A good shed is supposed to last for many years; at least that is what we expect when we set out to buy our sheds at the first place. However, I am sure that many among us end up with a different experience in this case.
If you are not careful enough, the shed may cost you a lot of money but fail to last longer as you had hoped for. With this article though, I intend to put all our shed buying woes to an end. I am going to share with you the top 5 things you must keep in mind at the time of buying your first shed.
Follow these and you are on your way to owning a shed that will last for years to come!
- Choose the Material Wisely
Sheds come made with all kinds of materials; wood, metal and plastic mainly. You have to consider the pros and cons of each one of these and then make an informed choice. You would find that in the case of wooden sheds, softwood is the most preferred choice of manufacturers. The exact material used is usually redwood (pine) or spruce. If you want something that is slightly more rot resistant, you should go for wooden sheds made out of Douglas fir or larch instead. The best ones though in this regard are the cedar sheds; they will cost you almost twice the money as compared to pine sheds however they will last longer due to their quality of higher rot resistance.
Metal sheds in turn will never rot but they are the more difficult ones to put together. They also are fire resistant to a greater degree however lack the prettiness of wooden sheds. You have to be careful of what you store in metal sheds as air tends to condense in them and you can have water dripping inside on a bad day. They will also need to be painted from time to time.
Plastic sheds on the other hand are the easiest to maintain and also the easiest of all to assemble. However, they are clearly not pretty for everyone’s taste.
- Size of the Shed
Shed size is one of the most important things that a lot of us don’t get right. The amount of space you have should always determine whether you would like to go for a big or small shed. In any case, I would suggest a shed size of at least 6×8 ft as it provides you with good enough of a room and some space for a work bench as well if needed.
- Sturdiness of the Shed
A good sturdy shed is very much a requirement if you want to avoid the following in the future, sagging roof, door that doesn’t work properly, creaky joints, distorted walls etc. Remember to inspect the assembled shed for its sturdiness; jump in the center of the shed and press against the center of all the walls to see if there are any signs of flexibility or lack of resistance.
Watch out for dark edged knots in the wooden timbers supporting the roof as they are likely to fall out later, making the support weak in times to come.
- Keeping the Shed Leak Free
Rain water running down the walls of wooden sheds is a common issue and then that leads to the further trouble of rot. You can avoid this though by ensuring that the roof of your shed overhangs by at least 5-8 cm on all sides. Adding a strip of weather bar on both the top and bottom of the door would also be a great solution to keep the water from seeping inside. For the windows, sloping sills with drip groove would do the same job.
A good way to check if your shed is ready to not let any water in is by checking for the places it lets in light from. Ideally the shed should only let the light in through the windows and no place else.
- Access to the Shed
Avoid doors with low width and height. There shouldn’t be any obstructions as well so that one can enter and exit the shed without tripping over or banging their head. Wider and higher doors would also mean that you can store large sized items in the shed easily. As a standard rule, always look for sheds with double doors to avoid any of the above issues.
