to build.
You'll be using better heavier materials like heavier roofing felt,
building paper or 'Tyvec' membrane lining. The roof and floor will be
solid wood tongued and grooved boards, the main structural components
will be 3"x2" tanalised timber and you should be able to get tanalised
shiplap for the cladding.
You need a good firm base of concrete flags or concrete, and sit the
shed floor on 3x2 tanalised bearers to keep the base of the shed well
away from any water.
For the design, just go round the showgrounds with a tape and notebook
but upgrade the timbers as I have described.
Your local builders' merchants will sell all you need but take the
same shopping list around at least a couple of merchants.
You will get a much better shed that will be more secure, more
weatherproof and last for very many years.

Rod

 On 26/01/2012 16:31, Rod wrote:

Fairly - bit slow nowadays but get there eventually.

10 years I suppose, more would be a bonus.


Well, we'd budgeted £500, but money's a bit tight so any savings on the
budget ill find a home.


Yes - the floor is something I've looked at. The one linked to has
'thick tongue and grooved floorboard in the floor and roof sections and
contains NO cheap sheet materials such as OSB or chipboard'.


Ah - don't really have that amount of time to commit.


Yes, good thinking. I'll spend some time on the foundation. But as I
say,cost and time are factors right now. The immediate need is storage -
bikes and tools and bits of wood and . . . it goes on!


Agreed, can't argue; parsomony, pragmatism, time and laziness I'm
afraid. But food for thought. Thanks for the insight.

Rob

 

In addition to the above, you can improve your shed by covering the supplied
floor with half inch thick chipboard,also replace any screws on access
points such as door and window, with nuts and bolts.  The screw head should
be on the outside and "spoiled" when installed.

The door should be more secure as the bolts would be much harder to remove
than srews - something for a villain to think about.

Bill

 On Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:43:56 -0000, Bill Grey wrote:


straightforward

If there are two of you not very difficult at all. I've
deconstructed, reclad and rebuilt ours on my own but it is in a
corner by walls so those two sides can lean against the wall whilst
you pick up the adjacent side.

There is nothing stopping you buying a commercial shed and upgrading
the weak points. Before assembly give the inside and out an good
soaking in wood preservative(*) after assembly paint with a
presevative/protective shed/fence paint of some sort. Have a look at
the roofing felts in a DIY shed and if the stuff supplied isn't as
good don't use it and buy some better stuff. Maybe put a few extra
fixings in. Small things with little cost but will improve the
longevity of the shed.

The foundations are probably the most important. Don't put the joists
of the shed directly on the ground/slabs/concrete but lift them up on
3" square tannalised timbers (fence posts). These should be supported
at least at the quarters with bricks or WHY firmly bedded into the
soil and leveled. Personally a complete hardstanding underneath isn't
required, but keep the gaps between this posts clear and the ends
open to allow air to pass through.

Security, well making the locks/bolts hard to defeat will just make a
thief take the next easier route and with a shiplap or thin T&G clad
shed that will be pulling the cladding off...

--
Cheers
Dave.