Cheap Shed Buying Guides

How to Choose the Right Size Shed

The question we get most is: "What size shed do I need?" It comes down to two things — how much garden you can spare and what you plan to keep in it.

Measuring Your Plot

Measure the space you have, then look at the ground and access around it. Check for:

• A level, well-drained spot with room round the shed to walk and treat the walls
• Anything in the way — fences, drains, overhanging branches, buried cabling
• Door swing, so the shed door can open fully without hitting a fence or a wall
• Whether a tree overhangs it, since sap and leaf litter rot felt roofs fast

Matching Size to Your Garden

Leave at least 300mm clear on every side so you can treat the timber. As a rough guide:

• 4x3 to 6x4: a mower, tools and a wheelbarrow. Suits small gardens and first-time buyers.
• 8x6 to 8x8: the sizes most people end up wanting, with room for bikes and a workbench.
• 10x8 and larger: workshops for a potting bench, a bike rack and furniture stored over winter.

Understanding Shed Materials

Material decides the look, the upkeep and how long the shed lasts before it needs work.

Overlap, Shiplap, Tongue and Groove, Metal and Plastic

Overlap boards are the cheapest timber cladding and fine for dry storage, though gaps can open in dry spells. Shiplap boards interlock and shed water far better, which is why most mid-range sheds use them. Tongue and groove is thickest and stays tight for longest. Galvanised metal sheds cost least of all and never rot, but you cannot screw shelves to them. Plastic and resin sheds need no treating at all.

What About Treatment and Roofs?

Treatment matters as much as the cladding. Common specifications and what they mean:

• Pressure-treated timber — preservative forced into the wood, usually with a 10 or 15 year rot guarantee
• Dip-treated timber — cheaper, but wants a coat of preservative within a year and every year after
• Felt shingles or EPDM — last far longer than the plain mineral felt bundled with budget sheds
• Apex or pent roof — apex gives headroom in the middle, pent suits a shed pushed against a fence

Fitting Your Shed

Most cheap sheds arrive as panels with fixings and instructions. We suggest:

• Allowing two to four hours for a 6x4 and most of a day for a 10x8
• Having a second person to hold panels upright while you screw the corners together
• Levelling the base first, since a twisted floor stops the door shutting properly
• Fitting a hasp and staple with a closed-shackle padlock, as the supplied catch is rarely enough

Some retailers offer an installation service — worth asking about for larger workshop sheds.

Maintenance Tips

To keep your shed standing for years:

• Clear leaves and moss off the roof and check the felt every autumn
• Wash cladding with warm soapy water, never a pressure washer at close range
• Re-treat dip-treated timber every year and pressure-treated every three to five
• Keep the floor bearers off wet ground so damp cannot wick up into the frame
• Leave a vent or open the door on dry days to stop condensation in metal sheds